Paint the Town Red

 From 4pm onwards, there is a red glow around town during Dark Mofo. The shops and buildings, whether officially part of it or not, get in on the action. It makes it a lot of fun to walk from one event to the next, regardless of the hour.

I loved the strange figure watching over us. One of the many decorated buildings around Hobart.

The art installation locations are obviously spectacular too.

The boats on the harbour are into it, and this year the large Spirit of Tasmania ferry lit up the water as well. 

Wherever you looked, something caught your eye!

The red glow warmed the spirits, making the amble home in the cold seem elating as we caught reflections everywhere.

My favourite shop window was the bookstore - well played, Fullers Bookshop!

The hotels were equally festive....

Tho on the first night my hotel switched it's red for Green & Gold for the Socceroos game at 5am the next morning...

Dark Mofo can be enjoyed with or without the ticketed events. It is in the streets, pop ups around town and of course a lot of free events! 

The red glow helps the newbie discover with ease....

Red is for revelry, and so is Dark Mofo.

Have you been to Dark Mofo? Did you love it?

Linking with #SundayBest #WeekendCoffeeShare #WaterThursday #KeithsRamblings#TalkaboutitTuesday #ThruMyLens #WordlessWednesday

Hobart from my Window

I stayed at the Grand Chancellor Hotel Hobart because of the location for Dark Park and Winter Feast - and would have also been good for the Purge and Oogh-Oogh Parade had I still been there. I booked using Hopper as I had points and credits so got myself a suite for the bath, which I ended up not using. If your credit card is with CBA, you get points to use and cashback so check it out through your netbank. (Not paid, just got a number of free hotel rooms this way - you have to pay for breakfast but in a lot of places, you want to hit the bakeries anyway).

It did however give me lovely views of the waterfront and all the activity outside.

I could lie in bed and watch the sunrise.

I could watch the red glow at night as I made my tea.

And of course, I had an early start for the unfortunate Socceroos game. (Fingers crossed for today tho! And to clarify, I thought I took a picture of the Australians in play but didn't check the pic and notice I'd got the sub instead. HA!)

Light makes all the difference - the foreground stays the same but its the background that changes every time you look. It touches everything.

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

And here lies the lesson - things may look like they are staying the same, but moment by moment, there are almost impercetible changes and difference, you just need to pay attention. So when you feel stuck, don't be discounraged that change isn't noticable. Look for the tiny shifts, notice the little things - and the might colour your whole outlook!

May the hues of change be enough to keep you motivated!

“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

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The food at Dark Mofo

While I was only there for 48 hours, and the main purpose of the visit was art and music, the food was definitely a bonus! 

Starting with the sensational chilli scrambled eggs and shallot pancake breakfast at Lotus at Sydney airport. It's never too early for dumplings in my opinion!

Our evenings were spent at Winter Feast - the range was sensational and the quality very good! It's not cheap but it was delicious! And I could get my negroni so that made me happy!

The dessert to get, which we found out too late was the Cherry Pie. The line was massive though, so I settled for a hazelnut choux...then spent the rest of the weekend seeking out cherry pie with no success!

Bruny Island is famous for it's oysters and I managed to have them both at Winter Feast and at lunch at the Old Wharf Restaurant on the last day before heading to the airport.

This oyster was so massive! My pointer finger is there for size.

Mona we hit the cocktail bar but realised we were too early for the truffle pizza I'd eyed for lunch, so we headed up to the lawns for a prawn roll in the sunshine (and my sister had the Reuben).

The Emptiness in the Void Bar...did not taste as bleak as all the words implied.

On Sunday morning we hit Farm Gate Market for breakfast (and some music in the sun). The mushrooms gift box was $35 and would make a perfect gift alternative to chocolates if you were going to a dinner party. So pretty. Alas, not for me and the plane...so they stayed there.

The delicious meals really was the icing on the cake of a fabulous weekend! 

Lastly, while I did not dine here, the clever play on words made me laugh. 

The whole city celebrates, and there are pop up parties in may of the restaurants - from coffee bars to the pizza restaurant & kebab takeaway that were both pumping while I walked home from Night Mass.

Hope this is allowed, I just wanted to share the mushrooms as I thought they were so pretty! Delete if too off topic. #GardenAffair & #NaturesNotes

And the giant oyster is alive so hope that is allowed for #SaturdayCritters - just a different critter!

 Linking with #MuralMondays #TforTuesday #WordlessWednesday