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I was going to do a huge update on my tip to Tassie, but I realised that a) I couldn't be bothered, and b) it wouldn't make for terribly exciting reading anyway. So here's the edited highlights for your perusal:
♥ The flight was uneventful, even though it was slightly delayed. The airport security gates have a thing against my boots with the little silver buckle, but the Airporter Bus at Hobart airport is the best thing since sliced bread because it will drop you off at and pick you from your hotel for the princely sum of $23 return, which is about half the price of a one way taxi fare.
♥ My hotel, which is just around the corner from Salamanca Place, was very swish and the minibar prices reflected that. Fortunately I didn't have a hankering for honey-roasted cashews and a Crownie because otherwise I would have been in trouble. The bed was quite comfy, it had a nice view of the garden and three movie channels to chose from in the evenings. Also, the bathroom floor was heated, which was a godsend on those frosty Hobart mornings.
♥ Salamanca market, where I met up with my friend B, is good fun and full of knitted things and woodwork. I saw more turned wood honey twirlers than you can poke a stick at! They also have yummy German sausages and surrounding cafes serve a decent cup of coffee. I had a close encounter with the international paparazzi who were angling to take a shot at Princess Mary of Denmark who was wandering the stalls with her kids, but I failed to buy a scallop pie, which apparently is the local specialty.
♥ There was snow on Mount Wellington so B took me up for a frolic and to chuck some snowballs around. The view is spectacular, was you would imagine, and I wouldn't recommend wearing a short dress to the snow.
♥ Everything in Hobart is built on top of a hill. My calves and butt got such a workout from all the walking I did that I reckon they'd rival Naomi Campbell's right at this moment.
♥ Battery Point, the area where I was staying, is very cute and old and quaint. It's full of these teensey little cottages and narrow twisty streets, and it seems to have a cafe on on every other corner, all of which serve good coffee and yummy food.
♥ There are a lot of pubs in Hobart, but I most hung out at The Republic which is B's local. My first night there we had dinner with a couple of his friends, and on Monday night I joined in with their quiz team. And we won, mostly because I knew that Miranda Richardson played Queenie in Blacker Adder II. I knew all that TV watching would come in handy at some stage.
♥ I caught up with ex-boss and his partner. They took me for a bit of a driving tour around the city and shouted me lunch, which was lovely of them. They have this exceedingly cute semi-detached terrace in North Hobart that has the scariest 70's Formica in the bathroom that you've ever seen. Apparently they've been wrestling with the idea of what to do with the bathroom since they bought the place, but last year it all became too hard so they plonked it in the too hard basket and and spent the money on a trip to the UK instead. Having seen their bathroom, I think I'd do exactly the same thing. Before I left ex-boss took me for a bit of a tour around the State Library of Tasmania, where he now works, showing off some of the treasures in the storage areas that public don't generally get to see. However the library is housed in one of the ugliest buildings known to man and I really don't envy anyone who has to work there.
♥ On Monday I hired a car and braved the twisty Tasmanian roads to dive out to Port Arthur, which is fantastic but also one of the eeriest places I've ever been to. Given it's history as a penal colony there's no wonder it's haunted, but recent events have also left their own layer of ghosts that make their presence known wherever you go.
♥ My last day was spent wandering around the Botanical Gardens and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The former was wonderful and is where I saw the cutest of cutest things, a bumblebee! The latter is quaint and very Tasmanian and I was rather alarmed by all the stuffed animal displays in the natural history section.
♥ I finished the trip off with drinks and dinner with B, who was wonderful the whole time I was there, and then it was a matter of packing my bag and getting the plane home on Wednesday afternoon. The only downside was that I'd forgotten to leave my room service order out for breakfast, the one and only time I was getting room service for the trip, and my quest for poached eggs for breakfast proved fruitless. Scrambled I could find aplenty, but poached? Nada :(
I had a great time and am very glad I made the effort to get away for a few days. The weather was wonderful the whole time I was there and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though my bank account now loathes the sight of me. I will definitely make a return visit, even if it's just to conquer quiz night again!
♥ The flight was uneventful, even though it was slightly delayed. The airport security gates have a thing against my boots with the little silver buckle, but the Airporter Bus at Hobart airport is the best thing since sliced bread because it will drop you off at and pick you from your hotel for the princely sum of $23 return, which is about half the price of a one way taxi fare.
♥ My hotel, which is just around the corner from Salamanca Place, was very swish and the minibar prices reflected that. Fortunately I didn't have a hankering for honey-roasted cashews and a Crownie because otherwise I would have been in trouble. The bed was quite comfy, it had a nice view of the garden and three movie channels to chose from in the evenings. Also, the bathroom floor was heated, which was a godsend on those frosty Hobart mornings.
♥ Salamanca market, where I met up with my friend B, is good fun and full of knitted things and woodwork. I saw more turned wood honey twirlers than you can poke a stick at! They also have yummy German sausages and surrounding cafes serve a decent cup of coffee. I had a close encounter with the international paparazzi who were angling to take a shot at Princess Mary of Denmark who was wandering the stalls with her kids, but I failed to buy a scallop pie, which apparently is the local specialty.
♥ There was snow on Mount Wellington so B took me up for a frolic and to chuck some snowballs around. The view is spectacular, was you would imagine, and I wouldn't recommend wearing a short dress to the snow.
♥ Everything in Hobart is built on top of a hill. My calves and butt got such a workout from all the walking I did that I reckon they'd rival Naomi Campbell's right at this moment.
♥ Battery Point, the area where I was staying, is very cute and old and quaint. It's full of these teensey little cottages and narrow twisty streets, and it seems to have a cafe on on every other corner, all of which serve good coffee and yummy food.
♥ There are a lot of pubs in Hobart, but I most hung out at The Republic which is B's local. My first night there we had dinner with a couple of his friends, and on Monday night I joined in with their quiz team. And we won, mostly because I knew that Miranda Richardson played Queenie in Blacker Adder II. I knew all that TV watching would come in handy at some stage.
♥ I caught up with ex-boss and his partner. They took me for a bit of a driving tour around the city and shouted me lunch, which was lovely of them. They have this exceedingly cute semi-detached terrace in North Hobart that has the scariest 70's Formica in the bathroom that you've ever seen. Apparently they've been wrestling with the idea of what to do with the bathroom since they bought the place, but last year it all became too hard so they plonked it in the too hard basket and and spent the money on a trip to the UK instead. Having seen their bathroom, I think I'd do exactly the same thing. Before I left ex-boss took me for a bit of a tour around the State Library of Tasmania, where he now works, showing off some of the treasures in the storage areas that public don't generally get to see. However the library is housed in one of the ugliest buildings known to man and I really don't envy anyone who has to work there.
♥ On Monday I hired a car and braved the twisty Tasmanian roads to dive out to Port Arthur, which is fantastic but also one of the eeriest places I've ever been to. Given it's history as a penal colony there's no wonder it's haunted, but recent events have also left their own layer of ghosts that make their presence known wherever you go.
♥ My last day was spent wandering around the Botanical Gardens and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The former was wonderful and is where I saw the cutest of cutest things, a bumblebee! The latter is quaint and very Tasmanian and I was rather alarmed by all the stuffed animal displays in the natural history section.
♥ I finished the trip off with drinks and dinner with B, who was wonderful the whole time I was there, and then it was a matter of packing my bag and getting the plane home on Wednesday afternoon. The only downside was that I'd forgotten to leave my room service order out for breakfast, the one and only time I was getting room service for the trip, and my quest for poached eggs for breakfast proved fruitless. Scrambled I could find aplenty, but poached? Nada :(
I had a great time and am very glad I made the effort to get away for a few days. The weather was wonderful the whole time I was there and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though my bank account now loathes the sight of me. I will definitely make a return visit, even if it's just to conquer quiz night again!
tired