Is That All?

Day 3 in Auckland was, until U2, disappointing. The weather was not great, the skies were overcast, and at some point it did some precipitation thing where there was a kind of sideways mist like the air was just wet and I couldn't bring myself to call it rain. But it was wet and cold and I wandered around the city looking desperately to find something interesting to photograph and failed repeatedly.

I do find it interesting that sailing is such a big deal. They even have a team store for the sailing team.

I found this plaque on the ground and tried to imagine Auckland smelling like fruit...but then I wondered if maybe a place that imported a lot of fruit actually kind of smelled like rotten fruit from smashed fruit and juices dripping everywhere.

I like to take photos of weird angles and reflections and such, but the white sky made things a lot harder. Here are a few photos from wandering:

no idea what this rock sculpture is and I didn't walk to it but I wondered if the rocks were just stacked together or reinforced with rebar or something

not sure what's happening with Santa's eyes

breakfast

again with weird Santa eyes. he's probably out of his mind from the summer heat and wearing those winter clothes

capitalismas

really don't know what's going on with this sculpture

chicken and beer

church garden

looks like Auckland maybe once had a little soul

now it's all steel and glass

the All Blacks, New Zealand's famous rugby team

All Blacks' silver fern leaf represented everywhere

I wandered for a couple of hours, past the same boring stores every other city has, past endless fast food chains, past uninspired development, and I ended up right back at the wharf at an Irish pub called O'Hagan's, which is my Irish family name. I couldn't not have a pint there. It was full of U2 fans.

I took the train closer to the airbnb and stopped to have a look around. I had another pint at a local pub. Now here's the thing. Bars are a great way to talk to local people. You sit on your stool and just turn to whoever is next to you and chat away. But New Zealand bars have no seats at the bars. They say it is so people can order at the bar. Do they not understand that the entire world has seats at bars and they don't impede people from ordering at the bar? I have to mention this because it actually impeded me from talking to people over the course of the week. (I have found Sydney to be trending this way as well, and it just doesn't make any sense.)

Auckland trains

giant Irish flag near the stadium

the rugby stadium

reusable cups that you return for a dollar - people collected them at the end of the show and had stacks of them

Anyway, I headed to the show a bit earlier than the night before and caught Noel Gallagher's act. I met a lovely couple from South Africa who lived in Auckland and hadn't been able to see U2 in a decade. The show was fantastic - the kinks from the first night were worked out.

In the morning I'd head to the airport to pick up my rental car.

the moon is sideways in the southern hemisphere