Paprika Cottage - Heritage Accomodation North Adelaide

Paprika Cottage, North Adelaide, South Australia, doesn't look like much from the outside. It's a small, heritage cottage alongside the rear gardens of Buxton Manor Mansion that was originally built as the chauffeur's lodgings. However the inside has been beautifully restored and includes a modest two person spa making it an excellent weekend retreat or very homely longer term accommodation.

My partner and I recently spent a weekend at the cottage, our second stay, the first being about five years ago, and it was exactly as I remembered it. We love the cottage because it feels more like a home than a hotel room. Very much helped by the views of the gardens that can be seen out of all the windows instead of a city skyline.

What makes it feel more homely is that all the furniture and trimmings are all heritage themed, styled or actual heritage pieces. There's no modern looking, flat pack style furniture here. There's also a bit of a William Morris Arts & Craft theme running through the decor - including a William Morris framed print so you can see for yourself the influences.

Although the floor plan is fairly narrow it never feels cramped (except maybe with the small dining table up against the back wall which can feel a bit cosy eating breakfast in the mornings). The main lounge, dining, kitchen area is fairly long. The kitchen is a good size for cooking, if that's your thing to do on a holiday, with all the utensils you'll need provided.

The lounge includes an open pot belly stove fire place, flat screen TV, DVD player and off course a nice sofa and comfy chair.

The main bedroom is pretty basic with side tables, chest of draws, wardrobe and of course a queen size bed. However the bed, in my opinion, is extremely comfortable and I've never struggled to get to sleep on it.

A highlight for us, of course, is the spa bathroom. We don't own a spa so that's always something to look forward to. At home we also have a tiny, enclosed shower cubical. It's so great to use the cottage shower which sits directly above the spa and is not enclosed at all (it's also got a shower head that's far bigger than ours).

Paprika cottage has high ceilings, exposed wooden beams, great lighting and includes air conditioning units in the main areas to keep everything either nice and warm or lovely and cool as required.

There's quite a lot of little quirky detail items decorating the cottage, though I'm not sure about the appropriateness of Golliwogs on the bed in the second bedroom when it comes to international guests? (Are Golliwogs still racially insensitive in terms of their history or do they kind of get a pass as nostalgia?).

Location wise, Paprika Cottage is within walking distance of a good selection of restaurants and a cinema if you want to catch a film. If you don't mind a longer walk you can even walk to the central shopping district of Adelaide however the free loop bus service stops very close by and will take you there if walking that distance isn't for you.

Paprika Cottage is part of the North Adelaide Heritage Group's series of Heritage cottages. My partner and I enjoy Paprika Cottage for it's modest size and usually quite affordable rates (generally it's the cheaper option of all the apartments on the Buxton estate). If you want something a little grander you might want to check out the apartments in the Manor its self. You can book online from the group's website.

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space. Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation . Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ). While they sound highly soph

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Guest Post: NEW NOVEL ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!

Today's guest post is by returning Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Jo's previous 2019 post, MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO! for a long time was one of this blog's most read pages. Jo returns under a new alias, author Kit Mackenzie , and with word of her new novel, ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL! which is now available on Amazon. T he first book of this epic western trilogy, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl! is the life story of a devastating and charismatic pants-wearing cowgirl who's the fastest gun in the west and bisexual. A crack shot story that blazes across the wild west! Jeannie Morgan, a devastatingly tomboy-beautiful, pants-wearing maverick who flicks a finger of contempt at society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Her speed with a gun is faster than the strike of a rattler, outshooting every man she meets. Love, hate and jealo

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog