Because breakfast at Dear Jervois the previous morning was a bit of a disappointment, I picked a new place for dinner this morning, Mary's. Closer to the hotel and located in a completely...
Blog posts from Auckland
Auckland: waterfalls and parks
Since we had stayed in the Ponsonby neighborhood on a previous trip, we already had restaurants in mind and decided to return to our favorite breakfast place, Cafe Jervois. I ordered the smashed...
Auckland: rental car debacle
Unfortunately, the good vibes we had been feeling on the South Island left us after landing in Auckland. We had a pre-paid reservation for a 'meet and greet' agreement so I was hoping to see someone...
Auckland wineries: Warkworth region
Our first choice for the day, Mahurangi River, was not open due to a private function, so we headed to Brick Bay. This is quite the site, with sculptures, gardens, sheep and a very modern building...
Auckland wineries: Henderson and Kumeu regions
Wednesday After landing in Auckland and checking into our hotel, we took a 30 minute drive up to Babich Wines. Being a Wednesday afternoon it was not busy; in fact, the tasting room was empty! Once...
Auckland: restaurants
Wednesday Didas Wine Lounge - Located across the street from our hotel, this wine bar made an easy spot for our first dinner in Auckland. For round 1 we couldn't skip the Spanish classics of patatas...
Auckland: viewpoints (Mt Eden and Mt Victoria)
Many of the tourist guides tout Mt. Eden as a great view of Auckland, and an interesting way to see a volcano caldera. It's a fairly easy drive up to a parking lot at the top, or you can park at the...
Auckland: Waitakere Ranges and Hunua Ranges
The weather around Auckland was quite unsettled when we visited in March, with rain and sun trading places intermittently and causing us to skip a few of our planned hikes. However, we did get to...
Auckland: where we stayed
For our four nights in the Auckland area we stayed at the Abaco on Jervois, and we quite enjoyed our stay. We had an executive studio room on the second floor with lots of space, including a...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)