{"id":35829,"date":"2014-12-05T07:22:33","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T21:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/blog\/?p=35829"},"modified":"2018-05-14T07:47:58","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T21:47:58","slug":"a-girls-weekend-in-wellington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/a-girls-weekend-in-wellington\/","title":{"rendered":"A (girls) weekend in Wellington"},"content":{"rendered":"
With shopping, hip cafes and trendy bars, there\u2019s nowhere better in New Zealand for spending time with the girls than Wellington<\/a> so last weekend, we headed to the cool capital for some female bonding.<\/div>\n
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Here\u2019s what happened\u2026\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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\"View<\/a>

View from the Cable Car\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

No girl\u2019s weekend would be complete without shopping; and Wellington makes this easy with a compact CBD. Although nothing is too far away, there is the odd steep street so it\u2019s best to avoid the heels and stick to the ballet flats for a day of retail therapy.<\/p>\n

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\"Bucket<\/a>

Bucket Fountain on Cuba St<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Cuba<\/a>

Cuba Street Mall<\/p><\/div>\n

We start on Cuba Street, which offers an eclectic mix of second hand stores, local designers and international brands. For chocolate fans there is the Wellington Chocolate Factory<\/a> on Eva Street, (just off Dixon Street) which offers organic, ethically traded chocolate, made on site. We enjoy some of the Salted Brittle Caramel Chocolate and coffees while watching the chocolate being made. Omnom!<\/p>\n

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\"Wellington<\/a>

Wellington Chocolate factory<\/p><\/div>\n

\"As<\/a>

As pretty as it tastes<\/p><\/div>\n

From Cuba Street, it\u2019s down to the waterfront to visit my favourite market \u2013 the Underground market<\/a>. Open every Saturday from 10am \u2013 4pm, the market is chocka\u2019 block full of locally made clothing, jewellery, beauty products, artwork and more.<\/p>\n

After all that shopping, it\u2019s time for some lunch and the waterfront has some great options. The relatively new Crab Shack<\/a> is a little bit of fun and offers great food. As the name suggests there is an abundance of crab dishes as well as a selection of other seafood and red meat. The Cloudy Bay Clams by the scoop with horopito tomato sauce is definitely a goer as is the tempura soft shell crab.<\/p>\n

After refueling, it\u2019s a short walk to the top of Lambton Quay for some more shopping. All the big brands are here but the gem of the shopping area has to be Kircaldies and Stains<\/a>. Kirk\u2019s, as the locals call it, has been operating as a department store since 1863. If you happen to be there in December their Christmas Shop is a must visit.<\/p>\n

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\"Te<\/a>

Te Papa<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re all shopped out then Te Papa<\/a>, the national museum, truly offers something for everyone from Maori Culture to Dinosaurs. In our case, an art exhibit is more inline with the girls weekend theme.
\nAfter a day of shopping\/eating it\u2019s definitely a good idea to have a hotel close to everything. A great option when travelling with a group is Boulcott Suites<\/a>, just off Willis Street at the top of Lambton Quay.<\/p>\n

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\"Boulcott<\/a>

Boulcott Suites<\/p><\/div>\n

Boulcott Suites offers townhouses with one to four bedrooms. My friends and I share a two-bedroom townhouse, which has plenty of room for the four of us. The huge kitchen and lounge area is perfect for us to relax in before dinner. There\u2019s also two bathrooms so we aren\u2019t squabbling over the mirror or shower. It also has a courtyard where we enjoy a pre-dinner drink before hitting the town.
\nThe dinner options in Wellington are endless and offer whichever cuisine or price range you\u2019re looking for. We want somewhere special so head to Matterhorn<\/a> on Cuba Street.<\/p>\n

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\"Matterhorn\"<\/a>

Matterhorn<\/p><\/div>\n

You can\u2019t kick off a dinner at Matterhorn properly without a stop in the bar for one of their legendary cocktails and the Churracusson Cairpirnha gets the big tick from me. Next, it\u2019s through to the dining room for our three courses of absolute deliciousness (I know my days as a food reviewer are numbered). Everything is great and the pork, described as a plate of pig, is my personal favourite served with a yummy walnut and cider sauce.<\/p>\n

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\"Girls<\/a>

Girls Night in Wellington<\/p><\/div>\n

Once we\u2019re full to the brim (again), it\u2019s out into the Wellington nightlife for some more cocktails. Alice\u2019s cocktail bar behind Boogie Nights is a long time favourite of mine. The bar is Alice and Wonderland themed and many of the cocktails are served in teapots. I can\u2019t go past the Queen of Hearts, Plum Daiquiri. This is seriously my favourite cocktail of all time \u2013 and believe me I\u2019ve had a couple. \ud83d\ude09
\nThe next morning starts off a little slow but once we check out of Boulcott Suites it\u2019s a quick walk to Neo Caf\u00e9<\/a> on Willis Street for some rejuvenating coffee before heading to the airport for our flights home.
\nWe are exhausted but still smiling with our bags and belly\u2019s both about to burst after a weekend of pure indulgence. Wellington, we\u2019ll be back.<\/p>\n

Have you been to Wellington? What did you get up to? Tell us in the comments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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