Adventures in Adelaide

Adelaide is a special 1-square mile city with an endless number of activities for tourists and city dwellers alike. We stayed at the luxurious Intercontinental Adelaide hotel, which is located right along the River Torrens on North TCE. On the same road lies the SA Museum, SA Art Gallery, the Botanic Gardens, and even the University of Adelaide. The city center is surrounded by green parks perfect for a light stroll or a lazy reading day.The moment I stepped foot onto the city streets I new that I had to take advantage of my time here.

Botanic Gardens of Adelaide:
The Botanic Garden is less than a mile away from the hotel, and provided the perfect setting for a picnic. I purchased some of my favorite goodies from Woolworth's and set up camp under a shady grassy knoll. One important thing to keep in mind: hay fever. As I write this I'm still battling with incredible sinus congestion that makes my head feel as if it's about to pop right off my neck. So beware!

National Wine Centre:
As a big Shiraz fan and an aspiring wine connoisseur I felt compelled to visit the National Wine Centre. It is conveniently located at the western edge of the Botanic Garden, which allows the center's cafe patrons to take in the garden's beauty while enjoying a light bight. I indulged in a $10 wine tasting which included 3 different wines and a generous helping of ciabatta bread and oil.

Henley Beach:
Perhaps the most underrated resource in the city of Adelaide is the free bike rental service it provides. All you have to do is provide a form of ID (passport, driver's license, etc.) and the bike center loans you a bike. What's more, there are bike paths all over the city. I took one that stretched about 16km along the River Torrens from the city centre to Henley Beach. It was an amazing ride:

Vegan Food: 
And I of course sought out vegan restaurants and cafes while in town. After a failed attempt on Sunday night (I walked a mile to the restaurant to find that it is closed on Sundays), I successfully had lunch at Bliss Organic Garden Cafe on two separate occasions. I also tried salads from the Foods For Life Health Foods Store on Gawler Place. To be honest, I didn't think the food was as great as some of the other vegan places I've tried thus far on the tour. The UK vegan food had much better flavor profiles.

Adelaide Central Market:
On my final day in Adelaide I biked to the famous Adelaide Central Market where I found heaps of local fresh produce and fine food products. I had briefly strolled through the market the day before but had no Australian dollars and therefore had zero purchasing power. My wallet was full of the foreign currency on Wednesday and I set my sights on buying a good loaf of bread and some local goat cheese.  It was very satisfactory.

I was enamored with these large canisters of honey