Good things...
- Dinner at Fratelli. Great Italian - try the venison risotto, to die for! Matched with a great bottle of Montepulciano and you're set.
- Live Music at the Cavern Club. Great cover bands are a great excuse to dance badly and still have a fun time!
- Cocktails at Apartment Bar - their Cointreau Cocktail menu is great, try the Jaffa Cake
- Sunday Mornings at the Waterfront Market near Te Papa
- Coffee at any one of the fine cafes around the city - Personal recommendations include Memphis Belle and Lamason
- Brunch at Brooklyn Bakery - especially to soak up the alcohol the night before!
Bad Things...
- Mixing wine, kahlua & milk and tequila shots, especially without eating dinner. Your stomach will hold a grudge for a long time!
- Drinking cheap sauvignon blanc. Life is too short to drink bad wine
- Getting caught in Wellington's weather. While you can't beat Wellington on a good day, when it is bad it is grotty!
Good Friends...
- Make the effort, be they on the other side of the street, city, country or world.
- Know and revel in shared history, whether it be great or disastrous.
- Know when to tell you the truth, when to tell you what you need to hear and when to shut the hell up.
- Know when to take the piss and when to support.
- Take you for who you are, but know when a change might be called for
- Are just as happy to go out for big Friday night revelries as they are to have coffee and scones at yours on a Sunday afternoon.
The sun is shining, the grass is green, the air is surprisingly still. Perhaps a little too still. We did what we normally do on a Sunday - we go to the market, we do a little window shopping, and we pick up some fresh bread and hummus from Moore Wilsons. We'll shortly be going for a walk along Oriental Parade, just to get some fresh air before cooking dinner.
And yet, there is a sense of slight apprehension in the air. Wellington has been warned about 'the big one' since I can remember, and events in the South have made us all the more aware that this supposed big one can hit at any time. We feel for our Southern Kinsmen, you'd be hard pressed to find a New Zealander who didn't know someone affected. Yet you can't help but think, are we next?
Of course, it's supposed to be rather pleasant weather in Christchurch as well. However I highly doubt that many of them are continuing with life as normal, that they've had much to enjoy today. Many of them will be trying to secure their buildings, support family members or grieving over those that didn't make it.
I've heard from most of my family and friends in Christchurch and the news is good for most of them - a few broken bones, some property damage, but they all made it through. For that I am eternally grateful.
And now for them, as with everyone else who made it through, life must go on. Admittedly not life as normal, but it must still go on. And for those outside of the city, all our thoughts and prayers go out to them. That the ground will stop shaking, that the recovery effort can go on.
