So what exactly does one do when given a whole extra day of freedom? Well in case you're having any difficulties figuring it out, luckily I can provide you with a run-down of how I spent my time!
Friday
This may seem a little peculiar, but after watching a couple TV episodes in the evening its actually time to call it a night and head to bed early....
Saturday
Wake up early because it's finally time to visit the Salamanca Market!
This weekly market is where everything is happening and everyone seems to be. Fresh fruit, vegetables, arts and crafts, plus lightly used books, stalls selling honey, or pickled olives, fresh fudge, or just gift items are combined with stalls selling all types of international foods for breakfast or lunch along Salamanca Place near the harbour at Hobart. This place was so busy and so exciting I'm definitely going to head back soon... after all, the kilo if strawberries I bought are already gone! I ate breakfast before going but the yummy looking crepes are tempting me to skip breakfast next time and just come early...maybe I'll even stay for lunch and try one of the many restaurants in the surrounding area. If you get bored, there are plenty of musicians, magicians and other local talents as well as enough spots for people watching that the time will just fly by.
This is also a good time to check out Elizabeth Street Mall as it is not quite as busy with people and all the shops are open. Of course I had to add a couple summer shirts to my small wardrobe.
After dropping of the groceries at home, I was heading back to the harbour to meet up with Sam to go check out a museum. While the bus does run to the museum located just outside of town...it's way more fun and very popular to take a ferry! We bought our tickets and then had about an hour to kill before we could catch the next ferry over. The art gallery, MONA, is the talk of the town. MONA-Museum of Old and New Art offers free admission to see it's very interesting collection of art work. An ancient Egyptian sarcophagus might be housed next to a very controversial painting from this century while very old collectible coins may lead to the entrance of a short film.
An ancient Egyptian bowl with aquatic decoration
Zizi the Affectionate couch (it vibrates and makes animal sounds)
Not only is the combination of pieces so bizarre, but forget about having labels on anything....Instead an iPod is given out to each person so that you can find pieces near you and choose if you want to read about them. Sometimes this involves an audio transmission, at other times an odd description is given by David Walsh, the owner of this personal collection.
An Italian 300+ year old model of a beeswax head of a man
A nine and a half minute long video titled "Am I a House?"
David Walsh is said to be somewhat of an eccentric....he is a Tasmanian millionaire having won most of his money online. He then built this nearly $200 million art museum to house his $70 million collection. But I guess that's the cost involved it you want to build a 6000 sqm museum into a rocky hill with specific designs to house a truck in a hallway, a wall built just for a "snake collection" and have a tennis court on the roof.
Anyways visiting the MONA will take the better part of any day and should be seen with an open mind as sex and death are both prominent themes. On a side note, the Cloaca (the machine that digests food and makes, well, you know) is fed at 11am and 4pm and produces around 2pm.
The Cloaca set up
Lunch time! the machine probably eats better than most of us...and yes that is a beer.
Well I wish I could say something exciting...but this is actually a good opportunity to get some work done...I am in school after all! The computers at the library are very accessible so it's the perfect time to take that online quiz. Also, as your mother is missing you, a phone call home is in order!
Wow! that sounds like quite the strange museum.
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