Melbourne and Hobart

Well we have discovered that blogging on the go is a little more difficult... we just lost all of the text for this one, so this might be a little abbreviated (i am pretty bummed out. i stayed up so late last night writing all sorts of fun stories... i will try to recreate, but i haven't had my tea and "brekky," so i don't know if i have the strength):

We stayed in Melbourne last week for three days, which was quite nice. Melbourne is smaller and a little slower than Sydney, and we had a great time taking it in, day and night. we stayed in this funny little guest house luke found, called st. arnauds. it is run by this formidable irish woman--very cheerful and friendly, but i could tell you didn't want to cross her. there were lots of old people there, free tea, and vegemite and white toast for breakfast. leave it to luke to find us a "retirement" guest house! really though, it was a lovely home away from home...

this is the arts center downtown. melbourne has a lot of interesting architecture, as well as a lot of green space. there are parks, gardens, walkways along either side of the river, open squares and playgrounds. it was a wonderful place to wander for hours, which is what we did most of the time.

Above is the stained glass ceiling in the National Gallery of Victoria, an art museum housing a few permanent collections, and some visiting ones as well. that's me on the floor. i couldn't help it, i just had to lay there a while and soak it in! we explored some of the other collections, but nothing could quite compare to this ceiling. it was mesmerizing. Below is the welcoming face of the other Luna Park, at St. Kilda beach just outside Melbourne (this one is a bit scarier than the sydney one, i think).

We took a stroll through the local community gardens in St. Kilda, which were filled with friendly sculptures, flowers, and veggies... it was a really neat place. so many people put so much creative energy into the place, not to mention all the yummy veggies and fruits growing there. there were even chickens running around.

That is us on the St. Kilda pier, with the Melbourne skyline in the background, and that about wraps up our stop in Melbourne. well, almost. i want to tell you quickly about rememberance day. november 11th is rememberance day here--like our memorial day, i guess. we happened to be staying near the shrine of rememberance and happened upon their services that morning. there were thousands of people there. the governor of victoria was speaking, children were laying wreaths on the shrine steps, a choir sang, fighter jets flew overhead, a horse troop galloped by, a children's drum corps gave a spirited performance, and then we got to go inside and see a beam of sunlight that only hits this special stone at 11am on november 11th every year. afterwards, the red cross gave us tea and fruitcake and orange slices. we felt like honorary australians.

From there we flew to Hobart, Tasmania, which quickly became our favorite city so far. It is much smaller, more laid back, and caters a bit more to alternative lifestyles. After the first evening of wandering through little shops and enjoying local street musicians, we felt right at home. there was free music in the main square that night. loads of people of all ages were dancing and having a great time. as you know, i can't resist a good dance, so i pulled luke out there for some boogie time. The next morning, we spent hours browsing wooden bowls (Tassie is famous for its unique woods) and wool products at the market (and ate some pretty delicious food as well--yep yep!). not to mention all the other amazing stuff at the market--veggies and fruits, baked goods, jams and jellies, silks, jewelry, everything! it was a huge market with hundreds of stalls and thousands of people. i got a handwoven silk scarf, luke got some nice raw chunks of interesting woods, and we both got hand-spun, hand-woven wool hats. In the afternoon, the enjoyment began in earnest with the Tasmanian Beer Festival.

there were heaps and heaps of people there sampling over 150 beers. we tasted lots of delicious beers and ate tasty sausages! we met some nice folks too, jessica and shaun, who let us tag along with them the rest of the evening. we went to another night market/music concert, then to a pub to meet some of their friends, then on to a huge houseparty. i don't think i have been to a party like that since college. it was a blast though, we all danced a lot and laughed at the drunk people. jessica and shaun were lovely people, and their friends were great as well. they certainly helped us have an amazing time in hobart!after sleeping in to an obscene hour, we got up and met jessica and her friend melanie for a drive around the countryside. we got some veggies for dinner at a roadside stand, drove up mt. wellington, took a walk to a nice waterfall (picture above), and stopped in a local pub for a drink and perhaps the worst game of pool ever played. none of us were any good, but at least we were evenly matched! and it was cheap, because the game lasted forever! the picture below is of the bus stop outside the pub. it is decorated by the children of this rural area, and apparently doubles as a hangout spot for them. it was really cute, and so creative.

We didn't take the official tour (our new friends said it was "rubbish"), but we stopped by the historic Cascade Brewery to take it in. It is an impressive and important Tasmanian establishment, both physically and culturally.

Magnificent Fish & Chips... and it was a floating restaurant shaped like a fish! It just about seals the deal making Hobart the coolest city in Australia. the fish and chips were heavenly, and exactly what we needed to fortify our souls after the wild night before. greasy, crispy, fresh, perfect. washed down with a cold ginger beer, it was a meal fit for the gods. and, yes, i agree. hobart is my new favorite city. i hope we get to come back someday...