Picture this: clear blue water in front of you, mountains in the distance, a couple of palm trees next to you and heaps of sand underneath your bum... Welcome to Mission Bay beach! Mission Bay is only 10 minutes away from Auckland and I was there last Thursday. I don't like hostels (really?!), but I do like the fun and cheap trips they organize! It cost me only $2 to spend an afternoon at Mission Bay and that was including lunch and transport. Sweet as!

So far, my trip to Mission Bay has been the only trip I've made since my arrival in Auckland nearly two weeks ago. I spent last week viewing 10 rooms - only to come to the conclusion that I'm much better off at the B&B I've stayed at since December 5. New Zealand is big and has a lot of space with only 4 million people in a country as big as the United Kingdom, but for some reason, the apartments in Auckland are extremely small. Most of the rooms I saw last week didn't even have windows! The apartments are mainly designed for students, but people who work live there as well. It's very common to share the bathroom and kitchen, sometimes with as many as 10 people. A lot of the rooms gave me the feeling of being in a prison. I need space! My room at the B&B isn't extremely big, but at least, I have a window (no view, unfortunately, but hey, you can't have it all... ) and I can also use the huge lounge area. I'll keep looking for a room, because it's cheaper to rent a room than to stay at a hostel or B&B, but for the time being, I'm fine in room number 9.

I am, however, also looking for options outside Auckland. Auckland isn't exactly 'my cup of tea'... Difficult to say why. I think because it lacks glitter & glamour. It doesn't have cosmopolitan grandeur like Tokyo or Shanghai. Because now is not a good time for job hunting, I'd like to go to one of the Pacific Islands (Fiji, Vanuatu or Rarotonga - images of paradise spring to mind upon hearing these names!) and continue my job search in January - if a trip to paradise fits into my budget. Minor detail: it'll be rainy season until March... Rain in paradise? If it's warmer than in chilly Auckland, it's fine with me!

Last week, apart from viewing ten apartments, I also went to City Dance three times, for salsa class, Latin Funk and pilates. I walked along Parnell Road (steep!), famous for its Victorian houses, to the Domain (big park in Auckland). On Saturday, I had coffee with Ben's father (thank you, Ben!) and Saturday evening, I went to Christmas in the Park, an annual Christmas event sponsored by Coca-Cola.

All in all, you could say that I haven't done anything really exciting nor have I seen any of the beautiful nature New Zealand is so famous for, but time seems to go by fast nonetheless...

From rainy Auckland, I'd like to wish you all a warm Christmas and a sweet as New Year!