Woke this morning feeling like a mac truck had hit me! Proud of the walking etc yesterday, but methinks I need to pace myself a little.
We got up at 9am and headed out a little while later. So we ended up at Jackman and McRoss for Brunch. It was busy - with locals, with tourists and the local biking fraternity. There's a lively buzz and the clatter of dishes and cutlery, steps on creaking old floorboards all muted by the smells. You know the sort, the smells of warmth and love and warm breads and pastry. It was divine.
Meredith had told us of their fabulous pies, but today we chose Potato Rosti with Avocado, Trout and Poached Egg (with an extra egg so we could share). It was at once comfortingly familiar, with a twist of fennel and chilli that showed us the chefs here don't rest on their laurels. We also ordered a Buttermilk and Raisin loaf with Butter and their Raspberry Jam (again, to share). It was amazing. Light, warm, with a sweet crusty top that smashed into delectable shards in your mouth. The loaf itself was fluffy and fragrant with plump raisins that was only enhanced with generous lashings of unsalted butter and even more generous dollops of rich fruity raspberry jam. I'm so in love with this jam, I intend to bring or post (😉) some home. Orders will be taken at $10 per bottle - that'll help pay for my postage!!
We contemplated buying an Opera Cake, or a Lemon and Passionfruit Meringue or some other delectable dessert to have later in the day, but couldn't justify that when we have tartlets, honeys, nuts sweet and savoury, and biscuits remaining from the visit to the Salamanca Markets! Perhaps as we depart the area on Tuesday.
So we took ourselves off on foot for a stroll through Battery Point. Quaint residences sit comfortably among other historic buildings that have been converted into cafes, restaurants of global cuisines (think, nepalese, japanese, thai) alongside historic pubs whose walls would no doubt tell many a salacious tale! Battery Point was named for the battery of guns established on the point as part of the early Hobart defences around 1818. They sat in what is now known as Princes Park. They were decommissioned in 1878 when a review found that instead of protecting the area, they would more likely draw fire into the (by then) heavily residential area.
The homes are small by today's standards, but obviously far more oppulent. The windows are ornate, many with wrought iron window boxes, stunning carved doorways with ornate knockers. The fences are varied, as varied as the houses they encase, but the most amazing sights are the gardens. Trees and flowers jostle with each other in small courtyards and small plots. Roses are blooming, firs are flowering and fruiting. One of the stunning sights were huge multi-coloured hydrangeas - twice as large as the pink and blue ones that graced my grandparents home in Taree. they were elongated in shades of white, creams, muted plummy colours, pastel greens - all in one blossom. Longer than my hand and almost as large as my forearm. Truly beautiful. There are a myriad of scents on the air, which is crisp in the morning. The light is clear, and everything looks bright and sharp. Hobart surely is a stunner.
We vanished back in time for an hour, wandering through Annick's Antiques. If there was only some affordable way to transport a dining table home. Anyone know of any Maryborough (Qld, not Victoria) residents driving a truck home from Tassie? There were so many silverware pieces, tablecloths, doilies and china specialities I could have bought to love! But I have promised myself (and Gen) that we are seriously downsizing our 'stuff' so I won't be buying any more to add to my collections at home.
The weather today is closing in. As we look out to Kunanyi today, like all large mountains the world across, is birthing the clouds that will later today bring a misting damp, dank rain. But for the moment it is still dry, so we head for MONA. Given that its a wheelchair visit, and there are 99 steps to climb from the ferry terminal, we have to bypass the beginning immersion of the Posh Pit on the Ferry. Nevertheless, the drive up the hill to the museum through the grounds of the Moorilla Vineyard is stunning. There are vines ranging from young plants, reaching skywards for the sunlight, to vines thicker than my arms that have withstood weathering, rain and dry and are now producing amazing bounties. The last of the grapes are refusing to fall, as if defying the whim of man and seasons by purposely missing the picking season!
And although the view from the water must be amazing, Gen made sure that I saw the weathered steel bulkheads from every possible angle. Steel and concrete and glass superimposing features are set amazingly sympathetically into the landforms in which it sits. The plants on the grounds are pre-dominantly native with the familiar scents of which they are so readily known. Its quite a juxtaposition, yet seems so 'normal' or 'natural'!
We began by exploring the outside exhibits of which there are plenty. From the neatly coiffed ramps set within steel frames leading you down to the well-shared rusted steel sculpture of a cement truck on the back of a prime-mover - constructed of the most ornate and 'pretty' iron lacework! There was the dome reminiscent of the horn of an old gramaphone - I sat there leaning in, straining to hear someone - floors below me - wanting to talk with someone out in the open air - but to no avail. It sat, a silent sentinel today, holding tight to secret conversations shared past. But for me, the most amazing was the white cube room, void of anything. One entry door in and one door on the adjacent side wall, leads out, and with narrow slit-like windows that have triangular glass rods inserted in them. If you just walk in , wonder and walk out, you will miss the majesty of glass and sunlight. But, if you sit quietly in reflection for a few minutes, you are rewarded with the magic of the rainbows that prisms create. The play of light that moves fleetingly through the room on all walls, across the floor and across the ceiling certainly have a magical feeling to them. We eventually leave and continue to the top viewing deck to take in the amazing views that this elevated position provides, before returning again, back down the winding path to the main museum.
Staff here, like most service staff we have encountered here in Hobart are very friendly and helpful. Now, you need to enter MONA with few expectations and fewer inhibitions. All the exhibits are below ground and the instruction is to start at the bottom. Like many of the instructions, this is double entende - a play on words. The collection is very eclectic, yet has been curated into a collection that gathers around themes. There are the old such as the Butchering Scene from a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt, dating to around to 2494 BC - carved in limestone with remaining traces of pigment. Then there are the new, such as the musical composition that is played by a quartet every afternoon at 4pm, of the music the composer has written that day - truly a work in progress.
There are Australian wonders of Sidney Nolan and 'Two Canoes' 2004 by Judy Watson who was born so close to home in Mundubbera. There are the challenging and confronting. From the collection of works based on suicide notes to the 'infamous' Vagina Wall - how different we all are!! Gen watched it from the sensual vibrating couch!
We walked passed a lush emerald green velvet curtain to be gestured stealthily into 'The Ladies Parlour' where two women were enjoying a high tea whilst being serenaded by a blindfolded saxophonist and treated to silver service by a butler. The room was subtly lit by an amazing crystal chandelier and its walls housed ornate treasures - crowns, small vessels and gilded sculptures and Egyptian jewellery including rings, brooches and headpieces.
For me, one of the most amazing installations was 'supersymmetry' two pieces that were inspired by the artist's residency at CERN. A conception of light pulses, strobe lights and grating sounds that depict CERN's work into mathematical modelling to help explain why particles have mass. Mathematical equations dash along computer screens while tiny balls dance across the plastic sheets over sound boxes. Absolutely enthralling.
We left MONA quite exhausted. It winds up and down, in and out, weaving a curated line through the main buildimg. Towards the end there are two exhibits designed to bring you to some internal 'peace' - one where you sit and sort into whichever pattern or process you choose, rice and lentils, allowing you to spend quiet time by yourself. The other is a depiction of the Library of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient worl, lost to all mankind. It is presented as a library of nothing. white books with white, blank pages on white shelves. So we departed just short of the closing time, hours after we entered, knowing some, questioning more and with a feeling of accomplishment. Gen still feels its not something for her, but did say she enjoyed it more this visit. Maybe not for everyone, but I would still tell you to visit. I found it enthralling.
Back to Battery Point, trying to find somewhere for dinner, with most places fully booked. We strike it lucky a block away, but need to drive as it is now raining. The Shipwright's Arms is a local pub with a very tasty bistro. Andrew and Meredith's son Nick works here, but as luck would have it, he is at home in Queensland this weekend. I follow Meredith's recommendation and have the Seafood Chowder and Gen chooses their half Crayfish. Both now come with our recommendation also! Then back to the Battery Point Manor for some well-deserved rest. My feet kill me and Gen reckons that her calves will be screaming tomorrow!
We are hoping to get into the city centre for some walks tomorrow - but the weather will dictate our actual plans. Stay tuned peoples!
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