The Hunt for the Opal - March 27

This is starting to sound like a broken record. We were in Adelaide today and it was Easter, so everything was closed. (See March 14 and March 25.) We decided we did not want to spend a lot of money to ride around on a big bus all day visiting wineries and oliveries. We thought we'd just go into town and have a look around. 

Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia, has a population of around 1.4 million. It has a very nice website and there are lots of self-guided walking tours that can be downloaded. I downloaded a couple onto my iPad and planned on stopping at the Tourist Information (TI) office to get brochures for some of the others.

Of course I left my iPad in our stateroom, as I am not in the habit of bringing it with me when we are out for the day. The first TI was in the cruise terminal, but there were dozens of people crowded around it grabbing at maps and shouting questions to frazzled people (probably volunteers giving up their Easter) stationed inside a protective barrier. We decided we would just catch the train a and go to a TI in town.

The train was close to the pier, it was easy to buy tickets, and we were lucky to get an express. It was a 30-minute ride to the central railway station in Adelaide. The climate is different here. It is drier and very hot in the summer, frequently exceeding 100 degrees F. There is a slightly frontierish feeling about the place.

We passed through a lot of suburbs. The architecture here is quite different from that in the east (Sydney and Melbourne). The houses are small, mostly single-story. They look like something you would expect to see on a sheep station in the Outback. They mostly have corrugated metal roofs with verandas or covered porches. They are made out of stone or brick. There are some that remind me of the Craftsman style and a few that are Victorian. Fancy ironwork is common. The lots are small. It's almost impossible to take photos from a moving train.

Greeters in the train station answered questions such as "What is open today?" Our greeter suggested walking along North Terrace, the main cultural street. We passed the Old Parliament House and the newer Parliament House. They were both closed and didn't seem too interesting. 

On the next block we passed Government House, which we couldn't see because it was behind a wall. It is where the state Governor lives. I did like some of the statues along the sidewalk here.

The Honourable Dame Roma Mitchell

Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia 1965-1983

Chancellor of the University of Adelaide 1983-1990

Governor of South Australia 1991-1996

In case you were wondering.

Next came the obligatory war memorial, an Art Deco treasure.

The third block was home to the State Library, the South Australian Museum, and the Art Gallery of South  Australia. In addition, there were portions of Flinders University and the University of Adelaide. The Migration Museum (closed) was behind these buildings. That's a lot for one block, isn't it?

The State Library

Fountains in front of the South Australian Museum

I had read somewhere that the museum had a good opal collection so we decided to wait about 15 minutes until it opened. It was a nice museum, and it was free (!), but the opal exhibit was disappointing. I did learn one interesting thing - seashells and bones can somehow turn into opals. I guess you could say I learned part of an interesting thing, because I did not gain a clear understanding of how this happens. 

The museum also had a two-story exhibit on Aboriginal cultures. This was primarily the type of exhibit where you see a bunch of artifacts inside glass display cases. I believe most of these artifacts have been in the museum for a century and it is no longer possible to obtain them. There were a few television screens with interviews of contemporary Aborigines and some early films of Aborigines dancing and doing other activities. All in all, I had the impression of looking at a long-dead culture that consisted entirely of artifacts. I would have liked to see dioramas or model villages, or something interactive that would bring it to life. I would like to know more about the non-material elements of Aboriginal cultures.

I did like the Aboriginal art. My favorite was the Yuendumu School Doors.

I hope I can find some fabric with Aboriginal themes. I would like to make a quilt using these doors as inspiration.

If we had continued we would have arrived at the Botanic Gardens but we walked towards a shopping area instead, to see if we could find the TI. Rundle Mall is a pedestrianized street with lots of stores and lots of small shopping malls. There were a few pieces of public art here, too.

Do you see us?

We found the TI in an alley off of Rundle Mall. It was about the size of a broom closet. There were already 12 tourists and a large baby carriage inside. Not worth the effort.

Chocolate!

One store in particular was a jewelry store specializing in opals. They had some in the window and I wanted to see more, so we went in. They really didn't have much, and it was very expensive. But they did have an opal mine! In the basement! The mine was so cheesy it was good.

That's quite a beard

There was supposed to be an Art Deco synagogue off Rundle Mall. We finally found it. The photo in the Art Deco guide showed a natural stone facade. The facade had been painted grey, and the building was now used as some kind of nightclub.

We would be sailing at 4 pm, so we allowed ourselves plenty of time to get back to the ship. The train we caught was a local, and it took about 42 minutes. When we got to the ship we had to wait a lot before we could get back on. It's always fun to watch the Sailaway from your balcony or from the top deck.

Here is one of the security guys on the wharf. My guess is he is the supervisor. Do you think he's Australian?

The atmosphere in Adelaide is so different from sophisticated Sydney and livable Melbourne. I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it. Adelaide seems a little tired, less vibrant. It doesn't seem forward-looking like Sydney and Melbourne. The sidewalks are dirty. There is a lot of graffiti. I don't know that I would want to live here. But it's pretty hard to judge based on a short visit on Easter.

Sailaway

Here is the contribution to Easter from the ship's pastry chefs

We went to another show starring Kaitlyn Carr. Different songs, same show. Celtic flutes do not lend themselves to different genres and you can only say "wee" so many times.