Sunday morning finally arrived. The final day of the Tour was to be a Criterium race through North Adelaide, just on the other side of the river. Conveniently it was across the street from our hotel. After breakfast we grabbed the paper and a coffee and headed to the river bank to check out the set up for the day’s event. The sun was bright and strong so once we got the lay of the land we wandered around looking for some shade to sit and wait. We found a nice patch of grass in the park under a tree not far from the course, so we spread out the paper and read to pass the time.
The race was a 20 lap circuit and there were a number of contenders to take the stage. It took about 2 hours to complete the race and the Sky team pulled ahead to win. We stayed to watch the first of the awards and then went to the bar to award ourselves with a cold James Squire (our new favorite beer).
We were ready for a more relaxed day after all of the running around we did for the past two days.So, this morning we headed to the Botanic Gardens and spent some time wandering around there.This region is one of only 5 Mediterranean climates in the world, so the gardens featured some of the unique species that grow only in this climate.Afterward we went to the South Australian Museum where they have the largest exhibit on Aboriginal culture in the world.They displayed tools of hunting and daily life of the Aborigines and other relevant artifacts. Also on exhibit were many fossils of marine life and a model of a giant squid measuring 11meters long (the largest ever found). You had to climb 4 stories just to see the whole thing!
The Central Market was our lunch stop for the day.After meandering up and down the aisles we sat at one of the coffee shops and had a bite and watched all of the commotion.That day’s Tour Stage was proving to be an interesting one, so we went back to our room to watch the tail end of it, which proved to be an exciting finish.Afterward we managed to arrive at the AyersHouseMuseum just in time for the final tour of the day.This house is one of the few 19th century structures remaining and belonged to an Adelaide entrepreneur. The tour was very informative in giving you an idea of what life was like for early Australians (South Australia was one of the only non-convict states established).It also told some interesting facts such as they imported their ice for 10 years from Boston!
We woke early this morning to pick up our rental car. We headed out to wine country where the riders would be traveling today. We went through McLaren Vale (one of the wine regions) and into McLaren Flat where the king of the hill stage was today. Parking our car on the side of the road, just about 100m down from the top we had a perfect viewing spot. All we had to do was wait. So, we waited, read the paper, took some pictures and waited some more. As it got closer to the time more and more cyclists and cars full of fans arrived. Finally the publicity train came through (all the cars with bigger than life-size riders and Oppy the Kangaroo on top). They jumped out of the cars and handed out water bottles, signs, cow bells, and hats to all the spectators. The riders wouldn’t be long now. Once they did arrive, they came flying past us racing up to the top of the hill. Even on the steep uphill they were going so fast it was hard to see who was who. After they went past, it was back in the car to see if we could make it to the finish.
We raced over to Stirling (after a brief stop for ice cream...hey it was hot!) where the day's finish was in hopes of seeing all 3 laps around the town. They had already started closing the roads, so we pulled off and watched the first loop from just outside the town. After they came by the re-opened that segment and we were able to get down to Stirling, park and walk up to the course with plenty of time to see the second lap. Then we headed to the finish line and wiggled our way into a viewing spot about 50m from the finish. It was a slight uphill, but again, not steep enough to slow the riders down so that you didn't get dizzy watching them go by. After the last of the pack came in we were hot and worn out from all our running around, so we rewarded ourselves for all of our hard work with a cold beer, a James Squire Golden, after the race was done.
We headed out early this morning to see some of the city. We followed a walking tour that led us north just across the river and wound its way along the river on the biking path. It was surrounded by parks and was well shaded making it a very pleasant stroll. The zoo was next on our list. Two pandas, Wang Wang and Funi had just arrived from China less than 2 months ago. So we were able to see the pandas hanging out in their new home. Funi was pretty shy and slept most of the time while Wang Wang was enjoying some bamboo. We also saw giraffe, tapir (see below), hippo and a Tasmanian devil!
After lunch at a café, we made our way down to the Tour expo to check out what was on display. Since there wasn’t too much going on and we had the whole evening ahead, we hopped the tram to Glenelg, the coastal town. It was about a 20 minute ride and we were on the beach. We wandered along the path seeing some of the Victorian style beach homes and some of the historic buildings. After some fish and chips on the beach watching the sunset, we headed back to the city.
We had 2 of the best meals that we have had in a long time while in Adelaide. Not that the food in New Zealand was bad, but how much lamb can you eat? The first meal was our first night in town at Nu Thai. This was superb, probably the best Thai we have had in the last few years. The dish that put it over the top was the chili Barramundi. It was simply fish fillets in an incredible sauce, or as the menu says thin slices of barramundi fillet fried then tossed through a homemade chilli paste with thai water spinach and lime leaves.
Our second culinary delight was at a place called Good Life - modern organic pizza. Maybe it was because we had to walk miles across the city to get there or maybe it was the wine that made it so delectable. The wine by the way was a local red wine called K1, a tempranillo-cabernet mix. We ordered a roasted vegetable pizza and this was the best pizza we have had since leaving NY. Nothing against CA, but they just don't do a good pizza. The crust was incredible and the sauce added a subtle bit to the taste. The cheese was minimal, as it should be (I learned this in my pizza making days back in HS) and the roasted vegs added an interesting touch. Who would have thought beets, yams and string beans would be good on a pizza? They didn't get our order in right away, not that we noticed as we were enjoying the wine while sitting at a corner table by the window looking at the traffic on the sidewalk, but because it took a while we received a desert for free. Laura opted for the Filthy Rich, a chocolate brownie served warm with a scoop of Clare valley vanilla ice cream and organic chocolate sauce. She devoured it, which is unusual as she doesn't usually eat dessert, good thing we had a long walk back to the hotel!
Laura and I flew down to South Australia on Tuesday to the city of Adelaide to watch the pro bike race, see the city and visit the top wine region of australia.
We had a great time. Oppy (left) rode the race course on top of a car, lucky roo. Okay, there is lots to write about this week, more to come later.
Here are some pictures to get you by in the mean time.
