Wow! What a month of touring!
Our fearless leader aka Big Cheese aka Elle, was away for the month of July, and I was left holding the baby, the actual baby (Miss Charlotte is now 6 months old, where does the time go?!) and the Foody baby! (the Business) but jeeze what a neat time we had.
Apologies for the lack of instagram posts – in her rush to jet set away, I didn’t pick her brains for the blimmin password and as she usually scolds me for making my beloved Grid Pics, I thought better to infuriate her by posting them on Facebook willy nilly in her absence! So….I’ve saved up the hightlights til now.
To be honest, I’ve been pretty darned terrible at remembering to snap pictures whilst on tour lately. My mouth tends to run away on me (as usual) & I also end up busy playing paparazzi for our guests juggling their phones & sometimes proper cameras (shock horror! people STILL use them!) taking snaps of them so they don’t end up with a holiday album full of selfies
You’ll see snaps of:
Our favourite Earthbound honey enjoyed in the sun in the amphitheater at The Pumphouse in Takapuna
Fresh Tamarillos from the farmers market in the weekend – mixed reviews from our american taste testers!
Exploring Golf Courses with curious Koreans
The sheer delight from a guest from Yorkshire enjoying Giapo’s genius ice cream creation from a Yorkshire pud!
Auckland showing off some stunning crisp but clear days
Glorious seafood enjoyed on the water front
Korean Pancakes that delight everyone that comes into contact with them
What you can’t see pictures of:
Cheeky Australians hassling my kiwi accent (so predictable huh?!)
Close friends creating lifelong memories while on a celebratory birthday trip
Honeymooners just starting out their overseas adventures together (Aaaaawwww)
Wonder and amazement about The Albert Park Tunnels from a local on tour.
Laughter (complete with full snorting) during a conversation stuck up with a quirky retailer
The glorious smell of freshly roasted coffee by one of the pioneers on the Auckland coffee scene
A mad dash in the pouring rain that came from NOWHERE (typical Auckland weather!) to get into the Auckland Museum at the end of the tour
The look of surprise followed by ecstasy on the face of a cheese lover after tasting some of our locally produced edam.
Warm friendly hugs with guests who I don’t want to say bye to!
Wow! What a nice little moment of reflection! We really do meet some super awesome people on tour, even though we may only spend a half day with them, that few hours really leaves an impact. For me heading out to tour in the morning or afternoon is like Forrest Gumps Box of Chocolates, you just never know what you’re gonna get!
We have guests from all walks of life, of all ages and from all over the world and even locals who are heading out to play ‘tourist’ for the day.
Our guests are usually super excited to explore our city, pick our brains with all sorts of interesting questions (including a lot about Rugby!) and by the end of the tour, I’ve come away having learnt something about their home town (which of course gives me the urge to travel!) and sometimes a little extra appreciation for what we have here in my own backyard (our GIANT green lipped mussels, all things feijoa, easy access to meat pies wherever we are, our relatively safe and clean city, stunning beaches, cheese, cheese, cheese, our laid back friendly nature, awesome variety of asian cuisine scattered thoughout the city and suburbs and loads more)
I consider myself very lucky to do this on a regular basis that’s for sure. But now that Elle is back, I’ll stop checking my phone at 3am to see if a new booking has come in! I’ll leave that to her!
Thanks for reading my waffling thoughts & thanks to all our amazing suppliers who consistently make our guests welcome (and some who sneak me extra cheese)
Cheers
Colleen
