The Dream Bookshop

Our hotel in Wellington that we are staying in over the few nights we are in the city is almost a complete replica of fawlty towers. The manager is really quite eccentric and lives in the room next to our room, we spotted a resident handyman painting the deck who had come to New Zealand to improve his English. The hotel is a big old grand building which is sadly past its golden era, there are permanent residents who like to drink in the lounge and the stairs are a bit up and down!

We started our day by walking down Cuba street, the main heart line of Wellington. We found numerous restaurants of all variety you could ever wish for. There were loads of art shops and sculptures along the street with busking musicians and street performers. As we walked we got a sense that Wellington is a very 'arty' hip place to hang out or find yourself or bring out the inner artist. We wondered the harbour taking in the view and the stone plinths that were scattered around the waterfront with quotes from famous authors. It was a nice touch and kept us on the look out for a new plinth.

Stuart and I had found a leaflet on a completely wooden ancient church which was a landmark in the city so we decided to check it out. When we got there though a wedding car with a bride pulled in to a full church wedding. We watched her walk in and thought to return later.

That evening we treated ourselves to a Thai dinner. The food was unbelievably good and was so tasty that we ordered a take away for lunch the following day. On the way back up Cuba street we found a night market which was full of food and art stalls. There were upcoming musicians playing on a stage and chalk laid out for people to add to a mural. In the heart of the night market was a fantastic second hand bookshop with book pulled up to the ceiling. It was really popular and it was great to see a bookshop doing so well. I even personally bought a book to read on the road.