We were up and packed this morning, ready to go and explore the famous Salamanca Markets. It was a short walk to join the beginning of the Macquarie Street end. We spied a coffee stand that didn’t look too busy and thought it was a good place to start. The barista was very slow moving and finally presented a cup to the person waiting. There was one more person in front of us. She ordered and he slowly and methodically went about his business, tamping and then re-filling the group-head and tamping again, weighing it, checking his phone, setting the machine, pouring some milk and then informing us he could only do hot chocolate today. We all walked away a little bemused.
The market offerings are all Tasmanian and all of a good quality. There was a lot to take in and a big crowd to deal with. I lost Clare on more than one occasion. Once while I was lining up for coffee in the longest coffee line. It was an extremely long wait, which gave Clare time to find me again. At least the coffee was good.
We made our way around the stalls, buying a few bits and pieces.
We had mini tarts for breakfast, lemon for me, white chocolate for Clare.
Anthea was running late but finally made it and we wandered along together and caught up on her news. As always, she was a whirlwind, but it was so good to see her again before we took off.
We had seen all there was to see in a couple of enjoyable hours. I still hadn’t had the famous Tasmanian scallop pie, so I had one for lunch and Clare had a meat pie. We sat in the park, perched on rocks and enjoyed them, watching the crowd go by. It really is a very busy, bustling market.
We got back to the hotel to check out, only to find that our new, extended time cards wouldn’t let us into the rooms. I popped downstairs and got yet another card which allowed us in to fit all our shopping into the suitcases. I did need to release the extender zip on mine.
We checked out and made the short walk to our next hotel. We hadn’t been able to get another night in two rooms at the Movenpick. I guess with all the tennis players arriving, it makes sense. We were booked into the Customs Hotel right on the dock.
One room was available early, so I took that. It was on the third floor, but you had to get off the elevator at the second floor as it didn’t go to the third. Then you had to go down some stairs, up some little stairs and then up some big stairs. We left Clare’s suitcase in the foyer and I lugged mine up all those stairs. It did take some effort, but I got there. It is a very old style hotel, up and down stairs and corridors.
The boys were not far away but the hotel had told us that they actually did not have parking for the night. This is the reason we booked this hotel. But the city of Hobart takes over the parking area for the Taste of Summer festival. Anyway, we directed the boys to the loading zone outside our hotel, unpacked their bags and Tony went off in search of some street parking, which was a bit lacking with the markets still in full swing.
We popped Ken’s suitcase in our room and waited for Tony to return before settling into the alfresco area at the front of the hotel for a drink and lunch for the boys. We caught up on all their news - it seemed they had survived. They had had lots of fun but it was very hard.
The other room was finally ready, so Clare and Tony checked in. We were entertained by a young mother with two little kids trying to escape. She had a mountain of luggage, her husband was off looking for parking and she was very frazzled, but in a fun way. Like, how the hell did we end up in this not-family friendly hotel? Her little boy was being entertained by our big boys and we were stopping her little girl from escaping out the door.
Eventually her husband arrived - truly bewildered. It was all amusing for us.
Tony and Clare went for a rest, Tony has had a lot of mountain driving on the trip. Ken and I went for a walk. We wandered through Salamanca Place, the markets were in pack up mode so we continued on and ended up climbing the hill at Runnymeade Street where we came across a fancy heritage hotel, The Lenna. We were able to go in and explore. We climbed all the stairs to the turret of McGregors lookout. It gave us a panoramic view of the city, but particularly the water of Hobart. It was pretty cool. There was a grand little bar, the Chandelier Bar, but we were not really up to that. Shame we found it on our last day.
We continued our walk through the rose garden of Princes Park, perched on the hill overlooking the bay below, back down past the CSIRO, and Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and finally back into Salamanca Place. We decided to continue on and do some research for our dinner. We walked along Constitution Dock, looking very different now that the Sydney to Hobart has packed up.
We walked along Franklin Wharf and across the Victoria dock Bridge to a building with a lot of restaurants. We checked out all their menus and decided on our favourite before heading back to the hotel. Then we thought we’d better check out the Franklin Wharf Restaurant as it was just across from our hotel. That looked good too.
We were back in time to meet Clare and Tony in the alfresco area. We found a couch out of the wind with the heater on so were very cosy. They were well rested and all dressed and ready for dinner. We had a couple of drinks and booked dinner. The Franklin Wharf couldn’t fit us in but Frogmore Creek had a table for 7.45. Perfect.
Ken and I tidied ourselves up and we enjoyed a lovely evening stroll to the restaurant. It was a great choice. The food was fabulous, the service was fun and professional and the surroundings were beautiful, with views of yachts in the water. Tony and I shared some oysters, Clare and Ken some olives. Then I had a delicious trout with sticky rice, the boys had steaks and Clare had the lamb cutlets. We shared some enoki greens and a roasted cauliflower dish. The meals were all really good, so we went for dessert. Ken and I shared a raspberry and hibiscus cheesecake and Tony and Clare a very pretty apple tart. One of our best meals of the holiday, it was a really fun night and a lovely way to spend our last night together.
2025-02-15