Well Mum and Dad have been here for the best part of six weeks and a little over a week ago we all said our goodbyes at the airport and they headed back to their garden and cosy home in Norfolk.
But I’ve still got plenty of photos to share of the visit, so I’m going to pick up from just after the Northland trip when we returned from seeing the dolphins and the treaty grounds.
After the excitement of a boat trip and some nation forming history, my three day week work pattern meant I still had a Monday to do something with Mum and Dad whilst the girls all got back to their relative day time activities.
We settled on the art gallery as a good thing to pass the time and headed down to Devonport to get the ferry over and take a stroll up to the gallery.
We had barely stepped into the gallery before we engaged in one of the classic Fitzhugh debates of ‘Well what is art anyway?’ I think I may have been the instigator, but I can’t really remember. I do know that I shared my opinion about the fact that I can look at a piece and form an opinion on it, that invariably has nothing in common with the little printed placard next to the piece. That may have been the start.
Well I’m glad to say that they loved the metal band sculpture that moves constantly and occasionally goes ‘bonggggg’ as it occasionally hits the suspended wooden sphere above it. We all mused over some pieces, walked past others and generally looked for things to impress us. Probably the most interesting was a white box lined with mirrors, causing the classic infinite reflections of this sort. An interesting side-effect of the rule preventing shoes from entering was that the box stunk of feet.
We followed the gallery with a trip to Raw Power, a great veggie cafe in Vulcan Lane. We all had something with deep-fried tofu in it and it all fantastic A couple of book shops later and we were ready for the ferry home.
The great photo-editing bonanza continues. This time a couple of outings over Christmas. Firstly to Onepoto Reserve, a park we’ve mentioned before that has an excellent cycle track all laid out like a mini road system. the second location is North Head down at Devonport. A lovely place for a family walk, hills, tunnels, views, guns and history.
