Day 341 - Last Meal Out

Today is my last day in New Zealand. IKR?! I can't believe I've been here for 5 months. But tomorrow I'll be going home. I'm excited because I've missed home so much, but I will also miss a lot of things here, including this meal: French toast with bananas and bacon + coffee. So of course, this is what I ordered at the cafe where we had our 2nd to the last meal in New Zealand.

There are a lot of cafes in Wellington, but I chose Cafe Mamba at Plimmer Steps for today because my sister and I found the food there really delicious. As did my dad and aunt whom I went with today. The only problem was the service was slow, but you can't really blame them for that because there's literally only one guy working -- he was manning the counter and he cooked our meals, too.

And with that, I bid New Zealand adieu. :(

Day 336 - LOTR Tour

Obviously (from this photo), today we went on the Lord of the Rings tour in Wellington. I've been on it before but the rest of my family hasn't. I think they enjoyed it. :)

Day 331 - NZ KTV

We went to what I think is the only KTV place in Wellington, Taste of Korea, for my sister's "hen party". That's in quotation marks because my sister's not really into hen parties. We kind of just really wanted to sing our hearts out. We did go to a bar and had so many drinks after this, but that's another story. ;)

Day 329 - Clock at the Old Bank

Today we went around the Wellington CBD with my aunt. It's her first time in New Zealand so we went to the touristy places, like my favorite, the Old Bank Shopping Arcade. I love the atmosphere in it and this clock opens up every hour to show some dioramas about Wellington's history.

Day 317 - Lechon Sandwiches!

My dad and I had lunch with my sister in the city today. And look at what we ate! Lechon sandwiches! :D They're not actually called that, but that's exactly what they are. And here I thought all cafe sandwiches in New Zealand were healthy. :P

Day 314 - All Whites

So I found out from visiting the museum yesterday that the NZ National Football team is nicknamed the All Whites. I'm assuming because the rugby team is called All Blacks. Kinda funny.

In this case, the title is all whites because well, would you look at that view? The snow made everything look so pretty. :)

Day 313 - Train Station

Today my dad and I went to Wellington CBD to have lunch with my sister. We took the train from Petone station. We had to wait in the station a while, and it started to snow. The lady behind the ticket counter was so distracted by the snow, she had a hard time giving me information about the train. :P

I made the photo black and white for a dramatic effect. I think it kind of works, yes?

Day 312 - Snow!

It's the first time to snow in Wellington in 40 years! Naturally, we had to go outside to see it up close. But it is still too cold, so my sister Z used an umbrella for protection.

Day 310 - Vanilla Bean Cafe

The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, they say. And what a reward this was. :)

Whenever we eat at a new cafe, I always order french toast or pancakes, because you know, I wouldn't want to pay a lot of money for something I'm not going to like eating. But I thought ordering pancakes or french toast again was too boring, so I ordered this banana bread with lemon mascarpone, fruits and pistachio nuts. And, it's really really delicious. It's too bad the cafe we ordered this from is a bit out of the way. But maybe from now on, I'll be more creative with the food that I order.

Day 309 - Lying on the Grass

I was going to take a photo of myself lying on the grass in the Wellington Botanical Garden. But found the view of the sky more interesting.

Day 306 - The Coldest Day

Apparently, 6-degrees is a new record for Wellington, New Zealand. I still don't know whether I'm lucky to be here during this historic moment, or unlucky because you know, 6-degrees is just a difficult temperature to feel. :P

This is the clock/calendar/thermometer in the living room of my sister's house, in case you wanted to know.

Day 302 - Places to Wait

Today I went to the Japanese Embassy in Wellington for what, I suppose is their version of Eiga Sai, where they show one Japanese movie every last Tuesday and Thursday of each month. The movie I saw was Swing Girls, and it started at 6:30pm. It ended around 8:30pm, which meant that I missed the last bus I needed to take. My sister and her fiance E were nice enough to pick me up, and I sat on this bench as I waited for them. BTW, it was only around 9pm, but the area was already a ghost town. My sister tells me that's really normal.

Day 300 - Something You Don't See Everyday

Pandas and this mascot in Civic Square in Wellington CBD. There was an event promoting tourism in China and I guess that means pandas walking around. It was all very nice, there were food booths selling dumplings and everything.

Day 299 - Dairy

I don't know why, but they call convenient stores "Dairy" here. Anyway, this is the one across the bus stop nearest my sister's house. Although I wait for the bus often, I've only been inside it once. I bought a cookie. :)

Day 295 - Old Bank Arcade

One of the reasons why I'm not too fond of SM Malls is because they're so boring. White walls and shops without character. This Old Bank Arcade in Wellington City is really something. Tell me you don't like shopping in a place like this. Even when you're not buying anything, at least you're seeing something pretty. Look at that ceiling decoration. :)

Day 290 - My Favorite Breakfast

Today we had breakfast at Brooklyn, my sister's favorite cafe in Wellington Central. I ordered my favorite breakfast -- french toast with bananas and bacon, and coffee :) Mmmmm.

I don't mind waking up early when I know the breakfast will be good. And, maybe I can eat the same stuff for lunch or dinner, but it's just not the same. Do you know what I mean?

Day 283 - Walking on the Waterfront

We went to a wedding show today, which was located at a convention center near the waterfront, so we got a nice view on the walk back to the car. That's my sister on the photo, looking a little annoyed at me, like usual. Te Papa Museum is in the background.

Day 274 - I can see it, too!

So, I dare you to look at that view from the same window I'm looking at it and not want to take its photo. :P

For those of you who don't know, this is the view from my sister's house, which she also has taken pictures of before, so actually I've already seen it a lot of times, but I still think it's beautiful. It's the kind of view that you think you could only see in resorts and stuff, but here in New Zealand, it's the view of a residential area! Awesome!