I repeat my sentiment from yesterday: I would move to Auckland in a heartbeat.
Today started pretty much the same as yesterday - snooze button! I love big hotel beds and I soak up all the time I can spend in them. So after sleeping in I headed out for another day around Auckland. I decided to leave early enough for some exploring before sailing today. So I headed down to Queen's St and walked for awhile, got lost on High St, and found a cute little Maori boutique and bought a tiny little stuffed kiwi that I'm also mildly obsessed with. After walking up and down Queens Street for awhile I decided to head back toward the water for some brunch. I found a little cafe called Sierra and hunkered down for some food. It was amazing. I had French toast with bacon and bananas - not a combination I would've originally chosen but it was perfect. Plus, their portion sizes here are so much smaller so you can finish what's on your plate without feeling like a glutton. I also had the best chai latte I've ever had. I took my time with breakfast, reading my book, savoring my meal, and listening to the Beirut CD on shuffle at the restaurant (Kiwis are Beirut fans, who knew?!). It was the perfect start to the day. I then went and checked into my America's Cup Sailing Experience and read my book on the water before heading out at two. The boat was beautiful, it was raced in the '95 America's Cup by the Japanese and man, she was beautiful. Big, powerful, and smooth. We didn't have crazy winds so there was no keeling, which was sad, but it was a beautiful two hour sail. That boat sure does move. I got to man the helm for about 35 minutes, tacking three times, and supervising while they pulled the jib down and the kite up. It was sunny, warm, and a perfect, brilliant sail. The crew was nice and friendly, really informative and conversational. Being used to smaller boats I was a little out of my element cranking those huge sails up but it was quite the experience and I wish I could do it every day. I think the only other place I'm ever as relaxed as I am on a boat is in a barn around horses. There's just a peace about it - water, wind, winches. It's irreplaceable and definitely in my blood.
After a great two hours we headed back to the mooring and I sat to read my book for the hour and a half between the Cup sail and the dinner cruise. But the crew had another plan for me - they saw me by myself and when the finished taking care of the boat, invited me out for a drink. They were all great and we had a lot of fun laughing over beers. I'm Facebook friends with one of the guys and I hope he'll come visit in Australia when he has time between Uni classes. The dinner cruise was just as great. There were only five people (including me) so it was really intimate and nice, not rushed or too touristy. Dinner was very tasty and I drove the Pride of Auckland for another 45 minutes or so while I talked with Pablo, our captain. All the crew on these boats are fantastic, great sailors and passionate about what they do. We went out until around 8pm, watched the sunset over the largest yacht club in the southern hemisphere, sailed under the harbor bridge, and watched the full moon rise over the water. Beautiful. Afterward, I was freezing so I hopped in a cab and back to the hotel. I should've gone right to bed because a cab is picking me up at 5am to make my flight, but that's so not going to happen. Looks like I'm pulling an all-nighter! I'll nap when I get back to Sydney, I don't even have class until 4pm.
It was a wonderful memorial to my dad and there's something about this city that clicks with me. The people, the boats, the water - all of it just kind of feels like home. I'm so hoping I can come back here one day, maybe even permanently. We'll see. It was a happy father's day, I felt Dad everywhere.
I'm leaving early so I might take a quick nap before the cab comes, back to Sydney I go!
G'night from kiwiland!
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