Following a much needed full night’s sleep, we started our day at a nearby coffee shop for Stephanie’s caffeine fix and to fill Jay’s empty stomach. On each of our trips Stephanie has to adjust to international coffee which is closer to espresso than the sugary drinks we find at stateside coffee shops.

After breakfast we started our day of sightseeing by walking along Auckland’s waterfront where we saw countless yachts and boats which give the city its nickname as the “City of Sails.” Auckland is very proud of their maritime tradition, they even have a former America’s Cup sailboat suspended over the waterfront.

One of our traveling traditions is shopping at a local grocery store – Woolworths. Not only do we enjoy sampling the local snacks but we find that grocery stores offer a lot of insight into the local culture. Outside of different brands, we found that there were a lot of similarities with our own grocery stores.

The focus of the afternoon was inland exploration as we walked the streets of Auckland. Along the way we stopped for Doner Kebabs. While sitting down for lunch at this “food court” we were surrounded by Kiwis on their lunch break and there was not another tourist in sight. After lunch we strolled through multiple parks and took in the University of Auckland. Throughout the day we experienced rain, sunshine and strong winds which has led us to the conclusion that the weather is anything but predictable. Locals are never phased by the unpredictability of their climate as they move about their day.

We concluded our day of exploring Auckland by driving up to Mount Eden, a volcanic crater, which served as a major settlement of Maori people prior to the arrival of Europeans. At the top it offers unparalleled views of the downtown and suburbs. In one of the nearby suburbs is the home stadium of the “All Blacks” which is New Zealand’s rugby team. Before every match the team performs a traditional Maori posture dance, known as a haka, in an attempt to intimidate their opponents. If you haven’t seen it before you can check out their haka from the final of a previous Rugby World Cup. We made the short trek over to the stadium to see the field up close.

For dinner we went to a local restaurant which highlights the best of New Zealand cuisine. We enjoyed a crayfish appetizer followed by a main course of lamb. We told the restaraunt it was Stephanie’s birthday tomorrow and they brought us a surprise dessert to kickoff the celebration. The party continues tomorrow with a day of wine tasting on Waiheke Island.