It's a long time indeed since I posted to this blog ... in fact, I can scarcely believe how long! The fact is that Covid put the kybosh on travelling for a couple years, and life has been "interesting" since the virus began to settle down. Even now, we're a tad reluctant to travel so far that we have to stay overnight, because coming down with that particular plague is our worst-case scenario. (Dave works in aged care, and if the virus finds its way into his facility -- fact: what is an inconvenience to any one of us can cause people to perish. Give one pause! Added to which, the recent strains are incredibly contagious, so easily caught that one could suffer this virus repeatedly. Now, add in the research, that it's also associated with early-onset dementia, and ... why take the risk?) So ...
Since the South Australian state borders opened up again, we haven't "stayed away" at all. We've concentrated on day trips out from home: only what you can do in a day and be home by midnight. And it's amazing, what you can find, and do, within such easy reach. The Adelaide Hills change their face with every season. No season is more beautiful that autumn, and there is absolutely no better place to see the autumn colours that Stirling.
I will add a caveat here: you do need to score a sunny day, to catch these brilliant hues at their best. Having said this, if the weather refuses to cooperate, Stirling also offers some of the best shopping and dining in these hills. There's more gourmet cafes and coffee houses and tearooms than you can count or remember, so I'll just point you at our absolute favourite. Look up Konditorei Coffee Lounge, also known simply as Cafe Kondi. Marvellous atmosphere, inside and under-cover outside dining, great food, the best coffee, and attractive prices. (They're on the mall at 2/37/39 Mount Barker Rd, Stirling SA 5152 ... best yet, they have a woodstove which is lit in winter. There's nothing better than drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the fire while it's raining and howling outside.)
There's many reasons to go to Stirling, but what takes us there every year -- and sometimes several times in a season, to get the weather juuuuust right -- is the autumn colour show. Life meets art. If you're more interested in shopping and dining, you'll find both in Stirling, but for us, it's all about this:
Actually, it's an interesting town. This, from Stirling's Wiki page:
Founded in 1854, Stirling grew rapidly as a result of the expansion of apple growing and market gardening to satisfy the demand of the expanding city of Adelaide, whose centre is only 15 kilometres from Stirling. It also developed as a residential address for English migrants who could afford it, to escape Adelaide's hot summers, often 10 degrees cooler than Adelaide. As a result, many historic, grand mansions can be found in the area. Today, farming has declined as more of the region has been urbanised, with many Stirling residents commuting to Adelaide daily.
Stirling is on the road through to Aldgate, which is another "hills town experience" with its own charm and opportunities for wining and dining, not so much for shopping. Stirling is larger, with over 3,000 residents now, which makes it one of the larger hills towns, and handy for Belair NP, Cleland Wildlife Park, Mount Lofty Summit, the Piccadilly - Summertown - Uraidla scenic drive ... perfect!
So, you know where we'll be next autumn! The leaves an start to turn somewhere around May, and into early June in some years. The climate is getting rather odd lately, and the trees are ... confused. (And I'll try to catch up with this blog momentarily. Truth is, I've got out of the habit of blogging -- and forgotten how much I used to enjoy it!
