Adelaide - Part 2

Adelaide Zoo - Buffet dinner - North Terrace Walk

Here is the follow up post to our short weekend trip to Adelaide. Adelaide is a small city in comparison to Sydney and Melbourne. Not half as noisy and maybe just slightly louder than Canberra. If you are in the city, the best way to travel around is by bus or tram. There is a free city circle bus and a free city 'terrace to terrace' tram. Utilising both these modes of transport will basically get you anywhere in the city. Check out the Adelaide Metro webpage for details of stops. There is another free bus service which is called the Green bus line and Red bus line. We discovered these buses completedly by accident and through sheer curiosity. It was this bus that got us closest to the Adelaide Zoo.

Adelaide Tram

Since our trip was a short one, we decided to pop into the Adelaide Zoo for a quick afteroon walkaround. We didn't expect much from the zoo so the excursion turned out to be rather enjoyable. The higher the expectation the greater the let down right? :) Don't worry, I don't live my life with that principle. Only when it comes to zoos. Heh.

My one gripe about the zoo..... we had to pay AUD 1 for the zoo map after paying for AUD 22 each for our entry tickets. Why couldn't the map be complimentary?

Our AUD 1 map

What visit to the zoo is complete without pictures of the animals?

Wallaby


Giraffes

Oh and I loved the koala we saw at the zoo. From what I know about koalas, they are very sedentary animals, spending most hours asleep and choosing to move from gum tree to gum tree only when feeding. The little fella we saw at the zoo was the complete opposite, jumping from branch to branch. I was very much captivated by this furry grey creature. So cute!!

So adorable

Koala on the move

The next animal reminded me of my Girl Guide days. Back then I didn't know this song originated from Australia although the name of the bird is a dead giveaway. Obviously 1+1 didn't equal 2 to me then. Haha.

"Kookabura sits on the old gum tree.. Merry merry king of the bush is he... Laugh, kookabura laugh... Kookabura gay your life must be"

Kookabura

Macaw feeding show

At the Sumatran Tiger viewing point. The woodwork behind me is meant to be a huge 'Congkak' - a Malaysian game

The proud peacock

The grumpy white bird - I don't know the species!

Malaysian Tapir! It came from where I came from!

I love meerkats. Doesn't he look like a loyal sentry on the watch out for predators to you?

After our zoo visit we opted to take a long stroll back to our hotel versus taking the bus. On the way back we stopped by Rundle Street Mall for a light bite before our big meal later in the evening.

Rundle Street Mall

Earlier that day we noticed that the cafe at the hotel serves a scrumptious seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. Without much thought, Alex and I jumped at the idea of having our dinner there that night. We made our reservations and figured that after our visit to the zoo, we would have burned off sufficient calories to warrant/justify a really big meal :)

The tempting appetizers

Pork roasts, smoked salmon, egg salad, grilled vegetables

Cold cuts, fresh chilled prawns

I didn't take pictures of the hot food nor of the desserts. I did however take pictures of the artwork hanging on the walls. Funny button inspired things.

Artwork across the restaurant

Artwork near our table

North Terrace is a long road with plenty of old buildings lining the street. Many of Adelaide's monuments line this street as well. Even Myers is located in a nice building with massive roman columns commonly seen in old buildings.

Myers

Sacrifice Statue - To remember those who fell in the First World War

In front of Sacrifice Statue

This is the statue of King Edward VII located in front of the Library of South Australia

Interesting sculpture in front of the library. I don't quite know what it's meant to resemble. It has water running down the sides hence the reflective surface

Alex attempting to draw water from the water spout.

This is the University of Adelaide. Beautiful buildings on its campus.

Scots Uniting Church building

At the time of this post, this building slips my mind. I can't remember what it is!

This is the University of South Australia. Once again fantastic buildings.

Road sign showing directions to various places on interest from North Terrace.

On our next visit to Adelaide we will most likely be hiring a car, driving down to Glenelg (where the beach and factory outlet shopping is) and also taking a nice tour of the wineries that South Australia is so well known for. This weekend though short, gave us a nice getaway that we very much enjoyed.

Alex waiting with our luggage for our shuttle to the airport

cheryl

One Year On - the guys perspective

Celebrate good times... Come on! :-)

It has been a year. A year since I woke up on a cold Canberra morning to the realisation that my life would be changed. Forever. The day was quite hectic. From getting to the chapel on time to walking down the aisle after the ceremony. Then came the photo session on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin before settling down for lunch at The Deck restaurant.

That very night we the Lui and Yu family celebrated over a dinner in Woden and really let our hair down (so to speak), relaxing for the first time over 24hours. It had to be an early night because the show was just beginning with two more celebrations to coordinate. We were due to fly to Penang early the next morning.

It was an amazing day. From the minute the bride walked down the aisle, I realised that my life would be changed forever. It has. As our minister in Canberra put it, Cheryl and I got to know each other so much better as husband and wife. I know her weaknesses and she knows mine. She knows when to nudge me to stop talking and I know when .......... well I know when she is in need of a holiday. :P

It's been an amazing year. We spent the night watching video recordings of our wedding and that brought back some nice memories!

To everyone who took part in our celebrations a year ago today, THANK YOU. We look forward to meeting up with family and friends again in 24 days!

Alex.

Son Notre 1er Anniversaire de Mariage!

A year ago today....

A year has passed ever so quickly. Looking back on the year, we thank God that we have been blessed with so much. There is so much to look forward to and we can only wait to see what is in store for us.

With this year being our first anniversary, we decided to do something simple yet meaningful. Instead of having an fancy dinner out, we decided to have a nice, laid back late lunch, followed by a home screening of our church wedding and wedding dinner recording to remember the very special day we became husband and wife.

We had our late lunch at MyCafe, a modern Australian cafe located at the trendy dining district, Manuka. Alex had the Big Breakfast - scrambled eggs, buttered toast, bacon strips, tomatoes, pan fried sausages and wild mushrooms. I had the Wagner - turkey breast on a bed of salad leaves and tomatoes served on a toasted foccacia with guacamole, cranberry jam and chips on the side.

MyCafe - alfresco section

The Big Breakfast

The Wagner

We didn't hire professional videographers for our wedding but with thanks to our impromptu videographers, we have moving pictures of our big day.

Impromptu videographer#1 - Deborah

Impromptu videographer#2 - Cousin Ricky

Till this day we have not viewed the recordings. So tonight will be the first time we get to see what everyone else saw.

To add a little sparkle to our 'stay at home' anniversary, we bought a bottle of Moet & Chandon to toast to our first year together and the many more years to come.

The hubby was extra sweet and did the usual 'buy flowers for the wife' repertoire :) This makes it the 4th flower arrangement from dear ol' hubby this year.

Apparently white roses weren't available so light yellow roses had to make do instead. The wife was pleasantly surprised to receive flowers .... :)

cheryl

Adelaide - Part 1

Dinner with Deborah - Rundle Street Mall - Central Market

A week ago today (Friday 26th June) we were in Adelaide having yet another relaxing holiday away from Canberra. If you have been frequently visiting this blog, it would seem like we often go away on holidays... :) Before you think money grows on trees in our garden, not that we have one but figuratively speaking... I must say that it doesn't and we afford these trips because of the fantastic deals we manage to secure for our flights which make the trip worth making. We often travel on free flights, 1 dollar flights - with all tax included or very cheap flights. I can't shed any light on these flights because navigating flights is not my forte but Alex's hence only he can divulge the secrets. A separate entry on this later maybe?

This time our short weekend away was to Adelaide and it was a good time for the two of us. Adelaide is very different from other Australian cities. I have only recently been told that while Australia was a land of convicts in the past, Adelaide was the only city where no convict was allowed to reside. Entry was only for the upper echelons of society. Hence the beautiful buildings and classy heritage of this small city.

Pictures...

The green green grass of Adelaide - I took this shot because most of the time Canberra is brown. Green is my favourite color.

Our hotel room at the Stamford Plaza

The Stamford Plaza is a great place to stay in Adelaide. It is located at North Terrace which is a main road where heritage buildings line the street and it is a short walk away from Rundle Street Mall, the Botanical Gardens, the Adelaide Zoo and Central Market. Stamford Plaza is a 5 star hotel and if you would like to go cheaper, there is the Mercure Grosvenor further down the street which is a 4 star joint.

We met up with Deborah for dinner. She is an old friend from Penang who was also my very able 'last minute' videographer at our wedding-hopefully she can forgive us soon for putting her in that position without prior warning :p This dinner too was very last minute. Haha... I wonder why everything I plan with Deborah in it is always last minute?

Deborah and I

Hubby and I

Following morning we walked to Rundle Street Mall. This is like the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane and the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney.

Rundle Street Mall

Metallic ball sculpture in the middle of the street mall.

We then walked to the Central Market. I love love love the Central Market. It could have been the atmosphere, the people or the variety of goods sold at the market but it really made its mark on me and I will definitely return to this place on my next visit. If you plan on visiting Adelaide anytime soon, I suggest having your breakfast there. There are plenty of breakfast stalls that serve great looking food for brekkie within the building. Do go early to avoid the crowds though.

One of the breakfast stalls. Very casual setting yet very enticing.

Some of the stalls had interesting names. The names are outrightly direct about the goods they sell yet it was appealing and it captured my attention. I would so buy goods from these shops just based solely on their name. Would you? Here are some shots of them.

DOUGH - selling bread

THE SMELLY CHEESE - selling cheese of course

OLD LOLLY SHOP - selling lollies

The Central Market only sells food. The place had a great vibe and it showed a fantastic display of fresh South Australian produce. Made me wish I stayed in Adelaide. Great ingredients to work with to broaden my culinary prowess. Haha.. spoken like a true food afficionado. Oh greedy me..

A shot from above to try and capture what I saw

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Huge array of cheese - blue, brie, cheddar, truffle infused...etc

More of CHEESE

A shot of lovely baked treats

More to come in Adelaide Part 2. I didnt want to inundate you with too many pictures in one hit :)

cheryl