Sunday afternoon in Palmy

Friday night we fell asleep to the sound of fireworks, lots of them. It was "Guy Fawkes Day", something not exactly observed back home.

Ralph was off this weekend but we didn't take a trip, having just returned from one. We slept in Saturday, bought produce at the Farmer's Market, watched some TV, shopped at the Plaza and checked on the roses at Victoria Esplanade. The roses were in bloom and gorgeous, but alas, Ralph forgot our camera so no pictures! The weather was iffy---highs were upper 50's with rain threatening. It's better today, a little warmer maybe without the rain. We continue to wish we had more of our warm clothes here with us. Summer is coming---just wish it would come a little faster.

There are no four lane highways when driving across New Zealand. Most of the time there is very little traffic and a feeling of driving way out in the rural boonies. You are never far from either mountains or ocean, so part of every journey to another town involves winding roads crossing a mountain and/or beautiful ocean views. Periodically there will be a passing lane (usually up a steep hill) that runs for a few hundred meters. The speed limit is 100 kph and I think that is only a suggestion to the average NZ driver. Proper etiquette in the lack of a passing lane is for the slow driver to slow a little more and pull over to the shoulder and let them pass. There are no rest areas but every little town has public toilets available, and there are picnic tables roadside at intervals. We had a humorous surreal experience with the public toilets in a tiny town on our last trip. They were just lined up on the street, and upon entering a unit and pressing a button, the door slammed shut and locked electronically. A computerized voice informed that we had a maximum of 10 minutes permitted. I could hear Ralph laughing in his little unit next to mine, and then elevator music started with "What the World Needs Now, is Love, Sweet Love". Gotta wonder what would have happened had we exceeded the time limit!

Today we visited another church from the denomination we grew up in (Wesleyan). Turned out to be a Fijian church in that language. The people were incredibly kind and welcoming and translated some of the service just for us. The pastor and her husband insisted on us coming to their house for lunch afterwards. All around, a very unique experience and one we much enjoyed.

Tomorrow night we are invited to dinner at the home of one of Ralph's fellow doctors at work.