New Plymouth Part 1

I guess we've been in need of a down day for a while, so this was it. The weather really dictated it, though, as it rained steadily all day, and is really cloudy. Being a Sunday morning, things open a bit later, so we didn't really get going until about 10am, when we stopped at The Market Patiserrie & Cafe for the first coffee and sweet of the day. It had really good reviews, and didn't disappoint. We wandered the downtown main street for a while, and then headed to the Puke Ariki, another well done museum about the Taranaki area. Also a good viewpoint of the beach and the Wind Wand (a 48m tall kinetic sculpture). You can see it here through the wet window.

After a few hours, and time for lunch, we were back to the main street to find lunch. Beth was feeling like soup, with the damp cold weather, so we stopped for Thai, which was so-so; understandble as it was a chain. As the rain hadn't let up, we went back and finished what we hadn't seen at the museum. Too early for coffee, we drove to the east end of town to see the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, a very nicely designed bridge on the recreational path. Again, not a great photo, but tough in the pouring rain. On a clear day, there is a very nice view of Taranaki looking along the bridge, but I don't think we'll be seeing it.

Now time for coffee, we stopped at the Federal Store & Cafe for flat whites and a ginger slice. I know I've mentioned the coffee and slices a lot, but they are fantastic, and we now really agree with the Federal's sentiment.