City Living - Monday, 1/14/2008

Okay, here is the quiz and yes, we know you already know the answer. Name a city located on the northwest coast on a spectacular harbor with tons of sailboats and ferries bustling off to neighboring islands, a number of big buildings belonging to software companies, a monster tower with a restaurant at the top dominating the skyline, three coffee shops on every corner, half of them being Starbucks, a great restaurant scene centered around the harbor, a grunge sort of youthful vibe, a major urban university and a spectacularly diverse population with a strong Asian influence. Seattle? Did we mention the Queen is on the money? Vancouver? Did we mention that the weather is like LA?

Yes, we all know it is Auckland. What a beautiful place. We did the obligatory ride to the top of the sky tower (tallest in the southern hemisphere don’t ya know) with great 360 views. We watched a couple idiots jump off the top, held in position by two vertical cables reaching to the ground. They free fall about 500 feet and then hopefully and gradually slow to a stop before reaching the sidewalk.

Then lunch on the Wharf at the harbor (John, fish and chips; Mary, seafood chowder) followed by a very long walk down the quay checking out the big ships. We then cut up through town to the Auckland Domain which is a very large "central park" sort of area and the home of the Auckland Museum.

We worked our way back down past the city hospitals to High street which is allegedly home to the fancy designer shops, but how would we know? In all of our hours walking around the city we saw two guys in suits, and the other million people were in shorts and tee shirts. Very laid back.

We had dinner at Tahore Indian Restaurant and shared Kozhi Chettin (very spicy chicken) and Saag Paneer (house made cottage cheese dish) with a side of garlic naan and a cheap bottle of Nobilo pinot gris. We very seldom get those things in Pine River so it was a treat for us.
As gorgeous as Auckland is, Mary observed that it doesn’t have the strong culture that sucks you in like New York, or New Orleans, or Paris. It might take longer in town to find the depth of the city but we are off to Rotorua and Taupo so this is the best we are going to do.

Today's headline: "Shark Attack at Holiday Beach" New Zealand Herald - 1/15/2008