Goodbye, Auckland. :(

Why is it that the last day of vacation is the one that makes you wish you were staying much longer? The weather today (yes, today, since yesterday was technically Saturday in Auckland, even though today is Saturday in the states... confused yet? yay, time travel!) was absolutely perfect: warm, sunny, and only a few clouds in the sky. My sleep was interrupted around 5 am by some very rowdy youngsters, no doubt making their way back from a night of drunken debauchery at a local bar. Still, I got up early and did a very slow, lazy 5K, then went out to enjoy the last day in Auckland with Dave.

We started out with pastries at this little shop down the street from the Heritage called Ronnie's. I insisted on going there because it smelled like Magee's in Lexington - yeast bread doughnut yumminess. I smartly chose a chocolate pastry that was simply delicious. Dave went for some sort of pastry with icing and raisins - not nearly as good. :) Coffees and pastries in hand, we proceeded to the ferry loading docks and hopped on board for a short cruise around the harbor. It was amazing! We saw pretty sailboats, water, islands, sailboats and big yachts. It was the perfect day for a harbor cruise, since the weather was so nice. We only wish we'd discovered Rangitoto Island earlier, so that we could've picnicked and kayaked out there. Oh well - guess we'll have to come back!








One cool thing we saw was the bungee platform/cable car under the harbor. Too bad we didn't know about this earlier, too; I bet Dave would've tried to jump off the bridge just to complete his adventurous tour of Auckland! He did enjoy bragging about jumping off the SkyTour to a couple elderly women from Arizona and Canada. It was cute.





After another brief snafu with the luggage (thanks, Mike, for packing up ALL our stuff unexpectedly!), we were on our way to the airport.

Sad face here. :(

We are in the San Francisco airport, waiting on our flight back to Atlanta. We should be home by 10:30 pm, if all goes well. The flight back over here wasn't quite as comfortable or easy, as we were on a smaller plane that was full, but it definitely could've been a lot worse. We are ready to get back to our lives and little Chloe Cat, but not ready to leave this beautiful paradise. I love Auckland. The people were super friendly, the food was absolutely delicious, the location is picturesque. Incase something goes wrong with our current career plans, we now have a "Plan B": move to Auckland. People there bike to work, run on the paths along the harbor, and they say things like "no worries" and "brilliant" with a very cute Auckland accent. It seems like a very livable city. I'd visit again anytime.

Many thanks to Mike and Elaine for tolerating the craziness that is Team Dawmilam for 6 days straight! We had a blast spending time with you, and are lucky to have been able to spend so much time with you. Can't wait for our next adventure together. :)

I feel so, so blessed to have been able to visit this wonderful part of the world. I know just how lucky I am to have that little "New Zealand" stamp in my passport, and am bringing back many happy memories and the hope that I get to come back someday to experience it all over again. I never in a million years would have thought I'd have the chance to visit Auckland, but feel incredibly lucky to have done so. I hope all of you who are reading this also have the chance to someday visit this very special place.

Subsequently, I've caught the travel bug, and am ready to see the rest of the world. I'm already planning my next trip(s)… :) Who's with me, and where are we going?

I've enjoyed blogging about our adventures so much, that I think I'll keep up this blog to share stories about our everyday life. Not that our everyday life is so adventurous, mind you; it's just fun to write these things down so we always remember how much fun we had on vacations, little trips, and other stops on our happily-ever-after journey. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

Daredevil Dave and the University of Auckland

Today, our plan was to visit the SkyTower, which is the tallest building in Auckland. It looms over everything, so of course we had to go check it out.

On our walk to the tower, we saw someone do a modified bungee/free jump off the top of the building. Dave's eyes got wide, he basically stopped in the middle of the street, and made a beeline to sign up to do the same thing.

He is a total daredevil, and much braver than I am. He did the SkyJump.

Here are some pictures of what he had to do to prepare:

sign his life away


and put on a hot jumpsuit.



Then, he took an elevator up a really long way, while I waited for him down at the bullseye. This is what it looked like from my vantage point (turn your head to the side to get the full effect):



Today was Dave's lucky day, because after he did the first jump, he was asked if he wanted to do a second jump completely free! Of course, he said yes, and enjoyed another free-fall experience. I am thankful that my husband enjoys things like this, but doesn't make me do things like this with him.

After the adventure, we both took a ride up to the top of the tower and looked at the pretty views.





We also ate lunch in the SkyLounge, a little cafe in the tower. So far, even the food in the little touristy cafes has been stellar. I had an amazing ham and pea soup with ciabatta bread, while Dave had a bacon, tomato and cheese sandwich. More reasons to love New Zealand!

All the adventure wore Dave out, so he took an afternoon nap while I ventured out to explore the University of Auckland. I was in search of a t-shirt, coffee mug, or anything, really, with some sort of university insignia on it. But, guess what? In the college bookstores in Auckland? ALL they have are books and a few basic supplies.



Look at all those books!

This says a lot about higher education, branding, and commercialization in America. I'm slightly embarrassed that our bookstores aren't exclusively devoted to books.

Other interesting things about the University of Auckland:

tons of dining options, including a bar!





a hair salon in the student center


and what we call "non-traditional" students who have children are embraced (wouldn't it be great if GHC had something like this?), making it easier, I'm sure, for adults to pursue an education even though they have children.


The University is located really close to Albert Park, providing a good amount of green space in an otherwise urban, concrete environment. Turns out, people all around the world like parks, and there were even some people planning to camp out there!



On the walk back to home base, I noticed three things that need to be shared:

(1) sometimes, at some crosswalks, EVERYONE gets to cross in any direction.


(2) cute side street with absolutely precious dining establishments (again, wish I could've captured the smell for you)






and (3) shark bus.

More pictures

I'll miss the scenery from my morning runs near the ocean/harbor.





Today was a pretty uneventful day in the AKL, which is what we kind of needed. We spent most of the day laying out by the pool at the apartment/hotel, which overlooks the harbor. Oh, and we drank the bottle of wine we got at Kennedy Point Vineyards. We people watched, and the most interesting to look at were "the trio" - a bleach-blond woman wearing a swimsuit and hat, a bleach-blond man wearing a Guns 'n Roses t-shirt, and a scary looking dark-haired man, wearing dark pants, a studded belt, and another 80s rocker band shirt. They all wore aviator sunglasses. Maybe they were famous? They were drinking a bottle of wine too. We were all classy like that.

I heard a Miley Cyrus song on the radio, which made me sad. Not even the south Pacific is immune to bad pop music.

Tonight for dinner, we went to Tanuki, which is Japanese for this gremlin-looking badger rodent thing that apparently lives in Japan. That doesn't mean we HAD tanuki. We just saw a big ol' model of one in the restaurant. Everyone pigged out on yummy Japanese food. I ate a whole plate full of salmon sashimi, which is just plain, uncooked salmon, served with rice. Dave was proud of me for eating so much raw fish that wasn't rolled up! It was way better than it should've been.

Cheers! No worries. Brilliant.

Those are 3 words that New Zealanders say a lot.

Now, some really random thoughts from today:

1. This morning I got to run in nearly perfect weather, beside the ocean, on a path that had separate lanes for walkers and bike riders. I felt safer running there than I would in, say, Midtown. I heart Auckland.

2. Two items In the "tragic fashion" category. (1) This morning while I was on my run, I saw a girl wearing a green sparkly-sequined cocktail dress with a blazer. Elaine said they get pretty geeked up about costumes and holidays here, something I can certainly appreciate. (2) Tights are pants in Auckland. Unfortunately.

3. Not all electronic devices are overseas compatible. I learned this as I was drying my hair, smelled something funny, and saw smoke coming out of my hair dryer. We were amazed the thing didn't catch fire and burn down the building. Crisis averted, but Team Dawmilam epic FAIL. Dave, as Chief Technical Officer, failed to inform me that not *all* electronic devices with plugs are created equal.

4. Today was beach day. We visited Orewa Beach:


View Larger Map

which is a quaint little beach town about 30 minutes north of Auckland. It was hot while the sun was out, and really cold when the clouds rolled over. It was the first warm/sunny/beachy day I've had all year, and it was excellent!





5. We are celebrating St. Patrick's Day before anyone else. While discussing how crazy we expected things to get down here on the streets of Auckland tonight (true: there were plenty of crowded Irish bars this evening), Elaine told us how in the old days people used to have dwarf and midget throwing contests on St. Pat's in Australia and New Zealand. They'd suit up the little people in velcro suits and throw them against the wall.

We didn't engage in any midget tossing, but we did stop by an Irish bar and have a beer before we left the beach. Check out the crazy bartender!

6. I have never been stung by a bee on the beach until today. My husband avenged my injury by murdering the insect that poorly chose to injure me today.

7. The water down here is too cold to jump in and play, which made us both sad. Otherwise, we would have swam or kayaked. Instead, we were wimps.

8. Crossing the street is more entertaining than it should be. When the red hand turns to a walking man, you hear a sound akin to that of a laser beam. This hasn't gotten old yet.

9. I intend to make a slide show called "AKL or ATL?" that features pictures from both cities, to see if y'all can tell the difference.

10. Auckland at night is pretty.

Waiheke Island

Today has been one of the most incredible days ever. First: our luggage arrived!

Yay, clothes and shoes.

Then, we took a 35 minute ferry ride over to Waiheke Island for a tour of 4 wineries and lunch. It was an overcast day, but otherwise perfect weather.

As you can tell, I was ready for a "War Eagle" moment (which didn't happen today).



Once we got to the island, we saw our tour guide, Chris, holding a sign with Dave's name on it, like we were important or something.



This made us more excited than it should have, for sure. He looked pissed, but he was very friendly. And, we were the only two people on the tour today, which meant we got a very personalized winery tour!

Chris took us around the island in a van, but we first visited a lookout point over "Palm Beach." I was super jealous of the two swimmers we spotted, open water swimming in such a beautiful place.


Our first vinery stop was at Kennedy Point Vineyards, an award-winning but very small boutique winery. We tried 3 different wines, all of which were tasty. We ended up coming home with a bottle of Savignon Blanc and a bottle of avocado oil. I can't wait to put it on just about everything I grill this summer! We were amazed at the beautiful views and the many olive trees that lined the gravel driveway to get up to the vineyard.




Next stop was Obsidian Winery, which Dave wasn't as impressed with as I was. But it was very rustic and charming, and the wine-tasting-leader fed us cheese and crackers. Considering she fed me, I was happy.



It was after this winery (and, subsequently, what totaled several glasses of wine in about an hour, I'm sure), I realized that it was quite possibly one of the best days of my life.

I know, you're *supposed* to swish wine around and then spit it out at these tastings. As a certified rule-breaker, I ignored this piece of advice and drank every sip of wine that was poured to me, except for the very last glass at our last winery. At that point, I was borderline "hammered," and my good judgement got the best of me. Just so you know, I fully enjoyed my day by violating the rule of wine tasting. And by the time we finished at winery #2, I was swapping recipes with our tour guide (who of course wasn't imbibing with us), and I think I convinced him to make bacon-wrapped walnut and blue cheese stuffed figs for his next party.

Back to our winery tour: we then stopped at Jurassic Ridge, which was an even smaller winery run by one man who was a former neurologist. I then decided that when I win the lottery, one of the first orders of business is to purchase a winery on Waiheke Island. I'm not sure what kind of wine I'll make, but the bottles will have the absolute, most irresistible labels with some sort of vintage, kitschy pattern. Anyway. Here's what Jurassic Ridge looked like:

Coincidentally, it's called Jurassic Ridge because it's on some sort of geologic fault line? The wine owner explained it all in full detail, but again, being several glasses in at this point, I couldn't tell you exactly what he said. I do remember that the rocks underneath the dirt are what makes the difference in one grape's taste versus another's.

And then... we discovered heaven on earth, also known as Mudbrick.

Isn't it cute? This is for Christy: it was the kind of place that you expect a little boy, wearing knickers and suspenders, to come running out with an accordion, prepared to follow you everywhere you go and serenade you with the kind of music you'd hear on the streets of Paris, like they do on House Hunters International to let you know what country you're in?

It was here that we had what we both agreed was one of the best, if not THE best, meal of our lives. We took pictures of all the food. And of all the scenery that surrounded us!





We decided to stick to non-alcoholic beverages with our lunch. Hydration = good!

Our first course was an appetizer of bread, olives, olive oil and dried herbs.

I asked our friendly waiter if it was focaccia, and his response? "Um, I don't know, but I do know that our chefs make it fresh every day..." That was all I needed to hear. It was amazing. The olives were better than olives should be. The herbs were right out of the gardens that surrounded the restaurant. Ahhhhh. I really can't put into words how delicious this was, especially when I decided to sprinkle some of the fresh sea salt right on top of the bread (there were no salt shakers at this place - just little pinch bowls of salt! Joy!!).

Then, the chef sent out a bonus appetizer of seafood brulee.
I loved the seafood part underneath - kind of like a chowder - but neither of us was a fan of the "burnt" on top. It didn't really work for either of us. But still - a bonus appetizer? Yay.

Next was some chilled cucumber soup served with a fried crustacean of some sort.

The soup was served in a glass and layered like this: curry ice cream, cucumber soup, foamy stuff. On the plate was a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, roasted red peppers, and fried bits, because a fried crustacean just wasn't enough fried for the plate. The thought of cucumber soup with curry ice cream might sound disgusting, but it wasn't. In fact, it was amazing. At this point, we kinda felt like we were on Top Chef as guest judges, and were very happy that this is where we happened to eat lunch.

As if one bonus dish wasn't enough, we also got served an apple and ginger sorbet to cleanse our palate.

Fancy!

Our main course was a snapper with some sort of pork dumpling, saurkraut (NOT the horrible kind of sauerkraut you can buy in a plastic bag in the grocery store) and fried basil leaves. All I can say is: perfect.




Dessert was some sort of peanut and chocolate cake with a salted caramel ice cream. How could we go somewhere like this and not get dessert?!

After lunch was over, we were sad; we could've sat there and eaten all day. But, we had a few minutes to walk around before it was time to head back for the afternoon ferry back to Auckland. I am not exaggerating when I say I fell completely in LOVE with this place. I wish I could've captured the smell for you, as it was a mix of lavender, rosemary, fresh air, sea water, and sheer happiness. I'll quit writing and let the pictures do the rest of the work.











If, at the end of my life, I get to heaven and it doesn't look, smell and feel like this place, then there's really no reason for me to stay there. Today, we experienced a true paradise. I felt honored and humbled, but at the same time not worthy to be there. It was so beautiful I wanted to cry a couple of times. And I'm *not* a crier.

I also must say, the people of New Zealand are super nice. We've made friends everywhere we've been. Today on the return ferry, we bonded with an elderly couple who decided to retire on Waiheke. They both got jobs as gardeners on that beautiful island. This is now my new retirement plan.

On our way home, we also happened to pass by two of the sailboats racing in the Louis Vuitton sponsored event? I'm not too keen on racing terminology. Basically it's a big deal in the sailing world though.

Lastly, to top off the night, we went out to a Japanese restaurant with Mike, Elaine, their friends Yoko and Bill, their daughter Jenny, and her boyfriend, James. Obligatory group photos followed, segregated by which end of the table we sat at:




Yep. Perfect day. Time to hit the sack and hopefully do something equally as fun tomorrow!