The Hotel Raffaele provided a nice old-style charm and great harbour views.
We had a continental breakfast and walked the boardwalk towards downtown. It was
a beautiful morning, calm and cool. Several locals informed us that Wellington
often experiences windy conditions being right on the water. We must have
brought some of the Bay of Islands weather with us! We enjoyed the morning while
waiting for the city to 'awaken.' We were standing on the doorstep when Te Papa,
New Zealand's new national museum, opened at 10:00am. It is a large, modern
museum with (opened in 1998) with immaculate displays of Maori artifacts and
culture, natural history, special exhibits, and modern art. A must see while you
are in the capital city. Wellington is a clean modern city with a vast choice of
restaurants. We had lunch at 'South of the Border' a mexican food restaurant. It
was a little strange to be eating a burrito half-way around the world from
Mexico, but the food was really quite good.
We made our way through town and took the cable car uphill to
the botanic gardens which offers a spectacular view of the city and harbour. We
strolled around the botanical gardens enjoying the fresh air and the few early
blooming flowers. This time of the year is a little too early in the spring for
most plants to be flowering. Although, the indoor Begonia house had hundreds of
varieties of orchids and other species. We rode the cable car back down into
town and made our way back towards the hotel along the boardwalk. We stopped at
the Tugboat restaurant and had a drink in the prow of the now permanently
grounded ship and watched the sun go down. Then we had a very nice dinner at a
table back towards the stern that offered great views of the city skyline in
twilight.
The Hotel Raffaele provided a nice old-style charm and great harbour views.
We had a continental breakfast and walked the boardwalk towards downtown. It was
a beautiful morning, calm and cool. Several locals informed us that Wellington
often experiences windy conditions being right on the water. We must have
brought some of the Bay of Islands weather with us! We enjoyed the morning while
waiting for the city to 'awaken.' We were standing on the doorstep when Te Papa,
New Zealand's new national museum, opened at 10:00am. It is a large, modern
museum with (opened in 1998) with immaculate displays of Maori artifacts and
culture, natural history, special exhibits, and modern art. A must see while you
are in the capital city. Wellington is a clean modern city with a vast choice of
restaurants. We had lunch at 'South of the Border' a mexican food restaurant. It
was a little strange to be eating a burrito half-way around the world from
Mexico, but the food was really quite good.
We made our way through town and took the cable car uphill to
the botanic gardens which offers a spectacular view of the city and harbour. We
strolled around the botanical gardens enjoying the fresh air and the few early
blooming flowers. This time of the year is a little too early in the spring for
most plants to be flowering. Although, the indoor Begonia house had hundreds of
varieties of orchids and other species. We rode the cable car back down into
town and made our way back towards the hotel along the boardwalk. We stopped at
the Tugboat restaurant and had a drink in the prow of the now permanently
grounded ship and watched the sun go down. Then we had a very nice dinner at a
table back towards the stern that offered great views of the city skyline in
twilight.
