December 28, 2023 – January 1, 2024

The Christmas holiday arrived, and we hosted this year as there would be a very short turnaround between the 25^th and our flight to Auckland on the 28^th.  I met with my eye surgeon on the 27^th who confirmed that the blood was clearing out and all looked well, removing a last bit of anxiety regarding my ability to take the trip.  My sister Bev had arrived here that morning and we started celebrating with lunch at Firestone Walker Brewing in the Marina with my cousin Lindy and her husband Greg, who live near San Diego.

The next day, Thursday, would be a long one with our flight not scheduled to leave until 11:00pm.  Knowing we would likely be fed on the plane, we went for an early dinner at Paco’s, our favorite local Mexican restaurant as it would be a while before we would get to enjoy that style food again.  A pitcher of Cadillac Margarita’s for Joanna and I and a blended strawberry one for Bev made everything taste better and we left full and happy.

Soon enough, it was time to take a taxi to the airport where check-in and clearing TSA went smoothly and with some time to kill, we found ourselves at a bar in our end of the terminal for a pre-flight cocktail.  I went for my usual Old Fashioned with Rye and interesting drinks were consumed by my two travel partners, Joanna’s no doubt containing mezcal. 

We boarded on time and found our seats in Delta’s Comfort Plus seating area, with a bit more leg room and slightly bigger seats.  With a thirteen-hour fight ahead of us, it was worth the extra cost to have a more comfortable seating experience.  And even though it was well past our bedtime, when they rolled the food carts down the aisle to serve us a full meal, which I managed to eat without a struggle, and later, would eventually get a few hours’ sleep before landing at Auckland International Airport around 7:00 am New Zealand time on December 30^th, losing a full day in the process. 

We were worried about jet lag and the negative effects of losing that day, but if you take away the full day, New Zealand is just three hours from our time.  If it is noon here in Los Angeles, it is 9:00am there, but it is tomorrow there.  So, we had little or no jet lag to deal with.  Knowing we would be arriving early in the morning, we spent the extra money to book our Airbnb for the night before, allowing us to go straight there and check in around mid-morning. 

We would be staying at Bex’s Place for three nights, a very nice condo in the Parnell district with its many restaurants and bars.  The unit is a three story three-bedroom two bath with one of the bathrooms an ensuite for the master, which our gracious traveling companions suggested we occupy for this stay.  We would switch around who got the better room (if there was one) as the trip progressed.  This would be our most expensive stay of the trip, coming in at $358 a night ($72 per person) but given the location, its layout and the very nice furnishings, it was well worth the expense.  And the cancellation policy was free if done before 2:00 PM on Dec 28

We unpacked and after resting up a bit, took off for the Central Business District (CBD) which was under two miles away, good for some folks to walk both ways and if not, as we would come to utilize much more, Uber for those who didn’t want to walk.  We hit up an ATM to get some cash and then walking along Victoria Street stopped in at Federal Delicatessen for a late lunch.

Located just off Victoria on Federal Street (really a busy alleyway), it sits directly beneath the Auckland Sky Tower, a telecommunications and observation tower that is 1,076 feet tall, making it the second tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere.  Since its completion in 1997, the Sky Tower is part of the SkyCity Auckland casino complex, and it attracts an average of 1,150 visitors per day (over 415,000 per year).  It also features the “SkyJump”, a 630-foot jump from the observation deck, during which a jumper can reach up 53 mph.  The jump is guide-cable-controlled to prevent jumpers from colliding with the tower in case of wind gusts.  Savoring our first beers and with little discussion beforehand, we all concluded that we would pass on the opportunity to engage in this activity. 

I ordered the Smoked Ham on Rye (manuka baked ham w/ cranberry, walnuts, smoked cheddar & apple) from which I omitted the cranberry and walnuts, while Joanna thoroughly enjoyed her Chicken Salad Sandwich (w/ chicken skin cracklin’, berg & dipping gravy).  Along with three beers our share of the tab would amount to 90NZ ($61), a little pricey to us at the time, but as we find out in our travels, normal for the prices of restaurant food in New Zealand.  Also to note here and for future price comparisons, I would often take the total tab and divide by five, then multiply by two to get what our per couple cost was.  Which means it could be off, high or low, by some magnitude as the trip progressed. 

Finished with lunch, Marty, Kim and I took an Uber back to the house for 12NZ ($8) while Joanna and Bev went in search for rain jacket to replace the one she had brought with her, but which turned out to be too old to be effective.  All of us back at the house and having stopped at a market earlier in the day, we had some munchies that would stand us in good stead, we basically collapsed that evening and prepared for the next day, New Year’s Eve, which would be a full one. 

Links

Bex’s Place: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/865505230079584275?source_impression_id=p3_1707952323_qM%2BDMRsf0lJmtFDH

Auckland Sky Tower: https://skycityauckland.co.nz/sky-tower/

Federal Delicatessen: https://thefed.co.nz/