Now, LET'S EAT! Guy had found a place in the Frommers Guide that said was a must eat for breakfast, but he forgot the name of it and we stopped in a jip joint to ask for a good place to eat. The super nice gentleman gave us a few options. He said there was a place called Dexler's but it didn't really have much ambiance, but a bottomless cup of coffee and basket of toast and jam. "Quite delightful" spoken in his British accent. We came across it and decided to go in. They were full but we could sit at the bar area that faced the kitchen, which we did, and it was amazing the amount of food these two lovely ladies made while we were there. I was torn between the vegetarian crepes or the french toast. I opted for the french toast as it was a house speciality. Special indeed! It was battered with a hint of orange zest, then topped with powdered sugar and sauteed peaches. Good choice. I took a picture of my hot chocolate because it was so pretty and it was some of the best I've ever had. Then I noticed two other places had fancy designs on the tops of their drinks around town. Pretty cool.
Off to Punting! We got there about an hour early and as luck would have it, they were available to take us. The best part was there was no one else there. The little gondolas hold 8-10 people and we got one all to ourselves!!!! That was a big deal since we didn't have other heads blocking our view. Phillip, from Liverpool just there for the summer on a work permit, was our guide. I told him I couldn't swim. He said not to worry, if I fell out, just stand up. He was right, it only looked about a foot deep. He said there were brown trout in the water, but he doesn't see them often. There are also some nocturnal eels and as luck would have it we saw the tail of one as it went under our boat. He said it was about 3 feet long. Creepy. Phillip was funny and made jokes about our government, not that it is hard to do. I took videos and pictures and then just set back and enjoyed the ride. They had us covered in a blanket since it was cool, but I thought it was just perfect. What a good time. There is a picture I took of some kind of ducks. The women ducks were prettier and had all white heads, where as the males were all dark. Phillip said they mate for life. If the male loses the female, he mourns for 4 years then just goes off and dies. If the female loses her male, she mourns for 4 days then is off to find another man. I was dying laughing but he said he was not joking. That was the highlight of punting!
After that we walked in the botanical gardens again so I could video the rose garden that was in full bloom. I know you had plenty from yesterday's pictures, but get ready for a few more. We then rode the trolly all around town and listened to the commentary. It was interesting. Our trolly made a pitstop at the German Bratwurst stand so Ken, our conductor, could get a snack for his upcoming break. He set it up by the driver on the ledge and I took some pictures of it because the whole thing was just funny. Our driver said he has never done that in the 10 years she's been driving. I kept telling him I had eaten it, but he didn't believe me.
We ate lunch at a little sandwich shop by our hotel and I had a yummy vegetable quiche with a coconut cherry "slice" with chocolate icing. wow...it was good. Guy had a toasted Brie cheese sandwich. He wants steak tonight so we walked around until we found a good spot. We made reservations for 8pm since we are going to take in a movie at 5:40. We are a bit tired and thought a movie would be a nice break. Guy is snoozing as I type right now. :)
For those of you concerned about my shoe dilemma, don't worry. I went back today and bought them. Whew, I know you were worried. :) I got back just in time to get some video of the Wizard today. Wizard in New Zealand must stand for a dude that hasn't worked since 1968. Seriously...
Well, time to upload pictures. I'll report on dinner later....
Ok, went to the movie and guess what? People in New Zealand talk during the movie just like at home! I thought Guy would come unglued. So as to spare myself having a husband in a New Zealand prison, I suggested we move to a different spot. We did and it got better, but the theater was small and you could still hear them. After that we went to eat. We had reservations for 8pm and got there about 7:45. They informed us upon our arrival that a group of 20 was just seated and it would be about an hour and a half before we would get any food. Again before being a New Zealand prison widow, I suggested we move on. We ended up at a great Italian restaurant and our food was excellent. The bad thing is when it is 9pm here it is 2am Illinois time and we start to become exhausted about 8. Luckily tonight was better than last night, but it is an exhausted feel beyond what our bodies are used to.
On the way back we got some nice night shots of the church and are getting ready to snuggle in for the night. Good news is tomorrow we get our car and head for the mountains. I'm pumped about driving on the wrong side of the road. Our waiter at breakfast today said driving is no problem. He said just keep the drivers side in the middle of the road and follow the person ahead of us. He said being from Australia and then New Zealand, for him the US was driving on the wrong side of the road. He said he flew into Los Angeles, rented a car and took off driving. He did fine in LA!! This traffic is more like Carbondale, so I'm sure we'll be just fine.
Tomorrow we'll be reporting in from the Wild West!