I’m back from Woop Woop! No, in all seriousness, Hobart is a beautiful but quiet (don’t say sleepy) city, home of “our” Princess Mary, or should I say more correctly, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Countess of Monpeza (and what the heck is it with the use of the possessive term in Australia? Our Nicole, our Cathy, etc. Seems to purport that we jealously protect our limited stock of celebrities and superstars, like cattle or sommat). Anyway, I bought tickets from Tiger Airways during their $9.95 promotions several months back (not likely to happen again, given the state of oil prices at the moment) – initally I’d planned for my family and me to go to Darwin (nice and warm all year round) to avoid the cold weather of June/July, but somehow I opted for Hobart! But I don’t regret it.

Namely I went to Richmond and Port Arthur, the latter of which is the most visited tourist attraction in Tasmania. Richmond sort of reminds me of Marysville and Ballarat in Victoria. Well, they’re all the same when you think about it, only Richmond is much older (and very unlike our Richmond in the ‘burbs!) and has the oldest convict-built bridge in Australia. I went into the Richmond Gaol, nearly 200 years old. I tried barring myself in one the solitary confinement cells in the men’s gaol, but I lasted only about a few seconds – it was pitch black, with a miniscule rectangular window at the peak of the wall, barely letting the daylight in and really very frightening! There were quaint galleries, B&Bs, cafes, bakery, sweet shop, woodcraft and other handcraft shops. All very beautiful and very expensive! We got a magnifying glass with a gorgeous wooden handle with a smooth glossy finish.

The next day I went to Port Arthur with dad only. Mum is prone to severe motion sickness so as much as she wanted to come, we couldn’t let her (!!!) because Australia is just filled with infamously winding roads and terrain and she would have probably landed in hospital again… Still, she had fun window shopping in the CBD, heh. If we had our own car it might have been better (not really) but we went on a bus tour with a rather entertaining driver who clearly knows his Tassie trivia.

Port Arthur is simply amazing. If you’re going to come to Tasmania, you must come to this sublime place. It’s been wracked by misery, hardship and tragedy both in colonial history and in recent years (see: Port Arthur massacre) but you can’t deny its harsh beauty. Lucky for us, the weather was perfect – just the right amount of sun and clear blue sky. We had a really informative and eloquent tour guide who gave us an introduction to all the sites. It was like a race against time to view each and every site available to us! The most amazing sites in my opinion were the Penitentiary (obviously!), the Commandant’s House, and the Junior Medical Officer’s House, while other sites demanded quiet contemplation and awe, such as the Memorial Garden, the old Church and the Parsonage. Apparently the latter is haunted! But I didn’t see anything odd when I was in; of course, it wasn’t night time. All the little houses were brilliant, well preserved to look like it was taken right out of the Georgian/Victorian era. Just fantabulous furnishings and decor, I was very impressed.

Also on the way to Port Arthur we stopped at Eaglehawk Neck where it ‘houses’ the Devil’s Kitchen and Tasman’s Arch, the result of really awesome geological erosion (OK, maybe not awesome in the erosion sense, but the amazing image created). Apparently you can take tours in the actual waters. I wouldn’t try it without making sure I have life insurance or sommat, ’cause it looks frightful down there. Exhilarating though, I’m sure.

I actually nearly threw up on the bus ride home, but I tried really hard to not chuck up, lest I cause myself, dad and everyone else trouble. Rest assured, I was feeling awfully relieved when I got out in the cool fresh air. It must have happened because I hadn’t slept well in the past two nights plus I was famished with hunger.

Hobart city night life is really boring, I must say. I didn’t seem to get any vibes in the evening – do people socialise and go clubbing in the outer suburbs? That must be it ’cause the city centre didn’t have much at all.

The next day it was time to leave, pooh, but we had time in the morning to go check out the famous Salamanca Market, which was a really lovely atmosphere; I wish I could have the opportunity to go to such a market in Melbourne every Saturday morning. I found a vendor selling old DC/Marvel/etc comic books from $1.50, I would have liked to buy the lot (!) but alas, went away with only three.

More photos on my Flickr album (which I finally embedded onto WordPress, bloody headache)! I’ve decided to use my Flickr more often, since it’s pretty ‘rad’ and all.

Anyhoo, here’s video of the week for 20th June – Coldplay’s Violet Hill video. It’s quite an abstract and absurd visual piece (not sure how I feel about the muted and overcast palette used; if it’s meant to recall memory or nostalgia, it seems rather cliched), but probably the most Coldplay-esque track out of Viva la Vida (a pretty damn good album; my review will be up soon). See for yourself: