A Break in the Bay

G's Mum is here at the moment and it was her birthday at the weekend so we booked a little break (2 nights) over in the Hawkes Bay as part of her birthday present.

We set out on Friday and took the Saddle Road as the Manawatu Gorge is still closed. It's been ages since we took the Saddle Road and it was a lovely day for it with some amazing views...

I know the windmills are a bit love 'em or hate 'em but I must say I'm a fan and took a few pictures of them...

Once we got to Woodville we stopped at Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes and bought some birthday cheesecake as well as stopping for morning tea (their Woodville Slice is YUMMY!). No pictures unfortunately as I was too busy scoffing :-)

We got back on the road and had another stop in Hastings for a spot of lunch. I love how the railway there goes right through the middle of town and they have built a water feature around the trainline...

They have a pretty cool clock tower too...

After lunch we headed to Te Mata Peak with it's amazingly stunning views and we were all in awe at what we could see. Thank goodness for gorgeous weather so we could see for miles...

And here's a taster of the drive back down from the Peak. They close the road coming up when the buses go back down so we snuck behind them to make our way a little easier!

After this we headed to Napier and checked in at our motel. We stayed at Bella Vista which was lovely and so close to everything. We could walk into the CBD and to Marine Parade in minutes!

Here's a look at the seaside...

On the Saturday we went to the Napier Farmers Market which was fantastic. We had freshly squeezed fruit juice (juiced right in front of us), free range bacon and sausage sandwiches and bought some yummy strong cheese and delicious peaches, apples and cherries which had been grown locally. We also got some jam doughnuts (first time I'd seen them in NZ, that doesn't mean they didn't exist here - just that I hadn't noticed them before!) and some sauces and chutneys. 

I declared that I could happily drive over on Saturdays just for the market and will definitely plan future visits to the Bay to coincide with the market times so I can re-visit!

After the market we went to Silky Oaks which is a chocolate factory, museum, shop and cafe. We sampled some yummy chocolate, had a look round the museum and grabbed some lunch in the cafe. I also had an Iced Chocolate which was the yummiest one I've had in a long time...

G and I got a date together on Saturday afternoon while baby was napping and headed to Starbucks. (They closed Palmy's Starbucks in 2009 and I miss it so much - used to be there at least once a week!). It was lovely to be able to walk down the road hand-in-hand minus a buggy and sit and chat with each other with no distractions <3 

That night we ended up at Cobb & Co for dinner which was just round the corner from where we were staying. After dinner we walked along by the sea to walk off our dinner and I snapped a picture of the public toilet (which you may say is weird but they are all painted with Art Deco scenes - how cool is that?!)

Overnight on Saturday the weather turned to custard but we knew that it was likely so we saved the National Aquarium for last and did that on Sunday morning. G and I had visited the aquarium years ago and remembered it being quite good and were so glad we made the decision to go back. The baby LOVED it! He was amazed by the fish, the turtles, the seahorses and everything else they have on display. He was running as fast as his little legs could carry him to point out all the things he could see in various tanks. It was lovely to watch.

I also really enjoyed the kiwi enclosure - they have 2 kiwi's in there and they move a lot. On both visits to the Aquarium now I have seen more kiwi action then all the other kiwi places I have been put together!

Once we were done at the Aquarium we braved the downpour of rain once more to load back into the car and headed off home...with a couple of stops along the way.

It was an awesome weekend away. G and I both commented how relaxed and rested we felt. Travelling with toddlers isn't always described as relaxing so we were pleasantly surprised!