Around the World and Back

Friday, October 12, 2012

Leaving home again

We're in Melbourne! So far, so good; there are obviously a lot of logistical things to deal with that are a little stressful at the moment, but we're slowly but surely crossing items off our to-do list. I'll write a post all about this amazing city soon, but first I want to tie up the end of our year in New Zealand.

A few weeks before we left Brian and I managed to both get a weekend off of work (first time that had ever happened since we'd been employed), so we decided to get out of town. We rented a bach (pronounced like the first part of "bachelor;"which is what New Zealanders call a holiday home) in Opunake, which is about a 4.5 hour drive from Wellington on the west coast. Mark, Caitlin, and Sean joined us and we had a fun little roadtrip for the weekend! The bach was really nice and had a front and back patio, yard, fireplace, and nice big kitchen. We planned to do some day hikes around Mt. Taranaki, but honestly, when we got there I think we all just wanted to relax, so the hiking never really happened... the sun came out and it felt HOT and amazing (we were all feeling a little starved for warmth & sun), so ambition turned into lazing about in the sun with mimosas, snacks, and card games. On Saturday night Caitlin and I cooked up a big Mexican-style dinner (the San Diegans are forever missing their beloved Mexican food) and it was such a delicious feast after the sun had zapped away all our energy. On Sunday we wanted to take our sweet time getting back to Welly, so we headed over to check out New Plymouth. Along the way we stopped at a gorgeous beach and relaxed in the warm black sand (one of the finest pleasures in life; warm sand between your toes). In New Plymouth we walked around an artisans market, got some lunch, and walked along part of the coastal walkway. New Plymouth is so cute! It had such a relaxed skate/surf culture (amazing surfing there, I'm told) and lots of character. We made it back to Wellington late that evening, really pleased with how lucky we were weather-wise. All in all, a great trip; it was too bad we didn't get to do things like that more often while we were living in Wellington. It's so easy to get caught up in the drudgery of the work week and routines; sometimes you just have to take a weekend away!

The rest of our last few weeks in Wellington were spent enjoying time with friends, saying goodbyes, and being stressed out about various things. Advertising for and hoping to fill our rooms in our beloved, mold-filled house was kind of nerve-racking, but ended up very well after all was said and done. There was lots of deep cleaning, scrubbing, and toxic chemical-use in our house for awhile there... but it came out looking pretty shiny and new in the end. It's almost as if the mold was never there... ;) Mark found an amazing house to move into and was able to fill his room quickly (kind of shocking considering the size; we really lucked out in that regard!), a couple moved into our room, and Jemma decided to stay for awhile. The only downside to the whole situation was that Brian and I had to pay an extra week's rent because the couple taking our room couldn't move in until after we left, but that was a small price to pay to get rid of the stress of filling the room.

nice 'n' moldy

cute little kitchen

Then there's the car issue. OHHHHHH THE CAR.... Guess what? We couldn't sell it! Anyone surprised?! This was a stressful situation that is continuing to be stressful for us and also for our wonderful friends in Wellington who are still trying to tie up that loose end for us. After an ongoing classified ad as well as 2 consecutive auctions on TradeMe, we had no luck getting rid of that cursed thing. We dropped the price to a laughable amount and still no one seems to want it. The worst part is that our friends are stuck in Wellington with a car to sell that now has an expired warrant of fitness and registration, which you will all probably remember is not just pocket change to take care of. Sigh. I go through waves of guilt and horror about that car and how awful we feel living it in the care of our friends... if any of you are reading this I am so sorry! Feel free to push the car right off a bridge or drive it into the bush and blow it up. I wish now that we had abandoned it, but I think we would have had to take off the license plates. Not to mention I am still not convinced the car is worth as little as everyone else seems to think it is, but anyway. Let's just say I won't be investing in a car anytime soon.

I hate you.

But! Those stressful things were definitely overshadowed by lots of fun and good times before we left. It's kind of crazy to look back on the last year and think of all we did and all the people we met... It was a very exciting and action-packed year. We made such wonderful friends and found "homes" all over the country. Saying goodbye to our friends in Wellington was especially hard; our time there was the longest stretch of time we spent in one location all year. It was so nice to feel comfortable and know the ins and outs of a city! It's comforting to know our life in Wellington is only a 3ish hour plane ride away. And I hope our Welly friends will come visit us in Australia!

As for life after New Zealand, well, we'll have to see what happens. There's no plan. We're bouncing back and forth between societal (and self-inflicted) pressures to move home, get serious jobs/go back to school/become responsible adults and just wanting to keep the quasi-nomadic lifestyle up for years and years. You only get one life, so you better live it, right? But then again, there are pros to settling down too. Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it right now. It's time for Melbourne now, that's all I know. After awhile, Melbourne time will be up and something else will happen... we'll just have to wait and see!

Anyway, thanks, New Zealand, for one of the greatest, most memorable years of my life. And now that we're in Oz you all have another chance to start a collection jar on your dresser to buy a plane ticket to visit us! You're welcome anytime. :)

walking on Cuba St

last day in Welly :(

after our going-away dinner

fav graffiti artist

hehehehhehehehehehhehehehe, had to

yen wor kind of night

exploring Wellington's coast

ciders in the sun with Jem

bye! sniff sniff

Recovery Room

Brian with Shelly

Stay tuned for a Melbourne update! (sneak preview below)

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: