Welly walkabout.....

For the following day we gave the troop specific directions for catching the bus into town and we were happy to see them arrive without incident at the designated bus stop. From there we walked around the corner to one of our favorite brunch places: Felix. They have the best scrambled eggs on toast! I know it sounds simple, and it is, but they've perfected the toasting of ciabatta topped with fluffy eggs. Now this is something to explain: toast. It's big here. People eat it all the time and you will find it on 99% of Kiwi restaurant menus. My colleagues eat toast for breakfast in our "tea room" just down the stairs from the lab. But for some reason, without fail, they are unable to toast bread without burning it to a crisp. I'm convinced they either don't mind it that way or think that's the way toast is supposed to be. Anyway, with that said, Felix works wonders and manages to toast without burning. Very non-Kiwi.

So we got a table and everyone ordered breakfast: a smattering of eggs on toast, homemade muesli (granola), bacon, sausages and pancakes. We tucked into our food and soon had clean plates all around. So we gathered everyone up, paid the bill and set off on our adventure for the day. Strolling farther into the central business district we peaked in shop windows along the way and finally made it to the ever famous Wellington Cable Car. Now Wellington is famous, or infamous, for its hills and the Cable Car offers a nice alternative to dragging yourself up the steep gain in elevation. One of the stops is not too far from campus and so we "treat" ourselves once in awhile and take it up to school. :)

At the top we took in the views and then got sidetracked in the Cable Car gift shop for an hour. But I can't complain everyone because was having such a good time. :) 

After everyone gathered their newly purchased gifts we set off into the Botanical Gardens. As New Zealand and especially Wellington is lush and green year round we were greeted with verdant vegetation around every corner along the path. 

We stopped to play at a playground in the middle of the gardens at Josephine's request. 

And then we made our way to the Rose Garden and Tropical Greenhouse.

Then it was time for some ice cream so we stopped at the little cafe situated along side the Rose Garden for a sweet treat. With blood sugar elevated we made our way out of the gardens and were lucky enough to catch a bus within the next five minutes back to the rental house.