Tuesday, April something
Erin writing – Abe’s second day of work. We (Christian and I) split up for the day. He went to Windy Welly and I just farted around! I did go to the hospital and meet Abe’s preceptor and another pharmacist. They were both extremely nice. Brent (other pharmacist) gave us the low down on good places to hike and shop (yeah!). Wellington, as Brent put it, “is the product of its environment”. This means that the city was built up around trails to hike and parks, rather than adding them later. As a result, there are literally trails abound within the city limits. I plan on doing some of this hiking this week and will continue into next week before I leave for home. Abe is loving his rotation and the people are very nice, giving him a great experience! Tuesday night, Abe and I took a bus into the city and spent some more time at the Wellington Museum. After this, we had reservations at the Circa cafe, part of the Circa theatre. We had an absolutely wonderful meal and then saw a play, “The Brilliant Fassah”. This was a play written by the leading man (there were only 3 people in the play total) about spiritual channeling. Very funny, especially since there could not have been but 15 people in this theatre that maybe sat 50? Theatre is a big part of life here with 5 theatres within the city of 300,000 people. All sorts attend the theatre: students, professionals, the elderly. We had a wonderful time and would love to do this again should we have time.
Wellington is a neat city and one which I am thrilled to have the opportunity to visit and live for a short time. I feel like I am getting a great look-see into the New Zealand culture. Some of the things they do remind me of the states, some are a stark contrast to the way we live, and others probably fit somewhere in the middle. Wellington itself is a series of hills. Houses dot the hills almost everywhere- save the parks. There are personal people cable cars that allow people to have a garage at the bottom of a hill while their house is at the top. Interesting? Yes, very. Anyway, the whole city, in terms of the music they play while you are waiting for something, or in a bar, is the 90’s music. I know they have current music, cause I have seen it, but they don’t tend to play it!
Funny story about how things can appear different here: When we were on Waiheke island, eating at Oneroa Fish and Chips, a man was standing in the enclosure as we were sitting down to eat. He was an older gentleman, with an old rainjacket and a mixture of grocery and lawn bags covering his legs and feet. He looked kind of disheveled as well. Now, someone from Denver, as we are, might assume that this man was homeless. Well, we did. Someone that was very kind might offer this man food when we had a bunch left over – it was Abe. As it turns out, this man was not homeless and in fact had ordered , and paid for, his own lunch. We were all very embarrassed for our inaccurate judgment of the man’s situation. However, it is better to be nice than to not be! Moral of the story – when it is raining pretty hard on an island you have only visited once, be careful when making snap judgments! On to another day: to leave you with some pictures:
Monday – pix of Lyall Bay (approx.20 minutes walk from our house) – where Abe and I will probably be taking some surf lessons!
This is an awesome beach!
There is a lot of sculpture in both Wellington and Auckland. It is located around the city. Here are some examples:
This is a metal sphere suspended by cables in between an art gallery and the city council. Below this used to be a very busy street that the city shut down and turned it into a sitting area and walking thoroughfare.
This was a cool water sculpture outside of a business building in Auckland.
This ferris wheel thing was in the lobby of a building! It rotated consistently at a slow speed. I think it may represent New Zealand’s constant political movement and their beliefs. By the way, Carrie set off an alarm in the building when she crossed a line drawn, literally, on the floor around this art. We exited the building immediately, never to be seen again!!
Ths is all part of bridge that goes over a very busy street.
This is a very cool sculpture. It moves with the wind- sideways and front to back. The city appears to contract with many artists to create these kinds of sculptures – those that reflect the life and values of the city. Also, I forgot to turn the picture to the correct orientation – vertical.
Both Auckland and Wellington are very picturesque with some beautiful scenery!
Wellington – along Oriental Bay. This has been part of my running route!
A beautiful tree – We think it is a Morton fig tree (I tried to find out the name just for my mom!) Isn’t it gorgeous?
Writing more tomorrow ………
Tags: Wellington
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