Hello, Auckland.
Tags:Ah, lovely. Even in the rain it is lovely here.
Arrived Sunday morning around 6am. Took quite awhile to get through customs. I have the luck of being in line when they go from six customs officers down to one. Walked out of customs and there was Cathy. Gotta love that.
Met up with David (our amazing host) and Cathy's family before then meeting up with my sister and Jeffrey who are also along for the trip. The three of us spent the day shopping around downtown (these two are fantastic shoppers), eating, and jus enjoying each other. This is the first time my sister and I have been on a vacation together in YEARS. First time ever to be out of the country together. She and Jeffrey travel all the time for his business - they travel MORE than I do so they are super travel savvy. Good people to have around.
Did pretty good staying awake yesterday. I had a good sleep on the plane with the help of a sleeping pill - my first time trying that and it made so much sense. Finally went to bed last night around 8:30pm - the perfect time.
Just heading to breakfast now. Looking forward to taking a bunch more photos today.

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32 comments
Have a blast! -- so cool your sister and Jeffrey are there with you!
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Hope you have a wonderful time. Enjoy!!
Annemieke
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Ali, I hope that the weather gets better for you as your drive down...Cheers, Debs
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yay, you are there! have been thinking of you at the CZ-ster...have a beautiful time and i will be checking your blog daily for snippets of home!!!
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Yes, we put on some lovely weather for your arrival didn't we?!! Hoping it will be better down country later in the week. Enjoy your travels.
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I am SOOOO sorry about the rain, Ali! Yesterday was one of the worst days we have had in a while! True!! *eeeeks*.
Welcome to my world - look forward to seeing you on Thursday.
Nic H
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I so hoped that the weather would clear for you today but from where I am sitting I can see the city is covered in cloud and rain. Never mind, Auckland is a great place anyway, enjoy your day and don't forget to get Simon a KIWI!
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Great to see that you have arrived safe and sound. So looking forward to hearing all about your classes in NZ. Then its heading to Oz. Wooooo hoooo.
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How EXCITING, Ali!
Enjoy and take it all in, you super WORLD traveler YOU!
Thanks for sharing the pics of NZ! Take Care!
Denise K.
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So pretty (thanks for sharing -- I've only ever been to Canada and Mexico)! Enjoy your vacation, Ali!
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...getting closer to SYDNEY now...woohoo................
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Welcome to NZ.
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I LOVED being at that show last year. I met such wonderful people! You will love it. Enjoy every moment. Thinking of you all there!
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Oh man, you are nearly here(Sydney) - better get my homework finsihed! :)
Love that you are keeping us up to date with this trip, it makes it so exciting waiting for my clases with you all :)
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I am so jealous... go and see if my house is ok *LOL* - its just about a mile from the top of Queen St
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Oh love the updates! Keep them up and the pics of the area! So cool :) Enjoy!!!!
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Good to see you're not letting the weather get in your way. I hope it clears up enough for you to experience at least one full-on, gorgeous, NZ day. I promise it'll be the clearest, bluest, most perfect sky you'll ever see.
Looking forward to meeting you on Thursday...
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I want to go there. I can't wait to hear all about it.
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So jealous.. would love to be back there. Went to New Zealand on my honeymoon and loved it. Loved Queenstown the best. Check it out if you can fit it in. Have fun and if you meet my Australian Blogging friend Lee Woodside at Kiwi Scraps tell her Kim in the US says HI.
peace
Kim
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Sleeping pills are GENIUS. But I chop them in half, that way I avoid the cracked out feeling of a whole pill.
YES. And I am jealous. Take more pictures. Esp. of the shopping!
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