This week’s small pleasures #474

Today saw us back at work after 3 weeks of holiday. I was wide awake before the alarm went off, caught the earlier of the two buses I normally take to town, and got to the office to spend the first hour catching up and wishing colleagues a happy new year. The sun is shining too after a very blustery day yesterday. We are of course thinking about our neighbours over the Tasman, dealing with forest fires and tropical cyclone Koji. Actually, we were sitting watching TV after dinner on Saturday when the sky turned a strange colour due to smoke in the atmosphere from the fires in Australia, reminiscent of what we saw in 2020.

Anyway, on Wednesday we drove up to Napier for just a short break before going back to work. We have, as regular readers may know, been up to Napier and the Hawke’s Bay region many times (add in my work trips and you have a whole lot more). It is easy to get to, the weather is good and there are lots of things to do and see. I didn’t bother with lots of pictures of Napier’s Art Deco heritage this time (you can look back on old blogs if you like), but the reason the city is full of this style of architecture is due to a devastating earthquake in 1931. The city was rebuilt in the style of the era and is now a heritage site. Below are two photos that can be found on the walls in one of the lanes, showing the street where we were standing after the quake. One of the buildings that always catches me eyes is the one below. Just looks so exotic somehow!

More on the mini break

On Thursday we went for lunch to Craggy Range as I described in great detail in my last post. From there we drove to Elephant Hill to purchase some wine to bring back with us. This winery is situated in a gorgeous position near the sea, and it is possible to enjoy lunch on the terrace, looking out at the view (which we have done in the past).

On Friday, we drove over to Waimārama to get a bit of a beach walk. However, it was extremely windy, which the surfers were really loving, but not the best weather for us. It is just so beautiful there – see the featured image at the top of the post as well, in which you can also see Motu o Kura (Bare Island).

We decided instead to head over to Havelock North for a browse and lunch. Those of you who are familiar with The Bookshop Detectives series will recognise the display in the window (and yes there are window boxes too). There is also this rather attractive fountain in the town centre. We had lunch there, and also browsed the many lovely shops.

Food shopping

I always enjoy going to food shops in different places because you never know what you might find. We popped into Chantal in Napier where I got some of the gorgeous dried apricots I bought last year too, a new green string bag and a bag of nuts and cranberries to pop into my desk drawer. In Havelock North, I got a bottle of an interesting sounding peppercorn sauce, and two tins of squid/octopus which might be nice through pasta, from Bellatino’s. I picked up a jar of locally made picallili and a loaf of bread at the market in Napier on Saturday morning, and of course made a stop at Vetro for vinegar, sardines, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes and other things. Back in Wellington, we went food shopping on Sunday, picking up tomatoes, radishes, green beans, raspberrries and blueberries and some venison sausages and beef mince.

Simple things

• Being on holiday.
• Eating so much good food – more on that on Wednesday (yes…there is more to come).
• Getting home with no issues on the road.
• Seeing the sea and breathing in its (very) fresh air.
• Enjoying the fruits of summer.
• Having a short break away (the view from the hotel window in Napier).

What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life. 

• Travels Through My Lens is in Mexico.
• Meanwhile, Deb has thoughts of snow …. the opposite weather to what she is experiencing.
• The Travel Sketcher is also in Mexico of course….eating well and sketching.
• While Natalie tells us about a fabulous sounding holiday in Greece.
• And Mr Tootlepedal gets a bit wet.
• Fred the French Gardener shares six things from his garden.
• The Glasgow Gallivanter goes gallivanting in December.
• Maria of Green Dreams shares her daily gratitude – what a lovely idea.
• Melissa of Under the Elderberry Tree celebrates a blogiversary.
• Debbie shares postcards from Canada.
• And Follow Your Garden Bliss reflects on the fires in Victoria.
• ..…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.