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.

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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.

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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.

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Although Adelaide’s Bicentennial Conservatory was built in 1988 to celebrate Australia’s bicentenary I’ve yet to walk through it, even though I’ve walked by it on more than one occasion. I reckon that this is the year that I may actually see how beautiful it is inside, but I’ll probably wait until it’s a bit cooler as I’ve heard it can get quite humid in there.

I think it’s great that they accepted Guy Maron’s design as he’s a South Australian architect. Although the whole structure is 100 metres long, 47 metres wide and 27 metres high, as you can see from the picture it’s quite delicate in design.

Last I heard it housed between 3000-4000 plants that were specifically selected from Australasia and Malaysia. The Department Of Environment And Heritage has a lot more information on this remarkable structure, which can be found in the Botanical Gardens, including opening hours and admission prices.

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If you were to walk or drive down North Terrace in Adelaide you couldn’t help but notice the old Fowler’s Lion Factory. The feature that makes it stand out from the rest of the buildings on the street is the majestic stone statue of the lion on top of the building. The appearance of the lion is definitely  one of royalty as he stands there watching over his subjects as they  move past his watchful gaze.

David and James Fowler, the men who first established D and J Fowler (Australia) Ltd in 1854, moved their retail outlet from King William St. to  this building in 1906. It seems that destiny had other plans for this building, other than the owners original plans for it.

In the 70′s up until 1998 it was the home of The Adelaide Fringe Festival. At present it houses the nightclub Fowler’s Live, the Jam Factory which is art related and has nothing to do with jam at all, as well as other venues.

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Although Adelaide is renowned as the City Of Churches, only one church can be known as being the first church in Adelaide. That church is the Holy Trinity, Adelaide’s Pioneer Church.

The church is located at 87 North Terrace Adelaide. They have their own website, Holy Trinity Adelaide, which is full of information including all the Church Services.

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Who said that there was no poetry in Adelaide? To prove them wrong I searched high and low until I found a beautiful piece of poetry right in Hurtle Square. Of all places it was placed on a pigeon drinking fountain.

Address To The Pigeons In Hurtle Square

The pigeons in the square
Are pert and debonair.
Plumped out with scattered scraps.
They cease to fear mishaps, Accost me as I walk,
With wheedling salesman’s talk.
And when I don’t provide
They jostle me aside.
Security we know
Is mortals chiefest foe,
And Shakespeare’s warning words
Embrace both men and birds.
They end who this defy
Cat’s lunch or pigeon pie.
So fly, bludging crew,
And don’t shit on my shoe.

Not bad huh, we Aussies can display the word shit in public.

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