The night at the airport Holiday Inn was great and helped me recuperate from my lovely two days (ie the mental breakdown that I had). But I only got 5 hours of sleep. (Didn’t matter as the shower was great and the hairdryer amazing!!! (and there was internet with a cord -- broadband :) love it.)
Got to the airport early again, check out the interesting sites you see. Am I in Australia or Arizona?
Didn’t speak to anyone on the plane to Hobart. A bunch of people that were going to work (probably for the day). Very unfriendly crowd, but it was early in the a.m.
The Hobart Airport was a tad bit small -- about the size of the Cairns one -- one baggage claim, it did have a moving tract though. Got to the “hire car” counter, and they had cancelled instead of modified my reservation. So Ashley, the very nice and sympathetic clerk, took pity on me --- got upgraded too for free - Toyota Corolla, I am in the big time now. She even walked me out to my car (and paid me out for the junk I had packed, an old friend might find that funny that a Tassie girl gave me grief about my packing skills).
What is a Southern Belle, recovering from a mental breakdown, to do upon arriving in Hobart? Well go to the local Cadbury’s factory of course :) Glenn, my sweetheart of a guide, gave me a huge block of chocolate (that I am sending home in the mail). Then during his demonstration, he gave us samples -- what’s this cherry ripe thing? It must be an acquired taste - that I haven’t acquired. There was a very friendly good looking older man whipping up coffees and hot chocolates. How many of those can you have in a day? Not a good place for a lady on a diet to go.
Lonely planet said to wander around Hobart’s Victoria Docks (not anything to see except the university) and then Constitution Docks (again nothing really to see).
Found the Red Hop on Hop off Bus and the nice lady from Sydney helped me with a ticket and local information. Got on the top of the bus at the front, had a great view but the sun beat in on me big time (thought I was going to end up with a sunburn). I saw Hobart --- from Salamanca Square to Cascade Brewery, the Female Factory to the Botanical Gardens.
They have punts (or floating restaurants) at the docks. I went to the Fishy Business one and got crumbed prawns and chips, aka fried shrimp and fries. It was OK but not Felix’s or Frankie and Johnny’s. Waited with a man from South Africa who was there visiting his daughter and new grandbaby.
I learned last summer to use my indicators (aka blinkers), but it appears it is not a requirement in Tasmania (aka Tassie). Almost had another accident leaving the parking lot, but thankfully didn’t as I slammed on my brakes. FYI I got extra coverage on this car as to make sure I don’t have any further kangaroo or other animal problems.
Then it was time to check in at Clydesdale Manor on Sandy Bay Road (one of the main roads in town). Found it quickly and Wayne the proprietor was there waiting on me. He was extremely helpful and persuaded me to stay an extra day in Tasmania -- called and got my plane reservation and car reservation and hotel reservation all changed. I might actually see what I want to see in Tassie.
My room was nice (heated mattress pad) and the bathroom had a heated floor (how fancy?). I had a view of Mt. Wellington and luckily was on the ground floor. So I didn’t have to carry all my overpacked luggage up the stairs. There was a huge flat screen TV with a few channels, of course 4 of them were dedicated to sports, I mean footy (rugby).
Made my first comfort food run (not bad for being here 18 days) --- a hot apple pie and Sprite :)
I decided to go out to MONA (Museum of old and new art). The signage was lacking also. I ended up on a road in the mountains where chickens were running loose. I have never heard of feral chooks?
The MONA was very .... interesting. I went to an experimental, selective, advanced, public high school, so I went to school with some very artsy talented people. This place was just a little much. There is a vineyard surrounding a very modern concrete and glass building. The entrance to the museum looks like a tennis court. At the cafe, in a separate building there is a large chess board.
The dreadlocked assistant at the front distributed little ipod like tour helpers to people and sent you down three stories by a very large spacious black spiral staircase it was surrounded by rock. Or you could go down the glass round elevator. At the bottom, it was like being in a pyramid a stone room with the ceiling three stories high. There was a long hallway with vintage looking sofas and chairs (was this part of the art or just a place to sit and visit? the bar was right there also). The art included flashing light bulbs, water that is released to form words, videos of a time filmed intersection, a child by the wall, a really cool rock with an inside that looked like a hotel, a water filled room with a coffin, and a “fat” red Porsche.
I saw the sunset over Mount Wellington from MONA.
Stopped in the Salamanca Square at Cargo for a Hawaiian pizza -- one of the best I have had in awhile.
Everyone I spoke to about Tassie said the same thing -- the scenery is beautiful, it’s very cold, and the people have two heads (one cut off at birth and the scar is on the neck). They are right on the first two, but I found all the people I met to be very nice and not backwards at all. Now when I get into the countryside, I will update you on that part.....
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