Auckland, NZ (again)

We started our New Zealand leg in Auckland, in the Ponsonby area.  Our current visit finds us in the Parnell community, on the other side of Auckland’s downtown core. We have a couple of days here before we move on to Australia, and are pleased to find that this side of town seems a little more interesting.

We are staying at the City Garden Lodge backpacker hostel, which lies just off the main street in Parnell, on a quiet road lined with older homes on vast lots, and upscale apartments. They were full when Christina had called, but for a “caravan” which we took them up on, at a discounted rate. We were very curious to see what sort of facilities this caravan would provide, but any fears we might have had were put to rest upon viewing our new suite. It’s detachment from the house allows a somewhat quieter and more private aspect than the shared interior rooms would have, and it allows for quite a bit more space and storage than we otherwise might have had. The rest of the hostel is decently appointed, though the washroom and shower areas are pretty tiny. The location can’t be beat, and the price is right, so we’re happily set up for the next couple of days.

Upon our arrival yesterday we had the chance to take a wander through the community and check out the various shops and cafes that line the main strip. Exploration into a small alleyway revealed a very small assortment of shops hiding behind the main mass, and which collectively bore the label Parnell Village. The route through Parnell Village was a winding brick path that Christina said was very  much like the streets we’ve yet to see in European cities; that is, lacking in any straight roads, or structure, as we would recognize it, and each vendor blending into the next.

The most random find in this back-of-house seeming spot was a horse buggy, carelessly housed under the patio of a restaurant. Christina didn’t think anything of it, but I thought it was cool.

Our first night, we had a bit of a splurge, and ate out at one of the nicer restaurants in the area. Christina had a huge fish meal, and I had some of the spiciest spaghetti-and-meatballs I’ve ever tasted. It was very good, and we left quite full. Not too full, however, to not stop at a certain place we had noticed on our earlier walkabouts.

The Chocolate Boutique sells chocolate – in pretty much every kind and every way possible. We each had a “drink”, though mine seemed like a brick of chocolate warmed over until liquified, then rolled ourselves home. Christina had seemed to regret the extravagance of our dessert, and yet this afternoon brought up the possibility of maybe stopping by to try again, only this time to share one.

Our day today was spent in some additional exploration of this side of the city. We went down St Georges Street to the french market “La Cigale” and browsed around, however were informed that the proper market day will be tomorrow, so plan to return then for a more involved experience. We next checked out the Holy Trinity Cathedral, also located near our hostel, which was very nice, but somewhat outshone by its much older and smaller neighbour, St Mary Cathedral, which boasts the distinction of having used to have lived across the street. Built in 188x, there was some sort of issue with the roads causing attendance problems, so they decided to move the church, and loaded it up on wooden rollers, like you see in pictures of Pyramid construction, with slaves hauling the huge rocks, and a guy with a big whip. These guys did it for money, and with less whipping, but basically the same approach. According to the very nice old lady who was showing us around, the move was a complete success, having been accomplished without breaking so much as a window, and only stopping traffic for one day. Pretty amazing.

After that we took the short walk up to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, at the top of a hill, where there is a very nice view of the entire city. We went in the museum, but didn’t pay to see the exhibits, which seemed to be showcasing a New Zealand-made reality show for some reason…

We headed back to the hostel, and had a nice rest. I finished reading “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, which was both shorter and less interesting than I had hoped, then started on “Samarkand”, and Christina had a nap. I also met a couple more Germans.

Though it seems that the harder thing to do would be to not meet Germans here. Anyway, we chatted for a while and then it was time for dinner. We had pub food, and afterword made good on Christina’s earlier intention to return to the Chocolate Boutique, where we did share a single item. The delectable Italian Denso, which they claim is better than you’d find in Italy. We’ll see about that!

Tomorrow we’ll head back to the market, maybe check out city center, and find whatever adventures may come.