Blogs from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania
May 22nd 2012
What a roller coaster ride the last few days have been. Not a good idea to lose your wallet a few days before you depart for overseas... grrrr However, it has been found. Thanks mainly to the power of trust and a good friend to help you look for it. Thanks Jan for caring enough to know how I would be feeling and puting in every effort to help me. Thanks too to Mum and Pete. Anyway, all good now. Just one more thing; always have a spare set of prescription lens glasses if you need them for reading. This morning just before spending the day pouring over documents at college, I broke my specs. No time now to get some new ones made up before I leave tomorrow, so a quick trip to the pharmacy ... read more
May 9th 2012
Well here we are in the lovely city of Hobart with its many old historical buildings and a great waterfront with Constitution Dock where all the yachts complete the grueling Sydney to Hobart race each year and situated on the Derwent River. The Salamanca Markets were a must so we caught the bus into the City as it is always such trouble finding a place to park our big truck. We both had a quick look and then I left Trevor with a paper and a mug of coffee at a café while I looked at the market properly and he was very happy with that as it was very crowded and of course like most men he is not that interested in that type of market. We visited the Mona Museum which stands for ... read more
May 5th 2012
Just over a week to go and it's time to get things packing. This photo pretty well covers everything except what I'll be wearing, my bike pedals, and a few carry on objects (passport, Kindle, mp3 player, water bottle, etc.). Here's a rough list starting top left: Towel (gotta know where that is at all times!), facewasher (30+ year old Santa Claus one!), and other toiletries. USB charger with multiple wall plug adaptors for different countries, head torch and two cameras (waterproof, and normal). Fold up plates and mugs (love these). Acer Netbook (so we can do our taxes, keep this blog up to date and watch Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones). Fuel bottle, medications (Probiotica to reduce likelihood of gastro), Andrographis tablets (to give the immune system a boost), Travel Calm (so I don't ... read more
April 15th 2012
Today I joined Ancestry.it in an effort to begin the search of my Italian heritage. My mother's father was Rodolfo Sanna, born in Milan Italy. I'm very pleased with the progress I've made so far. I've been able to trace back as far as my great great grandparents finding births, deaths, baptisims and marriages. My aim is to find living relatives in Italy. I would dearly love to meet them when I'm in Italy next month... if they want to be found that is! From this point though, it gets harder; unless I can find a sibling of my great grandfather, it will be difficult to go any further. So I'll keep at it. Still knocked around by this flu thing that I have, but that doesn't stop me counting down to my trip... just 5 ... read more
Italy 2012 - Counting down... just 7 weeks to go!
Published: April 8th 2012Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Hobart
April 8th 2012
It's Easter Sunday and here I sit all rugged up with a rotten cold or something. So much to do to prepare and I can't bring myself to even get out of this chair. But on the bright side, I'd rather be sick now and get it over with hah! Counting down now, it's coming faster every day... just forty something days to go!... read more
ITINERARY: Italy & Greek Isles 2012
Published: April 8th 2012Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Hobart » Blackmans BayApril 8th 2012
Itinerary ******Thursday 24 May****** Abu Dhabi - Milan Flight from Australia arrives Malpensa airport Terminal 1 Malpensa Express to Milano Cadorna 2 nights Milan (Porta Venesia area) Guided tour Duomo and 'Last Supper' ******Saturday 26 May****** Milan - Montepulciano Il Sasso Language School for 2 wks Train Milan – Chiusi. Bus Chiusi – Montepulciano 4 nights Montepulciano (Apartment near Il Sasso) ******Possible side trips while in Montepulciano****** 1. Bus Montepulciano – Chiusi. Train Chiusi – Orvieto rtn 2. Bus Montepulciano - Siena. Bus Siena – San Gimignano, rtn 3. Tour Cortona + Lakes areas & small villages 4. Tour Chianti Wineries 5. Montalcino 6. Civita de Bagnoregio 7. Assisi ******Saturday 9 June****** Montepulciano – Orvieto Bus: Mon... read more
April 7th 2012
Bonjour! Remember me? I haven’t done a blog entry in 8 or 9 months. I know, I’d make a terrible freelance journalist. Last you heard I was celebrating Christmas in July, and the snow was deep on the top of Mt. Wellington. Since then, life has been a bit of a blur - lots of work and a couple of trips, but some pretty good times too! I'd best share some with you. I hit the road with a few friends to return to our sapphire panning spot in the spring (September?). The river was high, and subsequently there was a lot more bounty to pan for. I scored a hefty haul of fair sized sapphires, but none of which I can turn into anything worthwhile. That was a great trip though, despite some torrential rain. ... read more
Hobart, Derwent River, Botanical Gardens
Published: March 15th 2012Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Hobart
March 12th 2012
Instead of returning north to Launceston we decided a day around Hobart would be good instead of driving all day. We agreed that a bike ride and a visit to the Botanical Gardens would be the program for today. The first problem arose as we couldn’t contact anyone to see if they had bikes for hire since we would require 4 bikes. A&M loaded their bikes onto their car and followed us into the Domain where there are usually bikes for hire. However it wasn’t open. We knew there had been some downtown on the wharves so we went there and sure enough there were 4 bikes left for hire. What luck. They were all blue, had only 3 gears and brakes on the pedals but they were adequate for our purposes which was a flatish ... read more
Hobart, Salamanca Market and Mt Wellington
Published: March 15th 2012Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Hobart
March 10th 2012
Today was to be a Hobart day before leaving and heading north. We spent the morning at the Salamanca Market which is a very well known tourist activity. By Nelson standards, it is very big indeed but in general terms it has similar types of products for sale. There are a lot of quality goods but also rubbishy stuff. There is entertainment too which makes it a bit more vibrant. It is not a famer’s market so does not sell a lot of food products. Fish and chips by the wharf seemed a good idea for lunch but the fish wasn’t as good as expected. We thought we could choose some fresh fish and get it done before us, but it was ordered much as we do at home. However, it was lovely to sit by ... read more
