Adelaide Pageant & Market

What luck, we find out that today is the Christmas Pageant. It is the official start of the Holiday season in Adelaide. The Parade is 2^nd only to the Macy’s parade as the largest in the world, it is said that the start of the parade finishes before the end of the parade starts.

We head down to Grenfell street and secure a spot. I believe that the entire town must be here for this parade. It is quite an interesting affair, with many clowns, marching bands and floats (some that have no resemblance to Christmas at all).   After an hour plus watching, the final float is Father Christmas and the reindeer. The children go crazy when he appears.

We decide to head over to Central Market, what a crazy place. Everything you could imagine, butchers, fresh cheese, lots of produce mongers, smoked meats, baked goods, etc, it is total chaos. We saw lemons the size of your fist. We arrive about 2 hours from closing and the produce guys are in full gear to clear their stalls, the deals just keep getting better and better. We do procure a really awesome aged cheddar cheese and a smoked sausage that we will eat on our travels through the Great Ocean Road.

Later, it’s over to Lady Burra Brewhouse to catch a bite. It was closed for a private event until 3PM, which was when we arrived. The local credit union is the one that sponsors the big parade and they had booked the place for those who had participated earlier. I can attest that they had a wonderful time and were not stopping anytime soon. Had a great conversation with several of their employees including a young lady who is taking leave in March and going to explore Europe, nothing booked. Also, a great conversation with Paul, a senior member of staff that was a great conversationalist and all around good bloke.

We had some wonderful stuffed mushrooms and split a Paella for dinner, just right.

Mary

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The Adelaide Pageant is way too cool! It was blind luck that we landed in town the day before the parade & festivities. It’s the event of the year for South Australia (Adelaide is the capital) and the whole town is packed with what must be every local along with folks coming from far off to see the parade. Hilarious to see Australia’s interpretation of a holiday parade – penguins, Crocs, & even Darth Vader make appearances.

Adelaide’s Central Market is a short walk from our apartment. It’s one of the largest markets in Australia and is the most popular attraction in SA with over 8 million visitors a year. The place is jam packed & good fun. Everything imaginable is for sale.

Incredible that the ‘Lady Burra Brewhouse’ is along our path home – how did that happen?   Good beers, nice food, and lots of friendly conversation with the locals. A beautiful evening and our walk home is a joy.

Dick

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