Goodbye to you…

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to the City of Sails and to the Land of the Long White Cloud and to the most wonderful people that I know…

We had dinner in the house that night with this very delightful salad…

…plus the potato salad…

…and mashed potatoes…

The French lamb cutlets were awesome – simply out of this world…

…so much so that the thick slab of lovely grilled beef was forced to take a back seat…

Even my missus loved it and she was never a fan of lamb as she would get put off by the smell no matter how slight it might be! This certainly was a really scrumptious meal and a fitting end to our most wonderful stay in Auckland, New Zealand and for the umpteenth time, we would like to thank my friend and her family for their very warm and generous hospitality and for everything…and most of all, for being such very loving and caring, such awesomely wonderful “friends” – for want of a better word for that, I would say, is a gross understatement in every sense.

I did feel a little bad as they would not let me foot the bill at any one time and they would not accept anything in return but I did manage to sneak off on one of those days to buy these for them –  a father, a mother and a son and coincidentally, the father was fair-haired and the other two, dark…

*My friend’s photo from Facebook*

…and left them, gift-wrapped and ribbon-tied under their Christmas tree – a very very small token of our utmost gratitude and appreciation. All too soon, it was time to leave for the airport to catch the 1-something flight in the morning on the 21st of December…and with warm and affectionate hugs and held-back tears, we said our goodbyes and with one last glimpse at our lovely hosts in the waving gallery, a few final waves and flying kisses, we proceeded to the departure lounge to board the aircraft that was to take us back home.

Somehow, I feel kind of sad at this point in time as all this while when writing all the posts, it was like I was reliving all the fun-filled days, all the happy moments and all the wonderful things during those 6½ days in Auckland and also before that, in Wellington. It certainly was a holiday to cherish and to remember for always….but now, the reality seeps in, the reality that it is all over and this is indeed…

P.S.:
We have finally come to the end of my two-posts-a-day marathon and now, it is back to the usual one-post-a-day routine. Do make sure you come back each and every day to check things out. Cheers!