MONA II

I was a bit concerned that going back to MONA wouldn't be as amazing as it was the first time I went. Ha!

Sunday morning, feeling rather shabby after a friend's son's 21st at a fancy club in town, Geoff and I  headed to the airport for the hour's flight down to Hobart. We collected the Nissan Micra as I checked TripAdvisor and discovered the Daci and Daci Baker Restaurant was the second most recommended eatery in town - and my very late night/very early morning/too much alcohol state needed feeding!

I calmed myself with a bowl of potato, corn and bacon soup, a thick slice of delicious wholemeal bread with lashings of butter and a latte.  I was starting to feel human. Helped by the cool little jazz band you can see playing behind me.

Then Geoff bought me a cake for Mother's Day - a sweet thought, but I was still feeling a tad fragile, so we had to go halves (most unlike me!)

There was a bike parked beside the bakery wearing some knits - it was so adorable I took a photo to share with you.


So, on to MONA. We were booked into the Robin pavilion but were still too early to check in so headed into the museum for a couple of hours before our mid-afternoon wine tour. There were many that were familiar from last time but still warranted a revisit, as well as enough new stuff to keep me challenged. On of my faves is the 'I Love You Room'. The poetry is so beautiful and poignant it makes me want to weep - literally - which is a bit awkward. I can only read about six or eight at a time, and when I can bear it no more, I scuttle away. But like an addict to a dealer, I'm drawn back - for just a bit more. Here are a couple of examples I snapped - I hope you can read them.

Next was the wine tour. An amazing building, small production and old vines by Australian standards. There were a couple of whites we liked but on the whole, not overly to our taste. (As an aside, what was funny was we were told by our guide that the current owner of MONA, Moorilla Estate, etc bought the property with a hand shake at the front gate and a promise not to sub divide the land. We later read the estate had been bankrupt and sold off by the bank - not quite as romantic I concede.)

We checked in and it was still only 5pm, so I set off for a run in the gym, a swim in the pool and a sauna in yet another building in which not a detail has been over looked (except perhaps the environmentally- friendly lights that turn themselves off too regularly and spooked the crap out of me when I was in the confines of the very tiny sauna). I went back to the room to plunge myself into the spa, bubbling with Aesop product, sipping a Coonawarra red Geoff had ducked down the road to get, while watching The Block on the AquaVision waterproof TV and waiting for room service to deliver our Tasmanian Scotch fillets with steamed veggies. It was only 7pm and I was pretty certain I had availed myself of most of the amenities!!

Monday; and after fresh fruit and sweet corn pikelets in the restaurant, I was ready to go back to the museum (and the I Love You Room!) for another emotional and thought provoking journey. Check out this installment. I listened to the interview with the artist - he sounded so intellectual and the ideas behind it are interesting - but it just doesn't move me. I do find it curious though. It's  based around an idea of "taking your head out of the noose of history" - I'm still thinking about what that means. The head of the big worm is the artist, as he sees himself at 88, not his current 38.

After another three or so hours, it was time to eat again. This time the degustation menu in The Source restaurant. The waiter asked if we would like the 3, 5, 7 or 9 course option? In my mind, three was too few, nine too many - so I picked seven. And matching wines? Why not.  It was after all, Monday and the autumn sun was streaming in and I was still on an utter high from the morning's art feast. This a fantasy we were living - might as well live it to the max!

The top dish was probably my fave - organic green beans, fresh figs, olive liquorice, toasted almonds and almond foam (although I did think foams were now out of date but a second  appeared later - so maybe I have that wrong?). It was exquisite.

So that was pretty much it. I would thoroughly recommend a couple of days at MONA - it's not cheap, I confess, but you absolutely feel transported and the combination of art, luxury and food is balm for your body, mind and soul.