Friends are coming for dinner so it was finally time to make a major grocery run without a car. The closest substantial store (New World) is in town. In order to reach this store there is a 20 minute walk to Vic Univ. (up and down a hill) then another 15 min straight down a cliff side where one reaches the central flat downtown for another brisk 10-15 min. For the cliff side walk they have built lots of secret passageways of steep staircases or small winding roads or the gentle slope that puts another 15 minutes to your walk. I opt for a new passageway each time. The weather was beautiful, sunny with the eternal gusts of extreme wind power.
New World is your basic large grocery store. Fruit and vegies are weighed in 100g increments. Bulk items are selected then handed to the clerks in a small stand with several scales. They weigh and tag each item before you go to the registers. Eggs are not refrigerated here. But other than that it is all pretty much the same. The only other thing I notice while struggling with my grocery cart is the amount of “Sorry”s to be heard. Kiwis say Sorry for everything.
Once I checked out with 8 bags of groceries I headed out to the taxi line. My first taxi ride! The very sweet taxidriver told me on our way home that New World was built 11 years ago. It was such a phenomenon that tour buses would stop and let the tourists take photos. He also warned me that my taxi ride would be more expensive during peak hours so get the shopping done by “midday” (12:00). I will probably now shop more often with one or two bags and take a bus.
Wow – a 45-minute walk to the store! But sounds like a nice outing if the weather is good. How many people will be coming over? What are you preparing? I hope your dinner party goes well!
Comment by Jennifer — 22 Jan 2005 @ 11:09 am
8 bags of groceries? That’s a heck of a lot of stuff! The walk sounds nice though — and the thought of eternal gusts of warm wind sounds like heaven!
Comment by El — 23 Jan 2005 @ 9:44 am