Takapuna

We got a greenstone for my Mum while we were in New Zealand. I was told that there are two rules with greenstone.

1. It has to be a gift. You can't buy one for yourself.

2. You are suppose to dip it in water before giving it away.

We took the dolphin to the beach my grandparents use to live near.

I remember looking at the newspaper as a child, trying to determine when low tide was. If it was low tide, we could take the secret way down to the beach and look for starfish.

Things have changed a bit since I was here last. For one, we found this interesting sculpture in the sandstone.

Before returning to my grandfather, we stopped by my very favorite second hand bookstore in New Zealand. It is a bit difficult to find as you have to walk down this rather untidy arcade to get to it. But it is a treasure chest of books. I managed to find an old Maori fairytale book.

Cup Or Bowl Size?

We went to Devonport. It is right across the bay from Auckland.

We stopped by several used bookstores.

I love looking at used bookstores in New Zealand. You can always find amazing books for very little money.

I left with these three books for under $10 American total!

After browsing the bookstores, we stopped by a cafe. I remarked that this little bird was a bit higher on the evolutionary chain. It waited until people left their pastries before gorging itself.

Another lovely mocha. They asked us if we wanted cup size or bowl size. We asked for cup.

Chocolate cake.


Yum!