Adelaide Central Market

~ At 3.15am on Saturday, 23rd January 1869, a group of market gardeners made their way to a site between Gouger Street and Grote Street, Adelaide and started to sell their produce. Over 500 people are said to have attended that first market day with all stock selling out by 6.00am!

From such a successful beginning, it was not long before the Adelaide Central Market officially opened one year later in January 1870. Thirty years later, in 1900, the first stone was laid to build the Central Market façade, which still stands today.

I have been going to ‘the market’, as most people call it, for as long as I can remember. First, as a child, along with my parents who shopped there every week, and then as an adult, either on my own or with other family members. Currently, Friday evenings are my preferred visiting hours, and shopping is always preceded by a meal in the Asian food hall close to the main market.

Originally known as the City Market, the facility was officially named the Central Market in August 1965. Despite two major fires (one in 1925, and the other in 1977), the market continues to offer almost every variety of fresh fruit and vegetable available in South Australia.

Also available from more than 80 stalls are a wide range of fresh and processed meats, continental deli’s and cheese outlets, seafood stalls, and others specialising in nuts, confectionary, coffee and other specialty foods. And of course, let’s not overlook the bakeries, patisseries, and numerous cafés and restaurants,

For more than 140 years, the Central Market has been the food Mecca for multicultural cuisine and fresh produce in Adelaide, and today the Central Market is South Australia’s most visited tourist attraction.

For those of us who live in Adelaide and shop regularly there, the market is more than a tourist attraction, of course. This is the one place were all classes of people meet and greet each other, rub shoulders with celebrity chefs, indulge their love for fresh fruit and vegetables, and soak their senses in the myriad aromas that waft around the cheese stalls and coffee stalls, and the many other outlets. The market is also a great meeting place for families and friends. Getting together for a meal at Lucia’s, or a coffee and cake at Zuma’s Café, or maybe a cheap, freshly made Won Ton soup in the Asian food hall is a standard occurrence among regular market aficionado’s.

Events & Activities

A wide range of events and activities are scheduled each week at the market. Some traders offer product samples in ‘try before you buy’ promotions, while others present short classes, and product/produce demonstrations each week.

Central Market Tours

With a 30 year background as a chef and 20 years as a stall holder in the Market, Mark Gleeson conducts Central Market Tours that aim to provide participants with an exclusive experience interacting with suppliers, producers and retailers of South Australia’s vibrant food industry. Tour guests receive a level of history and product knowledge of the Adelaide Central Market, not available by others. For more information or to book your tour, visit Central Market Tour… 

Top Food & Wine Tour

There are several tour operators in South Australia that also offer tours of the Central Market for your enjoyment.  For more information on tours of the Market, visit Top Food & Wine Tours… www.topfoodandwinetours.com.au

Trading Hours

Tuesday: 7am - 5.30pm

Wednesday: 9am - 5.30pm*

Thursday: 9am - 5.30pm

Friday: 7am - 9pm

Saturday: 7am - 3pm

*Optional trading day, not all stalls open

Closed Public Holidays

More Information

Adelaide Central Market… 

When Travel is Just Like Coming Home Again

Victoria Square Fountain, Adelaide

~ For most of my life I have lived in Adelaide, Australia, and although I like to say that Adelaide is a nice place to come home to, the more I travel the more I am beginning to feel that I have roots in other countries and cities around the world.

My parents were Greeks who immigrated to Australia just prior to the Second World War, and of course I have visited the island my parents came from – Ikaria – on multiple occasions. 

Two of my sisters have returned to live on the island, and both have children and grandchildren growing up there. I consider Ikaria to be my first home away from home, having visited several times during the 1970s, and again in 2008 and 2010.

South Street Seaport, NYC.

New York City Dreaming

When I landed at New York City’s JFK airport following an exhausting flight from Australia, my return to that city in 2012 for my third visit in six years, also seemed like coming home.

When I boarded the A-train for the Washington Heights apartment (and two cats), I would be ‘house’ sitting for the second time, it was a great feeling, and it was all I could do to suppress an open smile. Let me tell you though, smiling openly on a 6:00am A-train full of sleepy New Yorkers heading into Manhattan for the start of the working day is probably not a good idea.

I first went to New York in 2008, and have returned every two years since. There more I go, the more I love it, and the more that city also begins to feel like home. I hope to return to the Big Apple again in 2014, which should pretty much cement its place in my mind as my second home away from home.

Federation Square, Melbourne

Wherever I Lay My Hat
I have been house sitting for friends in Melbourne for the past four years, and every time I return to that city, it too feels like coming home. Then there are my visits to an American cousin in Tucson, Arizona in 2010 and again in 2012. If I get a chance to visit again – and I certainly hope to – I know that Tucson will also join the list of cities that have become my surrogate homes as I continue to travel and occasionally retrace my steps around the world.

What all these locations have in common is the familiarity I have developed with them: knowing how to find my way around what were once strange cities and landscapes; knowing where the nearest supermarket, ATM, subway station or bus stop is to my home away from home; and knowing enough about a location to be able to offer advice and information to people who are themselves looking for assistance. Then there is the joy I get from returning to favorite locations within each of these cities: Federation Square and the crowded alleys of Melbourne; the South Street Seaport and Bryant Park in New York City; the tiny villages and summer festivals of Ikaria; and the giant Saguaro cactus plants that dot the dry desert landscape around Tucson, Arizona. But most of all, it is great to be able to continue my explorations in each of these locations to broaden my knowledge and understanding about each city, and the people who live and work there.

Adelaide is a great place to return home to, but I can’t wait to again revisit my various homes away from home, and add other countries and cities to those already mentioned here.

It’s a Small World After All

How true that heading is. On my way back to Adelaide from Melbourne yesterday, I got talking to a man who was also travelling on his own. We chatted about travel – as one seems to do when one is travelling – and he mentioned visiting Philadelphia some time ago with his wife.

It seems that the bus they were travelling on was delayed on its way to Philly. When they got to the main bus station much later than anticipated, they found that the hotel they had booked to stay in was some “50 miles” out of town, and that the only way to get there was with an expensive taxi ride. Of course, they cancelled that booking, and asked the agent at the bus terminal in Philadelphia if he could recommend a local hotel.

The agent recommended the Comfort Inn. In fact, said he, “they have a courtesy bus which can come and pick you up”. So the bus was called for and away went this couple to the Hotel. The man and his wife were delighted to find they were placed in a room overlooking the Delaware River, with a great view of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

What a coincidence.

This is the same Comfort Inn hotel I stayed in during my Philadelphia visit in 2010, during which I too had a room overlooking the river and the bridge. Of course, I mentioned this to my fellow passenger, and marvelled at the serendipitous nature of travel encounters.

At a subsequent stop (we were not sitting together), we started chatting again. This time we began talking about the bus ride up to that point, and agreed that next time either of us were making the same trip, we would look at catching the train instead of a bus. He mentioned that the train cost only a few dollars more anyway, and had the advantage of letting passengers walk through the carriages, giving them a chance to stretch their legs and move around more freely.

As we were chatting, the thought suddenly occurred to me that the train would pass through Mitcham station on its way into Mile End. Mitcham station is literally a couple of hundred metres from my current address, and I told him this, mentioning that I lived at Mitcham. Well, you could knock me down with a feather. Not only did this man and his wife also live in Mitcham many years ago, but he said, they “used to live in some flats opposite the Mitcham shops.”

“In Wemyss Avenue?” ask I.

“Yes,” says he.

Go ahead. Knock me down with a feather. Because my current address just happens to be one of those apartments in Wemyss Avenue.

I couldn’t believe it, and I’m not sure that he believed me, either. But there you have it. Two complete strangers swapping travel stories during a long bus trip between Melbourne and Adelaide, and we had both stayed in the same hotel in Philadelphia, and in the same apartment complex in Adelaide.

Of course, the dates and apartment/room numbers were different, but just the same – what are the odds of this happening?

It is indeed, a small world.

Colebrook Reconciliation Park

The Grieving Mother figure at Colebrook Reconciliation Park

Colebrook Reconciliation Park in the Adelaide suburb, Eden Hills, was established in 1998 as a memorial to those Aboriginal children who were removed from their families and housed at Colebrook Home, a "United Aborigines" mission which had originated in Oodnadatta in 1924. Later, the mission moved to Quorn, before it was finally relocated to Eden Hills in 1942. The home was finally closed in 1972 and demolished in 1973.

"My baby, my baby..."

"My baby, my baby, please give back my baby."

A mother's words fall upon the deaf ears of authority.

Hearts break, tears fall, fear cries out

from the wrenched hands and arms of a mother and child separated.

Feel the pain, touch the ache, caress the tears.

Through ignorance and indifference came the disruption and destruction of family life.

~ AVIS EDWARDS, FORMER RESIDENT OF COLEBROOK HOME

For a brief period of time during the 1990’s, I was involved with the campaign to turn the site of the former mission (or home), into a permanent memorial to a generation of children who became known as the ‘Stolen Generation’. By 1998, following the success of the campaign involving a local reconciliation group and the Tji Tji Tjuta (former residents) of Colebrook Home, the Colebrook Reconciliation Park was born. In consultation with former residents of the home, a local artist, Silvio Apponyi, was commissioned to create a number of statues to install on site.

The finished works are the Pool of Tears, created in 1998, and Grieving Mother installed in 1999.

One of the figures on the Pool of Tears memorial

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Background information on site at Colebrook Reconciliation Park

It is important to acknowledge that while Colebrook did house children who had been forcibly removed from their families by government officials, not all native children who passed through the institution were ‘stolen’ from their families. Some were placed there because their parents were unable to care for them. Other children had been taken from their families by non-Indigenous people as workers, and then abandoned when their services were no longer needed.

Sadly, over time, many children eventually lost most, if not all, of their language, culture and identity. When some of these children finally met their parents many years later, it was almost impossible for parent and child to bridge the language and culture gap. Tragically, some children never saw their parents again.

"We are the stolen children..."

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A montage of former residents of Colebrook House

Thanks to the ongoing work and support of the Colebrook Tji Tji Tjuta, the Blackwood Reconciliation Group, the Aboriginal Lands Trust, and other groups and agencies, the Colebrook Reconciliation Park is now a permanent memorial to these children and their families.

Former residents hold 'campfire' gatherings for adult groups and for school and university students, where they share their stories and achieve reconciliation through creation of compassion and empathy.

Another view of the Pool of Tears

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More Information
~ Admission is Free
~ Visits can be self guided or can be arranged for group
~ Guest speakers can be organised for a fee

Getting There (see map below)
On Shepherds Hill Road (next to Karinya Reserve), Eden Hills.
Bus 728 or 729 from the City to bus stop 29B, Shepherds Hills Road, Eden Hills
Off-street parking available

Enquiries
Tji Tji Tjuta, Mandy Brown
Email: mandy.brown[@]countryart.org.au

The Blackwood Reconciliation Group Meets on the first Wednesday of Each Month
Contact Dennis Matthews via email: deebeemat[@]adam.com.au

Online:
Colebrook Blackwood Reconciliation Park…
Colebrook Home…

Here is a short video I shot of the Colebrook Reconciliation Park

Music is by the Aboriginal artist, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. The song is Bapa (Father), from his debut album Gurrumul.

Google Map showing location of Colebrook Reconciliation Park:

View Larger Map

The Lights of Lobethal Festival

Image courtesy of www.lightsoflobethal.com.au/ 

It’s official. Christmas is just around the corner. I know this because the ‘lights of Lobethal’ have been switched on, and that means like it or not, Christmas is coming. Let me explain.

For over 60 years, the community of the Adelaide hills town of Lobethal have been decorating their homes with lighting displays in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This tradition has become so popular that – according to whoever is responsible for keeping tabs on these sorts of things – the event has evolved into “…the largest Community Christmas Light Display in the Southern Hemisphere.”

And who am I to argue with that claim. The event began in the early 1950s, when local business owners used hand painted light bulbs to decorate their shops and businesses. Slowly, home owners began to do the same thing, and before you could finish singing The Twelve Days of Christmas, a new tradition had been born. As word spread about the lights, visitors began travelling from other hills towns, and eventually Adelaide and further afield to see the increasingly elaborate displays.

By the turn of the century, the event had changed from what was essentially a local community event to the Lights of Lobethal Festival, which now attracts over 250,000 visitors from all parts of Australia, as well as from overseas. Today, over 700 homes and businesses are lit up, at their own expense, to “…spread the true meaning and joy of Christmas.”

Of course, if a quarter of a million people were to spend just $10 each during their visit on food and drinks, and the odd trinket or two, that would no doubt be more than welcomed by the town burghers as well.

The Festival now includes a number of other events such as a Living Nativity (performing twice each night!), a Christmas Tree Festival (featuring trees decorated by local groups, school children and individuals), and a Christmas Pageant (December 23rd). The opening night (December 11), featured Christmas Carols, an official opening ceremony, and of course, the obligatory fireworks display.

Lights of Lobethal route map. Click to enlarge.

As you can imagine, given the large numbers of people now driving through the town each night, the event is heavily policed, and indeed a Dry Zone is in place (and enforced), for the duration of the Festival. An official route map (above) helps channel visitors and traffic in an orderly way through the town, which, as you can see from the map is not exactly large, so pack some extra patience with you if you go. By the way, to discourage visitors from driving through the town at all hours of the night, the light displays are officially turned off at 11pm each night.

If you don’t want to join the queue of cars yourself, Buses-R-Us operates three tours each night (at 8:30pm; 9:30pm; and 10:30pm) during the festival, at a cost of $12 per person. You can join these tours once you reach Lobethal, or you could join the more expensive full Lights of Lobethal tour from Adelaide (Adults $30; Concession $27; Family $90). You will find more information on the official Lights of Lobethal site.

Alternatively, beat the rush and arrive early in the evening. You could have a meal in Lobethal, then check out the Centennial Hall Market where a variety of art and craft and local produce can be bought, and also visit the Country Fire Service Op Shop on the off chance that a bargain is waiting to be discovered amongst the bric-a-brac there.

Lights of Lobethal runs from Sunday, December 11th until the 31st of December 2011.

More Information:Lights of Lobethal official website...

SASMEE PARK: An Adelaide Hidden Gem

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The South Australian Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (SASMEE) runs a variety of ride-on model steam trains at their SASMEE PARK site at Millswood, Adelaide, South Australia. I used to visit the site as a teenager, and had not been back to the park for over 40 years until I visited again with my niece, her husband, and two children, in August 2010.

As a teenager I loved to examine the beautiful steam-powered model ships, and stunning steam trains, each loving built by skilled engineers and craftsmen whose attention to detail and pride in their work was clearly evident.

First incorporated in 1927, the Society began developing the Millswood site in 1947, and have been adding to and extending the tracks and facilities ever since. The site includes a large boiler house containing various historical exhibits, the oldest of which dates back to the 1880s.

Click map to view full size

Entirely volunteer run, the park is open to the public on the first Sunday and third Saturday of each month - weather permitting - from 2 to 4.30pm.

With an entry price of just $5 for adults and $3 for children, SASMEE PARK is one of my Adelaide 'Hidden Gems'. Once inside the site, children and adults can ride the trains as often as they like for no additional cost. There is also a large pond on site where SASMEE members and members of the public can sail model boats (some steam powered).

As you can imagine, the site is very popular with children of all ages, and because of the range of facilities and activities on offer, SASMEE PARK is the perfect place to hold birthday parties for any number of children.

Unfortunately, on the day I visited with family members, it was overcast and soon started raining, which cut our visit short, which is why in the video below you only see the steam trains, and none of the other facilities – although you can catch glimpses of the site as the video progresses. I will return to the park over the summer to shoot more footage of the whole site and add that to an updated post in due course.

Check the SASMEE website for full details about the park.

Note: Enclosed footwear *must* be worn if you wish to ride on the trains. You cannot wear light, flimsy or open-toed footwear. This includes thongs (flip-flops), sandals and scuffs.

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Friday Fotos – Port River Craft

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An afternoon on one of the two Port River dolphin cruises is one of my hidden gems of any visit to Adelaide, and I try and join one of the trips at least once a year. Both the vessels provide commentaries, sell refreshments, and for between $6 and $8 per person, are an absolute bargain in anyone’s language.

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A close up look at the CSL Pacific, seen here loading gypsum (or maybe it’s cement), at Port Adelaide. I happily admit to a bit of a fetish about large industrial machinery and the CSL Pacific, with it conveyor belts and its rust-streaked hull, has it in spades – to coin a phrase.

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The MV Dolphin Explorer, seen here, takes on passengers for the two hour ‘dolphin cruise’ on the Port River. I should point out that these are wild dolphins, and no attempt is made to feed or attract them to the cruise boats during the voyage. If the dolphins feel playful, they may make an appearance to the delight of passengers, but there are no guarantee that you will see them. Having said that, I have joined the cruise on at least four occasions over the years, and each time I have seen some of the 30 Bottlenose Dolphins that have made the river their home.

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Above, the Birkenhead Bridge is one of several bridges that span the Port River, two of which open to let vessels pass beneath them. It may be frustrating for motorists waiting to pass, but it never fails to fascinate those visitors who have time to take in the spectacle of bridges opening and closing their ‘jaws’ like some giant sea creature that has risen from the deep.

See a portfolio of other images on my Twitter stream…

Hello Sailor! SA Maritime Museum, Adelaide

During the recent Port Festival I popped into the South Australian Maritime Museum on Lipson Street, Port Adelaide.
During the Festival, the Museum was offering free entry to all visitors, so camera in hand, I joined the throng and shot some video footage of some of the many displays and exhibitions that can be seen there. But first, a bit of background may be in order.

Housed in the old port Bond Stores, the Museum showcases life on the waves from the early days of exploration to more idyllic times, as Australians developed a beachside culture that is envied around the world.

The Maritime Museum features exhibitions, ships models, interactive displays, an anchor from explorer Matthew Flinders’ ship HMS Investigator, a full sized replica ketch, the Active II, and the largest collection of ships figureheads in the southern hemisphere, among many other delights and maritime curiosities.

Located nearby at Queens Wharf visitors will also find the historic lighthouse from South Neptune Island, and the decommissioned steam tug, Yelta, both of which form part of the Museums extensive collection.

Here, appropriately enough, to the tune of the old sea shanty Bound For South Australia, is my quick tour of the South Australian Maritime Museum:

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More information:
Address:126 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide
Phone: (08) 8207 6255
Online: www.samaritimemuseum.com.au/
Open daily from 10am to 5pm (ex Christmas Day)

Admission:
Adult: $10 | Concession: $8 | Child: $4.50 | Family: $25 (2 adults & up to 5 children) Groups of more than 10 people: 10%discount, bookings essential
School Groups: $3.00 per student, bookings essential

Friday Fotos – Moon Lantern Festival

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The Moon Lantern Festival is held as part of the annual OzAsia Festival which takes place every spring in Adelaide, Australia under the direction of the Adelaide Festival Centre. The OzAsia Festival celebrates the diversity of Asian life – from the Indian subcontinent, to Japan, China and Korea, and South-East Asia and Indonesia (and a multitude of places in between).

The OzAsia Festival and the Moon Lantern Festival are great examples of how our communities are exploring the links between Australia and our neighbours in the Asian region.

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The Moon Lantern Festival takes place each year when the moon shines brightest – at the time of the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. This festival celebrates the South-East Asian belief that the moon provides positive influences over the earth during this time of the year.

The Festival brings together families to enjoy the beauty of the moon, eat moon cakes, sing songs about the moon and take pleasure in each other’s company to celebrate this special event.

For Australia, the countries of the Asian region are of critical importance. They are our closest neighbours and major trading partners. Their rich traditional and contemporary cultures provide opportunities for our social, creative and intellectual development.

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The Moon Lantern Festival is celebrated by many Asian cultures including Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotians, Cambodians, Koreans, Japanese, Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans. For many Asian cultures, the Moon Lantern Festival is the most important date in the second half of the lunar calendar and has been celebrated for thousands of years.

In Australia ‘mid autumn’ is early spring, so the first full moon of the new season is a important time, when winter is behind us and the energy of summer is on the horizon. People celebrate the beauty of the moon at public celebrations across Australia, as well as in backyards, with lanterns and moon cakes.

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In Vietnam the Moon Lantern Festival is one of the most popular family holidays, while in Korea the festival occurs during the harvest season when Korean families thank their ancestors for providing them with rice and fruits. The Japanese too celebrate the full moon in September, admiring the moons beauty and praying for a good rice harvest.

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And yes, despite a day of clouds and overcast skies, the full moon did make an appearance right on queue, soon after the sun set in the west and the Moon Lantern Festival got underway.

-o0o-

Things You Discover Walking - Vertical Carpet

Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990

Stephen Killick's 1990 work, Vertical Carpet (hardwood, industrial resin, 230 x 440 x 20 cm), graces the exterior wall of the Adelaide Festival Centre close to the main entrance.

Close up of Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990

A plaque attached to the wall close to the work states: The three central figures in this allegorical relief sculpture are intended to symbolise technology, money and innocence, which the artist regards as the controlling influences in contemporary society. Killick stated that the wider meaning of the tableau is deliberately enigmatic and open to individual interpretation, intended to have infinite readings. The figures assume attitudes that are readily identifiable, but their relationship to each other and the scene as a whole is affected and determined by the course of history.

The work was commissioned by the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust in 1990. Assisted by the Art for Public Places Program of the South Australian Government.

Close up of Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990

Stephen Killick was born in London in 1947, and came to Australia in 1952.

This post is another in an occasional series of entries under the general theme: Things You Discover Walking. The premise behind the series is that you never know what might be just around the corner from your home, place of work, or favourite attraction, and the only way you might discover them is if you get out of your car and start walking.

-o0o-



Eating Vegetarian or Vegan in Adelaide

Renae Melnyk from London, England has generously provided a bunch of vegetarian and vegan eating spots around Adelaide for those visitors and locals who have made the commitment to this type of fare.

Renae writes: I find that the best places are usually the places that aren’t listed on Happy Cow – the places that aren’t vegetarian/vegan but have options. Here is my locals guide to being vegan in Adelaide!

Thanks to Renae for posting this information to the Adelaide Couchsurfers forum. I’m sure it will be much appreciated. Here are her recommendations.

Breakfast/Brunch

Hawker Street Café
- 22 Hawker Street, Bowden: beautiful café with a great community vibe and cute outside setting out the back. Wonderful coffee with option of organic soy milk. Do a wonderful vegan or vegetarian big breakfast, plus the crew working there are wonderful/total babes. Warning though, kitchen closes at 1:30pm on weekends, so don’t sleep in too late! Make sure you try the house made baked beans on the weekend!

Queen Street Café
– Elizabeth Street, Croydon: gorgeous, bustling café in a cool little suburb. Great coffee, good vegetarian options. Vegans, ask for the ‘Lewis special’ or go the clay pot beans sans egg. A tad pricey. Soy pot of chai is a definite winner.

Brown Dog Café
– Goodwood Road, Goodwood: The BEST little courtyard out the back to laze in on a Sunday morning! Vegetarian breaky that can be made vegan on request – yum!

Nano to go
– Ebenezer place, CBD: bust, trendy café just off Rundle Street. Good vego options, good coffee, vegans go for the mixed bruschetta made vegan.

Bliss Organic Garden Café
– 7 Compton Street, City: Good food and a nice setting, however the owners are not very nice to their staff and have some whack ideals, so I tend to avoid this place. If going for breaky try the tofu scramble, pancakes or the Bliss Big Breakfast. Pretty pricey though and service can be very slow. All vegan.

Lunch

Thea
– Gawler Place, CBD: A wonderful haven to escape the city rush! Mostly vegan menu. Make sure you try a flavoured iced tea – my favourites are grape or grapefruit. Best dishes are Thea cold noodles (vegan, but not specified so on the menu as the noodles used state “may contain traces of egg”), crispy Hainan rice (get a side of peanut sauce to go with) and sweet and sour thing. Get a side of yam samosas too, yum!! Open Mon-Fri., 11-4 and Friday nights.

Vego n Lovin’ It
–Rundle Street, CBD: The BEST burgers! My favourite is the Mexican with added cucumber and avocado. Make sure you try the smoothies too! Apricot mixed with chocolate is AMAZING! Can be hard to find, it is upstairs through a small yellow doorway, look up for the mosaic sign. Can be busy. All vegan. Only open Mon-Fri., 11-3.

Zen House
– Bent Street, CBD (Just off Rundle st): Mock meat dishes and a wide variety of teas. Favourites are vegan SFC burger with satay sauce, mee goreng and cold salad noodles. Open for lunch and dinner most days.

Burp Burritos
– Hindley Street, CBD: Vegan and vego burritos or tacos. I love the el vegan burrito with mango and corn salsa. Mmm!

Also
Vegetarian Garden, Renaissance Arcade, just off Rundle Mall: You MUST try the Laksa here! Cheap and tasty!

Bent Street, CBD (Just off Rundle St): Mock meat dishes and a wide variety of teas. Favourites are vegan SFC burger with satay sauce, mee goreng and cold salad noodles. Open for lunch and dinner most days.

Click images to purchase directly via Amazon.Com

Dinner

Wah Hing
– Gouger Street, CBD: Asian restaurant with vegetarian /vegan options. Best dishes are salt and pepper eggplant (a MUST try), salt and pepper tofu and BBC (bean curd, broad bean and Chinese chutney). Good for a cheap dinner with friends!

Goodlife Organic Pizza
– various locations, Glenelg, Hutt Street CBD and O’Connell St., Nth Adelaide: Two vegan options; a roast veg pizza and a mushroom pizza, ask for it made vegan. The garlic bread is sooo yummy and also vegan. A tad pricey, but worth it.

Falafel House
– Hindley St, CBD: good for take away quick snack/dinner. The falafel burger is only 5 bucks and tasty as!

Café Michael 2
– Rundle St, CBD: The best Thai food in Adelaide. Ask the waiting staff and they’ll be happy to let you know what can be made vegan. The Tom Yum soup is really, really good.

Also
Burger It: O’Connell St, North Adelaide has several vegetarian burgers with vegan options. Chips are vegan. Try with the relish or satay sauce.

Dessert

Eggless
– Goodwood Road, Goodwood: Open Weds-Sun from 8pm. Make sure you get here early or else you’ll have to wait for a table as it gets quite busy! Menu changes every month and generally half of the menu is vegan or can be made vegan. Good selection of drinks and a few savouries as well.

Chocolate Bean
– Union St, CBD (just off Rundle St): Great selection of hot and cold chocolate drinks with a wonderful variety of flavours (e.g. gingerbread, coconut, caramel) which can all be made vegan. Often have vegan chocolate truffles. Good selection of vegan cupcakes, a vegan peanut butter cheesecake, and my favourite – choc hazelnut praline mousse cake. Yumm!

Dragonfly Bar
–Victoria Square, CBD: Not a dessert place as such, but a gorgeous little cocktail bar with clearly labelled vegan bar snacks like edamame!

Coffee

Bar 9
– Glen Osmond Road: a ten minute bus ride from town, but well worth it! The coffee here is just amazing!

– Coffee Branch
Leigh St, CBD (just off Hindley Street). Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing.

Also: Hawker Street Café/Queen St Café (see Breakfast/Brunch above).

-o0o-

Here is a small selection of Vegetarian cookbooks if you want to explore this type of cooking - and eating further.

Click images to purchase directly via Amazon.Com

Spring Down Under



Semaphore Jetty at Sunset

Wow. September already.

Spring is in the air, down under, and as I write this it is a beautiful day in Adelaide, Australia, where right now, I am house sitting for a member of my extended family who lives close to Semaphore Beach.

With the prospect of warmer weather and summer just a few more months away, my thoughts are turning more and more to travel.

In January I will spend five weeks house sitting again in Melbourne which coincidentally, has just been voted the most liveable city in the world – according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Survey of 140 cities. Three other Australian cities (Sydney, Adelaide and Perth), have also made it into the survey’s top ten. Canada has three cities in the top ten list, which gives the two countries a total of seven of the ten most liveable cities in the world.

Never the less, despite the fact that Australians are spoilt for choice when it comes to great cities and panoramic vistas, I am planning to head overseas on my third extended journey towards the end of April next year. Once again I’ll travel to Europe and the United States. I’m especially hoping I will be able to apartment sit for the same person I house and cat sat for last summer. The prospect of spending another two months in New York City fills me with great anticipation, as you might expect.

I just hope the Australian dollar continues to stay high on the foreign exchange rates over the next twelve months.

-o0o-

Things You Discover Walking – Nellie’s Garden

General view of Mitcham Railway Station

Just around the corner from home is my local train station. Mitcham railway station is one of a number of stops on the Belair line. The station opened in March 1883, and over the years has played a major role in the South Australian rail system.

Modern commuter train speeding through Mitcham station

Mural painted on side of station building

For example: the "Melbourne Express" (now The Overland) used to stop at Mitcham; and the station once operated as a parcel shipping depot. During World War I, the station served as a pick-up and drop-off point for troops stationed at the Mitcham Military Camp, and finally, the railway enabled huge quantities of stone to be moved from nearby Mitcham quarries, including much of that needed for the construction of the Outer Harbour breakwater in the early 1900s.

But that’s not what this blog post is about.

This post is about Nellie’s Garden.

Detailed view of station building and mural

Alongside the heritage buildings that compose the Mitcham railway station is a delightful area of well maintained landscaped garden, known as Nellie's Garden.

General view of station building and murals

The garden is named in honour of Nellie Iris Ellis (1920-1983) who established the garden during the 1950s and 1960s. Mrs Ellis was the wife of Bob Ellis, a former stationmaster.

General view of Nellie’s Garden

General view of Nellie’s Garden

The Garden features huge old trees, many large camellias and other shrubs as well as some native species. Nellie died in 1983 and her ashes were buried here. At the northern end of the garden a plaque commemorates her association with the garden which is maintained by a volunteer group supported by the City of Mitcham.

Plaque commemorating the life and legacy of Nellie Iris Ellis

Autumn colours in Nellie’s Garden

Old station outhouse or ‘dunny’ as we like to call them in Australia.

Another in my occasional series of Things You Discover Walking posts. You never know what you will discover in your local neighborhood or town when you get out of your car or subway line and take to the streets - walking. Try it yourself one day. You may be surprised at what you find just around the corner.

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