Silver Linings.2

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It snowed all night, and we woke to a few inches of snow frosting our balcony and nothing visible out on the lake. The snow continued into the morning, so we decided to bundle up and walk into town. Much to our surprise the snow stopped a few minutes into our trek and the skies brightened a bit. With the clouds lifting we began to appreciate the dramatic after effects of an early snowfall!

Many Good Things today which we both agreed upon: We enjoyed exploring the wharf area and walking around the point, then through Queenstown Gardens. Next we headed over to the base of Bob's Peak, which looms over the town, and caught the gondola to the top where we ate lunch in the bar, while being entertained by the bungee jumpers and enjoying the spectacular view. After a little "pre-shopping" for souvenirs, we headed back to our suite and warmed up by the fire, reading, blogging and enjoying our pinot purchase from last night. All in all, we were glad we postponed our 4WD "Lord of the Rings" themed excursion and had a chance to get oriented to and enjoy Queenstown on our first day.

Even one of the "Bad Things" turned out OK: We were disappointed to find our dinner destination, the Frasier-recommended Bunker restaurant, was closed for off-season kitchen maintenance. We wandered over to Pier 19, our second choice, to find it full up. But the charming hostess convinced us to wait it out on their patio, promising a heater and a half dozen blankets and no more than 10 minutes wait out in the freezing temps. Thirty minutes and half a bottle of unusually tasty syrah later, we were finally seated and thawed out over a nice dinner in the charming and warm interior.

The other bad thing today was our continuing problems with the (paid!) Internet service. Spent way too much time with the front desk staff and on the phone with their server's tech advisors. Knock on wood we finally got all devices responding properly!

(25 photos today)

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Photos

View from our balcony
This is the view, or lack thereof, that greeted us when we woke up!

Statue of William Rees in wharf area
Considered the founder of Queenstown, he was first European to settle here

Wharf area scene
Looking across to where our hotel is located

View of Bob's Peak...
...from walk around the point. Note Skyline complex perched on top.

Frozen rose garden in Queenstown Gardens
Some bushes were still blossoming!

Memories of Switzerland
Riding the gondola up to the top of Bob's Peak, elev 790 meters

View from our balcony at dusk
A little different from this morning!