AUCKLAND

Cindy’s Journal

July 4, 2001, LAX

Thank goodness our hotel room in Auckland was ready and we could check in early. I was tired and achy and not in the mood to sit around a hotel lobby. We rested and showered and then walked around the little shops in our area. We stayed at the Copthorne Harbour City, just near the Americas Cup village. We had lunch at this cool pub called the Loaded Hog and of course Dmitri bought a t-shirt. It was cold since it was winter in Auckland and we did a bit of walking since there was a lot within walking distance of our hotel. Great location and we loved what we saw of Auckland and will definitely want to go back. Auckland is clean, pretty and cheap. Yummy muffins at this place called Muffin Break and I had something called a flat white, which is milk (3/4) and coffee and very good. Auckland reminded me a lot of Toronto. It was interesting to note that the people of Auckland were just finding out about the winner of Survivor II.

Dmitri Says

Auckland was really just a pit stop on the way from Tahiti to Bali. But in my world, when the travel agent says, “Yes we can get you to Bali, but you’ll have to fly through New Zealand,” you say “OK.”

Cindy was totally sick while there, and it was a preview of our stop in Singapore. Well, it wouldn’t be foreign travel if someone didn’t catch something.

We were barely there for 24 hours, but we know that it’s definitely a place to go back to. Ludicrously cheap, beautiful and damn friendly for an urban area, Auckland would be a great jump-off place for exploring the rest of New Zealand. Oh, well, another time. You just don’t realize how damn big the world is until you get out there.