The Qantas steward had a friendly tone as he told no-one in particular that he didn't know how far back the business class went. But since I was sitting in it, I piped up with a "Well it definitely goes to here".
"Oh, you're a princess are you?" he asked, then addressing me only as 'Princess' for the rest of the flight.
I mused to no-one in particular that I really couldn't imagine that happening if he, we, weren't Australian.
Nearing the end of our flight into Hobart, he queried us first on whether we were returning home (to Hobart????? must have been the steelwool beard of my travel companion that gave that impression). When we said we were visiting to see the Museum of Old and New Art – MONA – he asked "Is that the vagina one?"
And it's that 'how ya going' nonchalance that stirs my patriotism.
No, really.
That's what I love about Australians. Sitting in business class? So what.
You can still get stirred. And speak about vaginas.
Bless.
Actually, the MONA is not the 'vagina one' any more. Well, not so much as it was when it had Jamie McCartney's 'The Great Wall of Vagina' on display. But there are still vaginae, and lots of sex, and gore too!
It's bloody awesome.
Responsible for a significant shift of interest in the Apple Isle, and drawing many new interstate visitors to Hobart, the MONA has cachet.
In a town that pays homage to Soviet era communist simplicity in architecture, and where most woman have clean, no make-up faces, and most single men of eligible age (for certain friends of mine) are either gay or get around looking like they are from the Christian left (a distinctive look that spookily manages to straddle the gulf between hippie nature lover, and straight nerdy – I can only attribute the contradictory combination to a flurry of brown and beige), this provocative and challenging museum is surely a boon.
Sonny surprised me with this trip to Tassie, for my birthday. Actually, I got the surprise a few days before as I was about to board a teeny tiny plane to go back to the South Australian outback – it was a very lovely gesture.
Having said that, my big desire was to get him to Tassie to do a reportage on the nature and the food, but we were only there for two nights so the 'Bart was it.
At the MONA, in the shop, Sonny was happy to find a book that had used one of his photos, but he hadn't yet seen it in print…
I fell in love with this projector screen last time I visited the MONA and I still love it.
My fear – beautified…
The image of a gun on a prayer rug is quite a statement, but it's not art for arts sake. Apparently these Afghan war prayer rugs are fairly common. Still in use, and often available to buy on ebay.
Along with the rug, I would very much like to have some plants suspended in heated plastic terrariums such as these, at home…
Love
As well as the video projection on the floor of the toilet cubicle (nope, I didn't have my camera in the loo with me), but how cool is that!
Suicide machine…. (also a song Belle and India love to sing…!)
As I had visited before, I was a little faster to peruse than Sonny, so I finished off with a yummy vodka sour in the basement bar, entertained by a jazz duo as I waited.
Lunch was a cheese platter, just like last time, except this time I remembered to take the photo before we ate…
We drove around a little hoping to stumble on some fabulous gourmet produce -preferably in a restaurant environment.
The island is renowned for it's fantastic flavours covering all the important food groups of wine, cheese, and seafood, (and the not so exciting fruit, vegetables, and meat) but I struggled to find a restaurant in Hobart that showcased the local delights.
Our first night we ate at Blue Eye, where they are doing a great job offering local seafood. They have a flyer detailing where all their seafood is sourced from, the suppliers and locations, that finishes with "We prefer to take the fish off the menu rather than serve an inferior frozen imported product", which is a great philosopy. Unfortunately for me, the menu was heavy on the fish, and light on the other seafood delights (I wanted lobster or cray) and local delicacies. I had the oysters grilled with cheddar and spinach, and mussels in a creamy sauce which was a little on the bland side. Like all the restaurants we checked out, the menu could have used some bravery, but the staff were very friendly.
Sonny did well finding our accommodation.
The very cute Corindas Cottages in Glebe, comprise the Servant's Quarters, Gardener's Cottage, and the Coach House – where we stayed.
Beautiful touches throughout elevate Corindas well above the average B&B, starting not least with the combustion fire. Hobart gets pretty cold in winter, but the cosy cottage has great heating not only with the fire, but throughout upstairs, downstairs, on the bed, and even in the bathroom.
Breakfast of eggs, toast, crumpets, yoghurt, and fresh fruit is supplied, and the kitchen is very well stocked (I hate going to cabins/cottages with kitchens that have no condiments. I've even been to one with nothing. Not even salt and pepper. It's ridiculous to stay somewhere for a couple of days and have to buy those basics). Corindas has all the necessary oil, vinegar, and herbs, plus ketchap manis, and (perfect to snuggle by the fire with) hot chocolate.
If I hadn't been so unnecessarily optimistic about finding a gourmet restaurant for my birthday dinner the second night, I would have stocked up at the amazing roadside shop we stopped at on our drive which had all the things I wanted, including the cray and local cheeses, and cooked at the cottages. Ah, hindsight…
All those magazines that make you want to sit down and linger over them – Country Interiors, Travel and Gourmet – are there, as well as Scrabble and dvds,
and hidden gems.
Drawers and cupboards everywhere are filled with hidden gems..
What's this one about, then?…
Outside is equally as charming
These fantail pigeons in their extravagant birdhouse looked so pretty from the warm interior of the cottage that I even went out into the frosty morning air for a closer look
Once you look past beigeness, Hobart has quite a bit of loveliness, and is a springboard to some incredible countryside.
I highly recommend a visit to the carnysexual modern MONA, with a stay in the olde worlde quaintness of Corindas cottages.
Together they form a unique complement.
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