A Day Out in Adelaide

Enjoying the city without going broke

There is really only one place that is worth staying in Adelaide, and that is Hostel 109. Located just blocks away from Rundle Mall, Hostel 109 has what you would expect and a little bit more. And like the rest of Adelaide,it has charm, which obviously comes from the great people who run it. Do yourself a favor and book in advance because rooms sell out often.

So to begin, you can easily walk from Hostel 109 to the Central Market for breakfast. Specifically, the Jensens Big Breakfast. Bacon meets Eggs and has a party with mushrooms and tomato while hashing a brown. This is The Don of breakfasts for less than $10.

 

After you waste some time looking around there, you can check out Adelaide's Chinatown right next door. The Dumpling King has meals that are filling for about $8. Afterwards make your way via Rundle Mall up to North Terrace.

Right next to the University on North Terrace you have the South Australia Museum, The Art Gallery and the Migration Museum and access to all three is free. The South Australia Museum has a great opportunity to learn about Aboriginal history with the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, a permanent exhibit that showcases 40,000 years of Aboriginal culture in Australia.

Working your way East, you will find yourself at the South Australian Botanic Gardens for a leisurely stroll. Access is free and the grounds are great for photos or a picnic. Or on this overcast day it also providedshelter from the rain.

Thirsty? Time for a drink. Go to have some drinks, watch live music and grab a bite to eat. To the east of Rundle Street Mall you can find a concentration of bars and restaurants lining the sidewalks. Actually, all over the city you can find great places to have a drink that have outside seating and great beers on tap.

The greatest part of Adelaide actually is the abundance of live entertainment. They have festivals and concerts going on year round, so it's easy to plan your trip. More notable festivals and events include Clipsal 500 (just to bring out the red neck in you), Adelaide's International Film Festival and The Fringe Festival.

The Fringe Festival in Adelaide is the second biggest Fringe after Edinburgh. Happening in late February and early March you have about 3 weeks of live theatre, comedy and music acts. On this particular year we only had time for one show which was called Sexy Time.
My Review: Very funny.

On your way back to Hostel 109, stop in at the newly opened bar and nightclub called Heaven. We stopped in based on the fact that we could here live music from the sidewalk on a Tuesday night combined with the fact its an old Church. Normally this wouldn't be my scene, but I made a special exception for a bit of variety.

With a max capacity of over 2,000 drunkards, this place is huge. There is an upstairs, a downstairs, a patio, and a VIP room. I met the owner and he is doing good things with this club. Working to be the prime 7 night per week live music venue, he had a Reggae/Roots band performing for just the 7 people in attendance.

Adelaide is a laid back, unpretentious, managable and entertaining city. I can say with the utmost confidence that Adelaide is the Best City in Australia so Far.