On holiday!

Woo hoo. Another week off work. Which can only be good, right?
So last Saturday, we packed up the kittens, Merlin and Leo and took them to a cattery. I had already instructed my sister on the Finer Art of Feeding the Large Cats. Pack up the car, visit Mother, and we were off to Central Otago for the night.

I had forgotten how scenic the drive was up through that part of Southland and Central Otago. Very pretty. We stopped just outside Kingston at an old family rest area from my childhood before continuing to Queenstown _ and getting lost before we finally found the hotel. Which became the theme for the rest of the weekend; as we also got lost on the way to the concert.

The concert was at Peregrine Wineries http://www.peregrinewines.co.nz/, which is in Gibbston Valley. And not Arthur's Point. Which is in the opposite direction.

Oops.

So we missed most of the acts but caught the headliners, Fat Freddys Drop http://www.fatfreddysdrop.com/home.html. Who were pretty good but eh, I wouldn't buy their CD. We left about 8pm and had dinner in the mall at Queenstown at a place called (I think) the Captain's Table.

Next day, we were off to Dunedin. I had planned to go through St Bathans http://www.newzealand.com/travel/sights-activities/scenic-highlights/history-culture/sh-st-bathans-haunted-pub.cfm but, in keeping with the theme, we went the wrong way.

We did fetch up in Dunedin eventually, landing at my friend's about 5pm. Next day, J went home; after dropping me off at the University Bookshop _ a favourite haunt from my student days and still one of my favourite bookshops. I bought Alan Lee's LOTR Sketchbook and also One Hundred Years of Solitude and Memories of My Melancholy Whores, both by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The former is one of my favourite books, that I had loaned to a friend and never saw again and the latter is Marquez's latest. I haven't read it yet though.

From there, it was a 20 minute walk to the Rialto cinema and Capote. Then lunch and back to the theatre for Brokeback Mountain (note to self ... write reviews).

Next day, I was co-opted by my friend for a wander around South Dunedin with her and her mother, who was staying. Then, on Wednesday, back to the movies for Good Night, And Good Luck and then local offering The World's Fastest Indian (more reviews ...)

I went home on the bus (which ran 30min late) the next day with $1.45 in my wallet. Nothing much to say about that trip except the weather was terrible.

Been home since and I'm looking forward to my second week off. Woo hoo, as I said.