Winter in Taz

So yes, it is winter here in Tasmania! It's just so bizarre to think that it may snow on the 4th of July! The short days are definitely requiring some adjusting - it gets pretty dark here by 4:30, so subsequently I'm hungry at 5pm and ready for bed by 7pm. So far I've been fighting that, but it's tough when it's cold and dark!
I'm a bit confused by winter here, aside from it being super dark and some of the leaves falling, many of the plants act like it's summer. Many of the trees are flowering here (like this crazy beautiful tree below; I have NO idea what it is!), the roses are in bloom, and on my way in to school today I saw a lemon tree whose branches were weighted down with ripe lemons. The parrots outside our building aren't fantastic indicators of winter either. If this is winter, what will summer be like? I have high hopes that it will be positively tropical, but I don't think that will be the case....

Hobart!

So this is Hobart! Well, part of it anyway. In the background is Mount Wellington, which is the impressive backdrop to the west of the city. I took this picture from the waterfront, it's really a bay, but the river flowing into it is called the Derwentwater River.
Hobart is gorgeous, a lot bigger than I expected, but very nice. The City is broken up into lots of little suburbs, which extend for over 15 km N-S along the river, it's impressive! The downtown area is really nice, it looks like there are some great little shops, markets, and wharfs with excellent seafood. I have lots of pictures to post, so more to come!

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