Friday 9 November 2012

MORE OF WELLINGTON
 This is Wellington Cathedral where we went to church on Sunday.  It was lovely to hear the pipe organ and see the clergy in their vestments again.  I miss that.
Unfortunately the choir was on holiday as it was a long weekend for New Zealanders.
St. Paul's was built in the l960's.   I didn't particularly like the architectural style but the size was impressive.  It was great being able to worship with three of our daughters again and to hear them sing the old hymns with great gusto.
 Morning tea after church was in a gorgeous cafe in a really old building that had been shored up with steel girders after several earthquakes.
Hummingbird Cafe had stuffed pheasants and birds up high on the walls.  Actually we saw a lot of stuffed animals as display in Wellington.
 Next was the Fresh Food Markets for lunch.  Charlotte and I enjoyed  German Bratwurst and sauerkraut on a bun.  Jeff are venison on a roll and the other girls ate Italian Woodfired Pizza and Roti.
 Jeff and Yvette choosing some bananas.
 Charlotte at her farewell dinner at Logan Brown.  It was our 'fine dining' night.  See Charlotte's Blog.
 More of Wellington's statue around the harbour foreshore.

 We went to the Museum of City and Sea where we watched a film of the Wahine tragedy that happened about l968.  I remember he news reports at the time.  The film was very sad and moving.  It was amazing to think that it occurred only 1/4 mile offshore when the ferry hit rocks.  Wellington harbour entrance is notoriously narrow and treacherous.
Some of the gorgeou timber house on Mt. Victoria, an exclusive part of Wellington.
 On our Lord of the Rings tour with Todd Rippon our guide.  Just Jeff, Yvette, Alicia and Me plus an older American couple with their 55 year old daughter.  They were on a Pacific Cruise and had started in Alaska's Inside Passage last August.  They were astounded at how many countries they had visited in the Pacific where Queen  Elizabeth's face appeared on the currency.
 Yvette explains more on her Blog about the tour.  It was lovely doing a forest walk, albeit Mt. Victoria, just a spit from Wellington city centre or CBD.  Todd had to explain that one to the Americans.
 Todd would show us a photograph of the scene in the movie and then point out the differences in the real life scene, explaining how they put in fake trees, and how they made them.  It was so interesting and really made me appreciate what a work of art a movie film really is.
 Two of my beautiful girls in the Spring sunshine.
 Todd showing us the tree Orlando Bloom stood beside for some publicity shots.
 Jeff caped up with some props Todd brought along, beside the same tree.

 They filmed Frodo's bedroom at Rivendell which is a National Park.
 I always find myself doing things overseas that I would really think twice about doing back home.  This suspension bridge didn't worry me at all.  They scenery was really pretty here.
 Our last morning.  Chilly and breezy.  The girls fooling about with a statue.  We really enjoyed their company over the 6 days.  They made all the decisions about what we would do and where we would eat.  It was totally relaxing for Jeff and me.  The roles were reversed.  We felt like the children.  It was lovely to see the girls deep in conversation with each other without the distractions of husbands or little children.
Alicia looking like Jacqui Onassis.

1 comment:

  1. Hey look, Aunty Julie was in Riverdell with Dad! Thats what I thought when I just saw that pic!!

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