Around the World and Back

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Shannon's Best of Wellington

As our time in Wellington draws to a close, we find ourselves saying over and over, "oh... we never made it there...," and "ahhh, I always wanted to try out that place..." (followed by a sad face). Seems like whenever it's time to relocate, suddenly so many amazing, not-to-be-missed places jump out of the woodwork, taunting you. Well, there's just not enough time (or money in our tight budgets) to do it all, so I have to bid Wellington adieu without visiting every single bar, restaurant and coffee shop (sad face).

But! I am in love with sooooo many places we've been... and as I try to fall asleep on my last night here, my brain is going a mile a minute making lists and trying to hold tight to my time here. So, I thought maybe I'd make a little list of what I love, just in case any of my readers ever make it to Welly. So, without further ado, in no particular order- my favorite places to eat/drink/dance:

1. Maranui Cafe (Lyall Pd, Lyall Bay): had to put this as #1 (even tho these are in no particular order...) because I am OBSESSED. I was introduced to this place by Caitlin and Sean, who live nearly an hour bus ride away, but make the trek there for brunch, milkshakes, and walks on the beach. I must admit, I was hesitant to join them at first; going out for a (often hungover) brunch at home was something I did on a regular basis, but only because I knew where all the vegan treats were hiding and I could enjoy a mimosa or 3 to cure what ailed me. Since being in NZ, the ever elusive vegan brunch has not been part of my weekly or even monthly eating schedule, because I'd rather spend my money on a yummy Asian or Indian takeaway meal than toast with avocado (one of the few choices I get here and something I'm quite capable of preparing myself, thankyouverymuch). Imagine my surprise when I walked into a brightly-lit, kitschy cafe with not only AMAZING waterside views but multiple vegan menu options and at least 5 vegan salads/pastries in the case? I'm crying thinking about not getting to eat there again... the only flaw was that they only sell champagne by the bottle, so self-assembled mimosas are really only affordable when there's a large group at brunch (and mimosas aren't as good when you can't have more than one, right?). I love you, Maranui!

2. Midnight Espresso (Cuba St, Te Aro): snobby bratty hipsters behind the coffee machine/till, but I'll take it for your many, many delectable vegan cakes, pilafs, sandwiches, and even nachos. Nice on the pocketbook too (not always so easy to find). Yummmmm, such a good place to grab a snack (and I hear the snobby hipsters in Wellington REALLY know their coffee).

3. KK Malaysia (corner Guznee St & Cuba St, Te Aro): this place was recommended to us by our friends and very trusted food-sources, Mel and Dan. With so many Malaysian restaurants in town, which one to choose? Look no further. This small place is packed to the gills the moment they open and is well worth the wait. For 10 bucks you can't beat these meals.

4. Deluxe Cafe (Kent Terrace & Courtenay Pl, Te Aro): a smaller, less snobby, and more "intellectual artist-hangout" version of Midnight Espresso. Same variety of vegan options with even more delicious cakes. Located right next to the Embassy Theatre, this place is the best for a pre-movie treat.

5. Hop Garden (Victoria St & Kent Tce, Mt. Vic): our "local" microbrew heaven. It has an outdoor/greenhouse-y beer garden and suuuuuuchhhh delish beers on tap. The crowd is pretty chill and the bartenders are always nice and knowledgable. Like any and all good beers in NZ, you'll pay a pretty penny to get a buzz. We're usually too broke to go for more than 1 or 2, but it's a great atmosphere and nice to get away from the cheap shit every now and again. :)

6. Cafe Baba (Courtenay Pl, Te Aro): ok, so this is one of many kebab places in Welly, and is by no means amazing. The only reason I list it is because it's my go-to kebab place, because it's one of the only ones in NZ that offers tahini as one of the sauces. And let's face it, for a felafel kebab when you can't have yogurt sauce, tahini is the only thing that brings it home (besides extra hummus, of course). Many of my drunk nights end up here.

7. Hashigo Zake (Taranaki St, Te Aro): here's a little underground hidden gem, a beer bar with tons and tons and tons of international treats. I myself have only been here once, because it's too expensive for me, but such an amazing place to go for a pricy treat. If you're craving a special brew from back home, there's a fair chance they'll have it here. The bartenders were amazing and really love what they do.

8. Aunty Mena's (Cuba St, Te Aro): vegan Asian fusion... need I say more? They have 3 pages of menu options, ALL of which I can eat, and all for less than $14. Vegs, look no further. YUM.

9. Havana (Tory St Alley, Te Aro): BEST BAR in Welly! I'm dying that I didn't find out about this place until about a month ago. Jemma took us there one night and since it hides in a secret alley (one of the many; a few of those secret alleys had Brian and I going, "awww..... no! Why haven't we known about this?!" today as we walked around), it's like a hidden treasure. I splurged on a cocktail (methinks it was the only cocktail I've had in a year?) last weekend and damn was it good. Well-worth the $16- artfully crafted using fresh fruits and top shelf liquor. Nothin but the best. This is where all the good-looking and swanky hipsters go for drinks and small local music acts crammed onto a minuscule dance floor. It reminds of any and all good aspects of Capitol Hill and when I'm there it makes me wish I was rich and had an outfit that was carefully assembled from vintage designer labels and American Apparel pieces. Sigh.

10. JJ Murphys (Cuba St, Te Aro): This is just your average, run-of-the-mill Irish pub, but we have had many, many a good dance party there, so feel compelled to include it. Plus points for our favorite band, whose name we don't know, and will probably never be able to figure out, and the wonderful night we had dancing to their performance (pre-missing our roomies, sniff sniff).

11. San Francisco Bathhouse (Cuba St, Te Aro): Atomic (80's night), 24 Hour Party People (Indie night), and round the clock cheap drinks... always a good time. Cheers to trying to recreate a beloved past-time from at home (Tues nights at the Noc Noc)! No bike short-sightings yet, but there are plenty of fancy dancers around.

12. Monterey (Rintoul St & Riddiford, Newtown): ok... Mixed feelings here. I'm putting this down because theoretically it's my favorite bar in Wellington. Plus it's in Newtown, which is our next-door-neighborhood full of grit and dodgy-ness, home to both the Recovery Room and Medi Foods, so it's very dear to both Brian and my hearts. The bar is tiny, amazingly/quirkily decorated, houses my favorite cider in NZ, and has tables covered in paper you can draw on. Also very, very hipster (Brian would argue that's why I like it, but that's up for debate). However, the bartenders are such assholes that I've vetoed this place forever. It's not really an interesting story so I won't go into it, I'll just say, if you go to Monterey, go during a very slow time of day, and get someone else in your party to order the drinks so you can remain out of contact with the bartender, and I guarantee you'll have a good time. Such a sad ending to what felt like a promising relationship between me and a charming little neighborhood spot.

13. Mighty Mighty (Cuba St, Te Aro): So, I've only been here once, but it was amazing. Also, I was several glasses of wine in... but the decor and whole vibe of this bar/club is awesome. Too many hipsters for Brian, but yeah. There are comfy couches around for those feeling antisocial, while the rest of us can dance. I wish I would have been able to come here more, but let's face it, my friends and I aren't big on cover charges (even tho it's only $10) and I was usually too lazy to figure out what bands were coming on/organize a night out there so there you have it.

14. Southern Cross (Abel Smith St, Te Aro): Brian took me here for my surprise birthday lunch date, and it was so dreamy. It was a gorgeous, warm (even though it was winter!) day, and we sat on the huge back patio in the sun and I ate a mushroom-lentil burger that was so delish. The patio on a nice day just can't be beat; I wish we could have spent more time there as the weather turned nicer!

15. Pranah (Riddiford St, Newtown): another gem discovered way too late in the game, although that's probably for the best, considering how many consecutive days I went there once I discovered it... Just a little neighborhood cafe with lots and lots of vegan desserts, salads, pakoras, samosas, burritos, yum. I never had time to sit down for a meal there but I did buy cookies pretty regularly there for a few days, heh.

16. La Boca Loca (Park Rd, Miramar): We stumbled upon this place while looking for shelter from a crazy rainstorm following my craft fair in Miramar one Saturday afternoon. To be honest, we just had a drink while we were waiting for the bus and trying to dry out from the rain, but the menu looked so good and I would imagine they'd have some really nicely crafted cocktails and margaritas as well, if that's your thing. The chef and owner are Mexican and Californian-missing-Mexican-food (respectively) so I might imagine this place would be spot on for the elusive traditional Mexican cuisine in NZ.

17. Siem Reap (Dixon St, Te Aro): This is a last-minute addition, but an important one. We went here for dinner on our last night in town and discovered it made one of the best meals we'd had yet! Not to be missed. Delicious Cambodian food right on the fringes of the CBD! BYO on Mon/Tues nights made for a really nice send-off dinner.

18. Fidel's (Cuba St, Te Aro): Wellington meets Portland. The set-up of the place reminds me so much of Porque No! Fidel's is a coffee shop (boasting the perfect cup every time, which I would bet is pretty accurate) with a back patio/open-air picnic bench area. Fresh juices, Havana coffee, delicious pastries... perfect for playing cards and sipping a tea in the sunshine. And So Portland. :)

If only we had endless amounts of money I know this list would be 5x as long. There are amazing, quirky, cute cafes/bars around every corner, and you could easily go out for every meal for a month without exhausting the city. I wish I had lovely food photos to decorate this blog post I was probably too busy eating and drinking to bring out my camera, so you'll just have to use your imagination. Should you ever find yourself in Wellington, please contact me so I can give you even more ideas of winning ideas for what to do in my home-away-from-home.

LOVE YOU, WELLINGTON!! xoxoxoxo

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The adventure continues

Bad blogger alert! I'm so sorry to anyone who's been trying to keep up with me and patiently waiting for a blog update... Honestly life has just been sort of sailing along with nothing too out-of-the-ordinary to report. But! There are some major changes coming up so I thought I'd fill you in.

We're moving to Australia! It's official; we've booked our flights and been approved for working holiday visas. The visa gives us a year to live and work there, but we don't have firm plans on how long we're going to stay. Our first stop is Melbourne, and we've decided to spend this working holiday a little bit backwards from the way we spent our NZ year. Instead of traveling around, WWOOFing, and living the backpacker's life upon arrival, we're going to hunker down and try to be like real Melbourne-ians. Here's hoping our prospective Airbnb hosts in Melbourne will be as helpful as the ones we had here in Wellington!

Life in Wellington has continued to be a good time. I signed on with a temp agency as recommended by my friend Caitlin, who has been using said agency to find work since her and her boyfriend, Sean, moved here from San Diego a few months ago. I was lucky enough to be placed in a reception job right away with the Ministry of Health, in a very official building down by the Beehive (Parliament building). I've been working at the reception desk on and off for a few weeks now, and it makes me feel so important and so weird being around all the corporate/government-types all day! Dressing in business attire (hopefully no one will notice I've been rotating the same 3 outfits over and over again! (and by "outfits" I mean the same pair of pants, 2 sweaters and a shirt)), carrying a swipe card, rushing around during lunch hour, and seeing everyone always being in a hurry for a meeting... Corporate life. The street where my building is located is called "The Terrace"; does it get any more official sounding than that? My job is just to wait for people to come in for meetings, then I call the person they're meeting to let them know their guest has arrived. People are always in a hurry, always look so frantic to get to their meeting, and are always mad when someone is 1 minute late- basically it's the anti-Kiwi mentality. Sometimes when I'm there I just feel so weird and out of place, because what is going on? Where are these people in such a hurry to go? What is their meeting about? I have no idea. No one tells me anything, and I don't have access to the internet at work (or any of the internal systems at all, really), so I spend the majority of my day staring off into space, using Microsoft Paint, and reading (a new development I've just boldly started). This must be what it means to have a "real" job: meetings and suits! Can you tell I'm a waitress at heart? It's a little ridiculous how out of touch I am with the 9-5 lifestyle... Ah well, I'm just soooo happy to have some extra work, whatever it may be!

I'm also still working 16 hours a week at Medi Foods, which continues to be the easiest job in the world. The only pain about that place is when I have to work there after working at the Ministry of Health (like I have for the past week and a half) and I get a little overloaded by customer service. The owners have started doing the thing restaurant owners often do, where they don't know how to do anything/know how anything works and have to display their power over you by bossing you around and making you do things which are totally irrelevant/impractical to how the place successfully runs... but it's not like I'm not used to that. :) Overall, I'm excited to finish up that job (3 more shifts!!!) and finally have my weekends back.

Brian has been working at the Recovery Room cafe, which gets its name from its location (across the street from the hospital). He started working there as a "casual worker", meaning they'd just text him whenever they needed help to see if he could come in, and because he always said yes (and because he's awesome), he has climbed his way to the top of the list and is clearly a favorite around there. This week he's nearly clocking 40 hours, which has been unheard of for either of us beyond our time at The Store. I'm really glad Brian's getting the time and experience in the cafe because he's getting lots of practice on coffee-making and serving. This experience will open lots of doors in "hospo" (that's what they call the hospitality sector here) for him when we get to Australia. There's also the added perk of working with/meeting all kinds of crazy characters and bringing home plenty of stories after work.

The other endeavor that's been taking up a bit of my time lately is my stationary "business", Chickpea. Yes folks, I'm back in the card game, after all these years. Yesterday I found myself having major flashbacks to the CVB creation days (for anyone who doesn't know, my mom, aunt, and grandma had a business in the '90s making puffy-paint-iron-on-decal sweatshirts, and were quite hot on the craft-fair circuit), as I set up my table display at the Miramar Kindergarten Spring Market. My friend Caitlin came along to keep me company and we were later joined by my flatmate, Mark. It was a good experience; I didn't make much money or sell many cards, but I really loved getting set up and having a chance to show what I've been working on. I tried to resist replenishing my craft supplies when I got to Wellington (as my mini-craft set I'd brought with me to NZ was lost in the car theft) because I didn't want to acquire too many things to haul around after we leave here, but I just couldn't help myself. I'm proud of the cards and notepads I've made and it was fun to get to display them! I'm not sure where this will go or if I'll pursue trying to sell them somewhere when we get to Melbourne but it's a fun hobby to have. :)

After my 60-hour work week last week I'm looking forward to having some time off to enjoy my last few weeks here. The weather has turned... spring is here, and with it has come the famous Wellington wind. I have to admit, I found it slightly amusing how big of a reputation wind has here because of how mild (generally speaking) the winter was. No one told me that the real "Windy Welly" nickname comes from spring! Who would have thought the spring would feel colder and more blustery than winter? The last week or so has been filled with ruined hairdos, difficult wardrobe-choice days (hot and cold, simultaneously...), and house-shaking windy nights. I should have known I was jinxing it by going around blabbing to everyone I meet about how great the winter weather has been. On Sunday we went to the weekend market on the waterfront and there was trash and veggie scraps flying around all over the place. "Get used to it," they say, "Welcome to Wellington in the Spring." Trying to embrace it! We are (hopefully!!!) planning a weekend road trip to New Plymouth in a couple of weeks, with hikes on Mt. Taranaki, and I am beside myself with excitement! Today we flipped through some old pics on Brian's camera from the last year here and they made me itch to get back out into the wilderness a little. I love city life, no denying that, but being out on the road is equally amazing. It will be great to squeeze a tiny bit more of that in before we say goodbye to this place.

That being said, boy am I sad. It just seems so surreal that our time here is already almost over... it has been such a grand adventure. I am so happy and proud that despite all of the mishaps and hard times we've gone through, we have so much love for New Zealand and our year here. Looking through pictures and talking with Mark about his potential upcoming travels throughout the country brings me so much excitement (and sadness that we can't stay and go back to visit some of our favorite places!) and I find myself thinking about what places to prioritize when we inevitably come back to visit NZ. If only we had more time! I can only hope that our next ________ months in Australia (and wherever else we may end up) will bring as much fun, beautiful scenery, and good friends as we've had/seen/met here.

pics from the last few months, in no particular order:

at Atomic (80s night) with Caitlin, Mel & Dan

walking around the neighborhood

Welly harbor

no city is complete without a naked man statue

near Te Papa Museum

my birthday breakfast on the patio

Newtown Saturday market

near the waterfront

after birthday lunch

Caitlin, Mark, and Sean at Lyall Bay

random night out

cute boys :)

my flatmates + kerry, who lived in our room before us

fav brunch spot

at Beervana in Westpac Stadium

Brian and I taking an urban hike

glorious sun

at a Wellington Lions Rugby game (couldn't leave the country without making it to one!)

the car we are trying to sell. sigh.

breakfast nook; I will miss this part of the house very much

our little mold-infested home

walking down Buckle St.

National war memorial

back patio

some of the many cards of Chickpea :)

out dancing again ;)

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Life in Wellington

Thawing out of my winter freeze on the porch outside my flat, I'm currently enjoying a gorgeous, sunny winter's day. Ah, Wellington. It's unbeatable on a sunny day, yet so unforgiving and miserable on a cold one. Whenever I'm chatting with people I meet, they seem to all say, "Ugh, the weather is so bad. It's so cold. You're in Wellington at the worst time," but I don't share that sentiment. Sure, it can be really cold. But it's winter time, and there have been so many beautiful days (like this one) to take my mind off the more blustery ones. Not to mention it's usually warmer outside than it is in my house, so that might also have something to do with my stance on the winter weather. ;)

We got really lucky when we first arrived here to pick out the most amazing airbnb hosts. Mel and Dan offered to pick us up at the ferry terminal, came out to carry our bags up from the car, and set up our bedroom like a little hotel room. They made us tea upon arrival and sat down with us to chat, and then made an amazing dinner to share with us (all too willing to accommodate my diet, too)! Saying that they went above and beyond the scope of an airbnb host would be an understatement… It was much more like a homestay with wonderful friends. They have continued to be amazing to us long after the 4 days we spent at their place; keeping an eye out for jobs for us, writing bad reviews on tripadvisor for a bar that treated me quite badly during a job trial, and helping Brian make some money off of his delicious bread-baking. We feel so fortunate to have made friends with such wonderful, kind, cultured people right off the bat and I'm so glad we've been able to keep in touch. Also, I highly recommend airbnb.com to anyone who's traveling and hasn't used it… we have stayed in some great places, met really nice people, and saved ourselves lots of money while still being more comfortable than we might have been in a hotel or hostel. Check it out!

I just love it here. We have been settling in nicely to our lives in Wellington, so different to our traveling lives. Yes, I have been fighting hard to make the switch from traveler to real-life resident of Wellington, and so far it's mostly working. Much of that success can be attributed to finally getting a job (a big 16 hours a week!), and at a place I actually like! I work in the cafe/restaurant section of an imports shop called Mediterranean Foods Warehouse, which is in Newtown, a suburb over from where we live (Note: "suburb" here means "neighborhood," not a place where all the houses are the same and every street ends in a cul-de-sac). This job is a good fit for me; the location is good because it's close, but also because Newtown is more of an international district, and maybe a little less sparkly than some other parts of the city, which I find refreshing. The job is also really low-key; I'm pretty much just left on my own to do my thing and my waitressing skills have come back to me, so it just feels like second nature. The place itself is really cool; lots of great products on the shelves for grocery shopping, a meat, cheese, and bread deli, and what I'm told is some of the best pizza in town (bonus: I finally know how to spell "Mediterranean"). I'm a little bummed that it's only 16 hours a week, but beggars can't be choosers! I'm on the hunt for a second job.

We have the best flatmates! I swear, we've had the most amazing luck when it comes to who we've ended up living with… Nothing but fond memories thinking about our roomies in Kekerengu, and just enjoying such good company with Jemma (Kiwi) and Mark (Irish) in our house now. The location (Mt. Cook) is also really excellent; we're a short walk away from most of the things we want to do. I can run down the hill and find myself on Oriental Parade (the waterfront) in 15 min or less, walking to work in Newtown takes about 20 minutes, Cuba street (the Capitol Hill of Wellington) is 15 minutes away, and Moore Wilson's "Food Heaven" (it really is!), grocery store is less than 10 minutes walking.

We've been frequenting the Sunday Market down near Te Papa (National Museum) for fresh veggies and fruit each week. There's also a craft-type market underground a few blocks away for me to enjoy :). Te Papa was one of the activities for Brian's birthday, so we saw maybe 1/3 of the museum then. It's really big and awesome (also has a science center inside!). We took the Wellington cable car the other day, which was hilarious. We were really looking forward to it because it's an attraction of this city, but didn't realize that it's basically a 3 minute ride, where if you're sitting face-forward (as all of us with weak stomachs do), you won't see any scenery, and suddenly you're at the top and wondering if you can have your $3.50 back. It was really silly. But it ended up being cool because the trolley takes you to the top of the botanical gardens and we walked down through them, during a little sun-break. It also happened to be Matariki, which is the Maori New Year, so there were signs posted all along the walk talking about the significance of different plants, customs, etc. Then there was a succulents garden, which is a bunch of different cacti, and at that time the sky was dark grey and the sun was shining that magical light on the plants… perfect. But honestly, besides walking all over the city for several hours a day, we haven't done any "sightseeing" per se.

So, nothing too out-of-the-ordinary has been going on around here, just settling into life and trying to make the most out of this hip, vibrant city. There are so many cafes, restaurants, bars, boutiques, etc etc around here that it is difficult to choose where to go, and difficult to resist spending money. Wellington is apparently on par with NYC for the number of cafes, which seems pretty crazy, but walking around town I believe it! Brian still continues to look for work and could use some more well-wishes and finger-crossing from those at home. :) He's been baking-to-order bread for Mel's workmates for the past two weeks and then delivering the loaves to her office on Fridays. I know he would love to make a permanent job out of that since it's what he loves to do, and his breads are amazing! This morning I drove him to the airport where he flew to Auckland for today/night to replace his passport at the American Embassy. Driving him there (and myself back into town) was something I absolutely dreaded, as I haven't driven in over a month, or in Wellington ever (I refuse). I'm not really a fan of driving… and Wellington is full of windy, hilly, skinny streets where I want to close my eyes as I envision sideswiping a row of cars parked at the curb… but yeah. I did it, and I'm alive (and I didn't crash the car)!

Not much else to report, just wanted everyone at home to have an idea of what we're up to in Wellington. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying some nice summer weather! :)

view from our deck/balcony

kitchen

living room

near Parliament

the Beehive

view from the top where the trolley took us

sundial (it really works with your shadow, we tried it!)

on our walk

succelents garden

Monday, June 4, 2012

L Pay Visits En Zed

How lucky we are when we get visitors. It's so nice to be able to share this experience with other people who are part of our lives back home, and it also serves as a mini-vacation for us! Lindsay's visit couldn't have come at a better time. What better way to recover from a stressful situation than to be able to put it on the back burner and remember why you love the place you're living?

We started out in Oamaru, and from there headed to Dunedin for a night. I was on a mission to get a second chance at eating the most amazing vegan burger I've ever had, from a little traveling vegan caravan at the farmer's market. Mission accomplished; even my non-vegan companions were impressed :) After that we needed to replenish our camping gear, so we forked over the cash for some new essentials that would allow us to escape out into nature again. The weather was still looking pretty good for fall, and we decided to reinstate our original idea to do the much-anticipated Routeburn track. We headed towards Queenstown on another one of those postcard-esque drives, and checked into a hostel with all the party people. I had a bit of a shock when we drove into Queenstown. Not only is the scenery even more striking than people have told me, but the town itself is like a giant U-Village. Posh storefronts, ritzy hotels and bars, everything looks sparkling new… we have yet to see anything like this in our 7.5 months here. Sure, in the bigger cities there are plenty of fancy restaurants, designer shops, and snazzy bars, but there are also less wealthy and well-dressed parts in those cities; not the case in Queenstown. It was disconcerting, to be honest. Suddenly I felt the loss of my very few "going-out" appropriate clothing items, and felt the collective eyes of well-off 20-year old backpackers staring me down. Ok, so, they probably weren't staring me down, and I know it really doesn't matter if they were anyway, but the point is, I haven't felt this way in a looooong time, and it felt weird. Queenstown just exists in its own world here, a separate entity in New Zealand. It's also special in that it's the adventure capital of NZ, for all things heart-pounding. But for those of us not to into adrenaline-fueling activities (weak tummy over here!), there are about a million other awesome things you can do in the outdoors here. So, being the freak that I am, I was in Queenstown, trying to avoid bungy-jumping AND partying. But I still had an amazing and unforgettable time.

Wait… I almost forgot; we did do something that brought our heart to our throats while we were there. We drove up to the top of a snowy mountain range and got our car stuck in a ditch! Luckily we were able to find a friendly man-with-truck to help pull us out of said ditch, and follow us down the mountain for a few kilometers while I silently said my goodbyes to my life. Amazingly, we survived all that, and were laughing about it by the time we arrived safely at the bottom. No one can say there are no thrill-seekers among us! Trying to see on the bright side of things, we appreciated the beauty of being in our first snow of the year, the self-led private tour of a closed down ski lodge out-of-season, and Brian's amazing ability to drive us safely out of the snow without going off the edge of the cliff. Let's not forget the views on the way down! It was truly "remarkable" (get it, the mountain range is called the "Remarkables"? heh heh…).

But seriously, the view up there was one of the best. Other amazing and notable things we did in Queenstown: hike up Queenstown hill (twice) for the most stunning 360 degree views of Lake Wakatipu, the Remarkables, Queenstown, etc etc, take a 90 min cruise on Lake Wakatipu during the only 90 min of sun and blue skies of the day, and eat at the best cafe (in my humble opinion), the Vudu & Larder, every day that we were there. Finally, as a strong competitor for the best thing we did while in Queenstown, we took a tour bus to fjordland and went on a cruise through Milford Sound. We were really excited about the cruise (since Milford seems to be the thing everyone scolds you for missing if you go to NZ and don't see it), but we didn't realize how awesome the bus tour would be. We left at 7:30am and arrived back to our hostel at 8:00pm, with stellar views to look at all hours in between. Our tour guide was so jolly and cute, and filled us in on all the history of the areas and landscape we were driving through. We had nice weather on the drive to the fjords, and got to stop and take photos along the way of things like the beautiful Mirror Lake (who can resist a good mirror lake?!). Unfortunately (/fortunately? I can't decide) when we arrived at Milford it was rainy and foggy. Part of me was disappointed because obviously clarity would make the fjords more pronounced, and produce better photos, but then again, the fog and mist is more characteristic of the fjordlands, and produces a mystical effect. Nevertheless, it was beautiful. The air and land around us felt so lush, fertile, and clean, and the peaks of the fjords poked dramatically out of the fog. For a little while Brian and I weren't sure we would make it to see Milford, but I'm so glad we were able to. Now we hope to make it back on one of those lucky crystal-clear sky days in the future.

The one downside to our time in Queenstown was the realization (again) that we won't be able to do the Routeburn track as we'd hoped. The weather had just turned (isn't that always the way?) and lots more snow was on its way, and the DOC office was recommending that only the most experienced (and those with the adequate gear, A.K.A. not us) trampers attempt it at this time. Bummed about that, but then again, who says we can't come back to New Zealand in the warmer months and do all the things we missed? We accidentally worked and stayed put during the end of the hiking/camping weather and will have to do more of that later when there's less chance of things going wrong. Damn that working-for-money thing, always getting in the way of what you really want to be doing... ;)

It was hard to leave Queenstown (look at the pics and you'll see why), but our wallets were begging us to get out of there, so we headed down towards the Catlins, stopping in Invercargill for a night along the way. Invercargill, home of Burt Munro and the World's Fastest Indian! (If you haven't seen that movie, stop what you're doing and rent it right now, it's so wonderful and heartwarming). Yeah… Invercargill isn't my favorite city, and maybe our experience there was just soured by our poor choice in hostels (story too inappropriate for this blog!!), but we left that place for greener pastures, and greener pastures we found…

I'm writing this blog post from what may be heaven on earth… the Catlins beach house accommodation in Curio Bay. It's weird; as if pulled by some unforeseen force, as soon as we arrived here we just knew we could never leave. So Lindsay, Brian and I are going to stay here forever. **Note: it is now a week or so later, and we did end up having to leave the Catlins, much to our dismay.** We found a little beachside house to settle into and what was meant to be one night turned into 3. I am convinced that the Catlins are the answer to your prayers, the cure that ails you. From the living room of this house you could sit on the couch, in front of a roaring fire, watching the tide go in and out right outside your door, with a cat sleeping and purring on either side of you. We had lots of plans to explore the Catlins, move around, and do lots of hiking, but we pretty much ended up melting into the couch for most of the days. Being lazy in the beach house was the most luxurious feeling… especially when laziness is paired with a sunrise run on the sand, and photographing sealions and the world's rarest penguin from 10 feet away at sunset. Ok, now I'm getting too sad thinking about how we had to leave the Catlins… ;) On the 4th morning, we decided we better get back to it, so we headed back to Dunedin via the rest of the Catlins (which we had yet to explore). Gorgeous drive with plenty of stops to do mini-hikes to waterfalls, lighthouses, and the Nuggets (see pics). Perfect end to a perfect "vacation."

But the vacation didn't end there! We still had a few more days with Lindsay, so after a night in Dunedin, we stopped at the Moeraki boulders for photos, stopped at the roadside organic shop for my favorite roasted fava bean snack, stopped in our beloved Oamaru for falafel lunch, and arrived in Christchurch in the evening. The next morning we caught the TranzAlpine train through Arthurs Pass. I had been looking forward to this train ride for months and didn't think it would become a reality, so it was a real treat. We had comfy seats (forward-facing for L Pay and me, so no barfing), played cards along the way, and were able to go out into an observation car to take photos on the trip. It was really beautiful, although I was slightly disappointed about how much less snow was in the mountains than I was expecting. But it was lovely and an extra special treat for my handsome chauffeur, who has been Driving Ms. Carney all over NZ and deserved a break.

The train takes you to the lovely Greymouth on the west coast. We joke about Greymouth being kind of dumpy, but it's actually a decent town. We found a great backpackers (although rats/ghost children did wake us at 1:30am by stealing a chocolate bar and sharpie out of my purse, causing a bit of a freak-out in the middle of the night), and did some more of that relaxing we'd gotten so good at. The next day we sat in a coffee shop and drank tea and read for a few hours before the train left, then were back on our way to Christchurch again. The most notable things we did in Christchurch included a visit to my favorite farmers market at the Riccarton House, where I was able to find a lot of yummy vegan treats (and kombucha! Heaven!), a quick trip to Castle Hill to see the awesome rock formations, and celebratory ciders at my favorite brewpub (Cassels & Sons) on Lindsay's last night. It was a great time (I'm a little biased, if you look at whose favorite things we were doing…), and we got to hang out with our friend Eva again, for an added bonus!

All in all, I'd say Lindsay's visit here was pretty awesome. Brian and I basically used it as an excuse to do and see all the things we'd wanted to but hadn't planned on treating ourselves to. After the string of bad luck we'd had, we were just ready to follow our dream agenda, so that's what we did. I'm so glad I was able to reconnect with an old friend, while simultaneously having an awesome vacation before starting the job search again. So cheers to you L Pay, for making some of our dreams a reality! I hope the next place we reunite will be in some far corner of the world (and preferably in less than 5 years). xo :)