Air New Zealand: A Luxurious Ride in the Sky

We took the long flight last night from LAX to Auckland. Air New Zealand did not disappoint, business class was just as much fun and as comfy as we had hoped for. My friend Johnny Jet told me on the phone before we left that he had one of the best night's sleeps he can remember in the front of one of these birds, and we agree. The little pods, fluffy pillows, attentive staff and the first-run movies made the night a joy and we awoke with just two hours left in the nearly 13-hour haul.

I had been wanting to see how Daniel Craig would play 007, and there it was, "Casino Royale," on the little fold out screen. Across the aisle, Cindy enjoyed "Dreamgirls," and boy was I glad I had my own choice of movies! No chick flicks for me tonight.

We picked up our rental car and I took a few practice laps around the parking lot. I was still a bit nervous as we headed out onto the motorway, Cindy riding shotgun in the unfamiliar left side, me trying to remember to hug the right side, and when we hit our first roundabout, I almost lost it. We followed the directions to the Great Ponsonby B&B, but of course, we got lost and circled around and around Auckland for about 45 minutes. When we drove through a park, the cicadas were out in force, this sound of summer was magic to our ears.

We'll rest and regroup and we have the day to explore the Ponsonby neighborhood, we've already asked our host for his favorite cafes and Gerry Hill was happy to point them all out on our map.