A Saturday Morning Update over Coffee

I suppose the good news is that I haven't had a lot of time for updates, right?

I've spent the last three days in Auckland, to varying degrees of success. Day 1, I felt like I walked the entire splay of the city or at least the CBD (downtown). The Auckland waterfront is beautiful, and reminded me more than a little of Seattle. Actually, if I could compare Auckland to any US city it would be Seattle. The large, Space-Needle-like Sky Tower doesn't really dispel that idea.

Anyhow, I walked for what felt like forever, found out that Auckland Chinese food is waaay better than LA's, and eventually passed out around 8pm after what felt like and probably was the longest day of my life.

Day 2, it rained all damn day. I spent 3 hours in a coffee shop waiting for the rain to let up, before heading out and getting absolutely soaked on my way to the Auckland art gallery. That will be the last time I leave my hostel without my rain jacket or checking the weather. Ate dinner in a bar and had a good time explaining to the waitress that I didn't fly halfway around the world to drink California beers.

 

Giant inflatable flower thingy in the art gallery. I don't get it, but I tried.

Day 3, for Friday the 13th, the skies finally cleared and it was a gorgeous day. Since I only booked my first 2 days in the hostel before I arrived, I had to move to a new hostel. New hostel is much friendlier.

Since it was such a pretty damn day, I caught a ferry out to Waiheke Island, in the Hauraki Gulf outside of Auckland. The terrain around here is insanely beautiful, and the Auckland harbor is dotted with bright green volcanic islands. Waiheke is drop-dead gorgeous, and has some of the most pristine beaches I've ever seen. Waiheke is famous for its vineyards, but I didn't have a chance to tour one, at least on this trip. The beer, however, I did try.

I call this picture "My Happy Place."

That's all for the last 3 days. Today is one of the few days I booked long before I came to New Zealand: All Blacks (NZ) vs. Springboks (South Africa) at Eden Park Stadium, Auckland. For the unfamiliar, that's two of the top, if not the top two, rugby teams in the world facing off in the city I happen to be in. Yes, I got a ticket, and yes, I am very excited. I consider this my trade-off for missing  the USC football season. Probably a good trade this year, sadly.

Cheers,

Jared