After a neighborhood walk with Pauline and Snoopy we said our goodbyes and drove into the city. The weather today was glorious but tomorrow is forecast to be wet and miserable so we wanted to do as much of the city outdoor stuff as possible and save the Te Papa Museum and WetaCave Tour for tomorrow.
It was a quick and easy drive into the city. We checked into The Bolton which was a nice hotel with a convenient location. Wanting to make the most of the last of the good weather, we dumped our stuff and went for a walk through the city and along the waterfront.
There was lots going on; waterfront art show, beer festival, dragon boat races, fundraising head shaving (!) to name but a few. Also, something we’ve never seen on our travels before, Wellington harbor has a purpose built diving platform and the school kids (and a few adults too) were literally diving head first into their weekend!
The weather defied the forecast and the sun continued to shine, so late afternoon we grabbed a beer at Mac’s Brew Bar which had primo outdoor seating for watching the world go by as the tourists meandered through and the workers knocked off for the week and headed to the bars for happy hour.
Dinner tonight was EPIC! By pure luck, we’d managed to get a last minute reservation at Logan Brown and after popping our head around the door earlier today to check it out, the maître de had set us up with the best table in the house.
While expensive by NZ standards it was a steal compared to San Francisco so we went all out and had the 5 course chef’s tasting menu and wine pairing and it was an absolutely unforgettable experience. Fish with toasted coconut, lime, chili & coriander; ravioli with basil & lime; lamb loin; venison with osso bucco and to finish, a light and zingy orange mille feuille with rosemary and citrus ice cream.
The wine pairings were all very good but one in particular, Doctors Flat Pinot Noir was outstanding; I think we will be searching for it on future travels.
Our waiter was a superstar with a very heavy pouring arm and made the evening all the more enjoyable, he even gave us a tour through the kitchens and down to the vaults at the end of the evening.
Bellies full and more than a little tipsy we took a slightly wibbly wobbly walk back to our hotel via the waterfront, stopping to dance at some live music along the way.
