Another shot at the Mayfair buffet. Good fruit and yogurt selection, but the coffee machine failed – no big urns. Our driver/guide, Joe, was early. Good jovial guy, pleasant company. Nice Lexus with a mysterious dark green color that looked like black from another angle. When he selected it he thought it was black.
First site the Adelaide Central Market: huge indoor space that has grown from a place where farmers sold produce right off of their trucks. Joe’s dad did that and he had fond memories of joining him.
The place is now way upscale – a tourist destination – and the selections and presentations are extraordinary.
I mentioned a pleasant smell and Joe led us to a nut shop…
where he bought a bag of warm mixed nuts for us.
We moved on to the Botanic Garden – midtown unlike the Mt. Lofty one. Part of the Adelaide park belt that surrounds the central city – more on that later. Many interesting plants:
including several in a really neat conservatory
Joe talked a lot about the park belt, which was quite noticeable as we drove around. It was a brainchild of the town founder, Col. William Light in 1836 – his statue here – and has been fiercely defended against development ever since, most recently when the police wanted to build an installation in it.
We had lunch in a popular wine bar in a pedestrian mall in the yuppy-vibe East End, and then drove to and walked around on a street with “cottages” built to house skilled tradesmen during the building of the city public spaces snd infrastructure
They have been renovated and are now occupied, at great expense and with many restrictions, by wealthy residents, and travelers through Booking.com etc.
We had the German village of Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills on the itinerary and Joe took us there and led us around in it. A huge throng of tourists were browsing the German style shops and eateries. I was only interested in this cuckoo clock shop…
and a little museum that described its Lutheran Prussian roots. Felt close to home – several names ending in “ke” like mine.
On the way back into Adelaide we stopped for a view at the summit of Mt. Lofty (700 meters)
and did a mini hike…
where we saw this Crimson Rosella.
Then Joe dropped us at the hotel where we had an uneventful night.
Dana and Roger Travels 
An interesting day. Love going to foreign markets (even grocery stores) and being surprised. This one definitely looked wonderful. Chihuly! Somehow “his” work looks organic–static, of course, but effortlessly natural. And the imagination! He had a huge exhibition throughout Kew Gardens, seamlessly blending plants in the enormous greenhouse with fanciful glass “plants”. Is that permanent? Intrigued by the park belt concept and the story behind the “cottages”.
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Thanks Janet. I share your interest in markets, never miss a chance to go through them – so reflective of local tastes and interests. Don’t believe it’s permanent. The park had sure worked here.
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