8 April 2018                 Hobart

 Lex Writes:           Laundry day!

The Machine Laundry Café was our best option to get some clothes washed. It is located in a small square just off Salamanca Street. The morning was cool and showery but quite pleasant at about 12 degrees. One load of washing, one cup of coffee, and three drying cycles later, our clothes were clean, but not dry. We took them home and spread them around the apartment like lichens on rocks. Then we went down to Salamanca Street to meet Peter Thompson, Robyn’s cousin.

Machine Laundry Café is both a laundromat AND a very trendy café! Luckily we got there early and secured both a washing machine and a table. A fabulous idea.

Robyn takes over because Lex is doing the washing up. And that sort of behaviour is admirable and deserves to be encouraged!
We met Peter at 11 o’clock down at Salamanca at the Abel Tasman statue ( a good place to meet ) and wandered around the docks area admiring the views until we found a lovely restaurant overlooking the docks area to stop for coffee. We sat outside as it was warming up by this stage and the rain had disappeared (we are taking credit for bringing Emerald weather with us. Has worked a treat up until this stage, anyway!) We had an excellent view of the Aurora Australis again, and also the HMAS Waller, the submarine which is in the harbour at present. We had a great catch up with Peter – it’s been over a decade since we last saw him at our Aunty Anne’s 80^th birthday party.

 HMAS Waller in port

 Arthur Circus, the most adorable circular street in Hobart!

St George's - the bell tower is lit up at night and can be seen for miles

After a long and leisurely coffee break, we decided to go for a drive, so Peter took us off for a scenic view of Hobart – always great to be with a local! We saw Arthur Circus, an absolutely adorable little round street of perfect Georgian cottages, all beautifully presented, with a park area in the middle. Just beautiful. For the last few days and nights, we’ve noticed a lit-up tower a few blocks to the south of where we are staying, and we’ve finally identified it as St George’s Anglican Church bell tower; a real landmark in the city.

Then Peter took us to the Hobart Botanical Gardens – these are 200 years old this year, and he says that apparently Prince Edward is arriving to officially honour the occasion on Tuesday. I’m missing a royal visit by one day! Bugger. Anyway, the gardens are just lovely, so we had a stroll around a lot of them. Some amazing plants and trees that just don’t grow in Emerald! Also a beautiful Japanese garden section that was really well done. We were also able to put names to some of the trees we’ve seen along the way but haven’t known the names of. Finally, we realized that it was 2 o’clock and must be lunch time, so we had a delicious meal in the restaurant, ‘Succulent’, overlooking the gardens.

 Just like Japan!

 This room was really interesting - and cold! It's the Subantarctic Room which replicates the conditions on Macquarie Island and the plants which live there. Those circular vents you can see on the right wall in the photo were blasting us with icy air!

 A lovely lunch at 'Succulent'

 Gardener's Cottage and statue

Lovely landscaping - lots of different areas

After that, we went to the National Trust building ‘Runnymede’ which is a lovely old house built in 1840. For many years it was owned by a whaling captain so there was a lot of information about the whaling industry, which was huge in Tassie in the early years. Unfortunately, by this stage it was almost 4, when the house closes, so we weren’t able to go in, but we enjoyed a look around the gardens, coach house and stables. It’s a beautiful old building, and very well cared for.

 

Runnymede

Peter then took us up to The Domain, the large open spaces for public use, and to the suburbs of North Hobart. He wanted to show us a Greek-style building erected by Lady Franklin (wife of Arctic explorer John Franklin), and when we got there we discovered that it was actually open, and featuring a display by 80 year-old local Hobart painter Joan Humble, who specialises in landscapes. She was there, so it was lovely to talk to her about her work. We really enjoyed looking at her paintings and wishing we could afford the thousands of dollars to take one home! However, there was a raffle of one of her pieces there and Lex and I have both bought tickets so one of us is sure to win it….

Greek-style building in North Hobart bushland. As you do!

It was getting late by this stage, so Peter brought us back to our cosy little unit and came in for a cuppa, before he headed back to the Huon Valley where he lives. Great to catch up!

After that, Lex suggested that we should go out and have a drink before I cooked tea, so as a good wife does, I agreed with his suggestion, and we wandered back down the hill. This unit really is sooo convenient for Salamanca and the docks – a brilliant location. Rain had set in again but then decided to clear, so we admired the views as we walked right around to Macquarie Dock  where we found Frogmore Creek’s restaurant and bar. Frogmore Creek is one of the wineries that receives rave reviews, so I was anxious to try their wares. I had a lovely glass of the Pinot Grigio and Lex tried Bellgrove Rye Whiskey, which he’s been wanting to sample (he reports that it is nice enough but he wouldn’t buy it again – good for a novelty!) I, on the other hand, was really impressed with my glass of ’42 Degrees’, so we called in at ‘Salamanca Fresh’, a local produce store in the Salamanca Markets, and picked myself up a souvenir bottle on the way home!

 Lovely views around the docks this evening

Then it was home to cook tea, rearrange damp washing (bloody socks are still not dry!) and ignore the thought of packing. It’s been a big day! Tomorrow we are off to Derwent Bridge at Lake St. Clare, so will be out of email contact for a day or so. Fingers crossed for fine weather….