Greetings from Auckland!

After four relaxing days in the Cook Islands — where I caught my breath after packing up my life in Los Angeles, and then immediately lost it again with the breath-taking scenery — it’s time to move on to New Zealand.

It’s only a four-hour flight from Rarotonga to Auckland, but we cross the international date line and lose a day. So if March 29th was memorable, please tell me what happened because I didn’t get to experience it!

But I did get to experience this delicious airline food. Even in coach, Air New Zealand totally outshines its American competition in the food department.

I spend the next day editing photos and writing blog posts. This is what my day looked like for about eight hours:

This is a hidden dog park next to Lantana Lodge (my accommodation); there’s a sign for the park on the main road but otherwise it’s completely concealed behind private homes. It’s in the Parnell district of Auckland, which is full of cute coffeehouses and charming restaurants.

And less than 24 hours after arriving in Auckland, my friend Allison from Los Angeles joins me for a week of fun on the North Island!

We walk up and down Parnell Road, enjoying the atmosphere and scoping out our dinner options.

We settle on a Thai place called Blue Elephant that’s down an adorable alley. Note the elephant footprints leading the way to the restaurant.

We order entrees, which are actually tiny portions in New Zealand — similar to appetizers in the U.S. (they call the larger portions “mains” instead of “entrees”). Then we split a fried plantain dish for dessert. Because why not?

The sky begins to light up as we exit the restaurant to continue exploring Parnell Road.

It’s like the sky is putting on a show for us: “Welcome to New Zealand, Erica & Allison! See how pretty it is here?”

We pass by the Chocolate Boutique and make plans to return another night for dessert.

Then we pose in front of the big red phone booth, as you do.

The next morning we wake up energized to begin our own walking tour around the city. We begin at the Coffee Club, which is a chain that serves food in addition to espresso beverages.

We walk towards Auckland University. There’s a lot of greenery and cool architecture in this city, which we often pause to admire and photograph.

We particularly enjoy Albert Park and its views of the Sky Tower.

We continue walking through the heart of the city. Here’s the Auckland Art Gallery, which looks so perfectly constructed that Allison knocks to make sure it’s not hollow. She says it looks like it belongs on the backlot of Warner Bros.!

I resist the temptation to impulsively buy a ticket to the Civic Theatre (they have a stage version of the British soap opera Coronation Street currently running — how appropriate!).

This is Aotea Square, opened by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (a former mayor of Auckland triumphantly depicted in the statue below).

I dig this guy. On the right is Myers Park, named after the same former mayor in the statue.

I spy a Kiwi version of my old car! It’s a smaller 2-door model, but I get nostalgic just the same.

There’s a Hollywood sign (for a bakery chain) and we know a photo op when we see one.

We continue heading towards the Sky Tower, which bobs around the skyline throughout our downtown walk. It’s a good landmark to orient yourself because you can’t miss it.

For a pretty penney you can walk around that ring at the top of the tower, hanging by a cord. Not for the faint of heart (or those on a budget).

Apparently McDonalds has a “tastes of America” menu with burgers inspired by California, New York, and Texas.

And of course there is a Dunkin’ Donuts, further proving my point that DD is everywhere in the world except Los Angeles.

We grab lunch at a cute bar and grill by the Auckland wharf.

And it’s Easter Sunday! But only in this part of the globe, as back in the U.S. it’s still Saturday.

After lunch we wander around the waterfront.

We catch a bus at Britomart station heading towards Mt. Eden, a giant hill that overlooks the city of Auckland and provides excellent views of the skyline.

There’s a giant ditch (or is it a dimple?) in the middle of the hill.

That’s Rangitoto, a volcano in the harbor. Auckland has around 50 volcanos dotting the city; thankfully none of them are currently active.

That hill with the monument is One Tree Hill (I wonder if this inspired the long-running U.S. television series of the same name).

Showing off my new Scottevest travel jacket!

On our way back to catch the bus, we stumble across something that would never exist in America — a free, unattended zip-line for kids in a local park. Sure enough, we see one poor girl fall off and burst into tears shouting that her back hurts. OUCH.

We indulge in pizza for dinner at La Porchetta on Parnell Road. And then we split the dessert calzone. Yup.

One last view of the Auckland skyline from Parnell Road:

Tomorrow we pick up our rental car to drive up the scenic Coromandel Peninsula. Can’t wait to share more photos!