48 hours in Hobart

28 – 30 March 2014

Before moving to Australia, I’m not sure I realized that Tasmania was an Australian state.  I did, however, realize that it was near Australia and I definitely wanted to visit someday.  We flew down after work on Friday, arriving in time to check into the hotel and have dinner before going to bed.  We rented a 2 bedroom apartment hotel at Quest Trinity Hotel, and were very surprised and thrilled when we arrived that we actually had rented a fantastic 2 bedroom house!  The front desk girl was amazing, drawing all over the map the best places to eat and visit.

Hobart is a small city, so we were able to get by without a car for the most part.  First thing Saturday morning, we started on our walking tour of Hobart.  We had fantastic weather – it was cloudy and threatened rain, but was mostly dry and warm.

Hobart from near the Hotel(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Hobart Post Office(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Hobart CBD(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Hobart Waterfront(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Near the waterfront we stopped for breakfast and to come up with a game plan.  Our time was limited and we had to make the most of it.  Day 1 was to be Salamenca Market, Cascade Brewery and a nighttime ghost tour of Hobart.  Day 2 was to be the MONA.  As we headed into Salamenca Square, we couldn’t help but get a huge kick out of this sign.

Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Let the shopping frenzy begin.  I loved Salamenca Market – you can buy anything from clothing to fresh produce to wine and whiskey to lotions and essential oils, all set to the music of street performers. Jess and I got our shop on, while Ben sampled whiskeys.

Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Produce in Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Produce in Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Heather in Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Salemenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Street Performers in Salamenca Market(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

From Salamenca Square, we grabbed a taxi to the Cascade Brewery, which is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia.  I guess the water in Hobart was quite polluted during the early 1800s, so people would drink beer because it was safer than the water.  Sometimes we try to use this excuse to drink beer instead of water.  Also unique about the Cascade Brewery, they still do all of their malting on site.

When we made our tour reservation, they asked us to wear closed toe shoes.  So you are aware, ballet flats do not count.  They asked Jess and I to wear shoes and socks that they had available in a big bin at the start of the tour.  All I could think about was other people’s dirty feet in those socks.  At the end of the tour they had us put the socks into a separate bin labeled “used socks” so I sincerely hope they clean them between uses.

Cascade Brewery(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Cascade Brewery(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

At the end of the tour we were each allowed to select 3 beers to try.  Between Ben and I, we made certain that we were trying all of the Cascade Beers.  Jess had to be excluded from the communal beer because she was recovering from a cold and my selfish side wanted her to keep that to herself.  Of course our favorite, Cascade Draught, is only available in Tasmania.

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After an amazing Italian dinner, we were planning to go on a Ghost Tour of Hobart.  While we were trying to figure out where we should go, I saw this guy and said, “I think we should follow him.”  It turns out he was in fact our tour guide.

Ghost Tours of Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

The walking Ghost Tour of Hobart consisted mostly of funny stories about people who live in or used to live in Hobart.  We were directed to take lots of pictures, because you can’t always see the ghosts with your naked eye, but the camera will often pick them up for you.  Do you seen the ghosts in my photos?

Little Girl Ghost

Look closely at the lower left window.  Do you see the little girl?

Orbs

Apparently this is a really good photo of ghosts!  The orbs are so clearly defined on this house!

If only I knew a little less about how cameras pick up light, maybe I could believe what this man was telling me about ghost photography.  If only every other person on this tour hadn’t been using a flash in their photography, maybe I could believe what this man was telling me about ghost photography.  I went into this tour a believer in ghosts, but came out a skeptic.

We did, however, see some really cool places that we wouldn’t have seen without this walking tour of Hobart.

Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Apparently, some people get pictures of a woman standing in the yard of this house, but she’s not there to the naked eye.

Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

He took us into the tunnels below the city, which were built in the 18th century to protect the city from attack by warships.  This is the part of the tour where I thought things would finally get creepy, but the creepiest thing down there were the spiders.

Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

All in, the Ghost Tour was a really fun way to see the city, but was not in the least bit scary or convincing that ghosts exist in Hobart.  Our tour guide was hilarious and knew a lot about the history of Hobart.  I just kept waiting for that skin crawling creeped out feeling to set in and it never did.

After our Ghost Tour of Hobart ended, we went to Nant for Ben to do some whiskey tasting.  Tasmania is supposed to make some of the best in the world.  It must have been good, because he brought a bottle home with him.

Nant

The next morning we took the ferry to the MONA.  This has got to be the best possible way to get to the museum, as the scenery is unbelievable.  Hobart looks like a painting.

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Derwent River, Hobart(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

After about 30 minutes of spectacular painting like scenery, we arrived at the MONA.

MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

We started our visit at the MONA with a tour of the grounds, learning that there was a vineyard, winery and brewery onsite.

MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

MONA Vineyard(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

MONA

MONA

The owner of the MONA apparently thinks a lot of himself.  There was a matching one that said “God’s Mistress.”

MONA owner's parking space(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Then we headed inside the museum.  When you arrive, they hand over an iPod which can locate where you are in the museum and tell you about all of the artwork around you.  The first thing we came across was a bar, which we wondered about.  Knowing what I know now, we should have had a drink on our way in.

Some of the art was really cool.  For this display I grabbed onto the handles, which were much like those on a piece of exercise equipment that you use to check your heart rate, and the lights blinked to my heart rate.  It was pretty cool to know that all these lightbulbs were flashing to my heart beat.

MONA

Then we moved down the hall and came to the next piece of art – every few seconds this water feature would drop different words, which if you stood there long enough you realized were headlines from the news.

MONA

After this, we had to proceed down a dark, creepy hallway.

MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

And then shit got weird.  I don’t want to give too much away, because I’m actually glad to have gone into it blind.  When things got too intense, there were these little holes in the wall that had ancient artwork in it.

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This was an interesting display.  It was a room of old tube TVs on various stands with old furniture; the TVs were playing documentaries from other parts of the world.  It was hard not to get engrossed for a while.

MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

And then there were the dead bugs hanging from little strings.

Dead Bugs MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

Here are a couple more displays that I thought were pretty cool.

Mirrored Room MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

MONA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

We wrapped up our visit of the MONA with drinks at the restaurant on the MONA grounds.  We were exhausted and overwhelmed; we moved our ferry trip back forward by an hour just to get out of there as quickly as possible.  There are so many things in the MONA that you cannot unsee; to say that it’s an experience is putting it lightly.  To sum it up, the MONA made me feel weird inside.

I would recommend grabbing a drink on the ferry, having one when you first arrive in the museum bar, maybe another in the middle of your visit and a final drink on your ferry trip back to Hobart.

On the bright side, we did have the ferry ride back.  MONA

MONA ROMA(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

We did get to “sit on a sheep” on our ride back.Sit on a sheep(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

MONA

Ben was looking pretty good this day, despite everything we’d seen.

Ben

Heather(photo courtesy of Ben Grant)

The food in Hobart did not disappoint!  Here is a list of the places we ate, and would be willing to eat again:

  • Royal Thai Cafe: hands down the best Thai Food we’ve eaten in Australia
  • Harbour Lights Cafe: fantastic breakfast right on the wharf – have the breakfast bruschetta!
  • Maldini Italian Cafe Restaurant: vegetarian friendly, delicious italian food
  • Basket & Green: excellent breakfast with the locals, rather than the tourists
  • Jack Greene Bar: burgers and beer, what more does a girl need to say?

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