marsden_online (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marsden_online) wrote2021-07-09 09:50 pm
marsden_online) wrote2021-07-09 09:50 pm
The Lion King / A weekend in Auckland
The weekend just been D, E and myself flew to Auckland to see the Lion King, as who knows when a show of its like will be in NZ again and who knows when we will be able to remotely afford such a trip again. The trip has been in planning since the announcement, including reserving presale tickets to the matinee on the Sunday afternoon.
I'm sure I would have enjoyed the weekend more had I not been running on emotional fumes for the past few weeks.
## Saturday
Our midday flight to Auckland was without incident, although we hit our first financial speed bump when picking up our hire car. Despite having paid in advance, because we supplied a VISA Debit instead of Credit card an additional $200 hold was put on the account.
Our first stop in Auckland was The Ribbon Rose so D. could be sure to get the minimum quilting supplies (threads and beads) she needed to purchase from them this trip. From there we continued to check in at the Sky City Hotel, where we were hit with another $200 hold for exactly the same reason as before.
It was past 3pm by the time we decided on the very close Andy's Burgers and Bar for a very late lunch, during which E discovered the existence of Coke Floats. Hunger eased we then took the next few hours just to rest before meeting with K & S at Elliot Stables for dinner.
E's small pizza was larger than anticipated, which was good for D because our mixed grill was disappointing for the price. Shout out to the poor guy at the Wedge Juice Bar who had to cope with me appearing at his stall on three different occasions with three different single-drink orders for the one table at the other end of the food court, and delivered them all.
Looking around the packed food hall I found myself, for not the only time during the trip, pausing to appreciate living in a country where such gatherings are still both possible and pass without concern. We did scan scan scan on the app everywhere we went though, and I even turned on Bluetooth a couple of times.
After dinner K & S joined us in the hotel room for some quieter socialising and room-service dessert, before we all tried to sleep. I think E may have been the only one of the three of us who actually got a restful night's sleep; for myself although I did sleep most of the night I also dreamt vividly, actively and it seemed constantly.
## Sunday
We made our way down to the buffet breakfast about 9am, which was a very nice breakfast, and then returned to our room where D & I ended up napping until it was time to leave for The Lion King. There was minor panic when after waiting longer than was comfortable we discovered that the taxi we had booked had apparently been taken by someone else! Nevertheless we made it in plenty of time and found our seats in the floor near the front.
The show was as spectacular as promised, and I don't really have anything more to say about it that others won't have said better, except that I appreciated that members of the cast seemed to be having an excellent time themselves. I again found myself reflecting on how lucky we were just to be able to be in a crowded events centre watching a show.
D & I had a dinner booking at Orbit 360, the restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower. The booking had been for all of us, but E decided that she was too scared of heights and there was no way she was going to go, even to the point of offering up her saved allowance to help pay for the hotel's babysitting service. Fortunately we found a better option, and so after another small meal at Andy's we braved the Auckland motorway system to deliver E to visit J and C's daughters whom she had met previously, and gets on famously with. J was also kind enough to make the return (40 minute) trip and deliver E back to us after dinner. #muchgratitude
The drive there and back - in the dark, following google maps instructions, on an unfamiliar high-speed transit - was nerve-wracking. Not the most nerve-wracking I have ever done, but up there.
As an aside, and after a bit more exposure to the motorways on Sunday in daylight, I've come to the conclusion that Auckland drivers are both a lot more assertive about lane changes / merging and simultaneously a lot more accepting /courteous about others doing them than Christchurch drivers. You have to be, to get very far on the motorway. Especially since if you are following google maps directions, it does not provide clear instruction about what lane you are currently best to be in to approach your exit until way too close - either to the exit itself or to an earlier one that you need to get out of the lane for. Fortunately D was acting as navigator (knowing Auckland substantially better than I do) and towards the end of the trip she was calling more useful instructions and ahead of google.
Once I realised what was happening with us I started recognising it in other vehicles sudden lane changes near exits as well.
Getting back on track ...
After returning to the hotel and another short rest we made it to our booking at Orbit. The slowly moving night lights of Auckland made for a compelling backdrop (the Auckland Museum was particularly impressive) and D managed to take a photo of me which was flattering enough that I made one of the very rare changes to my FB profile picture (and I think the first to feature my actual face). The food was as good as expected (D had the salmon, I had the beef) with larger portions than I had feared for fine dining. It took us almost exactly one rotation of the restaurant and I came away feeling that the price of the meal was very good for the overall experience.
Again I wished I had been in an emotional state to more appreciate the moment than simply exist through it, but I did manage to enjoy myself :)
After E's return (very late night for her) we all went to bed and this night I at least slept well.
## Monday
We (by which I mean D) had decided to order-in breakfast. This turned out to be /substantially/ more expensive than the buffet, partly I think because there was a delivery charge /for each person/. Would not repeat.
We then took the remaining time until our midday checkout to just chill and build up our reserves, then pack.
After checkout we had some errands to run at stores which are only in Auckland, cumulating in D spending more time at Ribbon Rose while E and I walked the main Sylvia Park mall, which was not quite as big and impressive as I had been led to believe. E spent some of her saved allowance on a Cubone Pop! figure and a fidget toy. I did not feel like spending any more money, but did when we got back to Ribbon Rose to get D a freestanding quilting frame which will enable her to stitch without bearing the weight of the quilt on her injured shoulder.
There was no time - or money - left for any of the other things we had maybe-planned-if-time-allowed, so next stop was the airport after a bit of circling to track down the nearby petrol station and top up the hire car. I missed my Prius greatly as the weekend's sparse travel cost as much as an entire week of commuting to/from Rolleston twice on weekdays, and the fuel gauge had barely dropped below full.
We had more dead time than any of us would have liked at the airport; mostly because we, particularly E, were all tired and cold. Our 6pm flight was delayed - not enough to be announced just enough to be late taking off, par for the course at the end of the day. The air hostesses were on top of things though and the bumpiness coming into Christchurch was outside anyone's control.
It was a surprisingly mild evening that welcomed us back and we only made a short stop for some essential groceries before arriving home, greeting the cat and heading for bed - except for D who had managed to nap on the plane and settled down at her sewing machine for the night.
## Other notes
For the flights I wore a mask made by M with a view-panel for lip reading. As we were first on and last-off the planes I got to watch quite a few people glance at it and overhear some comments about what a good idea it was. Just before we left the plane in Christchurch one of the hostesses asked where I got it, unfortunately I didn't have a link to hand.
I'm sure I would have enjoyed the weekend more had I not been running on emotional fumes for the past few weeks.
## Saturday
Our midday flight to Auckland was without incident, although we hit our first financial speed bump when picking up our hire car. Despite having paid in advance, because we supplied a VISA Debit instead of Credit card an additional $200 hold was put on the account.
Our first stop in Auckland was The Ribbon Rose so D. could be sure to get the minimum quilting supplies (threads and beads) she needed to purchase from them this trip. From there we continued to check in at the Sky City Hotel, where we were hit with another $200 hold for exactly the same reason as before.
It was past 3pm by the time we decided on the very close Andy's Burgers and Bar for a very late lunch, during which E discovered the existence of Coke Floats. Hunger eased we then took the next few hours just to rest before meeting with K & S at Elliot Stables for dinner.
E's small pizza was larger than anticipated, which was good for D because our mixed grill was disappointing for the price. Shout out to the poor guy at the Wedge Juice Bar who had to cope with me appearing at his stall on three different occasions with three different single-drink orders for the one table at the other end of the food court, and delivered them all.
Looking around the packed food hall I found myself, for not the only time during the trip, pausing to appreciate living in a country where such gatherings are still both possible and pass without concern. We did scan scan scan on the app everywhere we went though, and I even turned on Bluetooth a couple of times.
After dinner K & S joined us in the hotel room for some quieter socialising and room-service dessert, before we all tried to sleep. I think E may have been the only one of the three of us who actually got a restful night's sleep; for myself although I did sleep most of the night I also dreamt vividly, actively and it seemed constantly.
## Sunday
We made our way down to the buffet breakfast about 9am, which was a very nice breakfast, and then returned to our room where D & I ended up napping until it was time to leave for The Lion King. There was minor panic when after waiting longer than was comfortable we discovered that the taxi we had booked had apparently been taken by someone else! Nevertheless we made it in plenty of time and found our seats in the floor near the front.
The show was as spectacular as promised, and I don't really have anything more to say about it that others won't have said better, except that I appreciated that members of the cast seemed to be having an excellent time themselves. I again found myself reflecting on how lucky we were just to be able to be in a crowded events centre watching a show.
D & I had a dinner booking at Orbit 360, the restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower. The booking had been for all of us, but E decided that she was too scared of heights and there was no way she was going to go, even to the point of offering up her saved allowance to help pay for the hotel's babysitting service. Fortunately we found a better option, and so after another small meal at Andy's we braved the Auckland motorway system to deliver E to visit J and C's daughters whom she had met previously, and gets on famously with. J was also kind enough to make the return (40 minute) trip and deliver E back to us after dinner. #muchgratitude
The drive there and back - in the dark, following google maps instructions, on an unfamiliar high-speed transit - was nerve-wracking. Not the most nerve-wracking I have ever done, but up there.
As an aside, and after a bit more exposure to the motorways on Sunday in daylight, I've come to the conclusion that Auckland drivers are both a lot more assertive about lane changes / merging and simultaneously a lot more accepting /courteous about others doing them than Christchurch drivers. You have to be, to get very far on the motorway. Especially since if you are following google maps directions, it does not provide clear instruction about what lane you are currently best to be in to approach your exit until way too close - either to the exit itself or to an earlier one that you need to get out of the lane for. Fortunately D was acting as navigator (knowing Auckland substantially better than I do) and towards the end of the trip she was calling more useful instructions and ahead of google.
Once I realised what was happening with us I started recognising it in other vehicles sudden lane changes near exits as well.
Getting back on track ...
After returning to the hotel and another short rest we made it to our booking at Orbit. The slowly moving night lights of Auckland made for a compelling backdrop (the Auckland Museum was particularly impressive) and D managed to take a photo of me which was flattering enough that I made one of the very rare changes to my FB profile picture (and I think the first to feature my actual face). The food was as good as expected (D had the salmon, I had the beef) with larger portions than I had feared for fine dining. It took us almost exactly one rotation of the restaurant and I came away feeling that the price of the meal was very good for the overall experience.
Again I wished I had been in an emotional state to more appreciate the moment than simply exist through it, but I did manage to enjoy myself :)
After E's return (very late night for her) we all went to bed and this night I at least slept well.
## Monday
We (by which I mean D) had decided to order-in breakfast. This turned out to be /substantially/ more expensive than the buffet, partly I think because there was a delivery charge /for each person/. Would not repeat.
We then took the remaining time until our midday checkout to just chill and build up our reserves, then pack.
After checkout we had some errands to run at stores which are only in Auckland, cumulating in D spending more time at Ribbon Rose while E and I walked the main Sylvia Park mall, which was not quite as big and impressive as I had been led to believe. E spent some of her saved allowance on a Cubone Pop! figure and a fidget toy. I did not feel like spending any more money, but did when we got back to Ribbon Rose to get D a freestanding quilting frame which will enable her to stitch without bearing the weight of the quilt on her injured shoulder.
There was no time - or money - left for any of the other things we had maybe-planned-if-time-allowed, so next stop was the airport after a bit of circling to track down the nearby petrol station and top up the hire car. I missed my Prius greatly as the weekend's sparse travel cost as much as an entire week of commuting to/from Rolleston twice on weekdays, and the fuel gauge had barely dropped below full.
We had more dead time than any of us would have liked at the airport; mostly because we, particularly E, were all tired and cold. Our 6pm flight was delayed - not enough to be announced just enough to be late taking off, par for the course at the end of the day. The air hostesses were on top of things though and the bumpiness coming into Christchurch was outside anyone's control.
It was a surprisingly mild evening that welcomed us back and we only made a short stop for some essential groceries before arriving home, greeting the cat and heading for bed - except for D who had managed to nap on the plane and settled down at her sewing machine for the night.
## Other notes
For the flights I wore a mask made by M with a view-panel for lip reading. As we were first on and last-off the planes I got to watch quite a few people glance at it and overhear some comments about what a good idea it was. Just before we left the plane in Christchurch one of the hostesses asked where I got it, unfortunately I didn't have a link to hand.