North Island Day Three
After a few more hours of sleep, both Hira and I were up to go move the car back to the lot just after 8am. We found where we parked with no issues, the car was still there, and there was no ticket. Whew, things were already looking up! We brought our sandwich stuff in the car with us for later, even though we weren't even going to need the car that day...didn't think that one all the way through. Oh well. We walked to the Wellington cable car which would take us up a hill and drop us off at the Wellington Botanic Gardens. The huge gusts of wind had ceased from the day before and was more a slight breeze. The clouds had dissipated and the sun warmed the air. Strolling through the gardens was just what we needed. We discovered a duck pond and of course a children's playground, which we took full advantage of. We sat on the swings for probably a good hour or so and talked about life. We also discovered that bucket hats are trending with children and the elderly. People watching has become an official activity for the two of us.
After a few more hours of sleep, both Hira and I were up to go move the car back to the lot just after 8am. We found where we parked with no issues, the car was still there, and there was no ticket. Whew, things were already looking up! We brought our sandwich stuff in the car with us for later, even though we weren't even going to need the car that day...didn't think that one all the way through. Oh well. We walked to the Wellington cable car which would take us up a hill and drop us off at the Wellington Botanic Gardens. The huge gusts of wind had ceased from the day before and was more a slight breeze. The clouds had dissipated and the sun warmed the air. Strolling through the gardens was just what we needed. We discovered a duck pond and of course a children's playground, which we took full advantage of. We sat on the swings for probably a good hour or so and talked about life. We also discovered that bucket hats are trending with children and the elderly. People watching has become an official activity for the two of us.
Heading back towards the cable car, we strolled through the cable car museum and the gift shop. We made it back to the city and walked back to the car for lunch. Even though our hostel was just up the street, we sat in our little car and ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches. It's like we were giving the homeless life a try.
We figured out the rest of the day and headed towards another museum. This one was just the city of Wellington. Just passed the museum was a boardwalk along the harbor. Business men and women lined the benches enjoying their lunches as we took in the sights. If the weather was this good the next day, we would definitely walk down this again. We walked back to the museum and got to take our time walking through this one. It was great, but we got a little museumed out after that. So we decided to stroll down Cuba Street, now that shops would be open. It was then that our quest began. Hira had mentioned she was craving ice cream. And it actually sounded pretty good to me, too. Being a busy shopping area, Cuba Street had to have some kind of ice cream place right? That's what we thought, but we didn't end up finding one. Since we were in the CBD, we got free wifi, so we Googled ice cream places near us. Desperate much? Nah, just two girls on a mission to fulfill their cravings!
What should have been a ten minute walk turned into a 20 minute one. Our directions led us to the wrong side of the street, which was disappointing to say the least. We had assumed, like the fish and chips place, that it was gone and had been turned into a different shop. But we found the place we were looking for on Facebook and eliminated that theory. It was then we discovered it was simply on the other side of the street. Bright and beaming was the sign "Kaffee Eis". While it wasn't ice cream (it was gelato), it certainly hit the spot! I got a scoop of Bon Bon Rochero (basically Ferrero Roche). Hira got chocolate chip and a scoop of cinnamon cappuccino. "It tastes like fall. I love it!" Can't say I disagree with her.
After completing our mission, we weren't too far from the Te Papa Museum, the first museum we visited. Now that the car was parked and we didn't have to worry about it, we could finally see the things that we missed. After walking through a bit, we were still museumed out, so we stuck mostly to the interactive parts of it. We even saw the one and only giant squid on display (apologies if the picture grosses you out. It is the only one in the world in a museum. So that's pretty cool! We watched a lot of the short films and even experienced a stimulated 6.5 magnitude earthquake.
We figured out the rest of the day and headed towards another museum. This one was just the city of Wellington. Just passed the museum was a boardwalk along the harbor. Business men and women lined the benches enjoying their lunches as we took in the sights. If the weather was this good the next day, we would definitely walk down this again. We walked back to the museum and got to take our time walking through this one. It was great, but we got a little museumed out after that. So we decided to stroll down Cuba Street, now that shops would be open. It was then that our quest began. Hira had mentioned she was craving ice cream. And it actually sounded pretty good to me, too. Being a busy shopping area, Cuba Street had to have some kind of ice cream place right? That's what we thought, but we didn't end up finding one. Since we were in the CBD, we got free wifi, so we Googled ice cream places near us. Desperate much? Nah, just two girls on a mission to fulfill their cravings!
What should have been a ten minute walk turned into a 20 minute one. Our directions led us to the wrong side of the street, which was disappointing to say the least. We had assumed, like the fish and chips place, that it was gone and had been turned into a different shop. But we found the place we were looking for on Facebook and eliminated that theory. It was then we discovered it was simply on the other side of the street. Bright and beaming was the sign "Kaffee Eis". While it wasn't ice cream (it was gelato), it certainly hit the spot! I got a scoop of Bon Bon Rochero (basically Ferrero Roche). Hira got chocolate chip and a scoop of cinnamon cappuccino. "It tastes like fall. I love it!" Can't say I disagree with her.
After completing our mission, we weren't too far from the Te Papa Museum, the first museum we visited. Now that the car was parked and we didn't have to worry about it, we could finally see the things that we missed. After walking through a bit, we were still museumed out, so we stuck mostly to the interactive parts of it. We even saw the one and only giant squid on display (apologies if the picture grosses you out. It is the only one in the world in a museum. So that's pretty cool! We watched a lot of the short films and even experienced a stimulated 6.5 magnitude earthquake.
We swung by New World again for dinner. We got soup again because it was 1) cheap and 2) hearty enough to hold us over till the morning. Again, after dinner we had to go move the car out onto the street and walk back to the hostel. Hira was scheduled to register for her classes at midnight, so she frantically checked on the classes she wanted while I took it easy and well, wrote this! I didn't make it much past 10pm I don't think. But a solid night sleep is exactly what I needed.
Thanks for keeping up with my daily adventures! I'll write again soon! :)