The Parents Come To Town

The Parents Come To Town

It's been a year and a half. Thats a long time without seeing your parents. The only contact I had had in that time was a phone call now and again and the odd viewing through Skype and a web-cam. It's not really enough is it?!?

However, with summer holiday's begining in England and the parents preparing a trip away - what better place to head than to see New Zealand and their beloved son. After a few days in Hong Kong the parents arrived in the land of the long white cloud. I had just returned from skiing and headed off to the airport to meet them.

Our first meeting in 18 months was an emotional one with many hugs and smiles. It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest but in a good way of course. After we spent the rest of the day chatting about past events and naturally of the footy.

The next day I happily showed them both around Auckland (Queen Street, the harbour, where I work, K-Road, Ponsonby), which involved a lot of walking but was very enjoyable. Of course we stopped for a drink or two along the way and talked over past events and naturally of more footy. That night, Harriet and myself were taken out by my Mum and Dad to the Sky City Tower - Orbit Restaurant. It is a revolving restaurant right at the top of Auckland's Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere!!! You get incredible views at the top of the entire city. Harriet and I would point out landmarks, where we both worked, our flat (which is only a minutes walk from my parents hotel) and of course all 50 or so volcanoes. The food was deliceous too and we spent the night chatting away about past events and naturally of the footy.

The next day, the parents left for the South Island. They caught a flight to Nelson where, like true travelers, they would venture through the beautiful New Zealand countryside. I would be flying down to Wellington in a week or so and travel the North Island with them, showing them some highlights of places that I have been and some places that I have not yet ventured to. Until then, I had jobs to sort out, some goodbyes to say and some parties to attend............