Easy Does It Today in New Zealand

I woke up with a migraine this morning and when I looked out my balcony window at the port, I decided to sleep in a bit more.  Auckland has to be one of the ugliest ports so far.

Once I was up though, I was committed to give Auckland a try.  We didn’t book anything, so the four of us figured we would do what we usually do. Walk around aimlessly and see what pops up in front of us.

I did have a brilliant idea to find the best bakery in Auckland.  We stopped by one place, recommended by a security guard at the terminal, but there was no seating.  So more wandering until we found Dunkin’ Donuts.  Now I love Dunkin’ Donuts but that wasn’t what I had in mind.

Next door was an entryway with escalators up one level.  Of course we followed.  Walking past a sushi joint, a massage parlor and some other undefinable establishment, we ended up on a back street.  We crossed the street, entered another alley and there was Gloria Jeans Coffee.

I had a cappuccino, Bruce and Stan had smoothies, Linda had a long black and we ordered two raspberry/rhubarb tarts.  Yummy.

After our little indulgence we were ready for more exploring.  There was a wall exhibit dedicated to suffragettes.  I believe  the women of New Zealand were the first women worldwide who gained the right to vote in 1893.

Further on we entered Albert Park.  Guess who Albert was?  There was a big statue of Victoria in the park.

Next we went to the Clocktower at the University of Auckland. It was an interesting old building with mosaic floors.

Linda and I love to look at old churches.  We found St. Paul’s. Unfortunately it was all locked up.  One of the stained glass windows was a knight.

We walked past the sky walk and apparently you can jump from this sort of like bungy jumping.  We didn’t see anyone jumping today.

After our walk, we headed back to the ship where we spent the afternoon in the pool, hot tub, and sleeping on the loungers.

We played cards, had dinner and now off to bed.  One more port in New Zealand!