Saturday: November 25

“…Be alone. Eat alone, take yourself on dates, sleep alone. In the midst of this you will learn about yourself. You will grow, you will figure out what inspires you, you will create your own dreams, your own beliefs, your own stunning clarity…”~excerpt from How to Ruin Your Life (Without Even Noticing That You Are) by Bianca Sparacino). It’s date night and I’m ready for the ballet!

Last night I came across a poster that was plastered to a Cuba Street pillar. It was an advertisement for a ballet show at the St James Theatre Friday and Saturday night. The theatre is right off of Courtenay Place which is in a “happening” location. I sat on a bench and decided right then that I would take myself out on a date to the ballet on Saturday night (today).

The beginning of the day was pretty low key which was fine with me. I watched Inception while the rest of the roommates went to the city. I slowly got ready for the night. After all, I had a date to get ready for. I even curled my hair which I later regretted, but it still made getting ready fun.

Being that I was so lazy during the day, I decided to walk to the theatre from the house which was two miles away. I’m happy I walked, but my hair was not. Eventually I got my trusty old clip out and pinned my hair back. Oh well! After I got my foot traffic on (Nick Gee), I was on my street, Courtenay Place.

I intentionally left early enough to grab a bite to eat; I decided on a steakhouse near the theatre. It was the perfect start to date night. I ordered a margarita on the rocks and a steak with veggies. I was feeling the night and I hadn’t even gotten to the good part which was the ballet.

After I was finished eating, I had some time to kill before I could enter the theatre so I crossed the street to an indoor mall area… thing…? There is a Wendy’s inside, but it’s an ice cream place, not the fast food chain in the U.S. I decided I needed dessert so I ordered a cookies and cream ice cream cone. Sooo good. I tried taking an inconspicuous selfie but this is how it turned out:

Um… it was as good as it was going to get so I didn’t attempt a second one.

After I inhaled my ice cream cone, I crossed the street again and entered the St. James Theatre. Ugh. Being a backpacker (basically), I didn’t bring anything super nice. Everyone was dressed to the nines! Then there was me. My clipped up hair, blue jeans, black tank top, and a gray sweater. It could have been worse, but I would have loved dressing up a bit more.

Anyways, here’s a pic of the theatre.

And me in itThe show began right at 7:30p. So much talent in one room. Ballet dancers are freaks of nature (in a good way). I loved the entire show and will definitely go to another ballet.

After the show was over, I almost went to the Wellington Christmas Market. It was only a few blocks away, but I started to get a headache so I caught the bus back to the house instead.

I got back to the house and burst open the door to the living room. Raoul, Lasse, Marcel, and Maxi were still up. And right then, I realized I had missed our German/American banter. I made sure to tell them that too. I sat with them for an hour and we each shared pieces of our day and then I was off to bed. I’m going to miss this group and being their grandma.

Lasse was being a punk so I paparazzied him in hopes of capturing a bad photo. It didn’t work. My stupid shutter.

 

Sunday: November 26

Today we took the bus into town, rode on a cable car, and walked through the Wellington Botanic Garden. It was a good day!

Photos from the botanic garden

On our way back to the bus, Raoul and Marcel got a spud stick from a Christmas Market vendor.

And I saw this

Christmas just won’t be the same this year.

We made it to the bus stop and we were headed back home. I sat next to a three year old who had enough energy to fuel the bus. Oofta.

Once we got back to the house, we put on a movie. My favorite too! Into The Wild. I have to thank Christopher McCandless for inspiring me to appreciate the outdoors and making life an adventure without limits.

While watching the movie, I got pumped up to be outside. I decided to lace up my running shoes and take a jog up to Mount Victoria.

I didn’t actually run the entire time though, but I told my “grandsons” that I ran the whole time, nonstop, and that I didn’t get lost once (I got so lost).

It was a great evening for a workout… But running down a mountain is dangerous when you don’t have brakes. That’s all I gotta say.