Lady with a Pukeko (and rainbow)

An odd day but a good one. We were up bright and early and off to the hospital, a stiff walk uphill in the sunshine. Here we had our covid test, very efficiently and professionally. As we are hoping to pass through Dubai shortly, we have to have a certificate saying we are covid-free. This has to be done no more than 96 hours before travelling and the results can take up to 48 hours so timing is everything. A very odd and rather uncomfortable test as a swab is taken from as far up each nasal cavity as is possible! Himself went first and his legs twitched which wasn't very reassuring. We also had to nearly be carried out when we heard the cost - almost 600 dollars for the pair of us!!!!!! The test is free if you think you have the wretched thing.
We needed coffee after that and walked into town, a pleasant stroll along the river ending in a cafe where hordes of cyclists of a certain age were quaffing large quantities of cake and coffee. We admired their very expensive looking bikes, mostly electric. Then we wandered further along the river towards the marina and the sea. Nelson is very impressive in the state of its footpaths and bicycle paths and you can meander in safety. Good views back into town and good views out towards the sea. This rather fine sculpture was nestling amongst the ornamental flax. She is holding a pukeko in her lap, her hem fringed with teeny fishes.
Worn out we lunched at the Suter Art Gallery, still on the river, watching the cormorants and herons nesting in the trees, and two young women from the Philippines (I eavesdropped) taking endless selfies, draped over the railing. Then we did something very decadent and watched another film - in the afternoon! My mother would have been horrified. It was another Italian film, this time about Leonardo da Vinci and we weren't impressed. It was a sort of documentary drama with notions. The man himself was played by a very uncharismatic actor with dodgy hair and it was all a bit boring which really a film about Leonardo shouldn't have been.
A mooch around the Museum, some wonderful photos of the early settlers and local Maori, and a stagger home. All good.