new zealand.

did u end up eating at nicolini's??? i had something very special set up for you, but either you didn't go or you didn't name-drop me!

we went for sure--really lovely!--but didn't namedrop. shy like that.

oops

wellington is really rainy, like rainier than seattle huh

hah

i feel @ home though

:)

well, you'll just have to go back again, and make sure you say 'justine says hi!' so that you get your special treat!!!

yes, i like to laugh at these californians who cry like babies every time it DRIZZLES for more than a few minutes. WELLINGTONIANS EAT RAINSTORMS FOR BREAKFAST, YOU PUSSIES.

ALSO: i wanted to recommend certain things on the menu! tell me what you had, i'm dying to know.

i had the special, it was lamb tortellini. also, the garlic bread, which was excellent, so drippy cheesy. lxy had umm what's it called? like if you took them out of context you'd think burritos, but with just cheese inside. what the fuck are those called? and we had two glasses of the cheeeeeap champagne. lxy was drunk (already, from minibar next door). we sat in the back cuz the front was filled up. luckily they had the heaters on. our server was an (aged) male model lookin dude, very polite. i had a moment in the bathroom where i was like 'damn i bet justine has been in here a million times, and through these rooms a million times, how weird.' deep thought i know, but it was a moment of connection for whatever that's worth. we looked for the guy you used to get in fights with but didn't identify him.

Cannelloni?

oooh the lamb tortellini is the fagotini - i actually hate it, it's too gingery!! the cannelloni is probably the most boring thing on the menu in terms of ingredients, but it's one of my faves.

the bathrooms for men are so scummy! they're the grossest things ever!!

i wonder if this 'aged male model' was toni... toni, the boss, is bald and quite big. but i hear they have a french dude working their so maybe it was him.

yeah, it was tripping me out to think about you there :) 8 yrs i worked for those guys, i know that place inside out.

ya, canneloni. it was good. and yes, i was dddrrruuunnnkkk. seemed appropriate as an homage to estela's days as a wellington rotter.

i tried to go into the men's (couldn't find the women's) and the waiter said oh luv that's the gents you don't want to go in there! cute.

our waiter wasn't big, didn't seem french though. also not that aging, i don't think. but remember, i was drunk so what do i know?

why o why did i not bring home all of the mealmates? i want them.

it was just that he wasn't 17 anymore, that's all.

it's raining, i'm soaked. new zealand.

what i did bring home: jaffas, fake darrell lea jaffas, fake sold in bulk jaffas (ojays), chocolate bullets

theoretically i brought extra to take to people at work but LOL that's never happened before! i get home and want to keep them all for myself!

xp oh hi!

it's raining like a motherfucker in seawa so welcome home, us.

ruby, there was also a girl waitperson who sang and whistled along to the corny italian songs. i made note of her.

was it like at macaroni grill when they would have the waiters sing arias and stuff to get bigger tips?

pretty much

there was??!

you've never even been to macaroni grill!!

nope, and i didn't hear any girl singing at ruby's restaurant either.

lol they've been playing the same like 6 CDs for 10yrs now, i know all the words by <3

i hope one of them is not
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_47h8lRGDYcM/SPeirm5ZfDI/AAAAAAAAAwY/Z_xsmoEo_Xo/s320/BocelliRomanzaAlbumCover.jpg

nah but jergz was there a really depressing opera cd playing?

the front room has one of those frank sinatra itsapizzapie albums on high rotation

ya it was one of those

god courtenay place brings out some yahoos doesn't it

not a fan of it myself. one time i was walking home late at night after work, and it was a big rugby night, some huge dude grabbed me round the waist as i was crossing at courtenay/tory sts and lifted me several feet off the ground. total stranger. i demanded that he put me down, so he dropped me. fucking asshole. just about put my teeth through my lip.

oh jergz you might like a bar called 'hotel' - if you are heading towards tory st from nicolini's, turn left onto tory and then left down a dodgy alleyway behind burgerking and you will see a little door and a little sign. it's really nice and super fancy.

will check it out

lxy i don't think you heard the girl humming because you had your own 'i'm drunk, so drunk' tune in your head

decidedly so. sometimes remaining upright makes a lot of internal racket.

i bet i would like the bar called hotel. something super fancy that you get to by going down a dodgy alley is tops in my book.

okay wellington on a sunny day is aces

it's one of my favourite places in the world when it's sunny. did you know, there are a lot of walking tracks throughout the city, you should be able to get maps from the city council (parks and recreation), it is a really wonderful aspect of wellington, i salute the town planners for their green belt vision. the walk out to the seal colony at owhiro bay is also really worth doing, i'm not sure when the seals are there but i went in about november and they were there, lounging about, earning my approval.

went out towards oriental bay yesterday in the wind and rain, it was very striking

that's the thing about wellingtonians: we know how to appreciate nice weather! as soon as the sun cracks the clouds, there's a shitload of ppl down at the lolbeach at oriental bay (3 ft of sand and they call it a beach).

if you're hiring a car, i also recommend driving out to to lighthouse and seal colony at palliser bay (i think that's where it is, i'm not sure) - it's one of the most beautiful places i've ever been to, and pretty isolated. just a small fishing town out there. the seals are amazing, so playful and willing to perform. if you walk out beyond where the road deadends, there is a low wall of rocks stacked up by some local tribe a couple of hundred years ago. you look out to the water on your right, and on your left is a series of huge, steep, breathtaking cliffs - you climb up through them and find the most pure waterfalls and swimming holes.

i will do some research and see if i can find the exact spot. an ex took me out there - which has unfortunately tainted that place for me forever - and i'm not sure how to get there or the exact location.

here's the lighthouse:

http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p12041enz.jpg

http://www.newzealandphotography.co.nz/image-galleries/image-gallery-26.php

oooh i want to go to there

for ruby

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/4025041670_c131287907_m.jpg

>_<

<3

actually, more like ^_^

lolz i hope they didn't seat you at the super rickety table, it's a serious health hazard and has been that way for years because those italians are too lazy/cheap to get it fixed

i want to go to that lighthouse!!

all of the tables were super rickety

i have a bad photo of me at nicolini's.

blame the table. the chair was probably rickety too!

the courtyard floor is totally fucked up and uneven, and the tables... well... the big big round ones are a big wooden table attached to one of those smaller round tables, except the the thingees holding them together are kind of busted so if you're ever seated at one of those, don't even think about pulling on it, because the whole thing will come crashing off. the little wooden square table for two is completely and utterly fucked up. that's the super dodgy one. don't sneeze if you're seated there or it will tip over.

and yes, the chairs are all fucked up. and uncomfortable as all hell. never understood how people could sit there for more than 45mins.

haha, we did sit at a little wooden table for two. i didn't experience any tipping over that wasn't attributable to my drunk. maybe between the table and me we created a sort of white noise of wobbliness.

i brought a bag of jaffas to work for sharing. they were very popular.