Botanic Gardens, Car shopping, and Loads of Walking

So, we started off our day going into Starbucks. The menu is different, but everything we had was good. We noticed the American chains are done differently here. For example, Burger King is like a 50's themed diner. Same food for the most part though. So then we went up an elevator (a lift here) in some back alley to get to a street behind the buildings. In America I would never do that, but there is this air of safety here considering the lack of crime. After following the terrace road, we made it to the top of the hill that supports most of Wellington.
We tried to follow this trail that is called the City to Sea Walkway, which literally goes from Wellington to the sea if you follow it the entire distance. We got lost a couple times and had to re-trace our steps, but it was fun :)

We finally started to make it to the gardens. It seemed like a lot of the plant life was huge. The pictures at the end really show what I mean. We saw the Australian Garden, the Succulent Garden, the Rock Garden, the Fragrant Garden, the Herb Garden, and the Rose Garden. My favorite was the Fragrant. The smells were just awesome. The next picture is of the view at the top with the circular rose gardens and the mountain views.

So then we started walking back into the city. We went along the harbor and passed through a farmers market that was just closing down for the day. That made us really hungry, so we found a burger fuel and got a late lunch. The food was so good. I had a chicken sandwich with avocado, jalapeno sauce, and tomato that I was not expecting to be good, but it was great :)

We thought since we were already on the far side of town we should look at the car dealerships there. It was Sunday after all, so most of them should be empty. We learned that Scottish people make terrible car salesmen to an American couple, and new cars cost double of what a used car costs. We kept trying to sit in the drivers side and then realizing it was on the other side of the car. The Scottish salesman was trying to sell us a car and it left us with blank stares as we tried to understand what the heck he was saying! We caught something about corollas being nothing special, but having plenty of room in the boot. So, we checked out everything then gave up and started heading home.

We stopped by the big grocery store on our way back. They have a few differences. They have a bar to let you in the front of the store, but you have to travel through the store to exit. (Like a turn-style). Then the prices are in NZ$'s with tax included in them (that is how everything is priced... even cars) and the weights are in grams for pricing. Seafood and some veggies are cheaper, but the imported spices and brand names cost more. They also charge to use a plastic bag, so we got some reusable ones and the give you a discount for bringing your own bags.

I will leave you with a few more pictures.. love you all!
Brandon in a Tree (literally a cylinder tree that you can climb on the inside)
Us in front of the flame of peace and a waterfall ( the flame was not lit?)
Me being a tree hugger to show the scale of the trees there.
There was a meditation lawn in front of an amphitheater.
Then the last two show the rock garden and the pre-historic look of a lot of the plants.