I love a well named business. Especially if that business is a bar or restaurant at which I can drink or eat and instantly feel just that little bit cooler simply by being there and bathing in the glow of it’s ingenious name.
I had a girl-date at one such bar just the other day when my dear Yak suggested we meet for a wee tipple at a pub called Benjamin.
Now, what’s so dang ingenious about calling a pub “Benjamin”, I hear you ask ponderously? Well, nothing on it’s own really… Until, that is, that you find out that the Benjamin is on Franklin Street! Benjamin on Franklin! Gah! The subtlety and then blatant obviousness of it just had me gagging to walk through the door and swill swanky, presidential drinks like Cognac and Champagne. I love it!
And, after setting you up with high expectations with its ingenious name, the pub itself does not disappoint. It fully delivers on it’s promise of a character and atmosphere that dwells somewhere between Alice in Wonderland, your Grandma’s living room, and Thomas Edison’s library. Seriously, I could move into this pub, I love it that much.
(Unfortunately, my photographic skills weren’t loving it so much… you’ll get a much better idea of how awesome this place is (especially with respect to the above amazing crystal installation) if you pop on over to their web site)
One of the great things about coming back to live in a city that you left four years ago is discovering all of the little things that have changed about it – especially when they’ve changed for the better.
My local haunt area is Glenelg - home of the tram line, the Beachouse and other such horrid tourist traps, and now, also home of a fabulous frozen yoghurt shop called Fruizberry! Having taken over the premises of a well known ice-cream chain with a not overly popular girl’s name, Fruizberry is oh so much cooler with it’s self serve flavours and toppings, price-by-weight style of selling, and cups bigger than your head!
I went a little crazy and chose to squeeze out three of the twelve-or-more flavours available, and I must say that mango, green tea, and chocolate go surprisingly well together. However, the flavour that really shizzled mah nizzle was lamington. I kid you not, it was exactly like having a slippery, smooth, and pleasantly cold lamington in your mouth.
I have always felt that Adelaide is one of the most underrated cities in Australia. Yes, we have an exceptionally large number of serial killers per population, but we also have an exceptionally high number of cafes, restaurants, and delicious eateries per population; not to mention that there are several award winning wine regions all within a short drive of the CBD, our beaches are gorgeous (the second best in Australia, as rated by me), and we put on a damn fine festival!
The first half of the year in Adelaide is always a blast and I’m so glad I’m here for it. If you’re into fast men in lycra, there is the famous Tour Down Under which gets underway in just over a week’s time – teams from around the world come to compete in the eight day Tour and the atmosphere is just amazing!
If the arts are more your thing then strap yourselves in kids, because February and March are your months. You can get yourselves started with the Adelaide Fringe Festival which runs from 24 February to 18 March, and is choc full of cabaret, dance, film, music, puppetry, visual arts, comedy, and more! Several years ago I volunteered at the Fringe and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I helped build a giant purple octopus out of recycled materials for the opening parade, was a door biatch lady for Ross Noble (AND got to meet him!), and my super volunteer hours also got me into several shows for free! Sa-weet!
If you’re not already exhausted from the Fringe, or if you prefer your arts to be a little more ‘cocktail hour’, then you can also get yourself out to experience the Adelaide Festival from 2-18 March. Offering theatre, dance, opera, and including the literature event Adelaide Writer’s Week, the Adelaide Festival has just ticked over from a bi-annual event to an annual event, proving it’s popularity with locals and interstaters alike.
Finally, if you want to get your groove on, there’s Womad, a four day world music festival in Botanic Park from 9-12 March. The last time I went to Womad (sadly, several years ago), I was introduced to, and captivated by Julien Jacob, who creates a sound somewhere between African folk and contemporary, and who has invented his own language, believing that sometimes, words can get in the way of a song’s meaning. After seeing him perform, I went to buy his album from the Womad music tent, only to discover it had sold out. I searched high and low throughout Adelaide, and even some music stores in Melbourne and Sydney, and could not locate his album anywhere. In the end, I issued a plea on my blog at the time, asking whether anyone, anywhere, had access to his album and if they could send it to me. Not long afterwards, I received an email asking for my postal address and then, a few weeks later I received the album, and a photo signed by the man himself wishing me (personally) all the best! So, Womad holds a special place in my heart, and with a lineup already including Gurrumul, Blue King Brown, and Mo’Horizons, I am dead keen to get myself there again this year.
extensive research shows that those who send emails to sarah at fizzmeup dot com are much better dancers, and far more intelligent, than the average population!
