Tipsy cycling in the rain highly recommended

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So, yes there is a big hole in time between this entry and the last...afraid  there isn't anything terribly exciting to report! Have been working full time, in the deli and on the checkout at Moore Wilson's. The people are all really friendly and mainly kiwis, which is cool. Though the job is a bit mindnumbing! My flat is working out really well, living with two Kiwi girls Hayley and Amanda, and an American guy called Steve. Life for the last couple of months has just been ticking along contentedly but rather uneventfully so I won't bore you with all the details.

Had one little trip away the other week when i swapped a shift with someone and had an extra day off to go to Martinborough in the Wairarapa, a famous food and wine producing region! So I shall write about that, just to keep you going...

7th: Caught the train out of Wellington early afternoon. As an aside i have to say that the Wellington train station is possibly the most unfriendly and unhelpful place I've ever been! Thankfully had left plenty of time to find the right platform and rolled out of Wellington for the first time in over a month! Felt good.

Arrived in Featherston Station in about an hour, and the first thought was something along the lines of 'Wow, I'm in Hicksville'...feels like the absolute middle of nowhere! Waited in the station car park and thankfully the bus to Martinborough arrived fairly quickly (one of about three per day). Drove through the Wairarapa scenery for about 20 mins and arrived in Martinborough. It's an absolutely tiny town consisting of about 10 shops, 10 cafes/restaurants and 30 wineries! Now those are the kind of ratios I like...

Had got a last minute deal on a luxury motel suite- complete with heated floor tiles and a spa bath- so checked in there then went back to town for an explore. Had a glass of wine (what else?) in a nice wine bar, then went for dinner in the French Bistro, apparently the only restaurant in the region to have won some prestigious award or other, but i wasn't all that impressed...good, and very friendly, but nothing special. Went back to the motel and spent ages reading all the leaflets on all the wineries and trying to figure out which ones to visit...ahh it's a hard life...

8th: Woke up to shocking weather...wind and rain and not at all inviting. Plan A- walking between the vineyards- dismissed as plain silly. Plan B- hiring a bike and cycling between the vineyards- although also silly given my total lack of bike riding experience in recent years, accepted as the faster and hence drier option. Actually turned out to be quite fun...even though everyone at all the wineries laughed at the 'crazy girl trying to cycle in this weather'.

Had booked a winery tour for the Saturday, as the weather was meant to be even worse then, plus the bus could drop me back at the train station. I ran into the bus company that would be running the tour on my way to the first winery so was able to find out which ones i would be going to the next day and avoid them! So first stop was Winslow wines, a pretty small vineyard, and a very friendly guy who very enthusiastically told me all about making Riesling in a way that actually kind of made sense...Then onwards, against the wind to the Martinborough Vineyard and Palliser- both quite big places, and nothing all that special. Went back through town to buy some provisions- bread and local cheese and olive oil. Then went to Ata Rangi...wanted to buy a bottle of their Pinot Noir that I'd had in the wine bar the previous night. Ended up staying there and chatting quite a while as the lady was very friendly...and bought a bottle of their dessert wine as well!

Wobbled back to the motel at about 3pm...just as the sun came out! It was actually too hot to sit out on the deck, talk about fickle weather. Hopped back on the bike for a bit to take some pictures with blue sky in them, then pretty much just holed myself up in the motel for the evening with some movies and my cheese and wine...and the spa bath of course. And gave a certain someone a birthday phone call :).

9th: Checked out of the motel in the morning just as a group of about 10 people on a company Christmas outing from Wanganui were checking in...and turned out we were all on the wine tour together- what joy! No, they were all very friendly really, and made me feel terribly cultured as they all knew nothing about food or wine! We went to Tirohana estate, then for a nice antipasti lunch in a cafe in town (where one of the group, a woman in her 40's, was very impressed that i'd cooked aubergine as she'd never attempted it...hmm). Then there were three more wineries- a very small one called Muirlea, and two quite big ones- Alana and Te Karangi. Stopped off back at the cafe in town for some cheese (still unimpressed with New Zealand cheeses, they taste of nothing!)...then off to catch the train from Featherston.

Arrived back in Wellington to bright sunshine (typical). Was lovely to have a taste of being on the road again, and out of the city!

Sigh. Well just a few more weeks of work to go, then South Island here I come! Will write something soon about Christmas and New Year. Hope you've all had a good festive season!

Flo xx