We watched the Rugby World Cup opening on TV at the Auckland apartment while watching and listening to the fireworks display from the balcony.
The videos above (filmed from my Canon G 5 still camera) don't do justice to the dramatic display. It was world class I must say and the fantastic spirit shown by the local residents (mostly overseas students in the university area) was great to experience.
Today (Saturday) before coming back to McLeod Bay we breakfasted in town at The Depot before exploring the Wynyard centre and Party Central.
The Depot is a new place owned by Al Brown (of Logan Brown in Wellington) and is definitely worth going to. We have been several times for 'dinner' (it is like a tapas bar with lots of yummy small dishes to choose from) but this was the first time for breakfast. We had bacon rolls and coffee. Sound simple? It is but ... done perfectly. The freshly made soft rolls filled with very good quality bacon with a spicy relish was all that you would want. No tired bits of tomato and lettuce poking out, just excellent quality simple ingredients. Oh, and very good coffee in small cups so they were strong and flavoursome, not big buckets of weak crud.
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| Wynyard Quarter |
The newly developed Wynyard Centre in downtown Auckland is great and will be an asset to the city. It shows off the hitherto locked away best parts (like Wellington's wharf area) and is open and spacious. It will always be a good place to visit and today, with the RWC events still going on (music, food, shows, carnival atmosphere) there and on Queen's Wharf where 'The Cloud' and the big rugby ball are on display was truly wonderful.
All this and a glorious Spring day made for a good day out.
Back up North I went and practised my new-found golf stroke and we are now about to sit down to a nice meal with a good bottle of wine.
7 comments:
Sounds yummy, we had prime smoked king salmon with hollandaise sauce and cleverly poached size 6 eggs with a dash of vinegar on toasted muffins for breakfast.
Was that a spirit you caught on video saying "Bloody awesome?"
Hey old timer, what is one supposed to do inside the big rugby ball? Help to blow it up? Are there lots of bicycle pumps inside?
Sounds great, glad you enjoyed yourselves. The fireworks looked superb on TV, but they must hav ebeen really excellent when viewed live.
The pyrotechnicians were really on the ball, I've never seen such huge displays produced and so low to the ground (and water)
Not "Bloody Awesome" but "Bloody War zone"
It looked like Auckland was under attack.
"It looked like Auckland was under attack."
What by?
If it was good taste, then it's doomed to failure.
If it was a military attack, pity it failed.
The Sky Tower still dominates in a typical thrusting phallic commercialism
TSB I personally hate the Sky Tower. I dislike the way that it has come to represent Auckland by way of architecture and that Harrahs are making so much money out of gullible people. I think it was Toulouse Lautrec who, when asked why he dined everyday in the restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower said that it was the only bloody place in Paris where he didn't have to look at the monstrosity.
re the other comments you make about Auckland they smack of regional parochialism. I will write a Post on this when I get around to it.
I just love Jaffas
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