Botanical

One of my favourite Hobart things to do is visit the botanical gardens. This was one of my favourite things to do in Wellington and Oxford, too. The Hobart version is, I think, particularly good.

 

 There are ponds with ducks (watch out, its spring time, which means crazy duck business), bridges, water lillies and waterfalls.

 There are mass plantings, of course. The ranunculi were spectacular, but earlier in spring the tulips were pretty good too. I'm happy to say that there are just a few of these, but well concentrated to give you a fantastic surprise. There is also a wonderfully large tree section - an oak grove, a pinetum, and various Australian bits and bobs. Right by the toilets is a fantastic collection of warratahs. And although we didn't go this weekend, I happen to know that the restaurant does an excellent cake and coffee for elevenses.

 

Blue Sky Running

Nice day for a run.

Random Hobartness

This is the best vanilla slice ever created. It was absolutely spectacular to look at, and even better to eat. It came with a lovely coffee. It was so good that I had to bribe my 3 year old not to eat my share. The magicians at Little Missy Patisserie made it - and a stack of other delicious delights.

 

This is the bottle of bubbles I bought to celebrate getting a job. Its just a few hours of a job (actually, a few hours of two jobs), but enough to keep me happy. The bubbles are a local drop (Tasmania local, not Hobart local), and delicious as ever - love you, Jansz NV. (PS - I don't usually store bubbles with my kids lunchboxes, but it gives you a sense of the everyday chaos. I think I thought I'd crop that photo, but I kinda like it).

This is your average Hobart day. Hah! I wish....but there have been quite a few of these, and they are gorgeous. We've spent a bit of time here at Cornelian Bay - it has an excellent playground, a little beach, free barbeques that are usually very clean, and an excellent kiosk with icecream and fish & chips. There's a restaurant too, but so far we're still enjoying the outside parts of it.

This is a terrible photo of a Hobart icon. I remember being taken to visit the Cat & Fiddle Arcade as a child, and thinking it was brilliant. Its a fantastic mechanised clock, that on the hour performs a version of Hey Diddle Diddle. The cow jumps over the moon, the dish and the spoon appear from behind the cat's fiddle, and he saws his way merrily through the tune. Its all over much quicker than I remember, and my 3 year old didn't seem overly impressed, but I loved its retro glory (even if the arcade shopping itself is a bit of a turn off). Long live the Cat & Fiddle!