Hi there,

I hope you all had a good Easter. I thought it would be nice to let you know what I've been doing lately - apart from sleeping, reading, walking, writing and dancing.

On March 31, I went to Waiheke Island. I hopped on a in downtown Auckland and 40 minutes later I hopped off on Waiheke Island. Waiheke is absolutely amazing. It has pristine beaches, stunning views, beautiful houses and a lot of vineyards. I walked all day, the first 2,5 hours with a guide and after that, I explored the island alone for a couple of hours. When I got back to Auckland, I felt exhausted, but also very relaxed and refreshed.

On April 3, I went to Devonport, together with Margaret. Devonport is a small town that lies on the other side of Auckland. It takes a 10-minute ferry ride to get there or a 20-minute drive, crossing the Harbour Bridge. Since I was with Margaret, we went by car. Devonport oozes old English grandeur. It's a really neat place and very different from downtown Auckland, but it's also pretty small. After a 10-minute stroll, Margaret and I had seen it all!

On April 11, I went to Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted Concert, which was heldat Auckland's Vector Arena, because I'd won two tickets. Cool! I gave the other ticket to Julie, my French Zumba teacher. Before the concert, Julie and I both didn't really know who Kelly Clarkson was or what kind of music she makes, but we sure do now! I recognized about half of her songs and I was even able to sing along with a few of them. Kelly didn't put up a huge show, but her voice was amazing enough to blow the (very young) audience away. The two supporting acts (one of which was Erik Hutchinson) were good as well. It was definitely a 'sweet as' evening!

Greetings from a windy and cold Auckland,
Carola