I pass judgement on thee

Parrot looking birds!
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So, Adelaide is one of those places that I just can’t seem to get into. It is quiet, and fairly small, which is alright in its own way. I mean, I sat next to the river today and just watched the world go by, for about an hour or so. But I’ll tell you what is weird – everything seems to shut down at the weekend, the exact opposite of what you would expect. Let me explain.

I was planning on visiting two places today – the Adelaide Gaol (got a theme going) and the Migration Museum. Both would be interesting. However, the gaol doesn’t open on a Saturday!!!! And neither does the Museum!!! I mean, come on, if you want to get people in, you don’t just open in the week, you open at the weekends as well, more so Saturday because it’s just the day to go to town, the world over!

Cool fountain.
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So yeah, that annoyed me somewhat. And man do my feet hurt. I’ve been walking everywhere – having mastered every form of public transport besides buses, I feel unable to break down the bus barrier… I have no idea why – and it does start to take its toll. Still, on the upside, it is probably helping burn off all the excess calories I’m sure I must be taking in.

Well, tomorrow is Sunday, so not much will happen I’m sure. And I’ve got to pack for the train back to Melbourne on Monday – have got to be at the station for 0700! Not happy! So, I think I should come to my conclusions on Adelaide now.

For a city that is meant to be a capital of a state of Australia, it is too quiet. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I don’t think it works for me. Like I said before, this is a city whose identity is not clear. It’s not quite a major city, and yet it isn’t a town either. I can deal with the two extremes – Sydney, for example, is a major city, and I loved it – but not with the middle ground. I don’t think it will be a place I’ll visit again in a hurry – I’ll go to Sydney or Melbourne, where there is always so much going on. Oh, and one final thing – Adelaide is the city of churches, that is the name it gives itself (along with the festival city) – this makes me uncomfortable. I don’t mind people believing in what they believe in, but please, don’t try and ram it down my throat. I suspect that I’m here at the wrong time of year as well – it is, after all, the dead of winter here in Australia, so festivity is not high on their list of priorities. Shame, I wonder what it’s like in the summer…