Dunedin Done Right

 Sunday November 27, 2011

We slept in-until 8 am -- our last day before we started the long trip home. We lunched at Mash & had mediterranean chicken & a fish po' boy. Tracy was all fueled up & ready to shop. Vic was looking nervous. First stop- Seriously Twisted, the store not Vic. It sold merino & possum goods. Tracy found a new best friend in Jo the clerk. It was like a whirl wind fashion event. Gloves, scarves, hats, wraps, shawls & a bunch of stuff I don't even know what it was came out & got tried on for size, color, quality & wow & giggle factors.

After seriously reducing the store's inventory we moved onto Champions, the All Blacks sponsored sporting good store. Shirts & hats in white, gold & mainly black were tried on. Oh, the All Blacks just won the World Cup of Rugby & are from NZ. Outside the cafes were busy, a bandstand was set up & a local band comprised of guys over 60 played rock & roll. After soaking up some Dunedin music culture we walked to the Railway station. It is a fantastic structure built in a Victorian style. Vic took lots of photos, old style & art deco & than stumbled upon an Art Exhibition.

We had to rush or we would be late for our 4PM appointment for the Speight's Brewery. For a change Vic bought a piece of art that shall remain a secret until Christmas. We hustled up & down streets & got to the brewery only several minutes late. Our beer guide walked us thru the brewery & we finally got to the place we had all been waiting for-the tasting room. She explained they produced about 160,000 liters/day & had increased production significantly to help for the short fall in beer that had been made in Christchurch before the earthquake. She poured us the Gold Medal brew, Summit-that just won a big award in Asia & then she turned the taps over to us. The Germans almost knocked people over to get to the free flowing beer. You could tell there would have been bedlam if she hadn't stopped the tasting after a half hour or so. You would have thought some of those people hadn't had any beer since prohibition.

We walked back to the hotel, picked up the car & drove to Baldwin Street-the steepest street in the world. Of course some health nut was running up it. I'd just done several 12 ounce curls so I didn't want to exert myself or show off. Tracy however felt the urge to compete & walked to the top.

We placed a white stone we had brought w/ us from Bruce's Bay in a flower box for all to enjoy on their walk up & down the hill. We wrote a limerick which you can read in one of the photos for today. Doing all that walking made us hungry & we grabbed our bottle of '07 Quartz Reef Vintage champagne & went to The Reef. The seafood was to die for. We had entrees of salt & pepper calamari, smoked salmon, ceviche & scallops. We split a main of grilled sole. A very nice meal & wine for our last full evening in NZ.