A day in Sydney Jnr.

Friday, May 01, 2015
Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
 Apologies about the title but in many ways Auckland could be called SydneyJnr. It's set around a harbour, of sorts, has a very similar topography and even has an iron coat hanger style bridge connecting north to south. And I guess that goes some way to feeling that it wasn't as interesting or involving as many other cities we've seen on our travels. After our delayed arrival, as noted in yesterday's blog, we set off in search of an Italian restaurant for dinner. There's something about a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine that could almost qualify it to be called comfort food. Unfortunately our lodgings were very nearby what could be called Darling Harbour Jnr so the choice of fare was limited to busy, overpriced cafe style Italian impersonating the good stuff. Not complaining about eating a meal in Auckland mind you, but how the chef got a relatively simple Amittricana to turn out the colour of an Rsl club sweet and sour is beyond me. 
  The following morning's weather didn't show the city in a good light - apart from the lack of a relentless howling wind we could have been back in Wellington- but only having one full day to see this place off into the morning we strode into the Auckland streets . To have our original thoughts confirmed, a city very much Sydneylike. Not a complaint, mind you, as far as cities go I reckon it's a compliment to be compared to Sydney. Now if I had said Muswellbrook or Geelong, that's a different story. 
    Our walk concluded at Countdown, New Zealand's equivalent of Woolworths, right down to the green swirl symbol, to purchase the makings of a lunch and hopefully a more acceptable pasta meal for dinner. We've often commented on the relative expense of Italian restaurant meals. I mean, look at the ingredients used- and good Italian cooks will tell you that in these meals less is best - about 50 cents worth of pasta, some olive oil, veges, a small amount of meat and few condiments and for that you're charged up to thirty dollars. Compare that to a good Asian meal, probably the same amount of ingredients - in some cases more - and they charge half the price. Bloody Italians - they fill the menu with hyperbolic descriptions of their meals, write it in Italian to make it look more authentic and then apparently charge by the syllable. Now, where was I, oh yes, Auckland. It's ok. Made our pasta meal for dinner, set the alarm for an early start and it's off to the airport in the morning for an 8.45 flight to Rarotonga. Speak to you tomorrow.

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