A Friend Comes to Town

This week, a friend of mine (who I met on my Western Australia road trip) came to visit me in Adelaide. It has been so exciting to show someone around the home I’ve made over the past six weeks, and also bring out the travel instinct in myself which has softened over my time in a routine of work, socialising, and domesticity. Over the past three + days, we have seen some of Adelaide’s highlights, caught up on the moments we’ve missed in one another’s lives, and had conversations ranging from the hilarious to the serious, just breaths apart.

15.03.2023

Celia arrived during the evening whilst I was at work, so I walked back to my hostel with excitement bubbling in my chest. She was checking into a different hostel nearby, so once I’d dumped my dirty tupperware and freshened up, I raced out to meet her on the street. We spent the following walk darting from one topic to another, passionately catching up and sharing our excitement for the coming days together. We headed to Gluttony, one of the hubs of Adelaide Fringe Festival, where we grabbed a drink and a bite to eat, before heading into a show. We watched The Gods The Gods The Gods, an immersive, live music experience that told several stories through song. The combination of the lyrics, dramatic storytelling, and evocative vocals created an emotional and almost spiritual experience. We danced and laughed and sang and cried. Everything we felt throughout stayed with us as we left, and charged our walk home with exhilaration. 

16.03.2023

We spent Thursday morning exploring the CBD. None of the areas we walked were unfamiliar to me, as I’d walked a similar route on my first full day in Adelaide, but it was exciting to share the city with someone who had never visited before. We did explore the South Australia Museum which I hadn’t been into before, but we were still busy catching up and spent more time playing with the Duplo in the foyer than reading about the historic artefacts or taxidermy animals. 

We got a coffee on Leigh Street, at the same cafe I had on my first day in Adelaide again. I reflected on how much has changed since then, chatting to my friend about both the past and future. 

Next we visited Central Market for some lunch with another friend. We strolled all the stalls and compared their offerings, before deciding on falafel pitas from Real Falafel. They were packed with falafels, veggies, and sauces — both delicious and messy.

In the evening we had tickets to see Lorde at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. We arrived as the first support act took the stage and bulked out the small crowd that was gathering. MUNA, the second support, were the reason I’d bought myself a ticket in the first place and their set was fantastic. Their energy was mesmerising! Lorde herself was excellent. We spent the entire night dancing and singing and grinning. 

17.03.2023

On Friday morning we got our walking shoes on to reach the summit of Mount Lofty. The walk up wasn’t particularly exciting as we just walked along the edge of the road, but the blue sky poking through the greenery was beautiful. At the top we admired the view alongside a large group of tourists fresh off a cruise ship, and sipped iced lattes to refuel before the inevitable walk back.

Next, we caught the bus to Hahndorf. Hahndorf is a German town about an hour from Adelaide by bus. Hungry from our hike, the first task on our agenda was to grab lunch. We chose to dine at Hahndorf Inn and chose the plant based hot dog and eggplant schnitzel. Both came with chips and were generous portions.

After a wander, we caught the bus back to Adelaide. We parted ways to get ready to meet more friends at Plain Jane on Leigh Street, our favourite place for Friday evening happy hour drinks (glasses of wine for $5!). After a glass (or so), Celia and I headed to meet a friend of mine for Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tour — an absolute treat of an event! We boogied our way through the East Terrace and along Rundle Street, bringing expressions of joy and fear to the public along the way. Our leader was great at warming us up and helping us lose our inhibitions to make the most of the experience. The tunes were top tier and our very large group was full of characters. We all joined hands and ran in loops around one another, built dance tunnels, and sang into the night. 

We finished off the night at a bar called Cry Baby with the friends we’d said goodbye to earlier, them now significantly more inebriated than when we’d left them. We continued dancing through the smoke that filled the room and isolated us for moments at a time, before bringing us back together in song.

18.03.2023

Despite the late night, Saturday was an early(ish) start. We had decided to catch some sun on some of Adelaide’s beaches. One of my friends picked us all up and we headed to Moana beach, a Coles bag brimming with crisps and biscuits and a large bunch of grapes. 

Moana was overcast, but, keen to swim, a few of us headed down to the water, only to be flagged down by a friendly man who warned us of a shark sighting there just recently. The helicopter punctuated this announcement as it circled overhead. So we snoozed on the sand instead, and then headed to Port Noarlunga, the sun well and truly out. The beach was a lot busier, but shark free, so we enjoyed a swim until it was time to dry off and head back to the city. The ride back was filled with singalongs, the breeze through the window, and endless appreciation for the girls.

That evening, Celia and I caught The Choir of Man at Gluttony along with a couple of other friends. It was wonderfully interactive for such a large venue, and we enjoyed joining in with the familiar songs and dancing to some of the final ones. The sun set as the show progressed, and as we were leaving the bats soared overhead.

Celia and I grabbed some food from the stalls afterwards, and a little while later met some friends who’d seen another show. We traded stories and experiences over late night Yo-Chi; the perfect end to the night. 

I’ve really enjoyed sharing the city with my friend, introducing her to my new friends, and feeling like a backpacker again as we explored Adelaide’s essentials together. I have one week left in this city before I return to a proper backpacker lifestyle, and whilst I am so excited for the adventures to come, I am keen to make the most of one more week in a place that has offered me so much.