Jan 5: Wellington - The Coolest Little Capital in the World

And that's according to Lonely Planet, not me...although I agree 100%.  Wellington is a pretty damn cool city, and if we were going to live in New Zealand long term, you just might find us happily ensconced in Welly.

We spent our free day in Wellington doing all kinds of stuff.  Todd and I headed out for a tour of Parliament first thing in the morning.  It was a very good tour (no pictures allowed - sorry!), but you can take a virtual tour if you'd like.  One of the coolest things about the Parliament building in particular is that

From there, we headed across the street to the National Archives to see the original Treaty of Waitangi.  We walked in, handed our bags to the receptionist, and then just walked into the vault housing the original treaty and the several copies that were made to be sent around the country to obtain additional signatures.  No security, no lines, no one else viewing it.  Much different than trying to see the US Constitution at the National Archives in the middle of the summer.

We split up after the Archives.  Todd headed off to the New Zealand Cricket Museum, and I headed to Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand.  Todd enjoyed the Cricket Museum but guesses a bit of the history was lost on him.

Over the entire day, I spent 5+ hours at Te Papa which is a museum record for me.  I did the Louvre in 15 minutes (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, I'm out) which is pathetic, I know.  Te Papa is phenomenal and has so much to see and learn that I'm determined to go back to Wellington before we return to the States, so I can see everything I missed.  Which is apparently a lot I learned after comparing notes with everyone else.

Te Papa describes itself on its website as "New Zealand’s national museum, renowned for being bicultural, scholarly, innovative, and fun. Our success is built on our relationships with and ability to represent our community. Our collections span five areas: Art, History, Pacific, Māori, and Natural Environment. Our exhibitions are interdisciplinary and interactive, and we have dynamic events and education programmes."  It lives up to that description.  I can't even begin to describe all the exhibits - my favorites were the pounamu (New Zealand jade) exhibit and the marae.  Check out the website, and when you book your trip to New Zealand, stay in Wellington and save two days for Te Papa.

Katie, Mei-Yen, and I reunited again!

Mijin and I.  Chiquitas.

We all met back up for lunch, and Mei-Yen joined us for the lunch, a bit of shopping, a return to Te Papa for a few hours and a walk to Oriental Bay.  In Oriental Bay, we explained the jumping picture, and on her first attempt, it was clear she was a natural.  

And then the craziest thing happened!  On our walk home, we found one of the little graffiti guys I've been tracking in Dunedin!  (Click here to see the album of all the places I've found him in Dunedin.)  Secretly I had hoped we would, because I knew the graffiti artist who did them in Dunedin had moved to Wellington.  We were on the randomest little footpath up a hill, and Todd, who was in the lead, was speechless when he saw it.  Not that my day hadn't been made already, but if it hadn't, this would have totally made my day.

We parted ways with Mei-Yen (See you back in Maryland in June!) and headed out for dinner. Todd and Jim went to the stadium to see the Wellington Phoenix football/soccer team take on and beat the Melbourne Victory, and Katie, Mijin, and I went out for dinner (and bubbly).  After meeting the boys for drinks after the game, we headed home to grab some sleep before our early morning boat ride from the North to the South Island.