JEMS Sabbatical, Part 2: New Zealand
Thursday 1/3: SYD > WLG
Up rather early to leave our hotel and take the train to the airport for our 9:30am flight to Wellington on Virgin Australia. Due to some sort of issue with the buses that take passengers from the terminal to the plane on the tarmac, we were delayed about 30 minutes but still arrive roughly on time, along with at least two other flights taking the same route. Long lines to get through passport control! Nice that Virgin Australia provides decent in-flight meals and a free drink along the way.
Another delay because of major traffic from a police stand-off in one of the tunnels that leads from the airport to the city center in Wellington, we ended up taking a very roundabout route (thanks to Mr. E's Googlemaps skills!) and finally got to our hotel on Cuba Street around 5pm. That was a pricey taxi ride!!! Also a bit confusing that we'd booked the Quality Hotel through Expedia and discovered that it had undergone a name change and was now known simply as the Q Hotel. Our first room was 461, which was lovely and large inside but unfortunately sat right on the sun deck near the pool, meaning that we had absolutely no privacy and couldn't really open our curtains or window since other guests were often passing back and forth. Mr. E checked about availability of another room, which we were granted for the next day, so we did minimal unpacking and instead just set off to re-familiarize ourselves with this beautiful capitol city.
We stopped first at Ombra on the corner of our block for drinks and friendly conversation with the bartender. Ombra also provides tapas with each beverage, so we had fresh bruschetta with artichoke spread and artichoke hearts on top -- no onion or garlic -- yay! We then continued our stroll through the central Civic Center, under the silver fern ball, out to the waterfront to find the spot where we'd had a really great lunch when we first visited six years ago. Dinner at Mac's Beer Bar didn't disappoint, with a beautiful fish dish for me and a burger for Mr. E. We then picked up some provisions for the next few days at the small grocery/convenience stores on Cuba Street. Yoga in the room for me while Mr. E strolled around a bit more for some photo ops, and then wine in the room to wrap up the evening.
Welcome to Wonderful Welly!!!
Up rather early to leave our hotel and take the train to the airport for our 9:30am flight to Wellington on Virgin Australia. Due to some sort of issue with the buses that take passengers from the terminal to the plane on the tarmac, we were delayed about 30 minutes but still arrive roughly on time, along with at least two other flights taking the same route. Long lines to get through passport control! Nice that Virgin Australia provides decent in-flight meals and a free drink along the way.
Another delay because of major traffic from a police stand-off in one of the tunnels that leads from the airport to the city center in Wellington, we ended up taking a very roundabout route (thanks to Mr. E's Googlemaps skills!) and finally got to our hotel on Cuba Street around 5pm. That was a pricey taxi ride!!! Also a bit confusing that we'd booked the Quality Hotel through Expedia and discovered that it had undergone a name change and was now known simply as the Q Hotel. Our first room was 461, which was lovely and large inside but unfortunately sat right on the sun deck near the pool, meaning that we had absolutely no privacy and couldn't really open our curtains or window since other guests were often passing back and forth. Mr. E checked about availability of another room, which we were granted for the next day, so we did minimal unpacking and instead just set off to re-familiarize ourselves with this beautiful capitol city.
We stopped first at Ombra on the corner of our block for drinks and friendly conversation with the bartender. Ombra also provides tapas with each beverage, so we had fresh bruschetta with artichoke spread and artichoke hearts on top -- no onion or garlic -- yay! We then continued our stroll through the central Civic Center, under the silver fern ball, out to the waterfront to find the spot where we'd had a really great lunch when we first visited six years ago. Dinner at Mac's Beer Bar didn't disappoint, with a beautiful fish dish for me and a burger for Mr. E. We then picked up some provisions for the next few days at the small grocery/convenience stores on Cuba Street. Yoga in the room for me while Mr. E strolled around a bit more for some photo ops, and then wine in the room to wrap up the evening.
Welcome to Wonderful Welly!!!
posted by jms | 7:28 PM
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