Parnell is THE place to be in Auckland!

• Just thought we would give you a little look at where we are staying here in Parnell, Auckland. It's a lovely, quaint little suburb and only about 25 minutes walk into Auckland itself, the harbour, tower and other attractions in the city. It has a real 'village' atmosphere and we have been able to find everything we need here - from a box of cornflakes right through to getting our emails printed out for the US consulate! There are lots of the traditional wooden buildings with ornate balconies and verandahs like the ones in the photos! Very picturesque and we love it! And yes, we have found a chocolate shop! They offer a HUGE menu consisting of everything chocolatey under the sun! A chocolate lover's dream shop! Having said all that we have been very restrained so far and only been there once! But after our interviews with the consulate tomorrow I am sure we will feel the need for a little treat! I think Connie has her eye on the chocolate fondue (big enough for 2 to share!) that we saw on the menu so I think that will be featuring heavily on tomorrow's itinerary! Mmmmm! The last photo is something we saw walking back from Auckland harbour the other day! No idea what we were being thanked for but we appreciated the sentiment all the same! The Kiwis are such lovely people - very friendly and helpful and SO polite!!!