Stopping to Smell the Flowers

The day began with a steep downhill walk on the killer hill we had conquered the day before. At the bottom we caught Bus No. 7 into Wellington.

Mem waits for the bus

We got off downtown near the Wellington Cable Car, paid our fare there, and got on. It was already almost full so we had to stand for the short trip up the steep hill. Everyone around us was speaking French and I tried to eavesdrop just to see how good my language skills had held up since moving away from Paris. After a few moments the cable car jolted forward and up the hill. The incline wasn't particularly amazing (nothing like the Peak Tram in Hong Kong) and you could see very little from inside the car. Every once in a while the vegetation would part and you'd catch a quick glimpse of Wellington spread forth below. 

Mem does social media on the cable car

At the top we took a quick spin around the Cable Car Museum and then started our journey through the Wellington Botanic Garden. Large spindly trees rose impossibly high into the blue sky, shading our path. We happened upon a rainbow colored patch of hydrangeas and a fragrant garden that filled my nostrils with joy and the urge to sneeze.

Seats engineered for steep ascents and descents

On top of the world

Just look at this big, beautiful bastard!

The hydrangea spectrum

Multicolored flowers growing on a single plant

What even is this?

The garden path descended onto busy Glenmore Street below and then led to the brightly colored Lady Norwood Rose Garden and an impressive green house called the Begonia House, adjacent to the bustling Picnic Cafe. We sat and had food and drink, watching the sparrows busily hunt patron's leftovers while docile ducks roamed below the tables, trying to catch a dropped morsel or two.

A storybook staircase

Spindly branches

Mem stops to smell the roses.

At the Picnic Cafe

A souvenir for Charlie

Inside the Begonia House

After lunch we continued along the path that meandered through Bolton Street Cemetery, which dates back to 1840. We weaved in and out of the rows of headstones, marveling at the decrepitude of some of them and reading the dates of death. Joggers and business people on their lunch breaks roamed the grounds, and one man even jumped rope next to a patch of graves.

Graves on a hillside

Leaning headstones

A bilingual headstone

Soon the graveyard gave way to another busy street and I whipped out my phone to orient us in the direction of The Beehive, the tall round building housing the executive wing of New Zealand's parliament. Once we found it, we ascended the steps, tagging along behind a professional looking group of young people. We assumed they were some kind of law school group. They formed a line at the public entrance where signs pointed to tours so we decided to head in with them. We hadn't planned on this, but we were here now, so why not?

We went through a security scan and then found the tour information desk. It was free to take the tour, and we could even sit in the public gallery afterward to watch the members of parliament debate. We were the only two Americans among a twenty-five person group of mostly Brits, a couple Canadians, and a couple Germans. Some Mongolian MPs were supposed to join the tour as well, but they never showed and I was disappointed by that. The tour was a fascinating look into New Zealand governance and commonwealth governance in general. The buildings were gorgeous, several sections decorated in Victorian gothic style.

Afterward, we were allowed into the public gallery to watch the debate. As I had seen in videos of UK parliament proceedings, there was much shouting, mocking, heckling, and groaning (here is one of my favorite examples). All those who spoke were articulate and convincing, as far as I could tell. We only stayed for about 20 minutes and then went out onto the street. We had one more stop for the day.

BEES?!

The Beehive from below

Behind Parliament House

Becoming one with my surroundings

Bowen House behind the Wellington Cenotaph (a war memorial)

Mem at the foot of Richard Seddon's statue, with Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library in the background.

We walked along the busy Lamdon Quay, looking for our bus stop and then waited about 15 minutes for it to arrive. It drove in a U shape, south, east, and then north, until we reached the quiet suburb of Miramar on the opposite side of Evans Bay from downtown Wellington. Here we would visit the Weta Workshop, the studio where many props and special effects were crafted for well-known movies like The Lord of the Rings film series and Avatar. The tour took about an hour and we got to handle a few props and costume pieces, like a gun from District 9 and chainmail worn by the orcs in Middle-earth. Additionally, we got to watch an artist insert real hair, piece by piece, into the head of one of the giant Gallipoli sculptures we had seen at the Te Papa museum the day before.

Mem and Gollum

Arthur the Worm (left) and friend from Peter Jackson's puppetry masterpiece Meet the Feebles

We took a two-bus journey back to Brooklyn and got off a couple stops early, knowing we would have to walk up the hill for doing so. But we were hungry. We went to Burger Wisconsin, a local chain, for some bleu cheese burgers and onion rings. I was tired of and thus had sworn off French fries, known as "chips" in New Zealand (pronounced "chups", and often served with "fush"). Afterward we headed up the hill for the AirBnB and I complained the whole way. When we got home we noticed that Sally's car was gone, but we could hear the TV playing inside. We opened the door and were greeted by Sally's 20-something year-old son who was cooking himself dinner. We all watched some TV together and then watched The Big Short.

Bedtime rolled around and Coco the cat friskily ran down the hall and into our room. She slept on the bed with us all night and even slept in long after we got up.