DAY 22 - December 31, 2022 - Hobart's Salamanca Market

DAY 22 - December 31, 2022 - The Salamanca Market, Hobart

We woke up quietly and had a leisurely morning. Today’s plan is to visit the Salamanca Market in downtown Hobart and do some shopping for souvenirs and also for our New Year’s celebrations. Jess and Alex stayed home to relax as Jess was still recovering from Covid. Luckily it was a mild version and turned to a typical cold.

The weather was gorgeous with blue skies and only a few white clouds here and there. It even became very hot during the day. When the sun’s out in Tasmania, it is hot!

Downtown Hobart was busier than we thought. We eventually found a parking spot in the Battery Point neighborhood where Alex and Jess used to live.

The Salamanca Market is a very popular place for the Hobartians (yes, it’s what people living in Hobart are called, I checked!). With all its colors and diverse people, the market was very photogenic and we had plenty of opportunities to take some pictures.

We made our way through the many stalls, which were very busy with people buying souvenirs, groceries, and all kinds of household items. There were quite a few artists selling high-quality woodwork and woodcraft, fashion and crafts, glassware, jewelry, etc.

We bought useful souvenirs like a wooden cutting board, a coffee cup, coasters, and kitchen towels to take back home. We also bought jams, fresh fruits and vegetables for our holiday meals over the next couple of days. Tomorrow, for our New Year’s dinner, I will fix an authentic couscous dish. Since merguez sausages are seasonal, we had bought them before going to Corinna and froze them.

After a couple of hours at the market, we went to a fine grocery store (similar to a Trader Joe’s in the US) to finish our grocery shopping.

On the road to the grocery store, we saw this old De Chevaux. I couldn’t resist taking a picture!

Back at Jess and Alex’s house, we spent the rest of the day relaxing. We had steak on their brand-new BBQ and ate in the backyard. We could hear some upbeat music from one of the neighbors, ready to party. It was a very pleasant evening.

We didn’t go see the fireworks this time (see below a stock photo of Hobart’s fireworks). Instead, we wrapped up the day and the year 2022 – watching Galaxy Quest, a comedy and spoof on Star Trek. Quite funny… we made it past midnight!

No blog or photos for New Year’s Day… we spent the first day of 2023, chilling, playing games, watching Stargate (one of our favorite sci-fi movies). We enjoyed each other’s company, eating and drinking (we had Prosecco). The couscous was a success… and we ate it all!

Jess and I looked at some of the older games we used to play like Myst and the Neverhood… listened to some of the great music tracks of the Neverhood. What a great game! I need to find a way to play this game again.

The last Paparazzi photos of Jess… well, for now, anyway. Some gardening in-between games… Jess may have inherited my mother’s green thumb (beyond mowing the lawn).