Adelaide, Australia

The Adelaide Arcade is a multiple block-long, open air pedestrian shopping “mall”/street in the heart of downtown Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide, capital of the Australian state of South Australia, bears the distinction of being the only Aussie capital city settled by free British immigrants rather than convicts.  The River Torrens meanders past peaceful parks, well-preserved colonial architecture, and pleasant sidewalk cafés.  Nicknamed the “City of Churches,” cosmopolitan Adelaide has recently become something of a foodie destination, with multiple restaurants often listed among the country’s best.  Oenophiles will head straight for the Barossa Valley, home to the oldest Shiraz vines in the world.  More than 50% of Australia’s wine is produced in this idyllic valley, just an hour’s drive from the city.

One of the main buildings of the University of South Australia, on North Terrace Street in Adelaide, Australia

The Adelaide Botanic Garden & Botanic Park is adjacent to downtown on the northeast side of Adelaide, Australia

The National Wine Center of Australia is located in the Adelaide Botanic Garden & Botanic Park, Adelaide, Australia

At the Wine Discovery Center in the National Wine Center of Australia visitors can learn about the aromas of each different major variety of grape used in making wine with a “sniff-aroma” machine that emits the fragrance of the grape variety described and pictured, Adelaide, Australia

A very user-friendly wine dispensing system is installed all across the café at the National Wine Center of Australia (an Elite Enomatic Wine Dispensing System) with tastes of over 120 different Australian wines available for purchase using a pre-paid card by a taste, a small pour, or a “glass” (and bottles may be purchased for take-away; many top end wines (including Penfold’s latest release Grange wine) were “on tap” — Adelaide, Australia

A lotus pond in the Adelaide Botanic Garden & Botanic Park, Adelaide, Australia

A beautiful lotus flower in the pond at the Adelaide Botanic Garden & Botanic Park, Adelaide, Australia

A restored 19th century home in the heart of the downtown district with retail shops on the street level and living accommodations upstairs, Adelaide, Australia

Haigh’s Chocolates, a local company, makes some of the finest chocolates in the country and their multiple retail locations are popular stops in Adelaide, Australia

Town Hall, “decorated” for the holiday season, Adelaide, Australia

We did quite a bit of shopping at the Adelaide Central Market (in business since the 1880s and now accommodating over 80 stalls) that had vendors with beautiful produce, fruit, cheese, meat, fish, etc. – it is one of the largest urban central markets in the country; Adelaide, Australia

The entry gate to Chinatown on Grote Street, directly across from the Adelaide Central Market, Adelaide, Australia