Wellington

We liked Wellington. In fact, we loved Wellington. We both decided we could happily move to Wellington.

Most of my notes of Ole Welli were less about the place and more about Mom’s various eccentricities. We came to Wellington to trinket shop and see the botanical garden. “That’s really all we’d be interested in.” she told me, folding her map and stuffing it down into her purse. We. That’s all WE’D be interested in. For those of you who don’t know, all of the Tolkien movies were filmed in New Zealand and much of it, right outside of Wellington. Some of the most breathtaking views in the world…and she’d rather trinket shop. In her defense, the Hobbiton tours were very expensive.

Here in Wellington something in Mom shifted. Her appetite doubled, she slept like a baby and worst of all, she became obsessed with shopping. “We gotta get up early and hit that gift shop!” she said to me one night, bringing the thick blackout curtains together and curling up under her covers. We were staying in a hotel that was conveniently located close to all those things we’d be interested in and we were upgraded to the club level. This meant free breakfast, a turn down service, and the ability to wander into the club lounge at any time and find refreshments and hors d’oeuvers. Mom was occasionally put out by various details of the “club level” that did not meet her expectations.

Wellington is great because it is a smaller city on the water. Something about the presence of water slows folks down a bit but the city is still large enough to have just the right amount of bustle to make you feel like a city slicker while still being able to enjoy tropical greenery and grassy hills. See now, don’t you like Wellington?

I will say, it was very cold here. Wellington is the farthest south you can go on the North Island and it had a perpetual chilly wind that whipped between buildings and up the back of your neck. Most days, we would come back to our room and have a hot cup of tea just to warm up and take a break from all the shopping. Across the street from our hotel was a tall building that blocked part of our view of the harbor. The building’s first two floors made a parking garage but the rest of it was office space and the top floor had a few penthouse apartments. Mom and I spent a lot of our time looking in the windows of this building and watching all the commotion. Mom noted which workers stayed past five each day and commented often that a man in the corner apartment never gets out of his chair. We would watch the busy building and slurp our tea and make up the dialogue for each afternoon meeting.

What we did do while we were here was some trinket shopping and a perfect meander through a botanical garden that you follow down a little mountain side. We had an oversized Italian dinner, visited a natural history museum and also, went to the Night Market. This was a neat thing. In a pedestrian part of town, a bunch of restaurants and crafty types set up booths to create a farmers-market style bazaar. There were a few musicians there as well, which seemed to make the place popular amongst local teenagers. Here at the night market, Mom ate a foot long Moroccan sandwich and a double scooped ice-cream cone and then washed it all down with a mug of hot chocolate. “Ahh.” she said, polishing off the last slurp and raising her empty glass. I stared in amazement. “What’s gotten into you?” I asked.

Before we leave New Zealand, I'd like to tell you that it is a tidy place with lots of unexpected details around all the corners. The New Zealanders have good spirits about them. They're quick to laugh, approachable, and often times quite chatty. We had a number of humorous conversations with people; one who immediately recognized Mom's attempt at a New Jersey accent and another who made sure us South Carolinians had taken down our flag. "We get your news here." he told me with a smile. We like New Zealand and I'm just going to have to come back to see that South Island scenery.