Port Arthur

Yesterday I went out on my first day tour to Port Arthur, Tasmania's most famous convict settlement. It's a beautiful spot on the water- hard to imagine how hellish it must have been for the people sent there. It was a huge complex of buildings, and some have held up better than others. My favorites were the Commandant's House and the Church. The house is in near perfect condition, it was used as a hotel for a while in the mid 1900s. The church on the other hand had been mostly destroyed in a fire, and only the outer shell of it is still standing. It gives it a really amazing effect though, to have just the walls and archways still there- makes you appreciate how beautiful the architecture is.

When I got back to Hobart I went to this dinner/movie place I heard about. Its a restaurant where you go and eat dinner and then see an old movie. This week they were playing Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, which I had never seen. It was so good! I've seen so many movies that draw on it and make fun of it- it was nice to finally see the original. Unfortunately the dinner part of the experience was pretty bad, but the movie made up for it.

This morning I got up early to come down to the Salamanca Markets and do some shopping. It hasn't been as productive as the shopping I did in Melbourne, but I guess that is to be expected. I'm also annoyed because I finally found a computer with a USB port (the hostel has the towers of the computers locked up in a cabinet under the desk!)- but the stupid computer says that I need to install drivers or some junk, and clearly I did not bring an installation cd to Australia with me. Why is this so difficult?

Later today I'm going on a short trip up to the top of Mount Wellington- I take a bus up and then bike all the way down! It should be fun, especially since it finally stopped raining and has become a beautiful day.

That's all for now!

Love,
Emma