Napier is known for its vast amount of Art Deco architecture. The area was hit by a huge earthquake in 1930 and when they rebuilt, they decided to do it in the grand style of the time (I learned, at the Hawke's Bay Museum, that they took the idea in part from Santa Barbara, Calif., which had a big quake in 1925 and rebuilt in the hot style of the time). The city revels in its reputation, with a big Art Deco fest that was held just a few weeks before we arrived.
Today Jen had to work, so Leah and I entertained ourselves for the day by exploring the town on foot. I took a ton of photos this day, both of the Art Deco-ness, the flowers (there are a lot of beautiful flowers, and i'm really enjoying using the macro lens-ish feature on my new camera to take close-ups) and the beach (the sand soaked into the ground during the quake and so the beach is covered in pebbles instead. Jen says they say that it will be 100 years before the beach turns to sand again).
In the evening, Jen's friend Lauren from college and Lauren's cousin, also named Jen arrived from the South Island. Hailing from the Chicago area, they've been in NZ for a week. We'll all be together till Sunday. We have yet another fabulous meal, do some more visiting and catching up, and drink some more wine.
I think I am going to retire here.
