Today marked the start of the Chinese New Year; we are now in the Year of the Pig. We have been warned by friends who’ve traveled here at this time of the year and by several Australians to expect big crowds of vacationing Chinese, but we haven’t seen that here in Adelaide.
We kicked off the new year by turning in our rental car after about 800 miles of driving. We were having trouble finding the Hertz office, tucked away on a little side street in the heart of the central business district. I finally pulled over into a parking space. I noticed a parking enforcement officer nearby (well I can’t very well call him a meter maid). Roslyn called out to him for help.
“We’re lost! We’re trying to get to the Hertz office on Blyth Street, but we can’t find it and we’re driving around in circles,” she explained.
“What does it cost to hire a car for a drive to Melbourne? I’ve been thinking of doing that,” he said. He had a job to do, but he had as much time as we needed to be friendly and helpful.
After a nice chat about vacation plans, he finally got down the going over the map with us. We were only a few blocks away. He showed us exactly how to get there. Honestly, if Roslyn had asked him to ride with us just to make sure we got there, I think he would have done so gladly.
Our next adventure in this fair city was at the Adelaide Central Market.
This large enclosed space in the heart of the city is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year. Some of the vendors in market have been there for a hundred years. Just about anything you can eat or drink is there. That includes some foods you might not want to eat.
As luck would have it, we were at the Central Market not only on the start of the Chinese New Year, but also on World Nutella Day. The market was helping to host Nutalla Palooza, which included crepes made with Nutella and one of several fruits of your choice. Roslyn went with banana.
Not being a particular Nutella fan, I went to one of the bakery stalls and had a custard-filled almond croissant. We also bought two large muffins for our breakfast tomorrow (we’re getting a very early start and will miss the free breakfast here in the hotel).
When we left the market, we decided to try the free tram. We got on, and started talking about where we might get off. A grizzled fellow with the thick beard and thicker Australia accent asked where we were from.
“Atlanta, Georgia,” I said.
He nodded.
“Figured we’d just go about the city and see what we could see,” I continued.
“That’s what you do when you travel,” he affirmed.
The tram stopped and we decided to get off.
“Good on ya’s,” was his cheerful benediction.
We walked and walked through this beautiful city, which is home to three-quarters of this state’s population. If you’re wondering if it was named for someone (I was), it is. When the city was established in 1836, William IV was England’s king. His wife, the queen consort, was named Adelaide. The king does have a major street named in his honor.
While strolling around our hotel neighborhood yesterday, I saw bunches of rainbow lorikeets eating leaves and nuts in trees lining one of the streets. I went back there today, with my camera.
To see these amazingly colorful birds congregating the way we’d see cardinals or blackbirds in Atlanta just blew my mind.
It was getting near time for dinner. The obvious choice: Chinese. The House of Chow was just a few blocks away. It’s a lovely, moderately priced and apparently very popular restaurant. There weren’t many Asians dining there,which normally would be a red flag. But the food was very good. We shared scallops with snow peas and chicken with cashews.
Roslyn asked our—need I say it?—very friendly server what the Year of the Pig signified. She brought us a few laminated sheets detailing the Year of the Pig and want it meant for people born in the years of other animals. I’m a Year of the Snake guy. The laminated sheet said that in the Year of the Pig, I should smile, breathe and go slowly. I don’t usually put much stock in astrology and the like, but those sound to me like words to live by.