Weekend fun {exploring the rose gardens}

The Greek Islands have a special place in our hearts, being the first place Mark and I ever took an overseas trip together--to Kos. We followed this up a couple of years later with a week in Kefallonia--where Captain Corelli's Mandolin was set, and of course--who could forget the finale, our honeymoon to Santorini--one of the most stunning islands God created in this world. So when the annual Greek Food festival rolls around each year, we always make an effort to go and savour the authentic tastes and immerse ourselves in the sounds of the Greek music and traditions.

The bifteki and loukoumadis are our absolute favourite fare which are a must eat every time we go! The flavours of the meat patties in the bifteki are out of this world with some secret Greek combination of herbs, and the honey and sesame deep fried deliciousness that is the loukoumadis--it's the perfect sweetener for afterwards.

We decided to make the most of the sunny afternoon, and took a chance on finding a park at the rose gardens. We were in luck.

Noah enjoying a special moment with Grandad 

One of our favourite things to see at the rose gardens is the Lady Norwood Begonia House where all manner of tropical plants--most would never grow naturally here in our odd climate--actually thrive.

There was an abundance of fish and tadpoles swimming in the indoor pond today, way too many to count.

I just love this fallen frangipani - doesn't it look just like an edible cake version instead of the real thing?!

Despite the fact it looks like I have lost an arm in this pic - I assure you it is stll there behind my back! 

I thought since I rarely make it into any pics I would make an effort and ask hubby to take a couple of pics of me--especially matching the begonias as nicely as I did today!

We ended our day with a drive up one of Wellington's many hills, to get a close-up view of the Queen Elizabeth docked in port for the day--she's the 2nd largest Cunard cruise ship to visit Wellington this year. With a 2,100 passenger capacity, she made a big impression on the Wellington skyline sitting in port, and her day of docking coincided with the Centreport open day today--you could go out on a tugboat ride to see her up close, although we were put off a little by the news coverage saying the queues were up to an hour long, so we decided we were happy enough to take a peek from a distance. She was still just as impressive from afar I might add!

A lovely day seeing the best that Wellington had on offer. Tomorrow, town will be chocka block full of people enjoying Chinese New Year celebrations but not us--we are heading up the Kapiti Coast to Raumati to drop Grandma and Grandad off at our friend's beach house and enjoy a day at the beach with them--then we'll be heading back up there on Thursday for a lovely, long weekend together. And if the weather forecast can be believed, we're in for a good time!