Hobart & Launceston & Festivale

The next morning, a rainbow ushered us out of town:

Off to Launceston!

So, maybe because it was a Sunday. And maybe because it was a holiday weekend. And maybe because Festivale, a food and wine fest, was happening in Launceston, but the city was like...closed. I'm glad Festivale happened to be going on when we were in Tasmania, but I'm glad I didn't seek it out. It was fun, but not the kind of thing I had envisioned. I was actually a little disappointed, because I'd wanted to like Launceston, especially because so many wineries were nearby, I'd heard it was a foodie destination. But we were bored and a little disappointed. It's lovely, but...I didn't get that wistfulness that I got when we first came to Portland, for example. I think I set my sights a little high.

That said, we had a lot of fun at Festivale, getting wine tastings and hanging out in the sun. Tasmanian wines are so good. And so not available in the U.S. It's close to tragedy, really.

Like this one. SO GOOD.

Or this fine specimen! You Tassies don't know how good you got it!

Scenes from a food and wine festival, where you can taste the wine but food will cost you.

This lady was creepy. It was like she was trying to be one of those silver robot people, but instead she appeared to be dusted in flour. She was also creeping up on the little kids. WHAT.

What's a festival without dudes on stilts?

Justin enjoying himself:

 Chillin' with my monkey arms:

 Here's what I mean. Launceston was like a Hollywood backdrop on a Sunday. Also lots of churches. WTF?

Auditioning for Australia's "Where the hell are you?" marketing campaign.

Took a pic of this rolls because we saw it in Hobart, too.

Justin went in here. I hung out outside instead. Boring.

Maybe everyone was out climbing Cradle Mountain or something. It was a stunningly gorgeous day.

Tasmania: Hobart (again)

Back to Hobart we went for a couple more days. There was a pretty big fire on Mount Wellington. Sometimes you could smell the smoke:



We went to Port Arthur, which is a huge convict-built settlement about an hour away from Hobart. It was enormous, but a little overwhelming. Some buildings and areas I found more interesting than others. Maybe I was tired. Or maybe it was the massive amounts of tourists. Is it bad to say that I was convicted out? I was kinda done.

Here's Port Arthur:

They had exhibits where you could put yourselves in leg irons. Hot.

 Lots of animals coming up!

Hobart and environs

The next day, we rented a car, just for the day and decided to check out some of the area around Hobart. We didn't have a particular destination in mind, really--we'd heard of a lot of cool areas within an hour or so, and didn't want to go too too far, considering we were leaving for Maria Island the next day.

We left around lunchtime,. I wanted oysters. So we went to Barilla Bay Oyster Farm, which is about a 20-minute drive from Hobart's CBD (central business district: a term that's used throughout Australia). Thankfully, it was quite quiet. There's a restaurant upstairs, and a more informal grab-and-go type place on the first floor. We grabbed and got some oysters (for me) and some cheese and crackers (for Justin).

I LOVE TASMANIAN OYSTERS. THEY ARE SO GOOD.

Sorry. I miss them. A lot.

I like my oysters pretty much unadorned. These didn't even require lemon. Sorry to sound like Katie Holmes, but they were amazing.

Yep, they came in a box with plastic between the first and second six. Could not have been more casual--or more delicious.  I could have eaten many, many more. I probably should have.

What the oyster farm looks like.

Random chickens!

We went to some of the Huon Valley wineries, including Panorama and Home Hill. Home Hill was especially gorgeous. Oh, yeah, and the location was beautiful, too.

Winery kitties!

On the drive back, we stopped in Richmond, which is a 19th century village--people live there, but it's kinda twee.

More Richmond:

And then it was time to rest up, because we were going to Maria Island the next day!