Kia ora! So the new year begins…and we celebrated by heading up to Auckland for a weekend break. The weather gods smiled upon us, with fantastic flying weather on Friday as you can see below, giving us a wonderful view of Mount Ruapehu as we flew past. We stayed at the Hotel DeBrett in the city centre, a place we have stayed in before and like. There was time for a little shopping and a cold beer before we headed out for dinner.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Devonport
On Saturday, we did our ‘usual’ thing to do in Auckland and take the ferry over to Devonport. The sun was shining as we set off, and we enjoyed walking along the water to the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum. After visiting there, we stopped for some refreshments and a visit to the nice second hand bookshop, where I found an edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses from the 1950s which I am sure was the same as I remember as a child ,but which had long disappeared.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Breakfasts
What is it about over indulging at breakfast when in a hotel? I had eggs Benedict one day (very good – came with greens and smoked salmon), ordinary poached eggs another, and mushrooms on toast with a poached egg on the third day. I may say Karl enjoyed a full cooked breakfast on both days he was there.
With this weekend half way between our birthdays, we decided to splash out and enjoy some fabulous food. On Friday, we headed over to Auckland institution Cazador for some excellent food and to celebrate Matariki. We started with some of their home-made charcuterie: venison bresaola, an amazing hertiage pork lonzo and rabbit rillettes. For mains, Karl had the grilled Wapiti venison with mushrooms and pine nuts, and I had the flounder, simply cooked with lemon, capers and butter. We shared some crispy potatoes with fennel mayonnaise which were outstanding. For wine, we had a sauvignon blanc with our starter and a shiraz with our main. There was naturally no room for dessert.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Saturday’s dinner was at Onslow, close to where we were staying. I had to try the Chatham Islands crayfish éclair which was amazing, while Karl had the chicken liver parfait, with toasted brioche which I also tasted and can guarantee how good it was. We both opted for the venison this time,with some more crispy potatoes. We enjoyed a glass of champagne on arrival and a shiraz with our venison. This was also a fabulous meal, both restaurants we would return to.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Sunday
On Sunday we headed over to the Auckland Art Gallery. There is a lot to see there, but on this visit I particular enjoyed Taimoana | Coastlines: Art in Aotearoa and The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity exhibits. Below you can see a sculpture by the great Henry Moore, and a spirited portrait of artitst Frances Hodgkins.
We also went for a stroll along the waterfront before Karl headed back to Wellington and I stayed on to go to a work meeting the next day. I had an early dinner in the hotel and then collapsed in the room with a smile on my face. I will just add that my flight back was not as sunny or smooth…but you know, it is winter.
You can always be sure of a good coffee and conversation over at Trent’s World.
.…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com
