It amazes me that almost no one curbs their wheels when they park on the steep streets in Wellington. I guess they must have really good e-brakes!
A sunny morning today, relatively unusual for Wellington, so I took advantage and went for a long walk through different parts of Brooklyn, ending up at the Nairn Street Cottage, a place where three generations of women from the same family lived. The cottage itself is open for tours a few hours each day on the weekends, but the gardens are open daylight hours every day even though there’s nobody on site. I went in and delighted in the lovely English garden. I think I’ll bring my coffee and journal with me on another day and spend the morning here. On the way back, I passed a property with Māori carvings by the front gates and a large old house, turns out it is a school where kids are taught in the Māori language, and the curriculum centers around Māori culture and traditional skills.
When I got home, I made breakfast for myself and Verena, young German woman staying with Mary and Owen. We talked about the travel she has already done in her gap year, she’s been many places in Europe with friends. Coming to New Zealand has been different because she’s here on her own. We sat on the upper deck and enjoyed the lovely weather, there’s very little wind right now.
On my way to Annemarie‘s. I stopped at the op shop at the bottom of the hill and found some great deals. There is a little chapel/meditation spot in a back room there, so I went and sat for a few minutes to enjoy the peace and beauty. It’s quite a neat little community space and they had an interesting FAQ sheet posted in the dressing room about the services they provide and it even included how much their staff person is paid. Pretty cool how open they are. On my walk I went past a telephone pole that had dozens of keys embedded in it, not quite sure the reasoning for this, but it made for some interesting artwork on the trail. I went by the local elementary school as school was letting out and two of the older boys were acting as crossing guards, it was very sweet. Annemarie made dinner for us tonight and we had a fun evening hanging out. She saw a pretty hilarious ad on the back of a bus for a local endoscopy center!
I got back to my place just in time to hear the last couple of songs by Mary’s ukulele group. We all belted out What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes (that is such a fun song to sing!) and the played a fantastic song by Kirsty MacColl called England 2 Columbia nil. The lyrics are awesome.
Guns N’ Roses is playing at Sky Stadium tonight and I can hear the occasional guitar riff and drum solo if the wind is right. The house we owned in Wellington was a couple of streets over from Athletic Park, a rugby stadium, where concerts were occasionally held. When AC/DC played we knew it, because the house literally shook, and when the wind was going in our direction it was like we were at the concert! The same was true when they were big rugby tests (as they call games), especially if the All Blacks were playing Australia. Beautiful full moon tonight too.
I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned about myself during my travels so far, here are a few things:
- I need a lot of time outdoors.
- Being around lots of people and activity for more than a few hours is draining.
- I like to learn, especially visually.
- I love variety and new experiences and places.
- I need to explore regularly.
- I don’t need fancy stuff or a lot of anything.
- Reusing things excites me.
- Making do with what I have and appreciating what I have is inspiring.
- Art is important, all kinds, but especially with natural materials.
- Wildness makes me happy, especially in nature.
- Casual dress is a must.
- Being around older women, my age and older, is invigorating.
- Going at a slower pace makes me happier and more patient.
- I hesitate to ask for help, but I’m always rewarded with more than I expected when I do ask.