DAY 12 – December 21, 2022 – Downtown Hobart

Small Hobart Neighborhood

Today was a perfect day to visit downtown Hobart and other points of interest. Alex had made a reservation for lunch at one of the really nice restaurants on the wharf called Mures.

We left the house mid-morning and stopped at Kmart so Jess and Alex could buy some summer clothes for our trip to Corinna. Then, we had one more chore to do which was to get the car keys fixed. As we were waiting for the keys, Jess, Jim, and I walked in the neighborhood where there was a small park.

Lorikeet on the lawn... hard to capture without a strong telephoto

On the above photo, Jim and Jess are relaxing in the park. Right behind them, there was a house (see photo on the right) that was really nice… with many rainbow lorikeets in the trees. I wouldn’t mind living in this nice house at all.

Macquarie Wharf, Downtown Hobart

Downtown Hobart, we parked near the Mures restaurant. Since it was too early for our lunch reservations, we walked around the port area called Macquarie Wharf. We could see that a lot of development had been undertaken to make this part of downtown Hobart very enjoyable, lively, and of course touristic. But it was not very crowded when we were there, which made the exploring very pleasant. There is definitely no lack of cafes, restaurants, and shops.

We observed prep activities to build the village (see the below photo) for the upcoming Sydney-Hobart yacht race, which leaves Sydney on Boxing Day and finishes in Hobart a couple of days later. I remember seeing the departure of the race when we used to live in Sydney. Quite impressive to see all the yachts gathered at Circular Quay in Sydney.

The above photo shows the typical seafood menu (this one was very artistically done) you can find as “fast food.” Lots of fish (often it is fried) and chips (or French Fries as the Americans say). We’ve always found the fish always tastes quite good, but after a while “fried anything” is a bit too much.

Photo Gallery of our Promenade around Macquarie Wharf

It was a perfect day for our little promenade in Hobart. Jess sure enjoyed taking in the sun and chilling (or rather taking in the warm sun rays) amid the bronze sea animal sculptures… and the relentless Paparazzi Parents were on the lookout again. Caught you, Jess!

Lunch at the Mures Restaurant

The Mures is a very nice restaurant, great service, great location, and great food. Our lunch was a pre-holiday lunch before our wilderness trip to the Northwestern region of Tasmania. We knew we wouldn’t be able to have fine dining in the middle of nowhere.

Inside the Mures Restaurant
The Mures Restaurant story
So many delicious options to choose from... tough decisions to make... and it's serious business 🙂

We all chose various seafood dishes served with a very good Sauvignon Blanc called Bay of Fires from the East coast of Tasmania. We took our sweet time to enjoy our beautiful lunch in great company.

Promenade around Battery Point

Battery Point has quite a few winding, narrow streets lined with houses built in the colonial architecture style. The historical ambiance makes the area very pleasant to visit. I could see myself living in this area!

Walking through the historic streets of Battery Point, we did some shopping. Of course, I bought a coffee cup – can’t break away from tradition – with a Tasmanian Devil illustration and some postcards to mail to family and friends. Jess found a book on Tasmanian birds for Jim as a Christmas gift. 

We also bought some groceries at an international fine foods store, some to eat tonight, and other food like Merguez sausages to freeze for New Year’s celebrations.

Whose baguette is it?! Hey, Alex… it’s mine, trust me, I won’t eat it… yet…

After our lunch, we drove toward Jess and Alex’s former neighborhood called Battery Point and parked the car on one of the side roads. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the Battery Point area. Jess and Alex were telling us that Battery Point is one of the most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods in Hobart while maintaining its historical past.

 Yes, there are interesting people in Hobart… not only in New York City!

After a very good and pleasant day (the weather remained absolutely perfect!), we went back to Jess and Alex’s house to get ready for our trip to Alex’s parents the next day.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 13 miles (21 km)

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES WALKED = 5.4 miles (8.6 km)