Before anything, we had an adventure trying to find the car rental place. The address given us was incorrect, and we walked up and down the street asking various people. Fortunately, once it was located, the folks there were friendly and generous. All the paperwork was done, and all I had to do was drive it ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!!! Gulp.
They do things funny down here. When you look in the rear-view mirror, it's not where it should be, but on the left side. The turn indicators are on the other side. When you turn, you go into the left lane. It's all very confusing. And we just had to drive three blocks back to the hotel garage. Darlene and I were both in palpitations by the time we got there. The rest of the day's transport would be by foot or public transit.
First up was the Central Market, an institution in Adelaide for over a century. And remember, Australia has a varied enough climate, that it grows everything from bananas to rice to olives to coffee to apples, to pumpkins. So all this stuff is available, and local (i.e. Australian). The market has about 250 stalls, and it is a bustling place, with the aforementioned fruits and veggies, as well as cheeses, meats in many states of preparation. And then there are the stalls of used books, stalls for selling shoes and t-shirts, wine, coffee, and so on. It's a whole earth experience, all in one building.
And we were able to fulfill our second goal: to find the local, and quite good, chocolate manufacturer - Haigh's. We had thought that we might go on the free tour of the factory, but time was against us. We bought some chocolates, and headed off for the third stop: the Tandanya Aboriginal Centre. It took a while to get there, but we found it, and were pleased enough to get the things we wished from there as well. The day was resplendent: warm but not hot, bright sun, friendly people overall. And Adelaide was pleasing to us. I include a picture of one of the wonderful old houses, now a medical office.
Back to the hotel, for Bob to have a quick nap. Then we decided to head out to henley Beach (the other beach I had visited when I was here before). We caught the express bus, didn't have to pay, and got there in good time. A walk out the jetty, some time on the sand, watching the sun go down, and a pub meal rounded out the fine experience.
Then a bus back to the city, hotel and an early night. I was nervous about the drive the following day.
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