Wanderings and food delights in Tassie

I was lucky enough to have a holiday on the east coast of Tassie and in Hobart over the Christmas period. Hobart is where I spent most of my childhood so it has lots of happy and wonderful memories and invokes nostalgia whenever I visit it. Having visited many cities since I was a child, I return to Hobart as an adult and realise how spectacular and beautiful it is. It easily compares with the Scandinavian cities that I've visited - Copenhagen and Stockholm - for its beauty and position. Some would say it surpasses. Its harbour is full of yachts and a few old sailing ships and bobbing fish and chip boats selling their produce direct. Mount Wellington dominates the skyline and looks down on the city. Hobart has a certain isolation and a feeling of being at the end of the world. While we were there the Aurora Australis left for Antarctica and Hobart really is the last port of call before the great unknown. For some this is disconcerting but I love that it's at the end of the world.

Houses are still comparatively cheap when comparing against other Australian capitals, distances are short, and you can be at great surf spots, in the wilderness or surrounded by mountains or lakes within just an hour or two.

Increasingly Hobart is a trendy place for both foodies and those wanting a calmer, less frenetic lifestyle. While we were there, the amazing Taste of Tasmania Food Festival was on. It's housed in a huge wharf shed and the produce is second to none. Huge punnets of raspberries, grilled lemon chicken and kofta, crepes, game hamburgers, fresh and creamy ice-cream and cuisine from all over. If you want fresh food straight from the producer it's there. 

Tassie takes its food very seriously and wherever you go there are roadside stalls selling the freshest cherries or raspberries or apples or home-made chutneys and jams. Even the water bottles celebrate the Tasmanian love for food (see photo attached).

So, the next few blogs are all about Tassie. Go for a weekend or a month and you won't be disappointed.