my boss had talked about letting me stay at his vacation home in waiheke over the holidays. he came through. woo hoo! this is soooo cool. to my fellow los angelinos, think of waiheke as the catalina of auckland. it's 35 minutes away by ferry, (or as new zealanders pronounce it, "furry"), and it's where you go for a quick getaway. very much a weekend vacation island. there are people who live there of course, but it feels devoted to lazy dazy tourists. there are many vineyards and a few farms and such.

a view of waiheke island

while we were waiting to catch the ferry, we befriended someone who lives on waiheke. he's a clothes designer. pretty cool. he talked about how making things with your hands is a dying art. i agree. his dream is to visit this one city in italy, whose name i have forgotten, because they make the finest suits there. he's never left new zealand and he hopes to leave next year for the uk. we were totally on the same wavelength about craving to live in another country to absorb all the differences and new experiences. he lives in the same town as my boss's house and kindly gave us a ride to the place. i am constantly amazed by the kindness and generosity of the new zealand people.

my boss's place, formerly a store and ultra cool