I don’t know if or when I may ever be able to visit Australia, but I do manage to enjoy a bit of 
the country through emails from Rosie—you may have read some of her comments to our blog. Well, Rosie is currently in Tasmania for a medical conference where she is speaking to a group of nurses—and maybe a few doctors, as well. Anyway, she posted an email to me yesterday, and I’m going to share it with you. I’ve done a wee bit of editing, but I think you’ll enjoy what Rosie has to say, and I managed to find a few pictures to show you that she’s done a super job of describing her adventures.
Hi Judy!
We had a very smooth flight to Melbourne,departing Adelaide at 11.45am on Saturday, arriving at Tullamarine Airport at 1.30pm. We had booked our luggage right through to Tas. so had nothing to chase up except lunch. We then boarded the plane for Tasmania at 2.50pm and arrived at Launceston airport at 4.50pm.
As we pulled up outside our Bed & Breakfast, I took one look and fairly went into raptures. It was two-story and built in 1840, as a Boarding House for girls attending the Grammar School. If only this house could talk, what a tale it would have to tell with those young ladies!!
The house (known as HillView House) was built of white stone with an "A" shape, grey shingle tiled roof, green guttering and surrounds, with green wrought iron lacework, green window shutters and a green picket fence atop a freestone wall. At the right side of the house, a tower with long narrow green windows, complemented the architecture of the house. The garden with neatly trimmed green shrubs just added to the
complete captivation and charm of a wonderful old home! Our room was on the first floor, overlooking Launceston, with the Tamar River in the background. Launceston is very hilly, so the township lay sprawled in undulating terrain.
It was very pleasantly decorated with a small floral pattern in apricot/pink, and very fine small pale green leaves. The white painted woodwork, came halfway up the wall to meet the wall paper and gave the room a feeling of spaciousness, but as the room was quite large in itself, we certainly did not feel claustrophobic. With some of the houses here having an attic as the bedroom, they tend to be small, but although ours gave the appearance of an attic, we certainly weren't compromised in any way!
The furniture was a dark wood indicative of that era and the bedspread was pale green with chairs also covered in a green chintz material and last but not least, the carpet was a very pretty pinky /red colour and it looked fantastic as a contrast to the rest of the room.
For dinner, we went across the street to a restaurant called "Three Steps on George" which was also a treat! It used to be the Old School Gym and had the appearance of a Church with the exposed beams and a mezzanine floor which could have easily housed the choir for School Assemblies and Sunday services. (We used to use our School Assembly Hall for Services before the new Chapel was built and then for PT it was transformed back into the Gym!) The "wine and dine" were excellent and the company?...Well, that went without saying!
We made our way home and called it a day and so to bed! Breakfast was served in the dining
room absolutely befitting the charm and atmosphere of the house. This time the colour scheme was what I would call "Burnt Sienna" and once again the white woodwork just complemented everything in the room. The tables were set with a white lace cloth and orange and light cream placemats for each setting. The china tea set was blue and white and it just looked fantastic! The atmosphere was what one would expect to find in a Teashop (not coffee 
shop) and it was a "help yourself" menu for a continental breakfast, set up on the sideboard and then a cooked breakfast done to perfection and served at the tables! I literally groaned at the thought of hopping on the scales!
~Rosie
May you find joy as you take pleasure in the delight of others! ~Judy
P. S. Lorna Seilstad and I had fun at the Topeka LifeWay Store on Saturday. We had an opportunity to visit with lots of existing readers and some new ones, as well. I hope all of you living within the vicinity of LifeWay stores make it to the Fiction Day events that are held twice a year--always a good time.
the country through emails from Rosie—you may have read some of her comments to our blog. Well, Rosie is currently in Tasmania for a medical conference where she is speaking to a group of nurses—and maybe a few doctors, as well. Anyway, she posted an email to me yesterday, and I’m going to share it with you. I’ve done a wee bit of editing, but I think you’ll enjoy what Rosie has to say, and I managed to find a few pictures to show you that she’s done a super job of describing her adventures.Hi Judy!
We had a very smooth flight to Melbourne,departing Adelaide at 11.45am on Saturday, arriving at Tullamarine Airport at 1.30pm. We had booked our luggage right through to Tas. so had nothing to chase up except lunch. We then boarded the plane for Tasmania at 2.50pm and arrived at Launceston airport at 4.50pm.
As we pulled up outside our Bed & Breakfast, I took one look and fairly went into raptures. It was two-story and built in 1840, as a Boarding House for girls attending the Grammar School. If only this house could talk, what a tale it would have to tell with those young ladies!!The house (known as HillView House) was built of white stone with an "A" shape, grey shingle tiled roof, green guttering and surrounds, with green wrought iron lacework, green window shutters and a green picket fence atop a freestone wall. At the right side of the house, a tower with long narrow green windows, complemented the architecture of the house. The garden with neatly trimmed green shrubs just added to the
complete captivation and charm of a wonderful old home! Our room was on the first floor, overlooking Launceston, with the Tamar River in the background. Launceston is very hilly, so the township lay sprawled in undulating terrain.It was very pleasantly decorated with a small floral pattern in apricot/pink, and very fine small pale green leaves. The white painted woodwork, came halfway up the wall to meet the wall paper and gave the room a feeling of spaciousness, but as the room was quite large in itself, we certainly did not feel claustrophobic. With some of the houses here having an attic as the bedroom, they tend to be small, but although ours gave the appearance of an attic, we certainly weren't compromised in any way!
The furniture was a dark wood indicative of that era and the bedspread was pale green with chairs also covered in a green chintz material and last but not least, the carpet was a very pretty pinky /red colour and it looked fantastic as a contrast to the rest of the room.For dinner, we went across the street to a restaurant called "Three Steps on George" which was also a treat! It used to be the Old School Gym and had the appearance of a Church with the exposed beams and a mezzanine floor which could have easily housed the choir for School Assemblies and Sunday services. (We used to use our School Assembly Hall for Services before the new Chapel was built and then for PT it was transformed back into the Gym!) The "wine and dine" were excellent and the company?...Well, that went without saying!
We made our way home and called it a day and so to bed! Breakfast was served in the dining
room absolutely befitting the charm and atmosphere of the house. This time the colour scheme was what I would call "Burnt Sienna" and once again the white woodwork just complemented everything in the room. The tables were set with a white lace cloth and orange and light cream placemats for each setting. The china tea set was blue and white and it just looked fantastic! The atmosphere was what one would expect to find in a Teashop (not coffee 
shop) and it was a "help yourself" menu for a continental breakfast, set up on the sideboard and then a cooked breakfast done to perfection and served at the tables! I literally groaned at the thought of hopping on the scales!~Rosie
May you find joy as you take pleasure in the delight of others! ~Judy
P. S. Lorna Seilstad and I had fun at the Topeka LifeWay Store on Saturday. We had an opportunity to visit with lots of existing readers and some new ones, as well. I hope all of you living within the vicinity of LifeWay stores make it to the Fiction Day events that are held twice a year--always a good time.
Hi Judy! You are amazing! The photos are almost an exact replica of what I have taken. Sorry I have not had time to sort out any of the photos for you to date.
ReplyDeleteI am sure everyone will realise the photo of the bedroom that you found was not the same room, but pretty close to it. The bed itself was a different style and solid dark wood.
Our room was just at the top of the stair case, before you embark down the long corridor. At the end of the corridor there was another staircase, exiting down into the carpark and easier to cart the luggage up and down (ask Pete!) than using the front stairs so very convenient.
I sent another email tonight,after more hassels with the IMS resulting in a phonecall by management and using a combination of my laptop and of the hotel computer we finally made it!
Will update you soon.
Love Rosie.
Thanks for sharing, Judy (and Rosie!). That Bed & Breakfast sounds so charming, and really makes me want to stay in one (I've never stayed in a B&B but have heard they're delightful). Also, reading this makes me want to research Tasmania! Thanks for always writing such interesting and entertaining posts.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Patti Jo :)
Hi Rosie,
ReplyDeleteGlad you're continuing to have a wonderful time and that you were able to access the internet!
I'm with you, Patti Jo. The emails have truly sparked my interest in Tasmania. Once I finish up the book I'm working on, I plan to do a little digging on my own. :)
Thanks for sharing your note from Rosie. Judy and I had so much fun in Topeka.
ReplyDeleteLori, I'm glad you were able to be here! It was nice having you in Topeka. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful post! Learning about Australia is fascinating, and, Rosie, you made the whole setting come alive. Thanks so much to both of you for sharing it with the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, ladies! And so interesting!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! LOVE the pix Judy, and Rosie, you did an amazing job describing everything. Felt like I was right there. And the boarding house for girls attending the grammar school. Sounds perfect for at least one story, if not a series. :) Glad you had such a great time. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete