Today it rained
Today it rained... and rained... and rained. It was quite chilly and wet and basically it sucked. It is winter after all and it is almost exactly like San Francisco winter weather, so not that big of a deal. Hopefully it will clear up shortly. Tomorrow is scheduled to be the same wet mess.
Jen and I spent most of our time today lamenting the high prices, sloshing through the rain and taking occasional stops for some warm up beverages. We found a cute cafe and I had a great cup of hot chocolate ($4) and Jen had a Flat White which I think is half coffee, half milk or something like that.
We walked from Queen street all the way to the end of Ponsonby road which seemed like a long walk. We walked through another neighborhood on a fun street with lots of stores and bars also (I forget the name). At the end of Ponsonby Street we found a cool little food place that served roast meats potatoes and veggies. Jen had fried chicken and sweat potato with broccoli and I had a roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes. I love hand carved meats as those of you who know me can attest to... After a long dreary walk and not really knowing where we would go this was a nice treat.
We also found a place called the Belgian Beer Cafe which we had heard about and were planning on finding. We decided to go on another day however. By now we were really getting miserable from the weather but wanted to hang out in the area for a tiny bit longer. We had passed a few Realtors on the way and got "Rental Sheets" from them. We also looked in the paper to find listings for our apartment hunt. It seems like all 3 places we went and the paper only had a combined total of like 15 listings for the entire city. I guess it is the wrong time of year. We called a few to arrange appointments in the area, but no one really was available. Things are definitely slower here and it could take a few days to have people get back to us we suspect.
We stopped in a Starbucks next (yeah I know). This wasn't out of any desire for something familiar I assure you. It was just a place that was there and I wanted a coffee. It was a bit cheaper than other cafes, had friendly service and my decaf Americano was actually great tasting. I read a New Zealand cultural guidebook and Jen went window shopping.
Finally we went to a few stores (next to each other). One had meats, one veggies and fruits and one was a bakery. After our little trips to each we had a nice meal for tonight and breakfast tomorrow and a few snacks. We caught the bus ($1.60 per person on Travelcoach...one of many bus lines here) and got back to our Hostel area. One more stop before heading to the hostel... Beer! Jen wanted a beer so we got a six back of a local ale ($12.50 NZD) and a few other odds and ends from a convenience store on the way back.
We just watched the Terminator on VHS with some other folks in the TV lounge at the Hostel and finally the Internet connection stopped flaking out. Fun times. Stay in School. Don't blog drunk!
Matthew
Jen and I spent most of our time today lamenting the high prices, sloshing through the rain and taking occasional stops for some warm up beverages. We found a cute cafe and I had a great cup of hot chocolate ($4) and Jen had a Flat White which I think is half coffee, half milk or something like that.
We walked from Queen street all the way to the end of Ponsonby road which seemed like a long walk. We walked through another neighborhood on a fun street with lots of stores and bars also (I forget the name). At the end of Ponsonby Street we found a cool little food place that served roast meats potatoes and veggies. Jen had fried chicken and sweat potato with broccoli and I had a roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes. I love hand carved meats as those of you who know me can attest to... After a long dreary walk and not really knowing where we would go this was a nice treat.
We also found a place called the Belgian Beer Cafe which we had heard about and were planning on finding. We decided to go on another day however. By now we were really getting miserable from the weather but wanted to hang out in the area for a tiny bit longer. We had passed a few Realtors on the way and got "Rental Sheets" from them. We also looked in the paper to find listings for our apartment hunt. It seems like all 3 places we went and the paper only had a combined total of like 15 listings for the entire city. I guess it is the wrong time of year. We called a few to arrange appointments in the area, but no one really was available. Things are definitely slower here and it could take a few days to have people get back to us we suspect.
We stopped in a Starbucks next (yeah I know). This wasn't out of any desire for something familiar I assure you. It was just a place that was there and I wanted a coffee. It was a bit cheaper than other cafes, had friendly service and my decaf Americano was actually great tasting. I read a New Zealand cultural guidebook and Jen went window shopping.
Finally we went to a few stores (next to each other). One had meats, one veggies and fruits and one was a bakery. After our little trips to each we had a nice meal for tonight and breakfast tomorrow and a few snacks. We caught the bus ($1.60 per person on Travelcoach...one of many bus lines here) and got back to our Hostel area. One more stop before heading to the hostel... Beer! Jen wanted a beer so we got a six back of a local ale ($12.50 NZD) and a few other odds and ends from a convenience store on the way back.
We just watched the Terminator on VHS with some other folks in the TV lounge at the Hostel and finally the Internet connection stopped flaking out. Fun times. Stay in School. Don't blog drunk!
Matthew
Labels: blog, cafes, new zealand, ponsonby
posted by Matthew at
4:29 PM
|
0 Comments
