Enjoying the City

Friday after work I finally got to see our new apartment!  I viewed a one bedroom place in the same complex and then Justin viewed the two bedroom while I was at work and promised me I would love it.  And love it I did!  It is on Princes Wharf, literally on the water.  Our apartment is huge for Auckland city center standards with two bedrooms and a huge balcony with views to the bay off one side.  It is a short walk (5 - 8  minutes) to my office and accessible to the supermarket, restaurants, and shopping on Queen Street.  Hopefully we like it as much as we think we are going to! 



View to the bay from our balcony




Dining room into second bedroom




Kitchen and bar with first bedroom to the right




Living room and balcony from behind the bar



We walked around the corner from our new apartment to the festival going on in the viaduct for the Auckland stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race (a sailing race around the world that lasts 8 months).  There are booths set up and entertainment on the main stage.  We had dinner in the viaduct and enjoyed our evening.

Saturday we started out the day with a walk to Parnell. We went in search of the farmer's market which turned out to be very small and disappointing. But we did get to enjoy the shops and cafes of Parnell. In the afternoon, we headed out on the bus to Mt. Eden. It was my first experience on the bus system in Auckland although Justin had used it once before. We navigated perfectly and took a short hike up to the top of Mt. Eden. Mt. Eden is an inactive volcano and the highest point in the city. The crater at the top was very cool and the 360 degree views of the city were amazing! We decided Mt. Eden is a must see for any of our visitors!

The crater





Panorama of the Auckland skyline to Rangitoto Island



View of Rangitoto Island

This way to LA and then on to Dallas

10,500 miles to LA

To complete our Saturday, we headed to the store and purchased all the supplies for what we termed a Mexican feast.  I'm not sure if it truly qualified as a feast but we definitely enjoyed our chicken tacos with pico de gallo and avocado!  After not even two weeks away from the Big D, we are already seriously craving Tex Mex.  Luckily, there are a few Mexican items in our local supermarket and even a Mexican restaurant near my office that is always packed.  So maybe we will not perish from a total lack of Tex Mex!

Auckland Day 3

Justin and I sat out today to conquer the apartment dilemma.  We started the morning by calling as many apartments as possible to set up viewings.  However, it did not take long for us to realize that we seriously needed a phone number that people could call us back on.  So we took a break and headed down to Queens Street to get cell phones!  We visited three different cell stores and ended up getting prepaid plans and $59 phones.  You better believe these phones are cool :)  On Justin's plan, he gets a NZ best mate.  We set me up as his NZ best mate which was an easy choice as at the moment I am his only NZ mate.  Visiting cell stores is very different than in the states.  We were able to visit three stores getting only the information on prepaid and cheap monthly plans within probably 15 minutes! 

We were able to set up four viewings for today and have only one more apartment we are wanting to see.  I think we are going to go ahead and apply for the best apartment we saw today.  Although true to my nature, I am having trouble committing with such a short decision making period!  The apartment has everything on our "must" list but is smaller than we were hoping. 

As we were setting up viewings, one agent said he could meet us at 12:30 and I said yes without looking at the time....it was 12:10.  We rushed out the door with directions written down but couldn't find the second turn!  So we headed in the right direction and hoped for the best.  About half way there, the agent called and said he would wait for a few minutes but to walk as fast as we could.  After a few calls to Dennis (the agent), we made it to the viewing.  We didn't have time to go back to our apartment between any of the remaining viewings.  We were completely exhausted by 5:30! 

I start work tomorrow but at least I know who to meet and where!