Another beautiful listing in a charming town that I’m sad to move on from!

There was no guest arriving today, so Kim offered an extra hour in the room, which was nice. I got packed up by 11:00a and stored my bags in his foyer as he’d offered me a ride down the hill with them (yes!).

I walked down to breakfast at Mister D. I should have come here before the winery yesterday! Light-filled space, super friendly staff, eclectic menu. I had been eating a lot of eggs/toast/avocado/salmon (and will continue to do so), so I shook things up a bit and got a smoothie bowl. I almost didn’t because they call it the Bali bowl, and I’ll be in Bali soon enough, but it’s what sounded good. It arrived in a bowl made from a Bali coconut and a spoon from Balinese wood. It’s the little things.

My bus was to leave at 1:30p, and Kim would be bringing me down the hill at 12:30p, so I asked the staff at Mister D if I could possibly store my bags there once I went back up the hill and came back down. An awkward request but it was in the best location for me to have a look around the town and then walk to the depot. Other options were pay lockers at a facility further away or just sitting with my bags, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. My server said the owners were travelers themselves, and when he called the manager over for me to ask, she had no fucks to give either. Yay!

I walked up back up, took some more photos of Kim’s beautiful house because the skies had cleared, and then rode with him back to Mister D. It has been such a joy and a relief to get rides from hosts with all my stuff.

I parked my bags in the restaurant and took a stroll through the Napier shopping district. As mentioned in a previous post, the town was rebuilt after a major earthquake in 1931 and art deco was the architectural style of the time. At first, I wasn’t seeing it anywhere, and after a while, I realized I needed to look UP and then I saw it everywhere. The storefronts are modern, but the building facades are classic. And very cool!

I bought some pesto pasta salad for the long bus ride ahead and walked back to Mister D to retrieve my bags, buying a scone there as a final thank-you.

I had purchased a Gold seat for the six-hour journey to Wellington ($25 NZD.. approx. $17.50 USD). This meant slightly wider and cushier but more importantly with a USB port! I charged all the things while on the way. Yes, I can charge things overnight, but it’s nice to be powered up at any and all times when on the move, especially of course my phone.

I glanced out the window here and there at the rolling green hills and sheep that have been the view on every bus journey in NZ, and mostly I revisited The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I’d inadvertently abandoned it on page 65 the first time around several months ago. I started over and surpassed where I’d left off before.

Steve and Karen are my hosts in Wellington. Once again, Steve had offered a ride with my bags when I booked back in March, and I took advantage of that this evening. He picked me up at Wellington Railway Station at 7:30p, showed me around my room and private bathroom, and I got settled.

I called a Neapolitan pizza joint close by that happened to be very well-reviewed on Google, but it just sounded good so that’s what I was going to get anyway. I was looking forward to enjoying some more of the Mission Estate sauvignon blanc that was my favorite white wine of yesterday’s tasting. I ordered the “funghi bianca”, a white mushroom pie (made with garlic oil.. yassss) to go with my white wine.

After some blogging and other laptop business (emails, money…), it was midnight by the time I went lights out.