Brief update and couple of plugs

We spent a comfy first night in our flat!! after a great meal at a local Indian restaurant.  Posts may be a little sparse for the next few days as we havent gotten our home internet set up.  Broadband is quite expensive here (around 100NZ per month = roughly $80US) so we are looking at a couple of different options.  Jesse did a wonderful job selecting a "Norwegian" duvet cover (not sure what that means but it looks very nice).


I found out late last week that I may be "required" to attend a conference in Singapore in early September.  More to come later on that bit of excitement.


Big thanks to Skip! I am SO glad one of us is photogenic


Paul Farmer's new book on Haiti (Truly a great American)

Tonight we are headed out to Waiheke Island to attend a cocktail party at the home of one of my "bosses" as they call the attendings here.

Quite a Domain

Now that Paul and I have found a place to live in .... drumroll please .... Parnell! ... we can purge the shock & awe and pay closer attention to our surroundings. Parnell is the oldest suburb in Auckland. It is conveniently situated near the hospital, neighbors the city centre and is very close to the water. It also hugs the Auckland Domain featured here. We are scheduled to move in to our new pad on Friday so once the keys are handed over I will officially expose the location. Until then I can start scamming for jobs, scoping out the best cafes, where is the dry cleaners?, making our wish list of restaurants to try, testing out bar stools and engaging the locals. Everyone seems genuinely friendly and excited for Paul & I. So yesterday I walked from our hotel through the Domain. I inspected the Wintergardens, tended by the rather stiff caretakers pictured above and then walked up to find out what will await us inside the museum. Here is the view atop the hill where the museum sits. I am anxious to start settling into our new 'hood!!

Tramping, anyone?

Nope, it's not something beer-swilling frat boys do on Friday nights in Athens.  It's what one does on the weekend in New Zealand- or at least it's what we did today.  We headed out to the Waitakere Ranges about 30-40 kilometers west of Auckland.

First stop- Fairy Falls.

Is that a hobbit?

Lion Rock

This is Lion Rock- the star feature of our journey today.  As the guide book says, "with some imagination" you can see a lion looking out over the Tasman Sea.

I think she likes it here!

Lemon?

Well yesterday was my first experience with Paul driving the car....it is just so unnatural! He does a fine job though despite the car's efforts to thwart us. It's a 2003 Volvo station wagon (bright red!) and although we look totally rad in it, we've noticed some funny things with gear shifts. So yesterday we drove it over to Saint Heliers to take a look at the beachy suburb we've heard so many good things about. Well we parked the car to get out onto the beach to soak in some scenery and when we got back in the ignition would not go beyond the first notch. Unreal! AAA equivalent came out to our rescue and the result is the bottom cover for the steering shaft is now removed as if we've hotwired the thing! We'll sort it out... In the meantime - enjoy these shots we took on the beach in Saint Heliers yesterday afternoon. That peak beyond Paul across the water is Rangitoto Island. This is the most recent and largest of the dormant volcanos of the Auckland Volcanic Field. Rangitoto is Maori for 'Bloody Sky'.