Bill and I have spent the last four nights in Wanaka, New Zealand. Wanaka is a smallish town on the south island of New Zealand. We flew into Queenstown and rented a car and drove about an hour up a mountainous road to Wanaka. It’s hard to describe just how beautiful this town is, set upon such a gorgeous lake with snow-capped mountains in the background. Our AirBnb was full of floor to ceiling windows in the living room with views of the mountain and the lake. It is probably our favorite place that we’ve stayed in on the trip.
Our pace for travel has definitely slowed into more relaxed days, wandering the town slowly, taking walks by the lake, touring wineries, and reading on the couch.
With only a week left in the trip, our thoughts have definitely turned more to home. After an exhaustive search, we landed on an apartment in Noble Square about a mile south of our old one. We toured it remotely with the realtor and signed a lease from New Zealand. While the neighborhood is a little less in the heart of the action than Wicker Park was, we’ll have about twice the space and a nice big deck and a tree-lined street. We move in a week from Monday!
Highlights of the trip: walking around the big lake in Wanaka, eating at the restaurant Kika twice because it was so good, the views from our AirBnB, trying a sample of every beer on tap at Ground Up Brewery, which is owned by Chris’s brother Oli, wine tastings, and signing our lease!
What we’re eating: tacos, more halloumi cheese, pico de gallo, mandarin oranges, yogurt, whole roasted fish, and hot chocolate.
What we’re reading: I flew through The Dry by Jane Harper, staying up late one night to finish it. Just a fun murder mystery thriller set in a rural town in Australia. Great if you’re looking for a quick read. Last night I finished Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a memoir of a woman who grew up “off the grid” in Idaho — her father suffering from paranoid mental illness about the government, medical establishment, etc. Her childhood was filled with violence and dysfunction but she managed to get herself to college and even completed a PhD at Cambridge. Shout out to Jen for recommending it! Bill read An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and loved it.
Heroes of the trip: Emily and Chris for all of their recommendations, especially for suggesting that we stay in Wanaka.
Where we’re off to next: Honolulu!
Photo break:
billandjesssayyes 