Easter proper and otherwise

For the last few years we have started Easter on the Wednesday.  Being fiends for tradition, we did so again even though it involved me driving through the city in the early hours.  I left Mum's at 0600 and arrived in West Beach at 0630 having had a leisurely drive up North Terrace with scarcely a car in sight.  I loitered outside Pearl's until it was closer to my agreed arrival time, and then we shot through to loiter in the Ikea car park awaiting Lady Jayne's 'ready and waiting' txt.  Simultaneously, Lady Jayne was waiting with her bags outside the terminal for her scheduled airline ETA, her plane having landed super early.  We are all too too polite.  A short jaunt to Pearl's to unload and we were off to the city on the Glenelg tram.  It was after 9am by now so we could travel free as seniors.  Yippee!

We alighted in Victoria Square for the market and a dozen oysters to fuel us. It is difficult to see in the above photo (I was too busy eating oysters to move closer) but that strange contraption on the Providore counter was some sort of oozy chocolate foutain.  But we managed to resist.  Even chocolate can't surpass the tangy ocean hit that comes with a fresh oyster.  Brimming with zinc we made our way west to find the church in which Lady Jayne's forbears were married wayback.

It is surrounded by community gardens, op shop and offices of not-for-profit organisations.  The minister was charming as was the invocation to dance.

The church was destroyed by fire and has been rebuilt since the wedding of Lady J's great grandparents.  The windows were modern and beautifully done.  The photo below was supposed to showcase them but you'll have to content yourself with the woodwork instead.

We then sought out the mosque just to keep things in balance.  I was intrigued by the yarn bombed parking sign outside.

We wandered around without seeing anyone, past cleansing facilities and outdoor prayer spaces.

Having hedged our bets we explored this side of the city that was largely unknown to us.  Then down a part of King William Street far more westerly than we had ventured before.  We passed many a groovy little cafe / eatery and finally found a pub that we all felt was just right.

  The King's Head is totally devoted to South Australian food and beverages.  We felt very cool sitting among the young things on their lunch break.  We returned to the market to stock up on fruit, cheeses and far more bread than we really needed, then trammed home again, inadvertently illegally because it was just past 3 o'clock.  It took us a while to work out why our seniors tickets weren't working.  Actually someone on the very crowded tram explained it to us so we would stop monopolising the validating machine, causing all those boarding after us to also be travelling illegally.
That evening Pearl took us to another superduper place, Plant 4 in the former Clipsal factory.  It has an amazing range of food stalls and bars.  I was delighted that there was an outdoor area where people could bring their dogs to play while their owners could eat at strategically placed tables.  Very civilised.

view of Plant 4 from upstairs

view of very happy customer with fresh coconut juice bought at a bar

Thursday we wended our way to Normanville via an almost Vietnamese-style coffee shop at Aldinga, and then The Victory, a pub I've always wanted to try for lunch.  It did not disappoint.  The food was good and the wine (of a grape variety I'd never heard of) was made from fruit of the vines at the front of the pub.

We soon made ourselves at home at Pebbles Cottage where we had a light evening meal of Adelaide Market fare, a little bit of wine, and lots of Poldark after a bracing evening walk accompanied by a cacophony of barking dogs.  Some of us enjoyed this more than others.
Good Friday we explored Normanville and environs by foot and walked to the pub for dinner.  We had a great meal there but a little sad cos there weren't many other punters, and management and staff were disappointed.

Saturday we explored the Second Valley market.

(proof)

This turned out to be a great little market, small but with good quality produce, arts and crafts.

Pearl went crazy for the metal ware, filling the car boot with treasures.  This added an extra thrill to the event because parking was confined to a very narrow road with many bends to keep you guessing when the next 4WD would come screaming along and flatten you.  We also investigated property for sale at a little hamlet opposite.  Very nice.

We checked out Second Valley beach which teemed with jaunty people.  The sea, however, was calm and clear.  In the spirit of adventure fully indulged at Easter, we tried the restaurant in the old mill.  This is a charming building with tables in the gardens or inside with lovely artwork.  The meal was exquisitely presented and we paid over $80 for food that would have fitted in a sardine can with room to spare.  Total wanky rip-off.

At Pearl's brilliant suggestion we repaired to the Surf Lifesaving Club at Normanville Beach (which, like Second Valley, is no longer a sleepy hollow) and consumed a bottle of their best bubbly on a deck with unbeatable views.

Very happy, we walked home to Pebbles for more market delicacies and Poldark.

Sunday we woke befuddled because it was April Fool's Day plus Easter Sunday plus end of daylight saving and we had dutifully put our clocks forward the night before thus robbing ourselves of 2 hours beauty sleep.  Chocolate and sugared almonds and lots of coffee did atone for this to some extent but I still can't work out which day we found the Yankalilla Cemetery above, plus visited the plant nursery and very nice Visitor Information Centre.  I do know that we set off for another lunch at The Victory on Easter Sunday, this time to rendezvous with some of Lady Jayne's rels.  We went the long way round to take in Myponga Beach which none of us could remember visiting before.  I have to mention that we happened upon Maggie Beer.  Previously we had met Simon Birmingham and daughters on the bike path to Normanville. You can't move for celebrities in these parts.
After another yummy Victory lunch, though there was a strange interlude when we discovered that  you had to go down into the cellar if you wanted to buy a bottle of red which seemed both pretentious and difficult for the less ambulatory, we were invited to Aldinga for a cup of tea and family history chat, then drove Pebblesward in the dark, a rare event for us Easterers.
Easter Monday was time to say goodbye to Pebbles.  We took a long soulful walk along Normanville Beach as we did as teenagers, though much water has passed under the bridge since then and we've gained a lot of soul.

Lady Jayne's scullery maid did a fine job of the final clean up, and possibly the bottle of red.  Then the drive to Pearl's at West Beach to pick up my car, drop Lady J at the airport to pick up a car, and back to Klemzig to start planning next year.