After a few delays, we arrived in Auckland early Wednesday morning and picked up our Hertz rental: stick shift, driving on the left side of the road, picked up a GPS, on our way to Gill's house and the adventure begins! We pulled up to Gill's in Ponsonby. What a charming neighborhood and adorable older home totally redone but with all the charm still intact and coated in fresh paint. Our host, who we found on Airbnb, is a landscape designer and her home has charming gardens and the decor inside is simple but fresh and lovely with white and grey accents and charmed with interesting architectural fireplaces and moldings on the ceilings. Gill showed us to our rooms- we have two of the three rooms in her house and we all share a bathroom. Her brother was just leaving the room Sam would be staying in and was quite interesting having lived all over the world and born in India. She was heading out to take him home a couple hours north of Auckland, so after our introductions we got to unpacking and freshening up and then reloaded in our car and headed down to the waterfront.
Auckland is a charming small city, clean, nautical, a bit like SFO but much more relaxed like a Newport Beach with people not just in suits, but also in swimsuits. It is the peak of summer and hard to transition from the foot of snow we left in Utah to full swing of summer, vacationers, ice cream stands, and the summer break vibe that is everywhere. We could see the NZ America's Cup boats in the harbor outside the Maritime Museum. After our lunch of Best Ugly Bagel which we scoped out and sought after and which Sam is convinced is the best bagel place in the world, we headed into the Maritime Museum. It was interesting to see what an important part sailing is to the establishment of this island from the original Maori people, who came centuries ago from northern Asia, to its being discovered by French, Spanish, Portuguese and ultimately colonized by the English. Around 1840 the country signed a treaty with the Maori people- very unusual in history to sign a treaty with the indigenous people, and then they began recruiting people from the UK to come. Gill's family we learned last night were some of those original settlers that came from Ireland. The museum also highlights the modern history of sailing and holds the original 1995 Black Magic ship that won the first America's Cup. They also highlight Sir Peter Blake who won the race around the world of circumnavigating the globe to and from England. Not being a sailor in any way, it was interesting to learn more and watch the short films they had about these events- very exciting and death defying actually.
In the afternoon we purchased tickets on the ferry and headed to Devenport, the peninsula and seaside town across the harbor from Auckland. Right off the ferry we rented mountain bikes and cruised around the coast visiting several different beaches and enjoying the summer vacation vibe that was everywhere. We stopped at the Milk Shop and got cold drinks. Fun to explore around on bikes through just charming seaside homes, much like Laguna, or Corona del Mar, but also reminds of the larger San Antonio Victorian homes, so well maintained and lovely little gardens too.
After returning to Auckland on the ferry we grabbed crepes along the waterfront- tasty! We explored the main street- like their Park Ave. They had all the fancy shops like Gucci and Prada and jewelry but also people were wearing shorts and flip flops. We peaked into one of the local artist's gallery. They had a beautiful collection of jade jewelry. I ended up purchasing lovely piece that totally captured my attention. The shape of the jade is cut like the pick of an ax that the Maori used to use, toki. They didn't have metal originally and they would use jade as the blade of their ax. The symbol of the tiki blade stands for strength and courage. It hangs from an adjustable piece of twine. So excited about the piece.
In the evening we came back to the house and sat outside on Gill's patio and visited with her sharing stories of travels and learning more about her family being original colonists here and what it is like to live remotely here in NZ- that 24 hour flights are of the norm when you live in this part of the world and that family is always coming and going since opportunities often lie outside of NZ. She suggested we walk up to Ponsonby Central - a collection of restaurants near her home. Sam and I strolled in the evening and found a nice NZ restaurant with comfy seats on a balcony streetside where we could watch the comings and goings of everyone. After a tasty tofu asian salad and Sam's dumplings, we made our way back to the house while it was still light enough to see, around 9 p.m. I slept like a log last night. Sam fell asleep on his knees saying his prayer and barely got him into bed. Long day, good day. Thank you Auckland.
Auckland is a charming small city, clean, nautical, a bit like SFO but much more relaxed like a Newport Beach with people not just in suits, but also in swimsuits. It is the peak of summer and hard to transition from the foot of snow we left in Utah to full swing of summer, vacationers, ice cream stands, and the summer break vibe that is everywhere. We could see the NZ America's Cup boats in the harbor outside the Maritime Museum. After our lunch of Best Ugly Bagel which we scoped out and sought after and which Sam is convinced is the best bagel place in the world, we headed into the Maritime Museum. It was interesting to see what an important part sailing is to the establishment of this island from the original Maori people, who came centuries ago from northern Asia, to its being discovered by French, Spanish, Portuguese and ultimately colonized by the English. Around 1840 the country signed a treaty with the Maori people- very unusual in history to sign a treaty with the indigenous people, and then they began recruiting people from the UK to come. Gill's family we learned last night were some of those original settlers that came from Ireland. The museum also highlights the modern history of sailing and holds the original 1995 Black Magic ship that won the first America's Cup. They also highlight Sir Peter Blake who won the race around the world of circumnavigating the globe to and from England. Not being a sailor in any way, it was interesting to learn more and watch the short films they had about these events- very exciting and death defying actually.
In the afternoon we purchased tickets on the ferry and headed to Devenport, the peninsula and seaside town across the harbor from Auckland. Right off the ferry we rented mountain bikes and cruised around the coast visiting several different beaches and enjoying the summer vacation vibe that was everywhere. We stopped at the Milk Shop and got cold drinks. Fun to explore around on bikes through just charming seaside homes, much like Laguna, or Corona del Mar, but also reminds of the larger San Antonio Victorian homes, so well maintained and lovely little gardens too.
After returning to Auckland on the ferry we grabbed crepes along the waterfront- tasty! We explored the main street- like their Park Ave. They had all the fancy shops like Gucci and Prada and jewelry but also people were wearing shorts and flip flops. We peaked into one of the local artist's gallery. They had a beautiful collection of jade jewelry. I ended up purchasing lovely piece that totally captured my attention. The shape of the jade is cut like the pick of an ax that the Maori used to use, toki. They didn't have metal originally and they would use jade as the blade of their ax. The symbol of the tiki blade stands for strength and courage. It hangs from an adjustable piece of twine. So excited about the piece.
In the evening we came back to the house and sat outside on Gill's patio and visited with her sharing stories of travels and learning more about her family being original colonists here and what it is like to live remotely here in NZ- that 24 hour flights are of the norm when you live in this part of the world and that family is always coming and going since opportunities often lie outside of NZ. She suggested we walk up to Ponsonby Central - a collection of restaurants near her home. Sam and I strolled in the evening and found a nice NZ restaurant with comfy seats on a balcony streetside where we could watch the comings and goings of everyone. After a tasty tofu asian salad and Sam's dumplings, we made our way back to the house while it was still light enough to see, around 9 p.m. I slept like a log last night. Sam fell asleep on his knees saying his prayer and barely got him into bed. Long day, good day. Thank you Auckland.
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