Auckland and first rugby game

We flew to Auckland in the afternoon and immediately picked up our rental car. Driving to our hotel (the Ibis) was quite the adventure! It seemed nearly every road around our hotel was closed, and we attempted to get there from the airport sans GPS. In a city of over a million, that certainly is no easy feat. Luckily, our long drive around saved us from having to pay to park for so many hours.

Once we settled into our adorable hotel room (it even had a mini-kitchen), we set out to find food. Luckily, there was a veggie cafe right next door called Revive. It was super cute inside and featured a variety of soup and salad combinations that you could choose from. Everything was so fresh and delicious!

Yum!

We then headed to Eden Park to watch a rugby game. We decided to take the subway to the field, and it seemed everyone else on the train was also going to the game. People were decked out in face paint, there was no shortage of intoxicated riders, and since we weren't wearing jerseys or colors to represent one of the teams, fellow passengers seemed quite interested in who we were rooting for.

The Blues vs. the Chiefs were the two teams playing, and I immediately decided to root for the Blues...mostly because it's my favorite color (and since they happened to be giving out free flags at the entrance).

We found our seats, which were excellent and only about 10 rows up from the field, and purchased some "chips" (that's fries for Americans).



I couldn't quite figure out what was happening during the game, but I did note that it is incredibly rough. I spent more time trying to figure out how every player didn't have a concussion than I did watching the actual game. Despite not knowing the rules (and fearing for serious head injuries), it was still quite exciting though!

Throughout the game, it rained on and off. Luckily, the flag I received made an excellent umbrella. We decided to leave shortly before the game was over. Thank goodness we did since as soon as we stepped under the subway platform's awning, it immediately started pouring!

Our train ride back featured many drunk fans, who were quite entertaining to listen to.


No idea what I was cheering for, but, hey, I can now say I've been to a rugby game in New Zealand!