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Auckland doings
Mar. 19th, 2011 09:44 amWe're not the most ambitious tourists, but we've done a few interesting things. Brian and Grant squired us around for a day to see the previously-pictured beach and a few tourist sites, and John and I walked over to the Auckland Domain, a large park which housed the Winter Garden.
Last night I took them and Mike out for a nice dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant. Aside from being seated next to a table of obnoxious bottle-blonde women who were screaming at the top of their lungs (seriously, worse than a crying baby on an airplane), it was fabulous. I liked their interpretation of vitello tonnato - instead of topping veal with a tuna mayonnaise, they layered it with seared ahi and capers. Not authentic but worthwhile. I had the fish special, which was something that sounded an awful lot like "turkey" but didn't taste anything like that. ;-)
An interesting feature of NZ restaurants is that they don't bring the bill to your table - you go up to the counter when you're ready. Apparently, bringing the bill to the table is a rude way for the staff to say "GET OUT!!!", which makes it eating out a bit of a shocker for kiwis visiting the US. The prices on the menu involve a little psychological sticker shock but with the NZ dollar at about US$ 0.70, tax included, and gratuities not expected (though not turned down either), it ends up being comparable to SF prices. You also pay for bread, which is fine since it's freshly baked on site and really quite good.
There is essentially no such thing as low-end table service here, in the style of Applebee's. In less expensive restaurants, you order at a counter, cafe style, and they bring it out for you. On the whole, I rather prefer the service here to what you get in the US.
There is a very fine little bar here, the Urge, where Grant and Mike work, although it is only open three nights a week. Unfortunately, Auckland suffers the same syndrome that Vancouver did in the 90s - nobody goes out until 11 PM. Since I'm basically non-functional after midnight, even without jet lag, this pretty much eliminates any possibility of a fun nightlife experience. Oh, and they play disco, which is kind of unfortunate. The South of Market bars have completely spoiled me for anything else.
A couple things I really like: despite the fierce traffic, hardly anyone ever honks their horn, which makes the city much more pleasant. And there appear to be no panhandlers. Though I've seen a few guys that appear homeless, gathering cans and such, I haven't seen anyone ask for money.
John flies out to Wellington tomorrow, while I've got an interesting date lined up with a guy who lives on a nearby island. I'll be going to Wellington on Tuesday, on a twelve hour train trip. This is an awfully long time for such a short distance - it makes about a dozen stops - but I hear it's extremely scenic.
More later...
Last night I took them and Mike out for a nice dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant. Aside from being seated next to a table of obnoxious bottle-blonde women who were screaming at the top of their lungs (seriously, worse than a crying baby on an airplane), it was fabulous. I liked their interpretation of vitello tonnato - instead of topping veal with a tuna mayonnaise, they layered it with seared ahi and capers. Not authentic but worthwhile. I had the fish special, which was something that sounded an awful lot like "turkey" but didn't taste anything like that. ;-)
An interesting feature of NZ restaurants is that they don't bring the bill to your table - you go up to the counter when you're ready. Apparently, bringing the bill to the table is a rude way for the staff to say "GET OUT!!!", which makes it eating out a bit of a shocker for kiwis visiting the US. The prices on the menu involve a little psychological sticker shock but with the NZ dollar at about US$ 0.70, tax included, and gratuities not expected (though not turned down either), it ends up being comparable to SF prices. You also pay for bread, which is fine since it's freshly baked on site and really quite good.
There is essentially no such thing as low-end table service here, in the style of Applebee's. In less expensive restaurants, you order at a counter, cafe style, and they bring it out for you. On the whole, I rather prefer the service here to what you get in the US.
There is a very fine little bar here, the Urge, where Grant and Mike work, although it is only open three nights a week. Unfortunately, Auckland suffers the same syndrome that Vancouver did in the 90s - nobody goes out until 11 PM. Since I'm basically non-functional after midnight, even without jet lag, this pretty much eliminates any possibility of a fun nightlife experience. Oh, and they play disco, which is kind of unfortunate. The South of Market bars have completely spoiled me for anything else.
A couple things I really like: despite the fierce traffic, hardly anyone ever honks their horn, which makes the city much more pleasant. And there appear to be no panhandlers. Though I've seen a few guys that appear homeless, gathering cans and such, I haven't seen anyone ask for money.
John flies out to Wellington tomorrow, while I've got an interesting date lined up with a guy who lives on a nearby island. I'll be going to Wellington on Tuesday, on a twelve hour train trip. This is an awfully long time for such a short distance - it makes about a dozen stops - but I hear it's extremely scenic.
More later...
