Adelaide Oval

Everyone I have met who has been to the new , redeveloped Adelaide Oval is raving about it . About half my friends are AFL fans and they just love being able to go into town to see the footy. There have been capacity crowds. One friend said he was a bit worried the bridge would collapse because there were so many people on it, but he had reasured himself it wouldn't! This is how unused to  bridges we are in Adelaide. At Darling Harbour or on the Yarra you never think those sorts of thoughts. You just cross over and enjoy the view. There have been a lot of posts in my Facebook feed about the Adelaide Oval and how great it is. Driving out to Football Park has always been a chore for those in outlying suburbs and the parking has never been the best nor has it been easy to socialise there before or after the event. This way so many people can catch a bus or train into town, tourists can easily find it and see either the cricket in summer or the football in winter and they can have a meal before or after the match in one of our great cafes or restaurants.. There is tweaking to be done, but on the whole, this has given our city and our population so much joy already. There was so much discussion, and rightly so, but this new venue has now been welcomed with open arms. Our cricket pitch at the Adelaide Oval was picturesque and historic. We have let it go because we are not a rich city and we need to make the best use we can of our amenities. The bridge is a bonus. It is something which has really cheered everyone up. We need to make our city easier to be in and a place for people to relax and feel at home. I am pleased it has worked so well because it will help mitigate the pain of what was a very tough decision.

Wow! Adelaide...just wow!

Little things mean a lot . We have not had a southern train for over a year. Our transport corridors from the south have been severely disrupted for two years because the other half of the Expressway has been being built. At this stage there are signs it is all coming together. I actually managed to catch the train into town for breakfast at the Pancake Kitchen. I hadn't organised anything too grand so if it had to be postponed or cancelled it would not be too disappointing. The train was gone for nearly a year, came back, went...is sort of back at the moment, but  today I got on a train to town!! I have one more trip on my paper ticket and then I can invest in the new Metro Cards which are vastly superior to any other ticketing system we have had. The journey to town gave me a real understanding of just how much work has been going on and just how much more there is to complete. I shall now be patient because you can see Adelaide is just waiting to blossom and burgeon. We have to get past this rebuilding and reconstruction phase. The new hospital is an architectural delight. I'd love to be inside the honeycomb part of it, but not sick. I'd love to see the view from the other side of that genius design. The hospital itself will be huge. It is still in an odd place and I still think it will cause congestion but we'll see. It was great to see the trams running along North Terrace and the Bank Street makeover is so well done. A very clever piece of street design and use. Next trip I shall go into the the Mall to see what I can see, but today I was really impressed with what has happened on our train line and the area directly adjacent to the station. Such an improvement and a really good look. Well done, Adelaide. It has been a pain but we'll be so pleased with it all when it's done!