Chihuly Glass Sculptures

We had a lovely  day out at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens to see the Chihuly Glass Artwork Exhibition.  The weather today was absolutely perfect considering we have had many really hot days here in Adelaide, but today was only about 28C, and the Gardens have many shady paths and trees and we enjoyed being outside getting some exercise.

The sculptures were really amazing and the sunshine added to their brightness and the background of the gardens made it really beautiful.  We were surprised at the size of the sculptures and wondered how they were transported and displayed in the garden setting as they were huge.  The display is also open at night and is meant to be even better than in the day so we might go again.  There is an entry fee at night but I think it is reasonable and probably well worth the  experience.

Polyvitro Chandelier 2006

Glacier Ice and Lapis Chandelier 2024

Palm  House

The Adelaide Botanic Garden Palm House is a rare example of the larger iron and glass botanical houses of the mid-late 19th Century,

Ethereal Spring Persians 2022

The Sun, 2014

Vivid Lime Icicle Tower 2022

We didn't get around to all of the sculptures so hopefully we'll get back another day and I'll take my other camera to get some better shots as I have trouble seeing the screen on the phone in the bright sun.

PORT ADELAIDE

 We had a day out at the Port Dock Festival and enjoyed some of the activities and  walked around then decided to sit and have some early lunch, actually a late breakfast, of pancakes with hash browns and eggs and pancakes with maple syrup and it was delicious and very filling.

The Lighthouse is Port Adelaide's icon. It stands at the end of Commercial Road marking the place where the city meets the Port River.

First lit in 1869, the Lighthouse originally stood at the entrance to the Port River. It was prefabricated in England from iron plates and shipped to Adelaide in pieces, replacing the lightship Fitzjames that had been moored at the mouth of the Port River to mark the entrance to the harbour.

We then drove around the local area as there are a lot of lovely old buildings still standing although many have been knocked down and replaced by high rise apartments which seems to be the trend these days.

The old Bank of Adelaide building built in 1885

Our breakfast of pancakes

View of the Port River from the cafe

Street murals 

Hart's Mill

The Hart’s Mill complex is a group of buildings on the Port Adelaide waterfront that includes Hart’s Mill, the Adelaide Milling and Mercantile Company flour mill, and associated outbuildings and other structures. Together, they constitute South Australia’s longest continually operating flour production facility, one that spanned a 125-year period between 1855 and 1980.

Coast Guard display

Art Deco Municipal Offices

Tug Boat "Yelta" at Port Adelaide Wharf

Yelta is a steam tug which operated in the Australian state of South Australia from 1949 to 1976 within both the Port River and the waters of Gulf St Vincent.

St Vincent Street, Port Adelaide is a popular shopping area

Clock Tower on former Town Hall

Construction on the Institute Building began in 1874 and opened in 1876.

We had a great day out in Port Adelaide, hope you enjoy the photos.

Fantastic February

 

Brighton Beach

Some of the Surf Lifesavers

February is usually the hottest month here in Adelaide. We have had a very dry summer as well so I have spent quite some time trying to keep the garden alive!  

Last Friday afternoon we headed to Brighton beach to check out the Sculptures which is an annual event.  It was a really hot afternoon, around 37C but we thought it might be cooler at the beach.  It was still very warm but after we stopped off for an ice cream we felt better and walked along the boardwalk to enjoy the sculptures.  Here are some photos to enjoy.

 The Brighton Jetty Sculptures event is run by volunteers of the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club. With funds raised going back into the club to help keep our beach safe for all visitors. 

The event has won the City of Holdfast Bay - Australia Day Award and is recognised with Major Event status with the council. 

 Happy New Year!  This year is already starting to get busy and I thought things were going to slow down a bit but I do like to have things planned and things to look forward to so I'm not complaining but I think my dear husband might think it's a bit much but he will just do what he wants anyway so that keeps us both happy.

Our granddaughter turned 18 the other day and we are all going out for lunch on Sunday and we are looking forward to another day with all the family.  Our daughter in law also has a birthday on the same day so we get to see her too, but what to get them is the difficult part.  I think this year we will give them some money to do what they want with it as GD is going on a holiday with friends so money will be useful for her and DIL has a busy life and probably will use it for a relaxing massage.

The grandchildren about 15 years ago!

The other family news is that our GD got her 1st preferance for Uni so she is very happy.  She got a score of 89 for her Yr 12 so had quite a few options, she was a bit disappointed as she was hoping for a score of 90 but we think her score was excellent and she had worked so hard last year as well as having a part time job.  She is a wonderful young lady and we are so proud of her as we are of our other grandchildren, with our 2 grandsons at Uni too and our other granddaughter doing Yr 11 and she has a part time cake making business which she does from home and makes amazing cakes for weddings, birthdays etc.  As you can tell we are very proud grandparents.

The next big event is Australia Day and we are the volunteer BBQ  cooks for our retirement village.  We have done it every year since we have been here so almost know what we are doing, but the village has a few experts to keep us on our toes!  We do enjoy helping out and everyone is very happy with the BBQ.

Last week we took a day trip to Strathalbyn which is about 70km south east of Adelaide on the edge of the Adelaide hills.  The weather was a bit drizzly at the beginning of our trip but by the time we got to Strath the weather had cleared although still overcast but good for driving and a pleasant change from the recent hot days.

A rusty old car in a paddock

We saw a sign to Crystal Lake so decided to investigate and found some interesting sculptures but the lake was more of a pond, but the area is very dry so the lake has probably dried up.

We continued on to Strathalbyn and had a wander around this pretty little town which has a few antique shops.  The one we decided to look through was huge and like a maze but at last we found our way out but didn't buy anything as now we live in a smaller house and have no room for any extra nick nacks!

Some lovely old houses

Kenny Blake sculpture

The amazing, life-size sculpture took over 3 months to build, using around 4000 pieces of scrap metal and mechanical parts.

An old machine in the park

As you can see, the countryside is very dry in South Australia.

It wouldn't be South Australia without some vineyards

Beautiful area around the Angas River in Strathalbyn

I hope you have enjoyed coming on our day trip to Strathalbyn.