New Zealand - Dec. 21

SWEET!! I thought I'd lost this post

Well...it's been an entertaining trip so far.

After a miserable 12 hour flight, I arrived in Auckland last Tuesday and was met by my friend Jo at the airport. We went to Jo's mom's house so I could get a quick shower and change my clothes and then went off to find some food. After stopping at a gas station, where I found out why I should've gone to duty free for some smokes ($10 NZD a pack!!!!), we headed down to Auckland Harbor for some lunch. The area where we ate reminded me a lot of the Marina District in San Francisco with it's toney, somewhat upscale cafes and psuedo nuveau cuisine. After lunch, we headed into downtown Auckland to find me a hotel and get my train tickets to Wellington. Once I got settled in to the hotel, Jo and I went to the station and got my train tickets. On the walk back to the hotel, we passed a bar that, lo and behold, had the Monday Night Bears/Vikings game. Needless to say, I stopped for a beer. Since Jo had some things to do, she left me sitting content with a beer in hand and football on the telly. The other immediate similarity to California is that you CAN'T SMOKE ANYWHERE!! Fortunately, the place I stopped at (which doubled as an Off Track Betting establishment) had outdoor tables where you could smoke and still see the TV.