Happy New Year from Auckland NZ

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(click for a bigger view)

For KK ...... almost the view from your new house.

Taken with you from your truck !!

For Jim

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Jim you were always the observer of people,

these are for you, we all miss you

Famlies at the gallery

Bemused

Cake at the Gallery

 

 

Auckland art gallery

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Seven "sleeps" till christmas

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Shadow

Birkenhead ferry terminal

Fog on the way to work

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(IPhone 4)

Owen Glenn Building - Auckland University

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Coffee at the Auckland Art Gallery

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The upstairs cafe overlooking Albert Park

Before and after !!

(IPhone4)

West Plaza Wellington

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A little old, a little tired maybe, but my periodic  home on business trips for over 15 years

Good points : not hermetically sealed and stinking of "fragrance" like its newer competition (ie windows that actually open) , comfortable decent sized rooms with everything you need,  live music in the lobby - at one point a harpist - currently a chap on a grand, right in the middle of town (handy to everything), a bar with staff who stay more than five minutes so you get recognised, very reliable restaurant ie no "bad" meals in 15 years and some very very good ones, friendly staff, clean, comprehensive breakfasts, well priced (for Wellington) , bad points : none really  



(View east above and west below )

Auckland Harbour Bridge

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Looking south

Looking north

Looking north

(Photos by Lynette B)

Reopened Auckland Art Gallery

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Breakfast coffee in the cafe in the reopened gallery

Very good coffee, attention to detail and highly recommended

(food is also good and staff friendly and helpful)

Front entrance

Flowers which inflate and deflate in the gallery lobby.

Great idea .

(Will return with a better camera than IPhone)

"Lunchroom by night"

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Breakfast

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The simple things done well equals perfection

Breakfast by the Cheese maker

Runny eggs , crunchy toast and crispy bacon

oh yes , very well done

but wait ... the next day ... add cold smoked salmon

a breakfast fit for the brain work that followed

Inside the cloud

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Rugby World Cup "Party Central" (before the party )

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Ferry building and the Rugby World Cup "cloud"

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Ferry building

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Sunrise on my umbrella

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Birkenhead sunrise

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for my "soup maker" - pork, chicken, carrot and apple - oh yes :))

Rugby World Cup fever hits the office

Marty, these are for you 

Sunrise on my way to work

- for you Wenying to help you relax when you study

 

Simple but so delicious

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Sometimes it's the simple things that are just so

perfect. One slice of toast, a light spread of cream cheese,

two slices of cold smoked NZ Salmon, a squeeze of lemon and

just a little gherkin pickle. Eaten off some of Mums remaining

unbroken china (following the multiple big earthquakes in the last year

in Christchurch) . Oh yes I'm in food heaven.

Smoked salmon fishcake and coffee and caramel cheesecake "The Vicarage" Christchurch

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More fog .......

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Fog at the regional park

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Auckland at night

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Looking south from the Sky Tower

(Eden Park, main home of the  2011 Rugby World Cup

- the bright area top right)  

Looking west from the Sky Tower

(Auckland Harbour Bridge  - upper right)

Retirement cupcakes for Bob Gibson

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Recently a long time (and much respected in the traffic safety field)

work college of mine (finally) retired.

These are three plates of cupcakes made by Karen Johnson

 (the cake god) in our head office (I don't work there ) .

Nice one Bob enjoy yourself , you will be missed as you were the walking encyclopedia.

NZ Government Transport Department - Traffic Engineering Workshop 1964

Okurukuru Winery and Cafe

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View from the cafe

(oh yeah baby I never wanted to leave)

I don't know what made me think this wasn't

going to be enough for two when it came out.

What you can't see is all the smoked

salmon behind the "shubbery".

Excellent menu choice Minx.

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