cooking up a storm in downtown wellington

Eating out in this city is a delight. Creative spaces and interesting cuisine plus great coffee and a genuinely warm feel for hospitality. Reminiscent of Melbourne ... the options are interesting and individual. Not generally a fan of the stark, pared-down establishment on the whole - too often the menu seems to be so much the same old, same old, pricey and not terribly rewarding. Above is an image of Sweet Mother's Kitchen - the bar. This Louisiana style cuisine and ambience was just right for a cold wet, night in Wellington. Instantly felt at home here and started with a "little boss" cocktail" -- gin, absynthe and lemon topped up with bubbly. The glass was also little so I was not knocked off my feet. Great chicken dish with cornbread and dirty rice... and Black bean Quesadillas were great too! Shared a bourban and pecan pie... as you do! Cosy place...highly recommend it if you want a casual but fun place for a meal. Music was fabulous too! You'll find it at Courtney Place.

Cuba St - Fidel's cafe was another excellent find. Blowing a gale outside when I went here...the hot food and great coffee went down a treat.

Midnight expresso - a legend on Cuba St

Loved this cafe on Cuba St - the Olive Cafe. In fact I went there twice as it had that home away from home feel - great ambience, excellent menu, quality and prices, and an outstandingly good art collection on the wall that does change and works are for sale. Everything about this cafe as far as I am concerned worked ... it ticked all the boxes on the ideal cafe list in my imagination. I love the way a really good cafe can allow you to feel more a part of a city - less touristy - more part of the fabric of the creative life of a place. The overheard conversations and the papers and magazines one scours, the bits and pieces on walls and shelves...they give clues to the soul of a place, of a city, if the cafe is alive in that way! The large posters are for sale that were displayed on the windows. There were about 6 designs  - wonderful, fresh looking artwork that added another layer to the atmosphere somehow.

When I asked if i could take photos in the cafe I was overheard by one of the owners Karen Krogh who sat with me and talked for a time. I told her how much  admired the art and the way it had been hung and she explained that initially they had been taken a more casual approach to what went up, but in time it seemed important to become more particular. This more curated approach has been a great decision as I see it - the work was exciting, varied - but not a hotch-potch. If you click on these images they will enlarge so you can look more closely. Karen is a working architect and the aesthetic at Olive is very strong and simultaneously livable and uplifting. More  places like this please....and thanks to Karen and co at Olive for great hospitality. I didn't feel like such a stranger in town after visiting here!

day one...

The conservatory cafe at the Wellington Botanical gardens is situated overlooking a large traditional rose garden and no doubt provides respite from the winds that this city is so famous for... and those cold days. A lovely spot after a long trail through the green surrounds.

Photos taken in the Botanic Gardens on a cool rainy january day 2 weeks ago. The garden is reached by cable car located down the hill in the middle of the city. Its a few minutes to the scenic lookout and the garden is on the left facing the city. The walk through the garden is a fantastic route back to the city, meandering along pathways full of surprises, secret gardens, exhibitions of specialised plant collections, historical sites and so on. The cafe is in a conservatory next to the Begonia House and facing a wonderful Rose Garden. The early settler's graveyard is another discovery. I liked this memorial below.

These cable car photos come from their website and were obviously taken on a very sunny day when you could see into the distance. I struck low clouds and misting rain which held off for most of the walk, luckily. Fascinating to spend time in this environment noticing the impact of a different climate and terrain on vegetation... even the section of australian natives was growing quite exuberantly due to the cool, wet climate. Interesting to discover the plants that are native to NZ  - the garden was a great start to the day and to the trip!  

maumahara

long white clouds...

Portrait of Katherine Mansfield: Anne Estelle Rice, 1918 Te Papa Collection. 
I found the excellent biography by Claire Tomalin of Katherine Mansfield who was an eminent New Zealand born writer living in London around the the time of the Bloomsbury's, in particular Virginia Woolf, and also DHLawrence - both of whom became intimate friends. A few days before picking up this book 2nd hand I was taken very much with this portrait at Te Papa. Finding the biography with this painting on the cover in an out of the way junk shop in a remote mountain village on the South Island was a treat. I gained a glimpse of the time in which she lived, both the colonial life of NZ and her prominent family's place in that and then the life of London and Europe which was the setting for much of her not so long life after the 'antipodean' childhood. Her father came to be a benefactor of Te Papa I realised tonight when looking at images. Interestingly whilst Katherine was alive family ties were very strained between them - support was offered up to a point - the artist's life was not "done"... not with this family and their desire for social eminence in the young NZ colony.

A Te Papa publication on its art collection

'Geneology III' Gordon Walters 1971

'Nought and crosses', series 2, no. 4 Colin McCahon

'Misiore' - Michel Tuffery 1988 woodcut on Tapa

'Reap what you sow'  Richard Killeen 1979 screeprint

'The dreaming of Gordon Walters' Richard Killeen 1995

'Meryta sinclairii: Puka' Sarah Featon 1919


Just back from the 'Land of the long white clouds' this afternoon and its far too soon for me to have downloaded photos and sorted them so... here's a small selection of wonderful works form the brilliant 'Te Papa Museum' in Wellington to set the mood for this short sojourn in a lovely part of the globe. I chose these images from the collections online at Te Papa.
My mind is overflowing with recollections and impressions of 12 days absorbing the atmosphere of this place. Certain colours, elements and images keep drifting back - the mood is lingering and I ponder quite how to talk of it.
But now its very late and tomorrow contains many errands and tasks... so I will soon be back, hopefully with photos after the culling takes place. NZ has very, very winding roads - some photos I took with my right hand leaning out of the car on various slightly scarey corners whilst the left hand was firmly holding the wheel and concentration was focused on negotiating the challenging road. This is why I will no doubt cull a few photos...point and click has its limitations...!
I've missed friends in the blogsosphere these past 12 days BUT it was lovely to be outside, walking through wonderful locations and barely spending a moment at a desk. All fresh and ready to go again now... talk soon!