boujee [boo-gee]: boujee is hip-hop slang for something “luxurious in lifestyle yet humble in character,” influenced by and often interchanged with the slang bougie. (dictionary.com)

A few weeks ago, my friend Sophie and I treated ourselves to a weekend in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. I have lived in Auckland for over two years now, and whilst I love the city of sails, it was still oh so special to have a girly nights stay in the windy city.

I wanted to share this different kind of post to highlight how important it is to spend time with the wonderful women in our lives. We’re out here working damn hard, so spoiling yourself for no apparent reason is absolutely acceptable in my book. Wanna eat that cake? Do it! $100 facial, why the heck not?! TREAT YO’SELF GIRL. You deserve it. Additionally, welcome to the first instalment of “Budget or Boujee”, a Where’s Holly special where I give the rundown of a trip or stay and determine whether it was off-the-charts fancy or simple and budget-friendly.

Now, the first port of call for any weekend away is obviously the accommodation. We booked into the best hotel in Wellington; The Intercontinental.

Based in the heart of the city, the Intercontinental is a stone throw away from some of Wellingtons liveliest bars and restaurants. It’s brown and reflective exterior couldn’t be further from the colourful treats that lay inside. We booked out a double room, fitted with two king-sized beds for starfishing central.

The main event, however, was the Lobby Lounge. Why is it that every girly weekend away must start (and end) with cocktails? Making a B-line for the bar (it’s 5 o clock somewhere right?), The Lobby Lounge offered a variety of cocktails and spirits, of which they were all stylishly arranged and displayed along the back wall. Seated with a juicy cocktail, we were able to take in Wellington from street level and figure out which of the cultural goodies we were going to go to first (trust me, Wellington has a lot).

Now happily hydrated (be it with vodka), we made our way to Cuba Street. The beauty of Wellington is the abundance of boutiques and vintage shops dotted along Cuba Street. Now a pedestrianised mall it is deemed one of the more bohemian areas of Wellington, and a nexus for creativity and music. If you’re into architecture, Cuba Street has a few buildings with huge historic significance (although our eyes were mostly on the beautifully crafted vintage shop windows).

On Cuba street, we ventured past a few buskers and many eclectic cafes, before deciding to eat at Floriditas. This beautiful, high ceilinged space is styled straight out of the 1930s, with a to-die-for menu to go with it.

However delicious the brunch was (I opted for avocado and eggs, as usual) the cabinet pastries and cakes looked out of this world! Mini carrot cakes, banana loaves, and ALMOND CROISSANTS! Everything looked so delicious, and if you can make any cake into a mini version you are a winner in my eyes.

Some of the highlights of Cuba Street were the crossing painted like a pride flag, boutiques filled with local art and treats, and some beautiful street art. After doing a little bit of treating ourselves, a long walk down Cuba Street called for a nap back in our plush room. Luckily, I had set an alarm because the Intercontinental’s beds were just stupidly comfortable and I felt like I was napping on a cloud. Now donning our Intercontinental robes and slippers (c’mon we’re on holiday!), we headed down to the hotel pool for a dip before the night’s festivities.

The evening’s itinerary consisted of food from Le Saigon Vietnamese Kitchen, where I had the vegan curry with veggie spring rolls on the side. The food was good, but the cocktails were better. We treated ourselves to Rosebud cocktails with my favourite, vanilla vodka. Turns out this would not be the last cocktail on the night (obviously), as afterwards, we headed out to Courtenay Place to dance (and drink) the night away.

Velour suit courtesy of ASOS, confidence courtesy of Prosecco

As I said, every girly weekend always starts and ends with cocktails, cue the ever so fancy cocktail menu at a Wellington hidden gem The Library. You’d be pressed to find a cocktail under $20 NZD in here, but god are they worth it. I settled for a drink called “Probably The Best Espresso Martini Ever”, an ambitious yet totally worthy name as it is topped with scorched vanilla meringue. The night climaxed with finding a tucked-away bar playing the likes of Toto, Men at Work and Rick Astley i.e for those who know me, my perfect bar.

Putting our hangovers aside, the next day was all about chilling. Until we both agreed to climb up to the top of Victoria Hill, that is. I’d been meaning to do this a few times, as the summit offers sweeping views of Wellington and the surrounding valleys. So, trainers on and hangovers galore, we pulled ourselves out of bed making a B-line for the free breakfast before traipsing up the hill. I should mention at this point that the Intercontinental’s idea of a continental breakfast and my idea of a continental breakfast differ massively. I was expecting a few croissants and cereal, but what we were offered was closer to boujee brunch than any free breaky I’ve ever had. The selection ranged from hot to cold, and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a huge plate of smoked salmon before in my life!

As my dad would say – “If it’s free, get as much as it as humanly possible”. And I did.

We managed to drag ourselves up Victoria Hill in the midday sun, and the views from the top were definitely worth the sweaty incline. This unintentional exercise called for a few craft beers at Mac’s Brewbar, before a Sunday lunch at, appropriately, The Welsh Dragon bar.

Verdict

This trip, although only for one night, definitely hits the mark as off-the-scale boujee. With cocktails galore, 4* hotels and lots of treating ourselves, isn’t this what girlie weekends are all about?

Where we stayed: The Intercontinental Wellington (Book here)

Where we ate/drank:  Florditas, Le Saigon Vietnamese, Mac’s Brewbar, The Welsh Dragon, The Library. 

Also, I thought I’d some of my favourite ways to track what’s going on in cities around Australia/New Zealand because sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to do. The Urban List is my all-time favourite website for finding out all the new pop-ups, restaurants, and listicles about major cities in New Zealand (I use this all the time in Auckland), also Concrete Playground offers any upcoming events, things to do and exhibitions coming to Wellington and other nearby cities. This is how we found out about the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at Te Papa (aka the BEST museum in New Zealand) had sadly ended its run before we arrived. (Everybody definitely needs to go see the Gallipoli exhibitions at Te Papa though).

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