Tassie Day 1: Sydney to Hobart

It's ridiculous that it has taken me this long to update the blog. We've been home for more than a week now. So now I have to backtrack a couple weeks to our Trip to Tasmania. Wish me luck!

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We got back from the Blue Mountains, did some laundry, and promptly fell asleep so we could wake up bright and early on Battle of Britain Day to catch our flight to Hobart. We arrived on the allegedly dreary island of Tasmania to find blue skies and crisp, fresh air. Myth 1 busted.

After driving around the western part of the Hobart suburbs in our huge, fancy rental car; eating a tasty lunch in a teeny town cafe; and stopping at a scenic overlook at the first of many expansive but empty white-sand beaches, we made our way into the city to our hotel (the Hobart Tower Hotel).

The desk clerk filled us in on the facts, including that we had just missed the famed Salamanca Market. If Molly had been with us, missing the market would have been a minor tragedy. But as it was, no one was too upset. However, from the photos we later saw on postcards, it looked like quite the weekly market. Puts our little Belmar Market to shame.

We explored the city on foot, had a nice cappuccino, wandered around some more until I realized that I'd left my purse at the nice little coffee shop Yikes!! We quickly backtracked to the shop (which was nearly closed) to find that my purse was still there ... as was all my cash. Whew!

The main goal of our walk was to find a sushi restaurant (or any decent-looking restaurant) to return to for dinner. After walking in circles and exploring the touristy docks area, we realized that Hobart (or at least the part we saw) was not exactly a gourmet town. After a very expensive drink at a corner pub ($17 for three beers), we walked in circles again, finally winding up at an Indonesian takeaway restaurant. Quite tasty and very filling, but not the fresh seafood I was hoping for.

Fortunately, we got lost on our walk back home and were able to work off most of our meal! During our meanderings back to the hotel, we stumbled upon the more happening part of town (oddly enough, not in the "tourist" region and a mere three blocks from our hotel), where we found restaurants and pubs and cafes galore. Apparently the desk clerk led us wrong. Perhaps saving this part of Hobart for the locals?

We were exhausted by the time we got back to our room and promptly fell asleep ... at the early hour of 8 p.m.! Lazy buggers!