Moving.Day.Part.Deux

    Sunday was windy, cold and came complete with a driving rain so, of course, it was time to move from our apartment in Wellington to our newest (and last) residence - a 3-bedroom home in Lower Hutt.
    We managed to get all four of us and our luggage into the station wagon Elena has for work and made the trip from downtown to Belmont Terrace in one trip without incident - which means, of course, that I was only mildly panicked throughout the ride. (I still cannot get used to sitting in what, in the States, is the driver's seat while Elena is driving on what is, to me, the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road.)
    Belmont Terrace is about halfway up a mountain so you do get some spectacular views when it's not pouring rain. Our front yard is also something of a rain forest so you kind of have to stand in the right place to get those views of the Hutt Valley, the mountains on the other side of the Hutt River, and the city of Lower Hutt, which is down in the valley itself.
    The house is of an unusual design, two stories tall with lots of windows. It's a little chilly because there is no central heating... heat is supplied by a small wood stove and those rolling radiators that plug into wall sockets. The beds come with lots of covers, including electric blankets so sleeping is pretty comfortable, actually. Getting the fire going in that little stove demands persistence and a certain amount of creativity. It also helps if you cuss a little, which we have done in three languages - English, Spanish and Catalan.
    The house, however, does have a piano and since Elena and Elena both play, I look forward to some impromptu concerts during the days and nights we're here. That, at least in my opinion, will make up for a little chill now and then.
    I'm not looking forward to the half-mile walk down the mountain to the mail box and the bus stop, though, because once I get there it's a half mile back UP the mountain to the house but some things you just have to grin at and bear.
 

The view from the front of the house

The view from the side porch - yeah, it's a rain forest

If you stand in the right spot, you have a nice view of the Hutt Valley, the mountains on the other side and the city of  Lower Hutt.