The Weekend in Welly

Last weekend in Wellington was all about the music. I got to hear one of Hayden's drummer friends play with a metal band down by Cuba Street, in a club appropriately named Medusa. I also got to hear a jazz quartet (Drums, upright bass and 2 horns) play at a really cool and funky little club called Happy. The group was called the Troubles, which I enjoyed. :-) At Hayden's Uni this month they have a guest artist - sax player Dick Oatts is working with the jazz musicians there. Yesterday I sat to observe a workshop he did with the Uni big band, in which Hayden plays lead alto. Tonight I'll get to see the feature concert that he's doing with the Wellington Jazz Orchestra, which Hayden plays in as well. I'm really looking forward to the concert. So far all the music I've been hearing has been really inspiring for me, and I feel pretty lucky to be here.

2 days and counting until our road trip begins! This afternoon before the concert we'll do some shopping to prepare for it. We'll get some basic food supplies and an ice chest...I mean, a chilli bin, as they call it here.

Its been really fun living in this house with these great people. They love to cook interesting things, usually from scratch, and the meals are always so healthy and satisfying. Last night we tried out two new recipes from an Indian cookbook - a mango and potato curry, and a vegetable curry that we cooked in the hollowed-out center of a really big zucchini, or marrow. Both were awesome, and cleared out your sinuses as a bonus. :-) I cooked peach dumplings for the house this morning, as a way to contribute and also share a little bit of my home with them. The dumplings were a hit! :-) I've also bonded with a few of the girls here through some cookie baking, the best way to make friends. :-)

And now....I'd better wash some dishes.

Saying Goodbye

My last cruise on board the Rhapsody of the Seas really flew by. I got do do a neat tour in Hobart, Tasmania that took us out to the countryside, a zoo, and an amazing waterfall out in a nature preserve. I didn't get up to too much in New Zealand this time since I knew I'd be back there in a few days, and I was frantically trying to finish up my Cirque audition (which I did). But I did got off to walk around in Akaroa on the south island, and have lunch with Tim and Tracy. Its a beautiful little town, with a big French influence.

On one of my last nights on board, Tim and Tracy surprised me with a little party. They had bought all sorts of wine, cheese, and crackers and smuggled them aboard for me. They even bought me a little jar of Nutella, which they know I love and had run out of. They gave me a necklace as a going away present, and Tracy had made an amazing little scrapbook that she had all of my friends write something in and sign for me. I must admit, there were tears when she gave that to me. I don't think I have ever felt so loved on a contract, and I will miss all of my friends dearly. But I know its a small world, and we can meet again someday.

And so it was that after a week of total sleep deprivation, a few final hours of work, organizing my things and giving away as much of it as possible to be able to pack it all in my suitcases, many hugs and farewells, a few tears, and those last essential good conversations, I walked off the gangway for the final time in 9 and a half months. I still don't quite believe that I don't have to go back to the ship anymore, it is so routine now. I met with the Peterson's in Sydney, and went with them to drop off most of my luggage at their house in a suburb south of Sydney. I came back downtown and met up with Tim and Tracy for one final afternoon together. We had lunch and ice cream on the harbor, one final time as the little family we have become. Then I sent them back to the ship, waved them goodbye, and headed to Circular Quay to catch my train to the airport.

I landed in Wellington, New Zealand around midnight, and headed to my new home away from home for the next week or so, here on Wallace Street, Mt. Cook, Wellington, New Zealand. I get to camp out in a great old house built in the 30's with a bunch of cool and crazy musicians, and so far it has been fantastic. Yesterday we climbed to the top of Mount Victoria for a view of the city, then went to the grocery store and got all the ingredients for an awesome picnic lunch, which we had on the grass down by the harbor next to the Te Papa museum. At night we went to a Korean Barbecue place with a big group of Hayden's friends, and then did karaoke in our own little room upstairs and had a blast. I'm already meeting a lot of great and interesting people, and can't wait to see what the rest of the week has to offer. Me and Hayden will start our road trip later next week, and that will really be the highlight. So for now, here I am, going with the flow and enjoying getting to know this city a bit better.