January 19, 2014
At 9am, we picked up our visiting friends from their hotel and drove to La Cigale, the weekly French market in Parnell. We started with cappuccinos from the coffee truck in the parking area, then took them inside the building where we bought some freshly-baked croissants and got a table.
Up to this point, our friends been somewhat mystified as to why we were so excited about a farmer’s market. Then they started to look around and spot intriguing things. Soon, they’d each gotten up and disappeared into the magical French labyrinth of La Cigale. For a while, they were nowhere to be seen, and this pleased me to no end. I knew they’d love this place, but it was nice to see it in action.
We all found each other some time later, and we assured them we’d email them all the information so they could find this again on their own. As we left we passed a booth selling cherries from the Central Otago area of the South Island. I’d read about these cherries in one of my guidebooks; so we bought some to try. They were huge, and fabulous. Central Otago cherries had indeed been worthy of the mention given them in my guidebook, and Rich and I continued to seek these out during future visits to La Cigale. (Below a couple of photos of La Ciglae and the Central Otago cherries.)
Now it was time to go to the car market/auction, held on what seemed to be fairgrounds next to a racetrack. We all walked around and looked at cars. Bob and Linda didn’t find anything they liked enough to buy, but I had to talk Rich down from his keen interest in a jeep and remind him we’re not the ones here who need a car!
Meanwhile, Bob and Linda decided to wait until they got to Whangarei to look again, and we offered to drive them up there the following day. There were a couple of boating stores Rich wanted to visit there; so now would be a great opportunity to do so.
By now the day was bright, hot and sunny, a classic summer day. After we piled into the car, I had a proposition for everyone. No one was really hungry yet, but what, I asked, if lunch involved Belgian Beer? Like, really special and good Belgian Beer? Who can turn that down? Our friends were definitely agreeable. My idea was to drive by Auckland’s beaches, specifically Mission Beach which had a branch of the Belgian Beer Cafe, a chain of restaurants in New Zealand (and Australia) with amazing food and beer.
So we headed to the coast, first leading beach-loving Bob and Linda to Mission Beach’s long stretch of white sand, which they really seemed to enjoy. We then headed to De Fontein Belgian Beer Cafe and handed them the restaurant’s Magnacarta Fermenta (aka The Great Book of Beer) listing over 50 specialty Belgian beers, including the “Bucket List” beer, Westvleteren 12, made by Trappist monks and costing $100 a glass. We didn’t order the Westvleteren, but hey, maybe someday. Meanwhile, the regular Belgian beers were fabulous.
We ordered the breads and spreads to enjoy along with the beer. The sun was shining, it was warm, and people were coming and going from the beach and the park. We were next to an open-air part of the bar, inside yet almost outside, enjoying the sights and sounds of summer and drinking great beer. This was a terrific way to soak in the feel of this area, and so nice we lingered to enjoy a second round.
After beer, we headed to the Movenpick next door for their Swiss ice cream, then made one more visit to the beach before getting back in the car and continuing down Tamaki Drive to see the other two beaches. We then turned around and headed back up along the coast and made a stop at Orakei Marina, the pretty little marina we’ve tried (but never succeeded) to get into.
It was well into the afternoon when we dropped our friends off at their hotel. Tonight, once again, they’d have the city to themselves while we’d have a relaxed evening on the boat and prepare for the road trip to Whangarei the following morning. During the day we’d had a surprising coincidence when we received an invitation to a party there! The friends we’d spent Christmas with were having a birthday party in two days, and would we like to come? Yes, absolutely! It’s amazing how some things just work out.–Cyndi
