Meeting Adelaide in daylight

Railway tracks / South Terrace Adelaide, pictured by C

Adelaide bathed in sunlight is very much different from its sleepy, lonely night version. Everywhere was in matte colours, undisturbed, almost sanitised. Coming from supposedly the cleanest country in the world (ie. Singapore), I would say we aren't the only contenders for this position. Day two was the only full day we had on the weekend itinerary, and we covered a few places around and understood the city a bit more:

Launching into photoshoot mode steps away from our hotel because everywhere is in hypercolour in the morning! I have a thing for railway/ tram tracks too so... let's risk it one more time. This is the last stop of the free tram zone in Adelaide which is literally a straight line running down King William Street. For public transport around Adelaide, you are advised to download the Adelaide Metro app which was extremely helpful, accurate and a complete lifesaver on day three (more on this in the next post).

Shooting some early morning shots - okay not really, it was half past ten - along Grote Street. It was very different to see it in the day as compared to last night when we were roaming around to see Chinatown for the first time!

One of the city's most raved attraction, the Adelaide Central Markets, are closed on Sundays and Mondays - essentially means we are going to miss it. It is right at the heart of Chinatown, but we realized the markets are actually not completely closed on Mondays, so we caught a bit of it the next day.

Zuma Caffe seems like the locals' favourite Sunday brunch location within Chinatown! It was also opened fairly early as compared to the rest of the cafes/ restaurants. Off we go. I picked the Eggs Benedict (AUD14.90) and C ordered the 1/2 Full On breakfast (AUD12.20) - which is a thoughtful option for those with smaller appetites. Breakfast at Zuma's wasn't fancy but so down-to-earth, simply well-executed and hearty, it was the perfect fuel for a full day of exploring. Overall I would say Zuma Caffe is strategically located to fit right in a tight itinerary, and you'll get to mingle amongst the locals too.

I cannot stop being dumbfounded on how this gorgeous fountain in Victoria Square is not surrounded by humans gaping at it in awe! We were literally the only humans within its vicinity.

Lush greenery so inspiring, yoga, bird-watching, picnics, reading a book, dog-walking... all the lovely things you can do here. It was quite cold at that time, if I don't remember wrongly, temperatures were at around 15-17 degrees in the daytime. Perhaps that's the only reason why people are leaving this wondrous piece of land alone.

We were back at the Central Railway Station to find out how to get to Port Adelaide, and train isn't here till 40 minutes later so we took a little walk outside.

Man vs Wild: Be glad I had my breakfast, Swan

Terrorizing swans / It eyes me with suspicion / Hey we both wear black #SwanHaikus

We went out to the bridge, and there, a big black swan squawking and wandering around. What luck! A bundle of randomness and joy indeed. We were three minds around trying to catch her, hoping she won't peck us, and that she won't fly away (she never did during our stay, but we had to leave for the trains).

Where are you guys going

We got quite lost on our way to Port Adelaide. The idea is not to intuitively get off at Port Adelaide station (which we did) and go straight to Largs station instead. Largs station, Largs station, Largs station (gotta repeat important information thrice)! Then walk 10 minutes to the jetty/ Semaphore Beach.

We took a roundabout way to get there - getting off at Port Adelaide and taking a bus, and finding out how the outer suburbs take quietness to another level, and also no shops are ever open on Sundays except supermarkets.

We finally made it to the Semaphore Beach - I love the sound of waves and being there just makes it so lovely to experience what it sounded like in Adelaide. Languid and rumbly waves. It wasn't particularly beautiful like island lagoon turquoise sort, but reminded me of a deserted beach scene from City of Angels. 

After a long stroll peppered with occasional smatterings of rain, we found the Semaphore Jetty! But first, we had a little rest playing with seagulls which are all so cute. Can I keep one as a pet? Or two? Or three?

the only picture before we ran continuously back to the beach for shelter

And then this happened.

I decided to drag C to venture out onto the jetty bridge, which was evidently a stupid decision because the thunderclouds were rolling in and it started pouring heavily. The winds were so strong, loud swishes were going past our ears that made conversation simply impossible! The waves were pushing and slamming inland; obviously, umbrellas were completely useless at this point in time and ponchos were so difficult to maneuver as it was fluttering about faster than a butterfly's wings! There were fishermen in their full gear, putting on their poker face and just keeping calm to fish on, probably laughing at us... It was pretty crazy but... 

... definitely memorable so I regret nothing!!!

Trekked back to Largs station across a residential estate and caught the train after some waiting... Port Adelaide is less eventful than it was portrayed in the travel brochures, and took quite a while to travel to. Maybe it'll be better in fair weather, but the area looks pretty abandoned. It was still an interesting experience for us from the series of unexpected events, but I guess if you are on a tight schedule it isn't recommended to go to Port Adelaide.

We reached the North Terrace just as it was glowing in the golden hour! It was such a glorious view in full autumn bloom - Melbourne was already officially in winter then, so seeing such generous sunlight here was such a treat!

I found the Matthew Flinders statue, apparently the reason why Melbourne's busiest and most famous train station is called Flinders Station.

All the museums closed at 5pm, and due to time constraints, we only managed to pop by the two that could give us the most insights on South Australia - South Australian Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia. The most memorable images I had of the South Australian Museum was their life-size depictions of megafauna around the world - I finally corrected my misconception that lions were as huge as elephants (apparently not) after observing the animal models. The Art Gallery of South Australia presented an appreciation for the Aborigines of Australia and their lifestyles. What was exceptionally striking for me was that they had an impressive range of medicines made from natural sources as pictured above.

They were serious when naming everywhere functionally because when you need pho, you go to Adelaide Pho. Now isn't that easy to remember? I had several sources pointing me to try this bowl of pho and this restaurant in general. I couldn't stop slurping down this bowl of noodles until it was all gone and I was still craving for more - was I too hungry or is this way too delicious? I think it's a bit of both. But alas, this IS a worthy competitor to Pho Hung Vuong of Footscray, Melbourne (aka. currently my favouritest pho in the world)! I had the luxury to enjoy avocado juice too, it certainly wasn't within my expectations for it to be this good but it was really one of those meals that I will look back on, and smile to myself. Adelaide Pho is within the city centre area too, which makes for a convenient stopover at Pirie Street station of the free tram zone and walk for 10 minutes.