Adelaide
Adelaide's promotional site
Footy: The world's best sport
Adelaide was the terminus of our trek along The Great Ocean Road from Melbourne. It was established in 1836, laid out in a grid, with five squares in the city center surrounded by a ring of parks known as the Adelaide Parklands. The roads forming its boundary are the inner ring. There is another boundary which developed as the city grew and is known as the outer ring. This arrangement made it really easy for us to get about. Sports are really big here. The "Adelaide Oval" seats over 50,000 and there are so many sports fans that the stadium has the following tenants: S.A Cricket Association (1871–present), South Australia cricket team (1877 – present), Australian cricket team (1884 – present), Adelaide Strikers(BBL) (2011–present), S.A National Football League (1975–1976, 2014–present), Port Adelaide Football Club(AFL) (1975-76, 2011, 2014–present), and the Adelaide Football Club(AFL) (2014–present). Note that the reference to "football" is to footy, Australian Rules Football, a whole different kettle of fish. It is played non-stop for four 20 minute quarters on a 200 meter oval with 18 players on each side who are wearing no pads. To an Australian, soccer is known as 'poof-ball'. And in comparison to footy, American and Canadian football look constipated. Next to aerobics, it's my favorite spectator sport. Although Adelaide has a population of somewhat more than a million, it is quite charming and has a "village" feel to it. For several years The Economist ranked it among the top ten of the "World's Most Livable Cities". And, as is true in so many places in Australia, the beaches are magnificent. It is a lovely, lovely city, and my favorite in Australia. The last few pictures are from Wikimedia Commons.
Picture 1 of 5
Return to Australia 2005 Home Page
Return to Travels with Mike Home Page
