I left Canberra early that morning and arrived in Adelaide around 7:20 am. Central Australia (South Australia and Northern Territory) have a weird time zone change where they are a half hour behind. My friend Holly was luckily on the same flight as me so her dad was willing to drive me to my accommodation. I was just going to take an Uber, but the only ones allowed at the airport were the fancy $50 Uber blacks. On the way there, they took me on a quick driving tour of the main city and then dropped me off at my accommodation.
Remember Janet (Felix’s mom) from Melbourne? Well she was such a nice host that when I told her about this trip she told me that she had friends in Adelaide that would be more than happy to host me. That friend was Elizabeth, her husband Tim, and her two sons Ned and Dom. When I got there around 8, Ned was the only one there (I saw Dom for a minute before he left). I got settled and then checked out the house. It, like Janet’s, was really fancy and included a massive library; as well as statues and fountains in the backyard that made you feel like you were in a palace’s garden. At about 10, Ned drove me into Central Adelaide.
A general rule of thumb is that it takes about 20 minutes from where you are to get to Central Adelaide. Ned dropped me off at Central Market. The market is a huge food market and I grew tired of it quickly. I made my way to Rundle Mall, a big outdoor mall, to kill time for a few hours. I went to Haigh’s Chocolate, a place South Australia is known for, and tried to grab lunch at a rooftop bar called 2KW, but I got rejected because of the dress code. Instead, I went to Hindley St. which is right across from Rundle Mall and is filled with bars, clubs, and restaurants. After lunch, Dom called and asked to meet up at the Exeter Hotel for a couple of beers.
The rest of the day I just hung out with Dom and his friends, and then that night we went to his friend’s house in the hills to watch the AFL (footy) game. Adelaide was built on a plain with hills to the west and south, so that’s what I mean by “the hills.” Hanging with those guys was fun, I was amazed at how friendly and inviting they were. One of them was even completely obsessed with football so he talked to me about that all night. We left at 11 because I had to get up early the next day. A day was all I really needed in this city. Adelaide seemed like a good place to live, but there’s not much for a tourist to do there.