...I wake up to the sound of the usual bird chirping alarm on my phone and reach out to silence it. To find out it's not the phone, it's tropical birds outside my window.
...I go to buy some supplies and to my joy I discover a flavor of KitKat unknown to me before: double chocolate!
...I explore downtown Auckland a little - it seems a quiet, sleepy town, especially at Christmas. It's also very hilly, like San Francisco almost. Apart from the enormous and hideous Santa and two reindeer attached to a building downtown and a cute Lego Christmas tree I don't see anything in the way of Christmas decorations.
...I notice the Kiwis follow the good old British bathroom tradition: separate cold and hot water taps and cute little VACANT/ENGAGED signs
...I don't sightsee much as everything seems closed for Christmas and my jetlag is still such that I don't even go to visit the famous Skytower observation deck.
...I send 5 postcards to 5 different countries - stamps are so pretty it's a shame to post them.
...I visit souvenir shops and quickly realize Maori handicraft and Kiwi birds are the leitmotifs of the local souvenir industry
...I have a €10 kebab wrap with fries that although tasty, in Brussels would have cost half the price.
...I move my car from the hotel lot to the street. Luckily it's free of charge on Christmas
...I find even bums and beggars are charming here: "hello guv'nor, how has your day been so far? Good, good, splendid. Would you have some change to spare? No? That's ok, enjoy your afternoon!" all delivered with a boyish smile.
...I am impressed by the amount of Chinese tourists and restaurants and businesses catering exclusively to them. Even at the airport Chinese seems to be the second language of signs and warnings.