Anne and I woke up at the same time, and she decided to join me on my day’s plans. I planned the day using my New Zealand guidebook (thanks again, Dale!). I love the spontaneity of it. I came to NZ without set plans, and it’s really fun to pick a city, pick up my book, and stumble into some great places!
First thing, I wanted a winery! The weather wasn’t all that lovely, so it was perfect to be indoors. We started off at the Mission Estate Winery, NZ’s oldest winery located in a restored seminary. We were one of the only people there that early, so we lucked out and had a lot of one-on-one attention with the wine connoisseur. Both of us were pleasantly buzzed off our samples by 10am! We did a tour to learn about the history of the winery along with a French-speaking couple. I didn’t learn much because I was listening intently to the man translating in French for his wife. I even struck up a conversation with them en Français- it was so nice to speak again the language and to not be nervous with such a nice couple! I love the language, but I cripple myself with nerves of not doing it right. Perfectionism and learning another language…not easy!
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| Me and Anne at Mission Estate Winery |
We followed the winery with a stop off at a chocolate factory. By noon, I had consumed a few samples of delicious chocolate and wine…now tell me that isn’t a perfect Saturday!
We continued on our journey and visited the nearby town of Haverlock North for some window shopping and a drive up to Te Mata Peak for a view of the Hawkes Bay area. It wasn’t much of a view due to weather, but still worth the look!
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| This picture is for Kristi and Heather- I don't know what I would have done with my raincoat! |
Anne and I concluded our day together with one more winery stop, the Craggy Range Winery. I did a quick sample of their whites, and I thoroughly enjoyed their Sauvignon Blanc. In NZ, they refer to their sauvignon blanc wine as “sav” which drives me bonkers with my knowledge of French pronunciation. I tried to order it in a bar in Auckland on New Years Eve, and the bartender had no idea what I wanted until one of my friends stepped in and said “she wants a sav.” I guess I better pronounce it like a local if I want to drink it!
I had a few hours to relax before my concert with my friend Izzy and her boyfriend Ash. I had no idea who we were seeing or what type of music it was. It turned out to be a rock band, and it was a little harder than I would have liked. I also could have done without the ringing in my ears for two days, but that’s just another sign of me getting less cool as I age. Still glad I got to see my first local gig!
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| Me and Izzy at the I am Giant concert |
I’ll conclude with a funny side note. The drinking age is 18 in NZ. This changed from 21 roughly 15-20 years ago. During the concert, a guy came up to me to encourage me to rock out a bit more to the show. Evidently light head bobbing and tapping one hand on my leg was not appropriate in a loud and rowdy crowd. I had the eerie feeling he was 18- NO! I thought it was bad enough being in bars in my mid-twenties in the States…now I have to worry about accidently hitting on someone who just graduated high school!
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