Sunday, November 06, 2011

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 5

Headache receded somewhat but still feeling a bit out of it. Difficult to get out of bed. Had brekkie and a shower before storing our larger bags at the hotel. Caught the train into Flinders Street Station and grabbed a no. 35 City Tram (free) on which we circled the city once. Not really impressed with Docklands which is still being built. Walked around Federation Square for a bit before catching a tram back to the Shrine of Remembrance so that The Boy could buy a souvenir.

Had an ice cream before grabbing our bags from the hotel and catching a train back to the city. Tram to Southern Cross Station for the SkyBus where I wasn't able to upgrade my single ticket to a return. Gotta try. Arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Had a yucky gnocchi - neither of us felt like eating junk food. Found out that our gate changed and the flight had been delayed by 30 minutes to Launceston.

Uneventful flight with Qantas AirLink, with better service than Jetstar, to Launceston in a pink plane. Got a bit of sleep on the way. After obtaining our luggage I went to pick up the Avis hire car. Just before signing I was hit with an insurance bill of $34.12/day to remove a $3,348.90 excess for any damage regardless of fault. To say I was not happy would be an understatement as the hire car cost had suddenly doubled. And I had to read the lengthy insurance paperwork - I'm sure this made the hire car representative uneasy too. Then when I finally got to the car there was some damage to the number plate and wing mirror that wasn't on the initial paperwork. Back to the office to inform them.

Driving from the airport to Launceston posed no difficulties and we parked the car near the street where the Batman Fawkner Inn was situated. Not knowing where we were headed it was a bit of a fluke. Actually getting inside was more problematic as no-one was on reception although they were supposed to be. And when they opened the door they wanted me to pay twice for the room which I think had more to do with the booking being made for two adults instead of a child and an adult - the booking process hadn't allowed me to book properly and I'd sorted this out, or so I thought, by email before arriving. The girl on reception promised to provide sheets on about three occasions before finally doing so. Towels cost $1 each. No problem with that.

Behind the inn was a pizza shop where we had a tropical pizza and minestrone soup with garlic bread. Not feeling so well we were unable to finish it.

One thing I've noticed in Tassie, if not a few, you don't really need to do a penguin tour as all of the women are obese and waddle like penguins, homes on the hillside are two levels and every television I saw was a widescreen plasma.

The girl from reception gave me directions to the shopping centre but the other side entrance to City Park was open although a gate on the inside was closed therefore I had to walk up the hill and go the long way around.

The Batman Fawkner Inn was where an historic meeting took place that led to the settlement of Melbourne. And it has a great, hot shower.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album - Photos 86-90.

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