28/10/11-5/11/11.
So this week was rather short on work and big on having fun. James had a conference in wellington and as he had his flights paid for we decided to make a long weekend of it. James flew down on Tuesday and we spent our first night apart in 7months. It was not right having only a pillow to cuddle but enough of the soppy stuff.
I flew down on the Wednesday and despite being a confident flyer was terrified. The little bombardier 20 seater plane was not the cause it was the wind. Now wellington is known as the windy city so when the local news are talking about just how windy it was you know you’re in for trouble. Upon the final approach the pilot told us to fasten our seatbelts as the approach was going to be bumpy. Never has a man understated the reality so much. The plane lurched up and down left to right and saw me holding onto the seatbelt next to me for dear life. The vomit bag almost saw use particularly was when we were approaching the run way that just out into the water we appeared to be heading for the sea and almost certain death. We did in fact land and the plane, mainly made up of locals erupted into a round of applause.
Safely in wellington Jams and I met and had a coffee before catching up with some friends we met last time we were there. Sue and Shane had kindly agreed to let us stay at their flat. Sues work colleagues thought she was mad as we had only met the once in the pub but she is a good judge of character (or so we think) and decided that we were not axe murders. A supposedly quite night predictably tuned into a long and drunken affair which eventually saw the Irish contingent of which everyone but us were drinking well into the night long after we had gone to bed.
The next day we went shopping. After 6 months in Asia our cloths were literally falling apart. A wonderful day of pottering around the shops ensued and amazingly I managed more than an hour without complaint! That evening we spent chatting with Sue and Shane and the time just whizzed by. Somehow meeting people of the same age and collective understanding of the world lubricated our conversation without the need for booze.
Being always on the lookout for a bargain James had managed to find us a 5 star hotel for hostel prices. Oh the joys of trading my cooking for his internet research. The website secret hotel allows you to book a 4 or 5 star establishment but does not tell you which one until after booking. James of course circumvents this by googleing the description given and working out which hotel we were to stay in. Well done Mr James.
After checking in and enjoying the BBC news we headed off for a couples massage and Jacuzzi. Another bargain from the net of course. An hour and a half later we emerged and fell back into our hotel and reclined for some time before heading out for a romantic meal for two. Oh how nice to go to a proper restaurant three have courses and relax. Beech huts and sea front food we have had a plenty but a night out like home was just the ticket.
The following day we pottered around with Sue, Shane and T before heading to watch the fireworks as it was the 5th November. It felt rather odd standing not knee deep in mud sheltering from the rain but in a pleasant temperature by the sea watching fireworks being shot into the sky from a barge. Being British and Irish we of course took along a beer and found ourselves to be the only ones drinking. Well there is always some truth in the old stereotypes! Later in the pub there was much merriment, giant jenga and connect four and of course drinking. Being budget conscious we headed back to the flat and continued the party.
Again the Irish out drank us and we limped off about 3am. This was not without it’s befits as for we were in a big city and people were still awake. We saw a drag queen tottering into an apartment, a man dressed as a priest blessing the police, an odd man wandering round with a blanket on his head and a collapsed lady in the hotel. What a contact to Napier where the streets are deserted by 10pm. would we live in wellington. NO. The weather is too wet and windy. We like all to wall sunshine in Napier and what’s more wellington is a mere 40 minutes away on the plane. Even better it’s just like a flying bus. Turn up 30 minutes before you fly, show no ID, and put your own bags on the tarmac next to the plane and your away!
Sunday morning and we had a rude awakening at 7.30am. Housekeeping tried to clean our room and not satisfied with seeing us in bed rang to find out if we were indeed in the room. As you can imagine one was not happy. When waking at a sensible hour I went to see the manger. No matter that we were not paying full whack we expected a five star service and to be fair to the manager his response was gold plated 5 star. He found out why we had been woken (our room was checked out on the system accidently), apologised and offered us a free taxi to our next destination.
After a lazy Sunday on Sue and Shanes couch we hit the airport and flew home. Total bliss…
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