February 20
Wellington
I had set the alarm but the glass recycling truck, which came past at about 06.30, ensured that I didn't need it. With Jane & Robert both heading to work, I breakfasted early - and lightly - lots of fruit and a little muesli - and re-sorted my packing, checked the washing which had been outside in the rain overnight and sent some emails.
I left the house at 09.15. It was cloudy and humid so I carried a raincoat and wore a light jacket. I suspect that both will have proven to be superfluous by the end of the day.
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Constable Street has a mix of older buildings, a number of which have stickers saying that they are an earthquake risk. I didn't linger near them!
After a couple of kilometres, I reached the cricket ground, which we had walked through on Sunday whilst returning from the theatre. This time it was closed as preparations for tomorrow's Test Match were in full swing. A shame I will be in Australia for the duration.
Cambridge Terrace is the start of the city proper, albeit with trees and flowers. It also has one of my favourite shops, which proves that fried Mars Bars exist outside Scotland. |
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Café L'affare is in an old industrial building and it sold me a bacon sandwich (posh variety) and, not surprisingly for a large coffee roaster, a good long black.
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With time progressing rapidly, I made good speed across the city, with occasional stops for memorable buildings, to the Astoria, arriving simultaneously with Judith. We had a coffee and chatted for an hour and a half. The café and the grass in front of it were packed as lunchtime and the sun arrived.
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At 12.30, we said our farewells and I rushed across the city to meet Jo for lunch. What used to be an old Kiwi café - City Limits - is now a good Vietnamese restaurant. We ate well and chatted for a long time.
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We left just before 14.30 and I explored the local area, passing many buildings marked as being earthquake risks. Even the Town Hall is subject to major engineering works.
Te Papa, the National Museum, has had some new exhibits since my last visit so I went to see some of them. The Gallipoli display was very powerful, using lots of several times life size models.I saw some of it a few years ago but had to leave when the fire alarm sounded. This time, I had a clear run. The natural history area has had a revamp and I quite enjoyed that. |
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When I left the building it was beautifully sunny. I walked to the biggest food store in town, bought some cheese and then made my way back up the hill to Newtown. Having walked almost ten kilometres, I felt that I was allowed a beer so called into Moon, a scruffy bar with an excellent range of beers, some of them on hand pump. I finally made it back to the house and collapsed in a chair. Jane arrived home, we ate and had a quiet evening.
Left: Real draught beer. A rare commodity
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