Falling in Love

I had a whirlwind love affair with Wellington as it was my last stop before the south island.  I was lucky enough to meet a kiwi girl named Brooke in Auckland the week before who was in town for the Foo Fighters concert. We hit it off right away as we are kindred spirits and I would go so far as to say a bosom buddy. (That one’s for you Robyn;) She lives in Wellington and said that we must hangout when I came down. She was even kind enough to invite me to Christmas celebrations but unfortunately I will not be able to get back in time.

Luckily even though it was short notice she had plenty of time to spend with me because she works shift work at the airport and her weekend happened to be over the 2 days I was in town. She picked me up and then gave me the scenic car tour along the coast line. She also gave me the Peter Jackson tour, showing me all his properties and where he lives, filming locations for The Frighteners and we ended at the Weta Cave which is the mini showroom for Weta Workshops who have done all the special effects and digital work for Peter Jackson and his films. I kind of love Mr. Jackson even more at the moment because he has invested so much money back into his hometown and home country. Instead of moving away to Hollywood, he has created quite a film industry and brought work home to NZ. He even invested in a performance theatre in the Wellington core that was sinking because he understands the importance of the arts scene.

I went to the national museum, Te Papa, which has the 200yrs of Wedding fashion exhibit on now from the Victoria & Albert museum in London. It was such a great exhibit and the dresses were stunning. I was even moved to tears seeing Dita Von Teese’s Vivienne Westwood wedding dress. It is such a magnificent piece of art.

Since I said that I was moving to NZ everyone has told me to stay in Wellington as it is the arts centre of NZ. It was so true and I felt very at home there. Immediately upon arrival at my hostel I could feel and see the difference since it was right by the theatre that Peter Jackson invested in. Then I walked down the street and there was another theatre and another and so many posters for upcoming shows. It was so different from Auckland and I loved it!

Oh Wellington… I really love you and want to come back really soon and live in your beauty.

My hostel was interesting because for the first time I stayed in a mixed dorm room. I’ve always felt more comfortable with the thought of staying in all girls dorms but there was a huge price difference so I went for the mixed room. It was funny because I forgot that I had done that and was a bit shocked with I walked into a guy in his boxers sprawled across his bunk. Overall it was a good time, I find men quieter roomies and I think it might be in part that some are uncomfortable rooming with girls as well but it’s cheaper. I’ll keep doing the mixed dorm since its fine and they are not as loud getting ready in the morning. Though I guess I have been lucky because I haven’t experienced someone getting lucky in the same dorm as me while I sleep, but there is always a first time.