Richmond and B&B etiquette

This is the post for Thursday 8 December coz in Tassie you don't have to go far to be out of internet range! Hence, I'm a couple of days in arrears.

Richmond is historic and cute, with all that that entails (hint – think souvenirs!). I thought (after consulting the map) that we'd get there from Hobart via Risdon Vale. However, this wasn't such a good idea, because the map didn't make it clear that this route involves a long and winding climb over a big hill and down the other side. Still, we got there satisfactorily (with the aid of the GPS) and had a nice coffee and later on some lunch.

I visited the Old Hobart Town model village. Although not very big, it does have a lot of detail and claims to be authentic.

Moving on to the Huon region, our accommodation was a B&B. Over the years, we've stayed in many forms of accommodation, including guest houses that have many of the characteristics of a B&B. But this is the first time we've stayed at a B&B in the “classic” sense of the expression, namely about 4 rooms and operated by a couple who provide breakfast cooked to order in the kitchen adjoining the dining area. I've read that an important issue is for the hosts to get the balance right between being friendly and helpful versus intruding on the guests' privacy. The people who run this place seem to have got the correct balance, and on top of that, provide a great breakfast!

We're still working out a couple of the finer points re B&B etiquette. The main issue we're grappling with is, when do you lock your room? We don't think you're supposed to do so when you're out of the room but still on the property (having breakfast or sitting in the lounge room). However, we did lock our room when we went out for dinner, but not when we went out during the day (on the basis that access to our room would be needed to service it). However, since we're newcomers to B&B'ing, perhaps there are things we still need to learn.

We had dinner in the hotel a couple of kilometres down the road. Certainly, it had a “country pub” atmosphere, but the food was really good. We recently went to Pure South (at Southbank) who do “Tasmanian” food. Well, this pub was right up there with PS. Perhaps not quite so much finesse, but the quality was there and the prices about 60% of Pure South!

Images are (1) detail from model village and (2) B&B at Geeveston.