To begin. We took the ferry to town and then hopped a bus up to the Auckland War Memorial Museum to see the Maori rooms. The War Memorial sits on a hill above the city, a massive pile of architectu
re with consecrated grounds and a cenotaph looking out over the bay, harbor and the skyline. Inside is a magnificent collection of Maori artifacts, mostly dating from the 19th century or earlier, including good sized buildings, a huge war canoe (c. 1835) and explanations of how the Maoris got to New Zealand about 1000 years ago.
From there we walked, yes walked, down the hills through Parnell, lunched are Verve, where John had a fine sauvignon blanc from Marlborough and a grilled squid salad while Ben munched on a halumi, roasted beet and arugula salad with a beautifully done textured cappuccino. From there we walked past the tennis center where some important match is being played, then up the hill past the university, then down the hill to the Auckland Art Gallery. Some of these hills are as steep as San Francisco or Pittsburgh.
The Art Gallery is superb. And what was in it was better: an exhibit of the work of well-known poet and novelist John Pule, a Niueian New Zealander, about 50 years old, who has done some magnificent bark paintings and is now moving into oils. Most of these works are huge, at least seven feet square.
The newer pieces are done in bright colors, with renditions of hanging vines full of ideograms and pictorial representations of events in his life, such as the illness and death of his daughter at two and a half, and our culture. The earlier works, done about 20 years ago include his hand-painted poetry. About the beginning of this century, he focussed on large ideograms (perhaps pictograms) using bark colorations of browns and blacks with intricate patterns. He considers these works to be poetry though they are not “written” language. It’s a breath-taking exhibit and made the walk, and the shin-splints for John, worth every step.
Dinner was at Iguaçu, listed as one of Auckland’s top of the line restaurants, in Parnell. Our wines were lovely: a Stoneleigh 2010 Marlborough sauvignon blanc to start, with starters of arancini stuffed with cheese and pancetta and a marinated kokota whitefish salad. A Central Otago Picnic by Two Paddocks 2008 pinot noir followed accompanying John’s beef cheeks, colcannon potatoes and spring vegetables and Ben’s seafood risotto. A sweet German waitress moved the evening along in the glass greenhouse that is Iguaçu. Alas, except for the whitefish, we found the restaurant to be a bit pedestrian.
Today we are taking the boat to Waiheke, an art colony.
From there we walked, yes walked, down the hills through Parnell, lunched are Verve, where John had a fine sauvignon blanc from Marlborough and a grilled squid salad while Ben munched on a halumi, roasted beet and arugula salad with a beautifully done textured cappuccino. From there we walked past the tennis center where some important match is being played, then up the hill past the university, then down the hill to the Auckland Art Gallery. Some of these hills are as steep as San Francisco or Pittsburgh.
The Art Gallery is superb. And what was in it was better: an exhibit of the work of well-known poet and novelist John Pule, a Niueian New Zealander, about 50 years old, who has done some magnificent bark paintings and is now moving into oils. Most of these works are huge, at least seven feet square.
The newer pieces are done in bright colors, with renditions of hanging vines full of ideograms and pictorial representations of events in his life, such as the illness and death of his daughter at two and a half, and our culture. The earlier works, done about 20 years ago include his hand-painted poetry. About the beginning of this century, he focussed on large ideograms (perhaps pictograms) using bark colorations of browns and blacks with intricate patterns. He considers these works to be poetry though they are not “written” language. It’s a breath-taking exhibit and made the walk, and the shin-splints for John, worth every step.Dinner was at Iguaçu, listed as one of Auckland’s top of the line restaurants, in Parnell. Our wines were lovely: a Stoneleigh 2010 Marlborough sauvignon blanc to start, with starters of arancini stuffed with cheese and pancetta and a marinated kokota whitefish salad. A Central Otago Picnic by Two Paddocks 2008 pinot noir followed accompanying John’s beef cheeks, colcannon potatoes and spring vegetables and Ben’s seafood risotto. A sweet German waitress moved the evening along in the glass greenhouse that is Iguaçu. Alas, except for the whitefish, we found the restaurant to be a bit pedestrian.
Today we are taking the boat to Waiheke, an art colony.
No comments:
Post a Comment