This has to be the most busy day of my trip – having to go to the city for a few hours. Common, get some car fumes into my lungs. I have to prepare for Sydney.
One can only do so many beach walks at Glenelg. So I decided that I will see the real world and visit the Central Market (again), North Terrace and Rundle Mall.
The tram starts near where I live. No rush. There is one every 8 minutes. At 9.30am, you only find oldies (sorry, senior citizens) on the tram.
What is a tram? It runs on a track like a train. It looks like a train, but is not called a train. Adelaide is pretty flat, so it suits the tram. It goes slowly and makes about 18 stops before it reaches the city. It even stopped for window cleaning. The conductor goes around asking “are you alright?” instead of “show me your ticket”. In Sydney, they go around in threes and you show your ticket before they ask you.
This is Adelaide. I thought to myself, if it is too slow for you, go to Sydney.
On the way, you see little cottages on small blocks of land. Expectations and needs of inhabitants were more modest in the early days. Now homeowners are prone to build McMansions of a few hundred square metres.
After 24 patient minutes, I arrived at Adelaide, city of churches.
North Terrace has to be the most pretty street in Australia. On one side, you see older, character buildings – the train station, the Casino, State Parliament, Government House, State Library, the Museum of South Australia, the Art Gallery, the University of Adelaide and the Adelaide Hospital. On the other side is the assortment of old and new buildings. The street is wide and there is a spacious terrace where you can stroll or sit and enjoy the space.
The North Terrace slopes gently down to the Torrens River. Bordered by green banks, it reminds me of Oxford/Cambridge.
In fact, this place is the beautiful campus of the University of Adelaide. I can imagine the students having their lunch break by the banks of the Torrens. When I am retired, I should spend a few months here and register to study a subject at the University, perhaps in the humanities area. Imagine coming to lectures late, falling asleep, participating in a student demonstration? That would be quite nice.
Rundle Mall is a really a street that has been turned into a pedestrians mall, lined by retailers. It is the “shop till you drop” paradise of Adelaide. Here you get all the well known retailers that you will find in any city in Australia..
Rundle Mall extends into Hindley Street. I was amazed by the number of food establishments on this stretch. There must be demand not only from the city workers, but from the many students in high rise accommodation in the area.
I made a short visit to the Art Gallery, at the same speed as when I go into a supermarket – which is very fast. There was one painting that caught my untrained eye – Evening Shadows, Backwater of the Murray” by HJ Johnstone, oil on canvas circa 1880. It stood out from the rest on the same wall. What impressed me was the fact that the artist captured the colour of the evening so well. Apparently, this painting is the most popular piece in the museum. I searched for it on the internet. Have a look. “Control and click” the link http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId%20=192
Interestingly, quiet a few of the artists lived in Australia for a while and returned to England. Even in those days, people were coming and returning. It was not a one way ticket.
Deceased singers like Elvis and John Lennon have songs that live on after their death, and they continue to earn royalties and a following of imitators and fans. With artists, their paintings and fame live on for even longer, and appreciate more with time. Their paintings hang in nice majestic buildings and expensive homes. There is no need to build a monument to honour Rembrandt, Picasso or Monet.
Having done my cultural bit and filled my lungs with city air, I hastened to catch the slow tram back to seaside Glenelg.
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