It was good while it lasted...

Our Mazda has moved on to a better place. Yep, the engine blew up and it was rendered useless. I shed a tear thinking about the shock to our bank account and all the fond memories of riding around in the boot (trunk). It was really quite fun - felt like being on a roller coaster. It was especially funny when the police officer drove up behind us and took a double take. Don't worry, I showed him my seatbelt so he knew it was all legit. The story of its demise is really quite good, but it is Mark's to tell as he was the one who experienced it. Basically, that car broke down in the worst spot of all New Zealand (the Harbour Bridge) during rush hour and he had to be pushed off by a police lady. Anyways, we have moved on to a Subaru Legacy from some sketchy car dealers down by the harbour. Cars straight from Japan. At least this one comes with a warranty!

In other, more happy news, we attended the National Barista Championships last weekend. Never did I think watching someone make espresso could be so intense. Each competitor had 15 minutes to make espresso, cappuccino, and a signature drink for the judges. The winner, Luciano, moves on the the World Championships in London in June. He wore white gloves while setting up. He was a bit of a diva. (Photo courtesy of Mel Neilson).

We drove up to a high point in Auckland (I think it was Victoria Hill?) to look over the city view at night. It's quite beautiful. The sky tower is lit up a lovely shade of blue at the moment. It changes colors - I'm not too sure how often because I haven't been there yet, but I'll find out. Anyways, it was lovely.

After convincing everyone that they would indeed have a good time, we headed out to the Clevedon Farmer's Market. I love farmer's markets. Mark and I enjoyed a "Hungarian Twister" which was basically sweet dough wrapped around a piece of wood, fired in an oven and then rolled in a topping of your choice. I had cinnamon. Mark had hundreds and thousands (aka sprinkles). Him and all the other seven year olds in the line. Typical.

This week, we saw the world's largest sailboat down in the harbour. It lives up to it's name. Huge!

Another highlight of my week was getting an Auckland City library membership. Yes, I realize I am lame. And now I will have to relinquish my membership when we move in two months, but you can bet I will read a lot of books before then.

And the more life changing news is that Mark got a job! We will be living in Auckland for another two months while he does training and then we are moving down to Tauranga. I'm pretty excited. It's a smaller city on the coast. And anyone who knows me knows I'm more

partial to smaller cities, so this will be good. So, as for Auckland and the Mazda, well, refer to the title of this post.