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#37 - What a difference a (Boxing) Day makes



24 little hours....🎶.....
From the empty Christmas Day streets with not a restaurant open, Napier obviously comes alive on Boxing Day. We had booked an architectural walking tour of this Art Deco town of 60,000. To our surprise, many were out in full regalia - clothing and cars from the 1930's, in keeping with the downtown spirit. 


In 1931 Napier suffered a huge earthquake, actually two, just seconds apart with both close to an 8.0 on the Richter scale. Not only did they loose all but three buildings in the downtown and 1% of the population, but the surrounding lakes and rivers were sucked out to sea and the earth pushed up meters in their place. Less buildings, less people, but lots more land for the town to grow. 

They decided to rebuild the town quickly and in a cohesive plan with new buildings that could not only withstand earthquakes, but were lacking ornamentation that could fall off and injure people. They went for Art Deco architecture, low structures, tin ceilings, glass window friezes and all the classic lines that define this style. 
Today, even without city mandates, the structures are preserved and the townspeople take great pride in showing off...driving through town in their old restored cars, dressed to the nines. 




Napier is also in the Hawkes Bay wine region, where lots of the NZ Sauvignon Blanc is made. Wineries were on our list also, including a lovely lunch at Elephant Hill, outside next to the vines, where a peek up the row provided a glimpse of the blue ocean just beyond...that's the Pacific we are at now. I must admit total ignorance on all of the bodies of water that are around Australia and NZ. We really should teach better geography in schools.

With a lovely, late, big lunch ( see photos below) and the likelihood that we would still be full at seven o'clock and few places might be open for dinner, we decided to do a movie and luckily found a place that was showing more than Star Wars. We got to see Joy and although I know the reviews have been mixed, we both really liked it. The story was not the highlight but this was a real vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence and it showcased her talent, along with a cast of semi quirky characters. 

Not too crowded to see the premier of JOY..
.....First showing , due to our location, in the whole world!

We will be on the road tomorrow again because in truth, many of the places in New Zealand are only one or two night stops. You could do it slower and stay a bit longer in Napier or Nelson but you can see most of what is interesting in 48 hours or less. Our next stop is Rotorua, the heart of Maori culture. It will be interesting to see if it is authentic or Disneyfied. I'm hoping it is as authentic as all the Kiwis we have met so far. 


AND FOR THE LOVERS OF THE FOOD PICTURES...LUNCH AT ELEPHANT HILL VINEYARDS:



                            


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