travel zen on friday - hobart

Hobart

Do you know where this picture was taken?

video: happy new year!

Fireworks off the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Wishing you all a happy new year!!!

travel zen on tuesday - the great barrier reef

things to do in hobart, tasmania

Many Americans I know who visit Australia tend to skip over Tasmania. It is a shame because there are plenty of wonderful things about this island south of the continent. For this post, I will focus on Hobart, which is the Tassie capital.

So, what does Hobie have to offer?

One of the many wines
you can taste at
Gasworks Cellar Door.

I enjoyed this Pinot Noir.

1.  Wines. Generally, Tasmania has a cool climate so they produce a lot of Pinot Noirs. (Don't worry, they also have Rieslings, Chardonnays, Gewurztraminers, etc.) If wine tasting is your thing, there are a lot of wine regions within Tasmania. But, if you are spending time only in the capital, you are in luck. Gasworks Cellar Door offers visitors a place to taste wines from all over the island. The tasting room also has a lot of educational information about Tasmanian terroir. 

A single malt from
Lark Distillery.

plan your new year's eve party in sydney now

The boats in Sydney Harbour were all lit up for
New Year's Eve.

Don't laugh but if you plan to go to Sydney, Australia for the specific purpose of celebrating the birth of the new year, you need to start planning now.

Last year, my husband and I were one of the first people on the planet to say buh-bye to 2013 and say hello to 2014. We had a great time but I wish I had more time to plan it so I could have booked cheaper deals. See, Australia is not a cheap place and the recession that hit a lot of countries appears to not have made it there. Learn from my mistakes and start planning now.

1. Start looking for flights. It will be pricey so start tracking them on websites like Yapta.com. Once you see a drop in price, book that flight. If you plan to use frequent flier miles, reserve them now. Seats allotted for frequent fliers tend to disappear quickly.