Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Hobart Holiday - Part 1

Just over a fortnight ago my wife and I spent a few days in Hobart, sharing a holiday with some friends, Jean-Claude and Brownie who got married last year in Paris.

We landed on a Friday afternoon and after briefly checking into our hotel we took a stroll around the Hobart shops before they closed.  The first book store we visited was Fullers Bookshop.  This independant book store is located on Collins Street.  It's really well laid out, with plenty of interesting and diverse new books as well as a cafe at the back.
 
 
We then walked further down Collins Street where I snapped this photo of the Imperial Arcade featuring Cracked & Spineless Books.  As it was open we quickly made a visit, but I decided to return when there was more time available for my next blog entry.
 

After returning to our hotel we then went for a fantastic dinner which included plenty of fresh seafood.  Here's a snap I took from our hotel.  The red roof building centre-right is Mures Restaurant.  If you visit Hobart you have to eat here.  Whether you eat in the lower or upper decks the food is just as delicious.

The next morning we made our way to Salamanca Market.  We arrived just after 8:30am to avoid the crowds.  Salamanca Market is considered the best street market in Australia and a major tourist attraction for Tasmania.  From our own experience it also gets very crowded from 10am onwards.

While walking along the stalls looking at the tourist gifts, hand-made clothes and multi-cultural food outlets we also found several book stalls.

The first had no Bonds...

Nor the second...

But the third had two Pan paperbacks from the 60's including a first edition "You Only Live Twice".

The final book stall had plenty of crime and thriller novels but alas no Bonds.

After about two hours, and as we were leaving the market, I snapped this photo of the growing crowd.

Also in Salamanca Place are a number of other book stores.  The Hobart Book Shop is located in Salamanca Square.  It stocks both new and second hand books.  I did manage to find a Higson Young Bond but I already had it.

Deja Vu Books sells only second hand books.  On my first visit to the store it was closed, however I did manage to visit the store in my next blog entry.

Astrolabe Booksellers are also located in the same proximity.  They have many fine condition books although they typically don't stock Bond books.

The rest of the day we spent at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art).  While my wife and I visited this excellent gallery just a few years ago, Jean-Claude and Brownie had never been there before and said they enjoyed it.  A visit to this gallery will certainly challenge your thoughts about art.  Here's a couple of snaps I took while we were there.

And the parking spots of the gallery owner and his partner.
MONA is definitely worth a visit when you take your next trip to Tasmania.

I did manage to visit some other book stores while in Hobart which I'll discuss in Part 2 of this blog entry.

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