Auckland, City Center

Yesterday morning I walked to the City Campus of University of Auckland with Garrett. Because Auckland is incredibly hilly, we took the shortcut: You enter the Lumley Centre skyscraper near the water, take the public elevator to the ninth floor, and exit the back of the building, popping out further up the hill! Even then, it's still a bit of a climb.

While Garrett was working, I explored Albert Park, across the street from the university.

The Clock Tower is the Student Information building. I went inside, but could only go as high as the third floor (that's the fourth floor in the States!).

I wandered back down the hill, towards the "harbour." I explored the wharves and took plenty of pictures.

I met Garrett and his roommate, Yousef, for lunch at the university food court. It seems that the majority of the food options in Auckland are Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Korean. (Garrett made the mistake a few weeks ago of trying a "Mexican" place.)

After lunch I visited the Auckland Art Gallery (Toi O Tamaki). The gallery is undergoing extensive renovations and will reopen in September (in time for the Rugby World Cup!), so they are temporarily operating out of a smaller space across the street. I took a gallery tour with a docent originally from Scotland. At first I was the only one on the tour! Then three other women (mostly South African) joined in. I learned about two painters from the late 19th century who specialized in portraits of Maoris in native dress. Europeans here in and in Europe were enthralled with the "exotic" at the time, and also it was believed that the Maoris were dying off. Often times the painters worked from photographs (cartes de visite) and not sitters.

I met Garrett after work and we visited a couple bookstores in search of particular items. We decided to make nachos for dinner (Happy Fourth of July!) and went to the local grocery store in search of ingredients and basic necessities. Upon entering the store, I had PTSD flashbacks to my first days in Belgium, when it took twice as long and twice as much brain power to shop. At least in Auckland, everything is in English! However, the prices seem so high, and everything is measured in metrics. It made my head hurt! Surprise, surprise, there were only a few options for chips and salsa. I guess we're not in Texas!

The most surprising thing was that the eggs are on a regular shelf -- not refrigerated! Whoa!

The meal was a success (though we decided creme fraiche is not an adequate substitute for sour cream!). We retired to bed with full bellies (and tired legs!).

I'll send a Picasa photo album soon!