Back to Australia October 2014 | Adelaide

It's good to be back. Don't ask why I am in Adelaide--why this city is on what is already a long trip to Alice Springs from Edmonton. But I loved it when Margaret and I came here in 2010 and today has affirmed why. It's the food! And the weather. It's a glorious 29 today, and the air is clean, as are the streets. It's a young city I think, and I am nestled into the Franklin Boutique Hotel on Franklin street, just a few minutes from Flinders University (the co-host of the conference I am headed to in Uluru), Victoria Square, the City Market (my priority stop today), and the Rundle Mall (think Stevens Avenue Mall in Calgary or Pacific Avenue without traffic not WEM).

The hotel. It sounded perfect and it is, almost.

 Obviously I like the location--across from the bus depot where the taxis queue up and the proximity to everything. After nearly 24 hours of travel I appreciated the welcome from the host/ bartender (there's your first clue) and his offer of a flat white. I plastered myself with sunscreen and with hat in hand headed for the mall in search of ...

On Tuesday, I decided I didn't have anything warm packed, just in case, and it was cooler, and I was thinking about coming home to November temps and not having set aside anything warm and comfy to travel in,  I headed to lulu lemon. See-through stretch pants are just my style, right? But when they didn't have my size and colour she offered to order them in, but of course--ever the one to leave things to the last minute--that wasn't going to work, because I was leaving THE NEXT DAY. You know where this is going, right? Yep, we just happen to have a store in Adelaide, but, with deep regret, she was unable to check the stock. But she did write down the address for me--just a block off the Rundle Mall--so that's where I headed first today. Rundle Mall has all the usual shops: lush, 9 west, Pandora, pretty much what you can find in any city these days. And no, they didn't have my size and colour, but I did have a fun conversation with a guy who worked in Canmore last winter, and just came back to Adelaide  a few months ago.  There is only one marketplace; labour is mobile.

The Franklin Boutique Hotel is also the Franklin Boutique Hotel and Public House, so the bar was full and noisy last night. But it all shuts down early, so except for needing to go out to eat to somewhere a bit quieter, it was perfect. They supply earplugs, and "Frank's gift"--a bag of candy, popcorn and other treats, a Nepresso of course, iPod dock, and lots of wall plugs to recharge electronics. It's quaint in a nice way, and handy.

I found dinner at a small cafe with a huge outdoor patio, packed to the max, and enjoyed a Clare Valley pinot gris with no nasty aftertaste, some fresh asparagus with absolutely no bitterness, olive oil from McLaren Vale (who knew!), local smoked trout, a perfectly toasted gluten free bread (with the oil of course). That's not all, but the best of the best. The party in the bar was full on when I got back to my hotel room but no problem. With so little sleep over the trip, I plugged in my iPod, turned up the volume, and drowned them out!

Gotta go. My trip to the public library next but won't have connectivity again for a couple of days I think.  And no ability to upload photos.