Bagels: The Thinking Man's Crumpet

(subject may not necessarily relate to content of blog post - was just a bumper sticker I saw today at the airport and it was funny)

Well, I arrived in Auckland today after the marathon flight which involved Mac and Sweet Dee from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, a Fijian who was a leg spreader who couldn't stop fidgeting (but who actually turned out to be nice), and quesadillas that I really should not have eaten before it was bed time. Upon arrival, didn't get any trouble about the visa and no return ticket, but did get in trouble for not declaring my boots (fortunately the customs lady, after having me unpack the entire bag, saw that they hadn't been worn more than once and let me go - guess it's a good thing I didn't tell her that I wore them in NYC and hence were potentially carrying every biohazard known to man...bwahaha)

After checking into the hostel, I decided to spend a few hours this afternoon seeing some of the Central Business District. Since I'm a little sleepy still I basically did what the Lonely Planet guide told me to. My first impression though - Auckland is what would happen if San Francisco and Los Angeles had a baby and hired a British nanny to watch it. And some Chinese and Maori baby friends. I dunno. It's interesting and somehow familiar. I walked through Albert Park, saw some of Auckland University, wandered down a pedestrian enclave, and down to the waterfront. I walked past the Sky Tower (the tallest building in NZ, sorta looks like the Space Needle in Seattle) - thought about going to the top but then reconsidered after checking out the price - not to steep, but I'll be back here at some point in my journey. Plus, it's totally not related at all to World 5 in Super Mario 3, so I couldn't be bothered today. Before coming back to the hostel I found an old Irish pub in the older part of town and tried to watch a cricket match between India and the NZ national team (the "Black Caps"). I found myself understanding it even less after having watched it. Oh well, I'll learn at some point!

So, yeah, first day in NZ going well. Weather's definitely an improvement on what I left behind, and Auckland seems pretty, though I really only scratched the surface today.

Tomorrow, I conquer Christchurch, where I begin my great journey (as my visit to Auckland today was mostly an attempt to break up the madness of all that flying).