It's a 12-hour flight from L.A. to Auckland but our 'couch class' seats made it a little less difficult. In couch class you get three economy seats with footrests that go all the way up to give you a larger flat surface. You can actually stretch out and sleep. It costs a lot less than one business class seat.

We got into Auckland in the morning, well before check-in time. We walked down to a cafe to get coffee and tea and something to eat. They really know how to make coffee and tea. We also found that their produce is better than most of what we get stateside.

Walking back to our hotel, we passed The Sky City complex which has a couple of hotels, restaurants, shops and, to Laura's delight, a casino. The complex also boasts the Sky Tower, at 1075 feet the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. After our coffee and a short stop at the casino we went back to our hotel to sleep off our flight after eating some take-out from a Korean deli.

Auckland is a very walkable city. Our hotel is in the center city, within walking distance of just about everything. On Friday we walked to the Auckland art museum. A really interesting small museum with a lot of work by New Zealand artists. We also stopped in a number of art galleries. We ate at the Shakespeare, billed as the oldest pub in Auckland and home of its first microbrewery. The pale ale was very good as was the fish and chips we had for dinner.

The next day we walked to the ferry terminal to get the ferry to Devonport. Devonport was established by the Royal Navy around 1840. The town itself is filled with Victorian-era houses. and steep road to the top of extinct volcanoes. There is a network of forts built to stop the Japanese in WWII and later the Russians. Neither ever showed up. There are lots of shops and pubs and even a dollar store and a real supermarket. Laura found a small shop that carried top-quality women's clothing. The scenery in the area was gorgeous.

In our room, actually a small apartment with a kitchenette and a balcony, we watched New Zealand tv. We were fascinated by the Maori channel, with a variety of programs all in Maori, some with subtitles and some without. We also got to see the miserable weather we left behind.