The stores in Queenstown sell many of the designs I saw (coveted) in Wellington, so I went shopping today. Many of the textiles they use are actually made out of possum, which I thought I could live with… but in the end all the styles I chose were wool anyway. Putting the sweaters on, made me feel warm for the first time on the trip.
Mini-Climate-Lesson: when it's unseasonably warm in the North/West hemisphere, it is unseasonably cool in the South/East (and vice-versa). That means Chicago's mild spring has made for a too-cold fall over here.
The group went to a wine tasting this afternoon (I skipped out since I don't care for wine). They brought bottles of wine back and ordered cheese from room service for a wine and cheese party, and caught me up on my wine facts. New Zealand Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris come from the same grapes, but the former is made on the South Island, where the climate is less favorable to ripening grapes than the North Island, where the grapes for Pinot Gris grow. The grapes for both wines are picked before it gets too cold, but since the cold sets in significantly earlier on the South Island, Pinot Grigio is dryer and less sweet than Pino Gris.
Finally, some fun with translation. I did have to ask the receptionist today whether there was a toilet in the lobby.
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