A Tasmanian Wedding


I like Tasmania. It's quiet, but in a quaint and refreshing sort of way (not the soul-draining, desolate emptiness that is the Canberra wasteland. Seriously though, the only redeeming quality about that place is the $2.50 alcohol - which you'd need if you were to live in the ACT). I recently went down to Hobart for my cousin's wedding and despite the constant sense of dread that accompanied me on the trip (a by-product of having every single assessment due the following week), I had a pretty great time. Would definitely recommend for anyone who's looking for a short, picturesque getaway but is too poor to go to New Zealand (i.e. me).



I went down with my cousins, their partners and my uncle and aunt. We spent about three days there and I think it was more than enough time to really see Hobart. I would like to go back down again though to do some hiking. Apparently there is a place called Wineglass Bay which gets its name from the blood that used to stain the sand from whaling operations. Unfortunate name but hey, I hear it's stunning (plus they haven't killed any whales since the 1850s so it's all cool).

The highlight of the trip (apart from the actual wedding) was definitely The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). I love museums. I love art galleries. And I love strange things (and I know my cousins do too). So we had to go. A bit of trivia - courtesy of Professor Wikipedia - MONA is the the largest privately funded museum in Australia and has been described as a "subversive adult Disneyland". Tian said that the first collections evolved around death and sex but it has since expanded to include other things.


After paying the entrance fee (be prepared to fork out $20 AUD - it is a private museum after all), you descend down a seeming endless flight of spiral stairs - or maybe that's just my lack of fitness speaking up - till you get to the very bottom. After collecting a headset and iPhone-like gadget thing, you basically work your way back up through the different levels of the museum.

Yes, those were live fish. 
The outside of the museum's just as quirky as the inside
Tasmania in a nutshell
And oh, there's a peacock too, because why not?
Day 2 was the day of the wedding. We didn't have to be anywhere till the afternoon though so we spent the morning hanging out at the Saturday Salamanca Markets. I like looking at all the weird things they sell at markets but at the end of the day, the only thing I end up spending money on is food. And it wasn't any different here. Funnily enough, we also bumped into some other guests of the wedding here. Hey, I did say Tasmania was small.


We then got back to the hotel and started getting ready for the wedding.

Here's Tian and I, looking all sexified and stuff

So after using all my battery power taking artsy fartsy vineyard photos (btw that's my cousin up there and she's single fyi), I had no juice left for the actual wedding. Which was probably a blessing in disguise because it meant I got to enjoy the ceremony without any distractions. Actually no, that's a lie because it was windy as hell and my eyelashes were falling off my face and I was slowly but surely freezing to death in my dress and also in danger of getting quagmired as my heels sunk into the ground.

But everything aside, it really was a beautiful ceremony. Congratulations Shi-Nan and Damian! May you grow old and happy together and have freakishly intelligent kids who will give my own children (once I get around to having them) inferiority complexes; my cousin's a doctor and Damian's an accountant.

Afterwards, there was food, dancing and champagne. Side note: my Uncle is the most enthusiastic dancer ever. He practically murdered that dance floor.

The phone was briefly revived to take a photo of this glorious dessert
The next morning, we and the rest of the extended family gathered in the Botanical Gardens to have a post-wedding picnic. Woo! Nature! Green things! Hayfever!

Teehee

It was a nice way to end the trip and again, congratulate Shi-Nan and Damian on their new life together. 

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