Wandering around Hobart: some time to myself

Hello, my friends, Mr PB thanks you all for your kind birthday wishes! So what else have we been up to, besides visiting the Gardens? Well, Saturday on Planet Baby was a warmish Spring day with a gentle breeze and an air of promise. We fossicked around the house to find the library books hiding under certain people’s beds. We found everyone’s cotton sun hats and applied sunscreen liberally over faces and limbs. Then we loaded the pixies into the chariot and headed off to ‘town’ (we do live in a city and ‘town’ is only 5 minutes’ drive away but when growing up, heading there was such an expedition and it feels the same with all the preparations required to take the pixies there).

Our first stop was the State Library of Tasmania, one of the pixies’ favourite haunts. We piled into the lift where there was a little squabble over who would press the buttons. A little chat on ‘taking turns’ followed and then we shot upwards. We pushed our books-to-return down the chute and watched them travel along the conveyor belt to be sorted – very exciting! Then the older pixies raced over to the shelves to make their choices. They adore visiting the library. Here they are.

Quicksilver Sammy crawled over to the CD collection and started pulling them down. Hmm. Here’s an action shot of him, pulling the books down from the shelves.

Here’s Mr PB, attempting to maintain some sort of order.

Books chosen, we then bought Mr PB some more clothes for his birthday. Joshie and India were very helpful assistants, proffering their Daddy all kinds of clothes to try on. All the while, I tried to stop Master Quicksilver from crawling out onto Liverpool St! He really was just like greased lightning, making a bolt for it whenever I was distracted for a few seconds helping Mr PB. Daddy’s clothes bought, we then bought India some summer sandals.

Sam was flagging by this time and lunchtime was approaching. Mr PB kindly volunteered to take the pixies home so I could have some time to myself. I then had a delightful meander for a few hours around the quiet streets of Hobart. It was the first time I’ve done it since we arrived over a year ago. To be responsibility-free and not having any time restriction was so liberating! Camera in hand, I wandered about and took my time to look around me. It was refreshing to view Hobart as an interested observer as opposed to a-mother-of-three-scurrying-along-in-a-hurry. I spotted things I’d ordinarily miss. It's amazing what a difference a change of outlook can make. Take this little whimsical little chap in his rowboat atop this sign, for instance.

Some more handsome chaps were to be found in the Mall. The Council’s done a fantastic job using local artists to create street furniture which littlies love clambering over like the dog (‘Thompson waited lazily outside the shop’ is the inscription) and the pig. The humorous ‘Fish out of water’ bubbler is well-used. And how about the seagull snaffling a hot chip atop a pole?

I then treated myself to a browse through the fabulous little shop Love & Clutter. It’s a treasure trove of locally designed and made clothing, accessories, bags, toys and so much more. Its beautiful styling and aesthetic is a treat for the eyes. Here are some of their goodies on offer. Just gorgeous, don't you think? I could buy everything there. Seriously.

I opened up my eyes. Properly. For the first time in a very long time. And looked above me as I wandered down Liverpool Street. Although I grew up here, I had never noticed the gorgeous pressed tin ceilings overhead. Here is some of the prettiness I saw.

And then I turned my gaze to some of Hobart’s finest buildings which are a mix of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture. Here’s what met my gaze.

I was entranced by some of the details in the sandstone. I wonder if it was carved by convict hands or by free settlers’?

And this was my final view before I took the bus home.

It’s the iconic sandstone Hobart General Post office with classical clock-tower which was designed by architect Alan Walker and built through public funds in celebration of Australian Federation. It opened on 2 September 1905 and a telephone exchange was added in 1907. It is where Roald Amundsen, in front of a large gathering of locals, telegraphed the news on 7 March 1912, around the world that he had successfully reached the South Pole the previous December. So, there’s your historical fact of the day!

By the time I arrived home, I felt quite refreshed. Although it had only been a few hours, it felt much longer. As soon as I walked in the door and returned to PB, I had a nappy to change and someone’s nose to wipe. But I had a little extra spring in my step. I think I’ll have a daytrip off this planet a bit more often!