We planned the start date of our trip so that we could kick off this adventure and the new year, 2017, in a new country. Clearly I’m excited for today. It means we’ve actually done it. We’ve taken the leap and we’re doing this crazy thing. Today is New Year’s Eve and we will be rockin it 18 hours ahead of the Times Square ball drop.
Previously, my typical weekend involved sleeping until noonish and lazing around, but today was different. Up and out of bed with no snoozing and I made us both breakfast. We got in a few hours of work and job-searching before realizing how productive we’ve been and switched to forget-this-it’s-Saturday. The new plan was to head downtown to the city-center and find a place for a nice dinner before getting some drinks and watching the fireworks that are set off from the top of Sky Tower.
Our host suggested the Viaduct, the area of town right on the water, as a good place to go tonight. Tons of restaurants and bars line the walkways, her suggestion was spot on. We walked down Princess Wharf and enjoyed the view before settling in for a drink at The Original. We had a great view of the water and they had beef-dripping-chips on the menu, so naturally we HAD to try those too. After a snack and a glass of wine with several toasts, we were getting hungry and walked over to Viaduct Grille for dinner. Although it was crowded we managed to sneak into the last available table before the restaurant was full. We had admired some green lipped mussels at the grocery store earlier, so we were very excited when the seafood pot entree came with several. Both meals were delicious and it was only about 9:30, so we had time for another drink or two before finding a spot to watch the fireworks.
All the bars in this area were getting crowded and were also more upscale than we were used to. For fun, I googled for a dive bar in Auckland. Lucky us, we were only walking distance from Vultures Lane. It’s not a dive at all, just more like a pub than a lounge, has a great beer list and was just what we were looking for. There was a cricket match on tv, and while Kevin explained the rules to me we decided to add a cricket match to our Auckland bucket list. Since we were so close to the fireworks viewing area we stayed until about 11:30pm.
As we walked around earlier we had made note of a spot to stand with a great view of Sky Tower. The New Yorker in me assumed we were way too late, the area would be mobbed, and we wouldn’t see the fireworks at all. Wrong. It was perfectly crowded so it felt festive but there was room to walk between folks and find a nice spot with a fantastic view. Counting down with the crowd, we celebrated the new year in Auckland. Although I was a bit emotional, I managed not to cry.
2017 could be a very challenging year for us, we have no idea what misadventures might lie ahead. However, we are living out a dream and that is no cause for tears.
Happy New Year, everyone!