Rainy Sunday in Wellington

Sunday August 12

Rainy day today, for a change ;)

I got up and went directly to a shower. The amenities block is basic but the shower rooms have enough space. We got up, had some breakfast, and were out a little after 9am.

Walked through the rain to the bottom station of the Cable Car, and took the cable car all the way up to the top. Stopped for coffee/tea/snacks at the top, then checked out the Cable Car Museum (which was very small). Sam got grouchy because I wouldn’t buy him another necklace.

Then it sort of stopped raining, so we spent the next few hours walking around the Botanical Gardens. It was lovely, although quite damp. Lots of hills (it’s on the whole hillside).

Stopped for lunch near the Rose Garden, a nice Nicoise Salad, Fish Cakes, and some cheese sandwiches (including one on gluten-free bread). Then back up to the Cable Car stop so we could ride down to the bottom again.

By then (actually, after lunch) it was raining again. We walked straight over to the Fine Art Museum, which was only a block away. Unfortunately, the exhibit was too intense for the kids - photos from the news about all sorts of war and hardship through the past year around the world (and there’s plenty to see of that).

Then we went across the way to the Museum of Wellington Sea and Land. Very cool museum. There was a nifty holographic movie of some Maori legends, including one about the Queen of Fire. Sofia was VERY taken with it, and demanded to watch is 4 times (and kept talking about it throughout the rest of the day).

After that museum, we walked in the rain back to the Te Papa museum, and spent the rest of the afternoon there. Mostly I spent the time in the Children’s Discovery areas with Micah and Sofia (although I also took them for another snack). David and Sam got to walk around more. I was wiped out. My tummy wasn’t feeling great, and I was really tired.

Once David and Sam caught up to us, we realized we were all pretty tired (except Sofia!). We picked a cool restaurant for dinner - “Chow”, an Asian “whole foods” place with really interesting menu. It was a few blocks from the museum.

The food was terrific, and the first waitress was very helpful in terms of finding something Micah could eat (lots of sesame and nuts on the menu). And Micah was so picky, he didn’t eat much anyway. But once the restaurant started getting crowded, service slowed ot a crawl. Nice, but slow.


Long walk back in the rain and dark. Interesting feeling, walking through the deserted, closed down part of the city after hours, especially when that’s where “home” is. We got back to the van before 8, and now, before 9, I think I’m the only one awake.



Oh, and the kosher co-op does not have my credit card :(