Day 2- Adelaide

We both slept well until 5am.  Jeri was feeling severe jet-lag (we hope) and  had no appetite,  so we stopped for me to grab  a “long black” ( espresso with hot water) and a croissant, then walked to the Adelaide Botanical Gardens to try to get out the cobwebs.

 The Gardens were opened in 1857 and are adjacent to Adelaide University.  The birdlife in the gardens in the morning was amazing, though many were camouflaged so well they were hard to spot.  But there was no mistaking the variety of sounds.  We finally managed to see several interesting species that I have yet to identify (I’m hampered by no field guide for Australian birds).  

                                                                           

The gardens had a number of varieties of eucalyptus tree that gave off  great smells to compliment the bird songs.  There was also an area that had bamboo trees.  We didn’t realize the number of different bamboos there were.

 

 From the Botanical Gardens we walked through the Adelaide University campus, past the impressive Adelaide Art Museum and on to the Immigration Museum, which described the several waves of immigration to Australia, beginning with the forced migration of convicts in 1788, through post-WWII immigration of European displaced persons and finally the present day immigration of Islamic groups.

We had to cut our visit short because Jeri’scondition deteriorated.  We got her back to the hotel  to lie down with hopes her waves of nausea would pass.  She, unfortunately spent the rest of the day in bed.

In order to keep from bothering her, I went out to check out Adelaide on foot.  About a mile from our hotel is the Central Market, the largest produce market in the Southern Hemisphere.  Though fruits and vegetables  make up the bulk of the stalls, there are also, meats, fish, and baked goods.  I bought a baguette for lunch from a Pilipino  baker.  He was trying to entice me with a bagel once he established my  American credentials, but after I told him that none could compare to Brendan’s bagels and learned that I was not only American, but an American Jew, he didn’t press the subject.  He did go on to tell me that he was going to start making babka and challah.  I still haven’t been able to figure out how a Philipino baker in Australia knows about Jewish baked goods.  I guess the world is a small place.

After leaving the market, I stumbled on Adelaide’s small but bustling Chinatown, which is now more Vietnamese and Korean- town. On the way back to the hotel, I also passed through the major shopping district of Adelaide, Rundle Mall, an area of Rundle Street closed off from car traffic and loaded with all sorts of shopping.

s

Back at the hotel, Jeri didn’t seem to be getting her spunk back any time soon.  Hopefully, this will pass quickly.  We are off to Kangaroo Island tomorrow, hopefully, both of us well, and ready to meet our first koalas and kangaroo