According to the lady at the counter of the internet cafe (that actually serves actual coffee), Starbucks don’t use coffee. They use “that flavour” and they “don’t give you a choice”. Well, I guess I won’t be going there for my morning cup o’ corporate oppression.

Nelson is, so far, not sunny. I arrived yesterday evening, just as the sun was setting. I found my way from the airport to the city and did a little evening orientation walk, detouring by the State cinema to see the Simpsons move (quite funny, yes).

The main drag seems very nice and tidy and has no-skateboarding symbols painted all over the footpath. No, we don’t want any of that carry-on around these parts, thank you. It’s very much a typical large New Zealand town, but it’s also got this neat-and-tidy thing, which I’m guessing results from being a tourism hub. Something like that.

This morning I was a bit “Boo. This place sucks. I wanna go home and hang out on K Road.” But now I am, like, so over that.

I went for a walk up to the Nelson Cathedral. I like that it’s an iconic building that’s kind of evolved over several decades (no doubt as a result of interruptions from wars) and sort of all fits together. Sometimes I get a sort of claustrophobia when I’m inside large enclosed spaces, but I didn’t get it with Nelson Cathedral.

Then I went to the Nelson area museum, which was very much a typical regional museum. Press a button and hear a recording of an old timer talking about something that happened when they were a young un! Marvel at a greenstone tiki found locally! Rejoice in memories of the Queen’s 1954 visit! Get freaked out at the creepy 3-D head of Wallace Rowling that seems to follow you as you walk around the room (OK, so that last one wasn’t so typical, and will no doubt haunt my dreams.)

But the biggest question is – is sunny Nelson actually sunny? Well, it wasn’t this morning, but it is now. Kapai, Nelson.