Since today marks the two month anniversary of my move to Australia, it feels like a proper update is due.  I have been waiting patiently for the day that it felt right to finally pour my heart out to my keyboard and talk about how my life is here in South Australia and today is the day.  We settled into a new house in a suburb just a stone’s throw from the city with happy jobs and have slowly been developing our go-to spots throughout town.  On our days off we explore the city or the countryside in attempts to soak up every bit of sunshine that is South Australia–and believe me, there is an abundance, some might say overabundance of sunshine here.

Adelaide

Nestled between the South Australian coastline, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and the Adelaide Hills, hides the state’s capital city of Adelaide.  Unimposing and incredibly not ‘in your face,’ the city charmed me before I ever set foot on the continent of Australia.  I cannot truly explain to you why I wanted to move here.  The seed planted itself into my brain spontaneously and grew until I knew I wanted go to Adelaide without actually understanding why (although I’m sure this girl’s Instagram contributed a tiny bit).

Some of the largest festivals in the country call Adelaide home, particularly the Adelaide Fringe Festival (a month long city wide festival of music, arts, and entertainment), during which we were lucky enough to arrive.  Nicknaming South Australia ‘The Festival State’ is quite fitting.

The city is crawling with exceptional food spots, niche bars, and wine–did I mention that the National Wine Centre of Australia is here?  A blueprint (or GoogleMaps) would depict a resemblance to a figure eight with the CBD residing south of the River Torrens and North Adelaide, naturally, to the north.  Surrounding these two sections are encompassing parks and green gardens providing ample opportunity to be in nature and wiggle my toes in the grass.

Every single person that I have met in this city has not failed to ask why the heck I would ever choose to move here.  After spewing my list about how the city has a relaxed vibe, but is still, in fact a city, how it’s near the beach, and how it’s situated right in the middle of wine country, the same individuals–without fail–go on to immediately agree with me and insist Adelaide is the best place in the entire country.

It’s an extremely walkable city with every corner being accessible on foot.  The walls of the buildings are as tattooed with street art as the arms and legs of the people inside of them.  Art is everywhere.

Currently I’m reading Down Under by Bill Bryson, a witty, easy flow of a read that chronicles his travels through Australia alongside random tidbits of information he is so well-known for mixing in with his travel writing.  He says, “Adelaide is the most overlooked of Australia’s principal cities.  You could spend weeks in Australia and never suspect it was there, for it rarely makes the news or gets mention in anyone’s conversation.  It is to Australia essentially what Australia is to the world–a place pleasantly regarded but far away and seldom thought about.  And yet it is unquestionably a lovely city.  Everyone is agreed on that, including millions who have never been there.”

How I Spend My Days

I put off writing this post until I felt settled with work and life and money and everything in between.  Now I can proudly say that I’m settling into two great jobs, one at a microbrewery in the CBD and another at a gin distillery in the Adelaide Hills.  After only a month, both have brought me significantly closer to the processes behind producing my two favorite drinks and also given me venues in which I can share my excitement and my knowledge behind thoughtfully made craft products.

As it is in many bustling Australian cities and New Zealand, the coffee scene in Adelaide is bumpin’.  Every ten feet I seem to stumble upon a new hidden cafe with a cool aesthetic and latte art up the wazoo. At this moment in time, my current go-to cafes are Hawker Street Cafe when I’m staying near home and Book Nook & Bean when I’m in the city.  My lunch spots have taken me all over the city, but my current favorite thing to do is eat my way around the Central Market or taste a different dish from the Asian food court adjacent to the Central Market and Chinatown.

One thing we have not done very much of is go out for a proper dinner, but we had a special three course meal at a new French restaurant called La Provence and the savarin alone is enough to make me go back soon.  Though we are always on the look out for cool bars, we keep finding ourselves at Hains & Co multiple nights a week (because you can’t beat a place that consistently makes phenomenal negronis).

Aside from dipping our toes in every food and beverage pool Adelaide has to offer, we have been reading endlessly, attempting to stay fit amidst all of the Campari, IPAs, and dumplings, and enjoying our afternoons beneath the sky high trees of the Botanic Gardens.

What We’ve Done In The Past Two Months

As you know if you’ve read my previous posts, our first week here was spent staying in Glenelg.  After enough time spent in the sand and under the sun, we packed our bags again and relocated to the city for our permanent living situation and set off to find jobs.  Once we finally found employment the fun could begin!

Out of the city we cycled between McLaren Vale vineyards, hiked the coastal route at Newland Head Conservation Park, and drove around the Fleurieu Peninsula.  In town we enjoyed a handful of Fringe shows found some of our favorite spots in the city for food and drinks (which are sure to change as we stay here longer), experienced an Aussie BBQ–which is incredibly similar to an American BBQ, down to the Beer Pong and Flip Cup tournaments–celebrated Ben’s birthday, and overall have just been drinking in every inch of our new home.

There will undoubtedly be so much more to write about and even more photos to share.  Thanks for following along!  As always, send your Aussie recommendations my way!