We have based ourselves at the beautiful George Town in the North of Tasmania. This is Anthony's birthplace and therefore we are so lucky to be able to come 'home' regularly to visit and catch up with family and friends. Tasmania is a fantastic state and it is an awesome place to explore. We do this every time we come home and we always find so much to see and do. We are being spoilt staying at Ivy Cottage [more about this beautiful BnB later].
Our first day was such a fantastic day! We hit the road back down to Launceston for a walk around the city centre. Our first stop was the quaint, Samuel Pepys for breakfast, in Yorktown Square, Launceston. It is a retro/vintage cafe with lots of very cool things to see while having breakfast! Lots of vintage items to bring back many childhood memories. Being a Saturday morning it was great to see so many people there either reading the morning paper with their coffee or playing a game of uno with friends. Totally recommend this cafe for a place with 'something different'.
After breakfast it was a short walk around town with a particular look down Dickie White’s Lane. This is a laneway with wonderful graffiti and artwork on the walls. It is great how they have transformed this laneway into something people want to visit. It was named after a convict transported to Australia in the late 1700s. His descendants were involved in getting 'life' back into this laneway located off the Quadrant Mall. Laneways are becoming so 'fashionable' in Australia.
After a further wander around the inner city of Launceston we headed to Richardson’s Harley Davidson on the outskirts of Launceston - jsut one word, amazing! Being Harley Davidson enthusiasts, we just loved this place. Besides being a 'bike shop', it has a museum, store, bar, stage. Fantastic place. The museum is a definite sight to be seen. So many original bikes and memorabilia. After a wander around the museum and a few little purchases in the shop, we relaxed with a coffee in the bar area. Definitely a place to visit especially if you are a Harley Davidson fan.
In the afternoon, it was time to explore Cataract Gorge. A Gorge in the middle of a major city, just gorgeous. There are many facets to this area and you need a significant amount of time as there is the historical part as well as the gorge part to walk through....definitely don the walking boots. Alternatively, you can take a river cruise or a chair lift over the gorge.
The day was finished with a fantastic dinner at Cataract on Paterson, Launceston. This restaurant has a great vibe with a design drawing on the industrial history of the building. The food is a contemporary cuisine drawing on amazing Tasmanian produce. The highlight are the Stonegrill meals, which I did not pass by. I selected the Tasmanian scallops to put on the Stonegrill and Anthony had a steak. So yum! This was followed by the most divine dessert - chocolate tart. It is safe to say I rolled out of the restaurant. This was a bit of an indulgence for us but it was definitely worth it.