DAY 68 AUCKLAND & 60 CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner last evening we were back at the Crystal Cove.  One of the main reasons why we have pre-dinner drinks at the Cove is to listen to Pianist John Mentis perform.  On many evening's we also sit with dear friends John and Linda which was also the case last evening.

Unless Anne Marie is wearing heals, we will use the stairs rather than the elevator in the evening as we do in the daytime when Anne Marie is in more casual attire.  As we were in the stairwell, Anne Marie saw Butler Jijo.

We spoke briefly with JiJo and also took a photo of him.  Jig had been our Senior Waiter for a couple of World Cruises in the Crystal Dining Room before moving to his current position a couple of years ago as one of the Butler's.

Afterwards we dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant.  We returned to Prego again so we could dine with dear friends Allan and Helen.  We first met Allan and Helen on the Crystal Symphony on a North Atlantic Crossing from Dover to New York City in September of 2004.  We met them through mutual dear friends Joan and Mac as they were all table-mates.  Since that time, we have sailed on several sailings with them including a crossing on Symphony from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, and on several World Cruises.  

The last couple of times we have sailed together we have gotten together much later in the cruise for lunch or dinner and this time decided we should get together sooner rather than later.  

We had a wonderful time with Allan and Helen and treasure our friendship with them.  We caught up on so many items over dinner and we never ran out of conversation throughout the evening.

As usual, dinner was also fantastic at Prego.

Our waiter for the evening was Marija.

Head Waiter Mario brought over Bruschetta for each of us to have.

The two of us had for an appetizer of Shell Shaped Pasta with Calamari and Bolognese Sauce.  It was delicious and it was the additional item which one could have as an entree, an appetizer or even a side dish.

We had a wonderful time with Allan and Helen and we will plan to get together again and this time at Silk Road.

We slept very well as we sailed to Auckland, New Zealand.  The seas were as calm as the could be.

As usual, Keith was up first and after his workout at the Fitness Center, he had coffee at the Lido Cafe while he read and wrote. 

A short while later, we had breakfast in our room as we enjoyed views of the coastline from our room.  We were also able to chat with our son, Eric which was great.  

Serenity arrived to Auckland at around 8:00 AM.  Like other cities in New Zealand, Auckland is a beautiful city and easy for many tourists to navigate and there is so much to do and to see with some of the places of interest nearby to the Queen's Wharf terminal.  The city has a population of close to 1.5 million residents.

Auckland is indeed New Zealand's largest city.

Major downtown attractions included the Auckland Museum, the Sky Tower, Parnell Village, the Maritime and the Auckland War Memorial Museums, and the Auckland Zoo.

We love New Zealand as we do Australia.  We enjoy the warmth, friendliness and the humor of the locals, along with the beauty of these two areas of the world.  This represents our fourth visit to New Zealand since 2008, all on-board Crystal Serenity.  In the past we have done a combination of tours as well as going it on our own in Auckland and in many of the other cities within New Zealand.

Since we have almost three full days in Auckland, including two overnights, Keith arranged for a private tour for today which included the two of us, plus dear friends Bob and Glo.  Although the four of us have been to Auckland several times, this tour included some areas that we have not been to along with returning to some places that we've all been to on prior visits.  

The tour was wonderful along with touring with Bob and Glo.

Some of the highlights from today's tour included:

Mt Victoria, Devenport

Mt Eden - Volcano with Crater and Beautiful Views of Auckland

Michael Joseph Savage Memorial

Auckland Domain and Winter Gardens

Parnell

Wine Tasting & Lunch at Slogans

Murawai Black Sand Beach with Beautiful Gannet Colony

Our tour also included Wine Tasting along with a lunch.

Our tour guide was Lilia who is also the owner of the tour company. She moved to New Zealand twelve years ago from Russia.  She was wonderful.

Winter Garden

Wine Tasting along with a lunch at Soljans

Muriwal Black Sand Beach and the Beautiful Gannet Colony

Our lunch included a choice of four entrees, Dessert and Freshly Baked Bread.

We just tried a little bit of the dessert which is the most popular dessert in New Zealand called Pavlova Dessert which is Merange with Passion Fruit Topping.

Keith had this entree which had roasted vegetables inside the phyllo.  

Everyone else had the salad.

Dessert.  We just had a few tastes of it.  It was delicious.

Gannet Colony.  They migrate to New Zealand in October and stay until late March at which time they migrate back over to Australia for the warmer weather.

View from Mt Eden with Volcano Crater behind us

All in all we had a spectacular day enjoying the company of dear friends and seeing so many beautiful sites.  This was a wow tour.

This evening we are back at the Crystal Dining Room
TODAY'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY.....

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

Keith & Anne Marie