Bugs, Cafes, and Penguins

Bryce noticed this stick bug on our front door frame today. We had seen a similar one a few days ago and thought it might have been a twig... seeing the exact same "twig" up close a few days later pretty much verifies it is a bug! It didn't even move as I tried to take a picture of it.

We set out for Newtown, an up and coming district in Wellington for coffee at People's Coffee . We got some extra for our coffee press at home.
There's a t-shirt sold here that says, "Newtown: it's a little bit shit." It's true, as you drive along the street you get the impression that you're in a hoity-toity area, but actually as you walk along the stores you realize that most of the shops are not so snobby. Case in point, a full length flannel nightgown was in one shop's front display window. The shops reminded me of Rottle's on Main Street in Auburn.

After our Cappa and Mochaccino, we walked a long to find a place for lunch. We found a French cafe. Bryce had a croque and I had an amazing dark crepe filled with blue cheese, walnuts, raisins, and ham. I did manage to embarrass myself by asking the French staff for a "crape" instead of a "crep." Even in NZ, the kiwis say "crepe" properly.

We drove off to Miramar to go to the free mini-museum called the "Weta Cave," where props used at Miramar Studios are made. Only a small portion of their props were shown, but it was still a fun little side-trip. We bought a realistic weta bug (the heaviest bug in the world) for Ryan as part of his welcome gift when he visits :-)

Off we went for our usual search for penguins. So far our search has been fruitless and it proved to be so this evening. Here's one of the beaches where the penguins nest:


And here's proof that they're really here:

The beach is along a very busy road. At dusk, the penguins cross the road to sleep underneath the houses. (There are penguin crossing signs along the road). My coworker who has lived in the area said that the penguins sound like crying babies.