Hobart, Tasmania

We have headed even further south, to Tasmania - the island that is also Australia's southernmost state. Tasmania is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who was the first European to set foot on this island. But Abel Tasman must've been very humble because he did not name it after himself. When he first landed in 1642, he originally called it "Van Diemen's Land" after his boss. It was over 200 years later in 1856 that the British chose to rename it after its "discoverer".

We are in Hobart and staying at Macquarie Manor, a charming historic hotel built in 1875. This town has really done a wonderful job of preserving its old buildings and using them in creative ways.

For example, many of the warehouses around the harbor are now in use as shops and waterfront restaurants. The ones on the far right used to be the Jones Jam Factory.

Hobart is a town steeped in nautical tradition. It is one of the host cities of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, one of the most difficult boat races in the world due to the boats having to cross the Bass Strait which gets very high winds and seas. It's funny -- when we were sailing, those were exactly the kinds of conditions we deliberately went out of our way to avoid! The first Sydney to Hobart race was back in 1945. Hobart's Maritime Museum has one of the yachts that won the race not once but twice - in 1947 and again in 1948.

We loved all the green spaces in Hobart, especially St. David's Park. The entrance gate was so pretty!

At the end of our day, we headed to Franklin Park for a free big band jazz concert. The band was great, there were many couples swing dancing, and the vocalist was fantastic.

The whole event was part of the weekly "Street Eats @ Franko" food fair. Every Friday from December to April, the city hosts this event with food trucks and live music in the park. We were so happy that we happened to be in town for it!

Another great weekly event in Hobart is the Salamanca Market. This street market is really something special. We specifically timed our visit to Hobart for a Saturday so that we could check it out.

If I lived in Hobart I would be here every Saturday. It was one of the nicest, most varied markets we’ve ever been to—vendors selling fresh produce, crafts of every kind, distilled spirits, beautiful local wool clothing, and lots of food stalls. We even saw a Mexican food truck selling—I kid you not— Wallaby Burritos. I was tempted, but it was only 8:30am and I was still full from breakfast. 

Besides, wallabies are maybe too cute to eat. How could you put this adorable little guy in a taco?