I will say up front that this day was a disappointment for both of us. We should have booked a tour of the Barossa Valley, which is the renowned wine growing and making area in Australia. Instead, as everyone's plans for the day morphed, we found ourselves without a plan - never a good idea, especially in a big city.
Our ship had been rocking and rolling quite a bit yesterday, as the seas had some big swells. We arrived to calmer waters at 10 a.m. up the Torrens River to the industrial container port, where we took a shuttle bus for 45 minutes. The drive through Port Adelaide caught us by surprise, as we had heard that people thought Adelaide so beautiful. What we saw was a depressed area of unattractive tract housing, parched lawns, and vacant commercial space. Once we reached Adelaide proper, the architecture changed greatly, and the Victorian buildings were much more attractive. The bus dropped us at The Rundle Street Mall - the largest mall in Australia. It's not really a mall, just a street open only to pedestrians with little alleys going off to all the shops - over 700 in all.
We spent an hour walking to the Visitors Centre, then back where we had come from to a Travel Agent, hoping to get on a Barossa wine tour, only to be disappointed that they were sold out. The hop on hop off bus, had no commentary, and so it didn't appeal, and Barry had no appetite for shopping. So he went back to the ship and I stayed, as I had a few things I was looking for. After another hour or so, I bumped into my friends, Karen and Leslie, which we all deemed to be miraculous given the size of this shopping area.
We had some fun, in a beauty product place, where we all had things we needed, and then we decided to head back to the ship. Whenever we are in a big port till late at night, the ship throws a big party in the Lido with musical entertainment. We didn't feel like lining up for the buffet barbecue, so we ate in the dining room, then went to the Lido and had a great evening with friends, music and a glass of wine.
What did I learn? It was 40 degrees F last week, which explains the parched look of the parks; Everyone has solar panels on their roofs; the people are extremely welcoming, and never leave things to chance when you are visiting a large city… at least have a plan.
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