5 days in Adelaide, Australia- 5/17- 5/21/2024

Day 2- Discovering Adelaide-5/18/2024

This is our first morning in Adelaide and after breakfast we are headed to discovered Adelaide.

From our Hotel we passed by Victoria square and we saw St Francis Xavier's Cathedral and we decided to check it out.

 St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is one of Adelaide’s most beautiful and historically significant landmarks.  Located on Victoria Square in the heart of the city, the cathedral is the principal Catholic church of South Australia and the seat of the Archdiocese of Adelaide. The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1856, just twenty years after Adelaide was founded.

The original design was by English architect Richard Lambeth, in the Gothic Revival style that was inspired by medieval European cathedrals. The cathedral is built mainly from stone quarried in Adelaide and Glen Osmond, giving it a warm cream-grey tone that stands out beautifully against the blue South Australian sky.

The tall tower and spire of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral are among its most striking features and hold a special place in Adelaide’s skyline. The tower stands on the southern end of the cathedral, facing Wakefield Street, and rises to about 118 feet. What makes it especially interesting is that, although the cathedral itself dates back to the 1850s, the tower wasn’t completed until 1996, nearly 140 years later.

 A sculpture of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in the courtyard of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral is a meaningful addition to the site, it connects Adelaide’s Catholic heritage with Australia’s own saint.

Set within the peaceful courtyard beside the cathedral, the statue offers a quiet place for reflection and a reminder of compassion, service, and faith, values that still shape the spirit of Adelaide’s Catholic community today.

St Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) was the first Australian to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Born in Melbourne, she spent much of her life in South Australia, where in 1866 she co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in Penola. Her mission was to provide education for poor and rural children, and her work spread across Australia and New Zealand.

The bronze sculpture, created by South Australian artist Judith Rolevink, was installed in 2009, marking the centenary of Mary MacKillop’s death. It shows her in her simple habit, gently watching over a young child , symbolizing her lifelong dedication to teaching and caring for the vulnerable.

When you walk through the entrance, you’re greeted by a long central corridor, known as the nave, which draws your eyes straight toward the main altar at the far end. This layout is classic Gothic Revival design, meant to create a feeling of depth and awe as the space narrows toward the sanctuary.

The rows of pointed arches, supported by stone columns, frame the view and guide your attention forward, almost like a visual pathway toward the sacred heart of the church.

Even with just a brief visit, that long corridor leading to the altar gives a powerful impression of peace, devotion, and timeless beauty,  a reminder of how the cathedral was designed to lift both the eye and the spirit.

Wakefield Street is a significant east-west thoroughfare in the central business district of Adelaide. It's known for its mix of major institutions, historic buildings, and as a route connecting the city centre to the eastern parklands.

The Adelaide Central Market Located between Gouger and Grote Streets, has been the heart of Adelaide’s food culture since 1869, making it one of the oldest continually operating produce markets in the Southern Hemisphere. The market began when local farmers and traders started selling produce in this area to city residents. The official Adelaide Central Market opened in 1869 with just over 50 stalls under a simple iron and timber roof. Over time, it grew into a major community hub, expanding and being rebuilt several times, especially after fires and renovations in the early 1900s and again in the 1960s.

Today the market is home to around 250 stalls, offering everything from Fresh Fruits and vegetables, Cheese, cured meats, seafood, Bakeries, coffee roasters, chocolatier, and international foods.

The market is busiest on Fridays and Saturdays, when locals come to do their weekly shopping, chat with vendors, and enjoy breakfast or coffee at one of the small cafés tucked between the stalls.

Cumbia Bar Kitchen brings the vibrant flavors of South America.

 Cumbia Bar Kitchen is known for its lively atmosphere, warm hospitality, and especially those huge sizzling pans of paella, which i  a real showpiece of the market!

Les Deux Coqs (the two roosters)  sells authentic French Fare.

The owner is passionate about using artisan produce methods and high quality ingredients.

Pate terrine and charcuterie

Sausages, assorted pates, and pate en croute.

A Flower stall in the middle of the hall.

Le Souk is an Algerian food stall, known for their signature dishes Chakchouka, twice-steamed couscous with Lamb, Chicken, our house-made Merguez sausages (Algerian classic) or Algerian paella.

Here is a close up of their famous Chakchouka (Algerian paella).

Grind Roast Master are specialty coffee roasters and specialize in origins, estate grown, organic, fair trade, blended coffee beans and house made coffee for dine in or takeaway.

We ordered some coffee here and we both really enjoy our cup of coffee.

A cheese, and cold cut shop.

This area is filled with fruit stalls.

Fresh vegetables.

All the vegetables are from South Australian growers.

We never seen mushrooms this big!  It is almost the size of Hoa's palm.

Lucia' Fine Foods was founded by Lucia Rosella in 1957 and became Adelaide's first pizza bar, nestled in the heart of the Adelaide Central Market. It has grown  into a beloved household name, offering a range of Italian dishes and products.

Homemade fresh pastas.

Prepared meat, sausage, mixed olives, etc...

Lucia' is one of the biggest store inside the Central Market. 

This area is filled with food stalls and there are a lot of people looking around to see what they can eat or order to go.

Barossa Fine Food is owned and run the and run by the Knoll family. Since 1924, four generations of Knolls have drawn on their German heritage to handcraft the finest small goods and charcuterie, using traditional methods and recipes. Barossa Fine Foods sources some of the best free-range and sustainably-farmed fresh meats from farmers in the Barossa Valley and regional South Australia.

A bakery with beautiful loaves of bread.

Food court

Another bakery selling Macarons, and lots of pastries.

Afterward we walked from Adelaide Central Market straight into Chinatown is one of the best transitions in the city! It’s just across Grote Street, and the moment you pass under those distinctive red gates, you step into another layer of Adelaide’s cultural history.

Adelaide’s Chinatown began taking shape in the 1970s, though Chinese communities had been present in South Australia since the 1850s, when Chinese miners and merchants arrived during the Victorian and South Australian gold rushes.
Many Chinese immigrants eventually settled in Adelaide, opening small businesses, market stalls, and restaurants near the Central Market, where affordable rent and high foot traffic made it a natural gathering point. By the late 1970s and 1980s, the area was officially recognized as Chinatown, with the addition of cultural landmarks and bilingual signage. It quickly became a center for Asian cuisine and trade, expanding to include Vietnamese, Malaysian, Japanese, and Korean restaurants, and making it one of the most diverse food districts in Adelaide.

There are 2 gates and this one is the second gate (at the northern end of Moonta Street, closer to Grote Street) was added later to complete the symbolic “pathway.” Together, the two gates form a cultural corridor, marking Moonta Street as the heart of Chinatown and framing it as a place of welcome and prosperity.

I encountered this friendly puppy and he jumped into my lab.  So cute!

Adelaide’s Chinatown is compact but vibrant, filled with lanterns, murals, Asian grocery stores, bubble tea shops, and restaurants spilling out onto the street. During Chinese New Year, the area bursts into life with lion dances, red lanterns, and live music, drawing thousands of visitors.

This is the first gate (the southern one) stands at the entrance on Moonta Street, near Gouger Street. It was built in 1988 as a gift from Adelaide’s sister city Qingdao, China, to mark Australia’s Bicentennial year.

This is the view from the back of the gate as you can see the 2 white lions back looking into Monta Street.

This is the front of the gate from Monta Street.  The gate was crafted in traditional Chinese style, with red pillars, gold trim, curved roofs, and guardian lions at the base, symbols of strength and protection.

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