This is a photo of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church which has it’s very own website. While their congregation first formed in 1860 and their first church was located in Waymouth St. this stunning building was erected in 1871-1872, and is located in Flinders St. Adelaide.
That has to be one of the things I like about Adelaide, the fact that as you walk around you are presented with many styles of architecture spanning over a hundred years. I always feel a pang of regret when some gracious old building is torn down to be replaced by some modern architecture which just doesn’t seem to replace the glory of the old building.

They have a pretty good website so you may want to visit it if you’re looking for more information on the church, these old photos in their archives may be of special interest.

I reckon that the one thing most people can’t get their head around is what makes the perfect gift. Sure you can buy someone a pair of socks or jocks but while useful they’re not very memorable. You could also buy a bloke something for his car like a mag cleaner or something, but again while useful they’re not really going to look at in in years to come and say, ‘Yeah, wasn’t that a great gift?” Heck, they’re probably not even going to remember it was a gift let alone who gave it to them.

Nope, if you’re looking for the perfect gifts for men then you should consider something that will really rock their socks off, but not necessarily soil their jocks What I’m talking about won’t only make the perfect father’s day gift, it would be perfect for any occasion including birthdays, and would even make a great Valentines day gift.

OK, OK, I’m not going to keep you in suspense any longer, I’m talking about adrenalin.com.au who can put together the perfect package that will ensure your loved one will have an experience he will never forget. I remember a few years back when my cousin came to visit from Italy, and while we took him to all the interesting places in Adelaide, many of which you will find in this blog, the most memorable one was when we paid for his skydiving experience.

I can still remember when he had to sign the form which absolving them from any liability and he asked me what it was all about. Well my Italian isn’t what it should be so the best I could do was to tell him that by signing that he couldn’t sue them if his chute didn’t open and he plummeted to earth. I’m sure he went a little white but he still signed it and he never looked back.

Man, he loved it! We couldn’t shut him up the whole trip back, and then as soon as he got home he had to put the video in so that he could relive the experience. It was definitely the highlight of his trip.

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I love our railway station because it has so much charm. The Adelaide Railway station originated in it’s present location of North Terrace in 1856. It’s actually a dead end as it’s the final stop or the start of the journey of most train trips depending where you’re heading. Wikipedia has a comprehensive history of this station for anyone who is interested.

This photo is actually of the rear of the station and I thought I would paste this rather than the front as it’s not the one most people would see. I may actually post one of the main entrance at a later date. What’s unique about the station is that it forms part of the Adelaide Casino, now better known as Sky City.

This next photo was taken from the inside and you can see from it a little of the rustic charm.

OK, this photo has nothing to do with the station other than it can be found on a wall just to the left of it and I couldn’t resist including it in this series as it was so full of vibrant colour.

This link will take you to Adelaide Metro’s website where you’ll find all the information you could possibly need in regards to timetables and such for buses and trains.

A well known landmark in Adelaide’s Elder Park is the Rotunda which was built on the banks of the River Torrens 1882. I assume that it was donated by the Elder family as the base of the column has stamped “Presented By Sir Thomas Elder 1881″.

I can just imagine the nine meter high  iron rotunda housing bands playing to relaxing picnickers as they listened to the music. Today it’s used for weddings, carols by candlelight and sometimes even Symphony Under The Stars.

You can take photos of the Rotunda from many angles but I’ve chosen this one as it shows the Adelaide Convention Centre in the background.

It’s amazing how far the Huyundai has come over the years. I remember when they first hit Australia and people saw them as some cheap import, and in those days that’s pretty well what they were. But that is the past and this is the present and like I said at the beginning of this post they’ve come a hell of a long way.

A survey conducted by Interbrand actually placed them eighth in the world in 2009 leaving Porsche, Lexus and Nissan behind. It’s not surprising that their latest release, the Hyundai i45 sedan is creating such a stir. I myself was amazed when I first saw their new commercial advertising their latest Hyundai sedan. It was pretty amazing. Even though you can see that commercial in this post you may can view the Hyundai i45 on YouTube just so you can read the peoples reviews of the car.

The new Hyundai i45 Sedan is really quite remarkable. The finish is exquisite and the styling is such that it will appeal to a large portion of the market. Not forgetting that many people are worried about global warming the guys at Hyundai have tried their utmost to make sure this car is both fuel efficient and has reduced emissions.

They’ve succeeded in meeting these requirements by giving the i45 features the latest 2.4-litre Theta-II GDI petrol engine with an all-aluminium construction making for a lighter engine. The Hyundai i45 even has an ‘ECO’ monitor system to assist drivers to achieve the best fuel efficiency possible. using this system they can monitor how efficiently the car is running by checking the dashboard display which indicates the current fuel economy thereby allowing them to drive as efficiently as possible.

No matter how much I rave on about this car you just will not be able to appreciate it unless you go to your nearest dealer to check it out for yourself. Naturally the best way to do this would be to take a brand new Hyundai i45 Sedan out for a test drive and only then can you really make up your mind as to how good this car really is.

I’ve been to the Adelaide Festival Centre on several occasions but apart from seeing several school concerts that my kids participated in the only other time was to see a Rodney Rude concert. While the concert itself was pretty funny I wonder how funny it would have been had he taken all the swear words out of it?

Now don’t get the wrong idea, the Adelaide Festival Centre has hosted many big names and this year the nine-time-Grammy award winner Natalie Cole, will be performing in the Festival Theatre on 12 and 13 June.
Although I’ve already posted some shots of the Festival Centre as seen from the River Torrens I though I would post one as seen from the other side.

Something else that I found interesting when I took this shot was something that I at first believed to be some sort of totem pole but what turned out to be a house post that was carved by two Papua New Guinea artists in 1978. Even though it was originally conceived as a public demonstration for visitors it has become a permanent public artwork. The artists that carved this out of a South Aussie pine tree were Sali Kapusa and Arnold Koski.

You may remember the post of Colonel William Light the man who designed and laid out the planning for our lovely city and the picture of the statue of him over looking Adelaide, well this post is about another well known explorer, Matthew Flinders.

Matthew Flinders was the man who circumnavigated Australia charting what was then an unknown coast. You could basically say he put Australia on the map. The name Australia can even be attributed to him as he thought it sounded so much better than Terra Australis.

This is a statue of this great man which can be found on North Terrace Adelaide.

I’ve had a lot of people comment on the photos I’ve used for this blog as well as my other photo blog and they are all amazed at the quality of those photos. I’ve mentioned on more than one post how much I love my Panasonic Lumix DMC FX50. They’re so surprised to hear that I’ve used a simple point and shoot camera as the quality of the photos belie the size of the camera.

I was so excited to learn there was going to be a LUMIX Life competition where Aussie Lumix photographers can be part of a special project. It’s a competition were Lumix owners can submit a photo taken with their camera as long as it’s main focus is something to do with Australia. Man, this whole blog is about Scenic Adelaide so I’m bound to find something here, and if not I’ll just take another photo.

I was also pretty exited to find that there is a Panasonic Australia on Facebook page where you can read all the comments left from people on their wall. It’s good to see that they do not remove the negative comments, not many of those, as this goes to show the integrity of the company.

the whole thing starts on April the first 2010. This gives those who haven’t any photos that focus on Australia time enough to get out there with their Lumix cameras taking as many photos as they can. What a great excuse to see more of this lovely country that we live in, taking photos of it that will bring back fond memories, not to mention that it could possibly win us a prize.

Yep, there is going to be monthly giveaways as well as a final prize at the end of the competition, but I reckon the best thing would be if my photo was displayed with those taken by the pros like Ken Duncan, Peter Eastway and Bill Bachman

It was my wife’s 50th birthday last week and so we decided, seeing as how it was a momentous occasion, we would celebrate it in style. That being the case we decided on the Riverside Restaurant which just happens to be one of Adelaide’s favorite buffet restaurants. I didn’t realize how sumptuous Riverside’s buffet selection really was until we rocked up on the night.

Even though I’m not a seafood fan, my wife is and it is her night after all, and it just so happened that the Riverside features a great range incorporating the best of local seafood and produce, as well as a range of decadent desserts, and I have to admit the desert was to die for.

Like I said I’m not into seafood but Anna and the guests were and they absolutely loved it. It consisted of fresh prawns, oysters and crabs. As can be seen from the following photo the presentation was superb.

Next is a photo of some of the selection of salads and stuff.

What I really liked was the roasts and desserts, and the fact that the service was impeccable. They were even nice enough to organize a small section of the room just for us. This photo is a view of the restaurant from our little special spot.

As I said they supplied great service which included this margarita just for Anna.

It was a great night and the family had a great time. You’re all wondering about the price. Well the buffet itself was $65 per head which I though was more than reasonable. They had a nice selection of wine, of which the guests chose Lehman Shiraz at $45 per bottle and Kalleske Clarry’s Grenache Shiraz at $46 a bottle, both which was dearer than what you would pay in a bottle shop but withing reason for a restaurant of this type.

Beers included Coronas, James Boags and Crown Lager which were $10.50 and $9.50 respectively, and Hahn Light at $7 a pop. The only thing that knocked me for a six was that they charged $10 for every bottle of water (Santa V Still) which I thought a bit rich.

Anyway, like I said, it was a great night and well worth the money spent. The Riverside Restaurant is located at North Terrace in Adelaide and if your interested in more details about this Restaurant please phone them on (08) 8238 2384.

The War Memorial Monument which can be found on North Terrace is a popular spot for tourists, especially those interested in war history. Opened in 1931 to commemorate all those who served in the first world war it holds significant value every year on Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November).

I love to walk the length of North Terrace as I like to consider it as Adelaide’s cultural boulevard. This is because it’s full of heaps of great examples of early South Australian architecture including Old Fowlers Lion Factoryn now The Lion Performing Arts Center, and the Anglican Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide’s oldest church, which was built in 1838.

This is a photo of the front of the monument.

This one is of the rear.

As you walk around the memorial you will see crosses that were taken from the battlefield where the soldiers died and brought back as a memorial to their great sacrifice. This is just one of them.