Home truths

Firstly, I said I went to Adelaide but this is not, strictly speaking, true.  I arrived at Adelaide Airport.  The Pearl drove me to West Beach, and after that I ricocheted between West Beach and Christies Beach.  I didn't go into the city of Adelaide at all.  And Klemzig is becoming a distant memory...

Back home, the garden had got on splendidly without me.

the Luisa Augusta being splendid

The plan is for the Luisa Augusta to grow up to the louvres on the shed while the Angel Face (in training on the left) smothers the shed.  It is a plan in progress.  It is also the view from the bathroom.

On my first Sunday back, Georgia went for an early swim at Spring Beach.  Jill PD and I met her a little later and we walked from Spring to Stapleton Beach along the cliff tops.

looking back to Springy

Stapleton

old boat winch at Stapleton

a glimpse of Maria from Stapleton

These photos were useful.  Somehow I lost my car keys.  I could use the photos to more or less retrace my steps.  To no avail, though.  The tide may have taken them by the time I returned to look for them.

Last Saturday was the biennial Flower and Craft Show which raises money for the Triabunna School.  I had helped with the setting up on the Friday in my role as treasurer and trotted along on Saturday morning to see if any help was needed.

All was in place.

And some of Her Majesty's entries were in First Place, of course.

My friend Rob had told me that the Ada Street Reserve was looking a picture with wildflowers so Georgia, Jill PD and I took a stroll.

I couldn't do the flowers justice with my photos. I have never seen so many different ones but you have to scan the ground.  Tasmanian wildflowers are so demure!

I had to return to the flower show to collect Her Majesty's, their Majesties being otherwise engaged.

So briefly, the winning blooms festooned my back doorway.

Most fortuitously, Rob also returned the two books The Floosie had given me for my birthday.  I was overloaded with books at the time but now is perfect timing.  The further development of my wildlife garden is very much on my mind as I clear away the dying spring annuals.  I'm reading this book cover to cover.  Just reading it conveys the sense of sitting comfortably in the garden in the knowledge that thousands of other life forms are with you.

Monday was another winning day.  I met Madam Cyn for lunch at The Waterfront, formerly The Clarence Hotel.

There was snow on the mountain and a new jetty which I presume is for the new ferry service.

But, best of all, T Bone Steak on the menu.  I have waited years for them to become pub food again.  It was cooked to perfection.

West Coast Living

Going to Adelaide is always about going to see Mum.  The nursing home in which she resides is on the left in the picture below.  I took the photos walking from the bus stop to the home.

note stobie poles, sure sign you're in SA

The bus and train times work well, and the views from the train are stunning.

West coast beaches have features not known on East Coast Tassie,

like graders leveling imported sand, for instance.

I stayed chez Pearl, a wise choice for she has location, location, location,

 

including a gym

and horses!  Perfect holiday resort.

Just beyond the horses you can see Harbour Town.  I have always been dismissive of factory outlets and cynical about Harbour Town but my opinion has changed.  The shops are not all under one roof.  There is fresh air and the best landscaping I have seen in a shopping precinct.

A pleasure.  Of course, I didn't buy anything except a delicious yiros from the food court which is

interestingly designed so you can watch the goings on and up at Adelaide Airport.

Pearl had very kindly not drunk the bottle of wine I left last visit.  The first two nights we ate at home, healthy salmon, salad and veggies.

Then we got into the spirit of things and went Indian, gracing the Cinnamon Club on Henley Beach Road.  We ordered a plate of entrees and then noticed some curious things being brought to the table behind us.  I assumed they were a dessert of some kind.  They are chandi chowk ke puchke, a chickpea shell into which you pour the green sauce.  The people at the next table showed us how it was done, so we ordered some.  The restaurant claims it is street food but I'm perplexed how you could juggle all this  at a stall, plus how are the shells made?  See https://adelaidefoodcentral.com/2019/06/04/cinnamon-club-app-launch/ for more info, but not enough info!

After such exhilarating mains we decided to follow with a dessert platter.  So beautiful and delicious.  The chocolate samosas are one of the best chocolate hits I've ever had.  Equal to a good pain au chocolat.  The spirit was sated.

Our next food adventure was the Greek restaurant opposite the Cinnamon Club (not the same night...).  I haven't had moussaka since the heady days when I went to Melbourne for work and always lunched at a Greek restaurant.  This was very good with a nice amount of salad.  Pearl chose spanokopita to boost her spinach intake for pumping iron at the gym equipment and Curves.  Naturally I had baklava too.

And then there was The Stunned Mullet, a takeaway fish and chip shop next to the Greek place.  This was a different night, of course..., and we took our meal back to Resort Pearl, along with a jar of SA crab.  All perfectly cooked and, I hate to say it, better than Triabunna fish and chips.

It wasn't all a munchathon.  At least 5 hours each day were spent in visiting Mum, though admittedly I often bought lunch at a Thai restaurant a short stroll from the nursing home.  Pearl and I also went for exploratory walks in the seaside suburbs.

I was very taken with these Birds of Paradise juxtaposed against a yet-to-leaf frangipani

And we visited the new premises of The Mockingbird Lounge in Glenelg, chocker with second hand books, gifts and cafe food.  I had a cute macchiato and chocolate pear - being so health conscious.

Pearl picked me up from the nursing home on the Thursday after my last visit to Mum.  I was about to achieve a long-held ambition.  The Ocean Garden is a Chinese restaurant on the Esplanade at Christies Beach.  I have been past it a zillion times but have never had the opportunity to try it out.  This was the night.

It is a charming old style Chinese restaurant with the sort of menu you get at RSL clubs in country towns in NSW.  It's worth going for the view and passing parade.  It was my last night and, though we were far from hungry, I suggested we return to the Cinnamon Club at Henley Beach for a dessert platter.

We did.