Salamanca Market & other stuff...

First of all an admission – I'm writing this under the influence of three quarters of a bottle of pretty delicious Goaty Hill, Riesling 2008. It really is a very nice wine, very fruit driven with subtle minerality (yes I aspire to be a wine ponce).

I was planning on going for a swim this morning. Somehow that didn't happen. I sort of woke up at the time I planned, but I just wasn't in the mood for thrashing up and down a 50m pool with a load of, no doubt, Olympic standard Australians!

So instead I was able to get to Salamanca market nice and early. This market gets full on coverage in all the guide books. It's hard to categorise the stall holders as pretty much anything goes. There is a very hippyish feel to it and there are a fair few 'freaks' of all ages in attendance. I was expecting more of a farmers market, but whilst there were a few stalls selling fruit and veg, jam, honey etc., these were considerably outnumbered by other stalls.

I got a latte and then a bratwurst with sauerkraut for breakfast (I did also get a bowl of mixed berries as well as some really good apples).

I spent a fair bit of time just wandering around the market and people watching. By the time I left the beer festival was just getting going. There was quite a decent queue building up not long after midday – it'll definitely be messy later!

I went back to my hotel to drop off some stuff and then went to get some lunch. I went to Mures 'Lower Deck' and had an 'Asian Style' stir fry of fish, scallops, mussels and squid. Very tasty and all washed down with the mandatory bottle of Cascade!

I was caught in two minds as to what to do in the afternoon. In the end I decided to walk the 4kms to the Cascade Brewery in South Hobart. I wish I hadn't bothered. The visitor centre was closed because of a wedding, and I couldn't even get a good picture of the brewery because of where the sun was! I schlepped back to downtown Hobart and picked up some stuff for dinner. I'd decided I couldn't face eating on my own on a Saturday night, so I got a large salad from Salad Bowl (a combo of beetroot, roasted pumpkin and green bean salads).

On the way back to my hotel I dropped into the 9/11 bottle shop just next to my hotel. Boy what a great place – the selection of beer and wine was incredible. I really can't think of anything comparable in the U.K. After a bit of deliberation I got the Goaty Hill Riesling as mentioned earlier (it's from a winery I'd earmarked as one to try when I go 'up North').

It was still too early 'retire to my room', so I want back down to the waterfront to get an early evening, refreshing pint of Cascade. The beer festival was still going strong, and as predicted there were a few people the worse for wear!