For The Love of Travel

Got off the plane in FNQ and bam! heat (34) and humidity (70%) in combination….don’t you just love the tropics? Decided to shop for provisions and ‘chill’ in the pool for the afternoon to get the body acclimatised. Here’s the view from the apartment patio…gorgeous! Diggity dawg and beach scene.

The State election is almost due and candidates are making a last ditch effort…I couldn’t believe it when I saw Michael Trout’s board (LNP) on the highway, he’s standing for the electorate of….wait for it…Barron River. Hahahaha!! Obviously angling for votes; fishing for campaign compliments; trying to be soFISHticated but NOT; I think he’ll be off the hook soon. Just as well our PM hasn’t been seen on the hustings with him (What do you get when you cross an Abbott with a Trout?…….a monkfish)……hahaha.

Decided to celebrate the NY in Sydney this year…have never seen a performance at the Opera House – signed up for La Boheme on NY eve! It was a great show, great singing accompanied by good acting (a rarity in the few opera’s I’ve seen) and creative set design.

Then onto one of the patios of the Opera House to see the NY in, and experience the fireworks exploding over the Harbour Bridge. It was sensational!! A wait for 2 hours standing, a crush of people…but absolutely awesome!!

 

And then walking along Circular Quay to the train station….

 

Just off the plane and my friend Bev and I were off to see the famous Salamanca Market. Over 300 stallholders sell fresh and gourmet produce, arts, crafts and handiwork crafts from all over Tasmania, interstate and overseas.  

Retail therapy just before Christmas is always a dangerous thing……yes we joint purchased this gaudy but gorgeous hat (left of the black one with red circle!) to wear in winter …I’m loaning it when I go to Antartica!)
Dinner with friend Peter at a lovely Turkish restaurant, Anatolia. Followed by a few whiskies at the Lark Distillery in town.
Bev and I caught up with him the next day in Cygnet, a beautiful little hamlet south of Hobart in the Huon Valley, with apple, cherry and berry orchards lining the hills.

It’s hippy heaven, attracting musicians, artists and those seeking alternate lifestyles, including our Pete.

He was our tour guide around the area for the day.

Took the ferry to visit the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

Splendid way to approach such a lovely art gallery…and the inside was breathtaking with its natural sandstone walls, installations and artwork…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we couldn’t go past afternoon tea at Daci and Daci…glorious cakes….

Being intrepid adventurers, we left early the following morning to do a Bruny Island boat cruise on the south east coast…lovely craggy cliffs, seals, dolphins ….and we outran a serious storm, getting off the boat just minutes before it bucketed down!!!

 

Next……the Freycinet Peninsula on the north east coast, with its pea green and blue thundering ocean, white beaches, orange lichen covered beach rocks and awesome hill formations (the Hazards being the most memorable!).

We stayed at a lovely beach house right on Dolphin Sands in Swansea, and virtually had our own beach within 100m of the house. Some glorious sunrises and sunsets were experienced.

A few delicious offerings from local wineries – Freycinet vineyards 2013 Savignon blanc and Milton winery’s 2013 Grewurztraminer!! We took a few bottles home.

It was a short but very relaxing and fun holiday with a dear friend.