Wellington!!

What a foodie city! We have had two fabulous and 1 average meal(s) so far. Just came back from Monsoon Poon (ed. note – had thought it was called Monsoon Poo – better name?) where we had Malaysian food, hot hot firecracker chicken (ed. note: hottest item on the menu) and 25 spice curried lamb. Fantastic! Our mouths are still burning. First night here we hit Little India and also had some amazing food. One dish we had never seen before; sadly we can’t remember what it was called, Jhagleesh something or other. Better than any I’ve had. Enjoyed a busker working the crowds outside the restaurant. Last night we went to Scopa, recommended by several different people but had only average pizza and salad. Lots of fun, though. Kiwis are friendly people and more than willing to strike up a conversation with anyone who sits down. We have taken full advantage of this and picked up as many travel tips as possible. Last night, the woman at the next table gave us her card—press secretary to the Prime Minister! Geoff has emailed her today; she made several recommendations for the rest of our trip and said she would love to hear about the rest of our trip.

Today Geoff treated me to a salon treatment (ed. note: Happy Valentine’s Day). Every woman will know the anxiety involved in going to a new hairdresser, never mind one in a different country. I have to say that the service, the cut and colour were all excellent! Afterwards, we hiked up Mount Victoria for perfect views of the city (ed. note: It was a &^%$ REAL cardio workout! Yellow dot is our hotel).

Tomorrow we are golfing—free with our stay at the hotel. We are looking forward to it. The course is right near the airport so we imagine that it will be noisy but fun. This will be our last day in Wellington. On Wednesday, we’re up early to catch the 8:00am ferry to the south island. We have had so many people tell us what to see and where to go there, it will be interesting to see what we actually decide to do. Time seems to be going by so quickly! We want to see as much as possible while spending time with family.

(Ed. note: We also took the funicular to the top of the Wellington Botanical Gardens. We then walked all the way down, stopping in the Rose Garden and the Begonia House – see amazing photos at Flickr.)

(Ed. note: For those of you who have commented that the Ed. notes aren’t necessarily the most stimulating reading, I appreciate your perspectives and have given those offerings the consideration they are due. Ergo, the Ed. notes will continue.)