A rainy day

The title of this post is rather misleading, because you will barely see a dark cloud in the sky in any of the photos.  But nonetheless, I promise you that it WAS raining, and it was so misty in the morning, we couldn't see the mountains at all.  It was meant to rain on and off all day so we decided to pursue less active pursuits, and took the bus out to Arrowtown for the day.  We were very proud of ourselves for mastering the local bus system!! :)

A visit to Arrowtown starts with a cup of tea and a slice!

This was too adorable not to photograph - the dog made a new friend.  I think the little boy is trying to help him find a bone!

A girl in her natural habitat - surrounded by books!!! 

Second choice - surrounded by pastries!

Arrowtown was very cute - an old gold mining town - but a little more touristy than I expected.  Lots of shops along the main strip interspersed with restaurants etc.  We had a simple lunch - pie.  Well, steak and mushroom pie.  It took Billy a while to reconcile his brain to the fact that he was eating pastry with meat and stuff inside, instead of apples, but by the end, I think he really enjoyed it. :)  He passed on the sausage roll though.  

After lunch, we walked down to the Arrowtown museum, which was really interesting, and had some great displays.  We spent a good hour and a half walking through the exhibits, then decided to go see what time the bus back was.  Luckily for us, it left in four minutes.  Especially lucky because the one after was not for another hour and a half!

Arrowtown museum

Teacher!

Student.  Looks like trouble.

 Instead of going all the way back into Queenstown, we took the bus to the Amisfield Winery, which was conveniently a stop on the route back to town.  We got there just after 4pm, and booked a table for the last seating at the bistro, for 5.30pm.  So, now we had an hour and a half to kill... what to do...in a winery...a wine tasting of course!!!

Amisfield tasting room

Billy found a pinot he loved (a 2006 reserve!) and I actually fell in love with a dessert wine, a Nobel Sauvignon Blanc.  You couldn't drink too much of it at once, but it was super fruity and low in alcohol.  Perfect! :)

Now that I think I like white wine, this could cause trouble.  Or less fights, as we will each have our own bottle. ha ha.

 We wandered around the vineyard for a while...

So picturesque. 

Yummy!

Amisfield winery

I love red tractors...

 Before settling inside by the fire...

And fireplaces...

Then it was time for dinner.  We decided to do the Chefs Choice Tasting Menu - four courses and a glass of wine, all chosen for you.  I couldn't do the option which included wine with each course - I am still not a wine lover.  Sorry folks!  But I am doing my best!! :)

The meal started with smoked New Zealand salmon, served with dill creme fraiche, pickled cucumbers, fresh bread and thyme butter.  OMG delicious. :)

I was meant to be taking photos of our food, but I sort of forgot and we ate it all.

Luckily, the table next door to us had the same thing, and didn't mind when I asked if I could take a photo!

Then we had cheese tortellni with roasted pumpkin, sage and fried leeks in a butter sauce.  Butter is good for you, right??

Roasted pumpkin and cheese tortellini

Imagine looking at that view while you sit at the bar.

The next course was actually pan-fried sole (my favourite) but again, we forgot to take photos.  It tasted really good though!! :)

Lamb served in a reduction sauce with israeli cous-cous, eggplant, olives and sundried tomatoes.  With a fresh green salad and dill potatoes on the side.

My plate. :)

And finally, two desserts (hey, we weren't ordering - they brought us two!!).  The first is a sabayon with raspberries and gingered mango.  The second was a delicious panna cotta, with a plum and thyme sauce, with tiny chunks of pavlova scattered around it.  Delicious.

 After that, it was time for a taxi back to the hotel and our comfy apartment with another fire.
Yay for great vacations!! :)