La Cigale: Auckland's French-styled Farmers' Market

By: Unknown on Saturday, July 16, 2011

One of things I did when I was there was to visit the La Cigale, it's the French Market in Auckland. To be here, you need to rise early to catch the freshest ingredients from the market. I had a field day looking at the varieties and completely immerse myself into the noisy environment. It's definitely worth a visit!

Who can miss this early shot of espresso? Here I had one of the most wonderful and delicious mochaccino!

My look of the day

Look at the variety of apples here!

There is a building where you can go in and warm yourself if you find outside to be too chilly (and I did just that!)

Bought some herbs for the Queen in my house, so that my family can also have a taste of Auckland that I brought back for them. Ain't that a clever idea?

A whole lot of activities that is actually going on revolves around this stall. Of course my photo here didn't quite justify. Actually on the right, there is a loooooooonnnnnngggggg queue of people queueing to buy coffee and on the right is another queue for paying up food. It's a buzzing stall!

Our delicious and scrumptious breakfast that morning 

A wide variety of cheese to choose and there is also a wide selection of wines on the other side of the market that you can choose from to go with the cheeses.

Ah... finally ronnie's favourite, the ham slicer... Don't ask me why... ^_^

After visiting the marketplace, on the other side of the market you can actually stroll through some of the stores. I remember there is a store that sells goods which they bring in all the way from France. Then there is also a garage that sells furnitures and add ons. Just allow yourself to be amused with all the things that you discover here.

Always remember when you go on holiday, go with an open heart and open mind, don't let things at home to bog down your feelings. This way, you will definitely be able to enjoy every moment of your life. Adios.

Market Hours:

Open Saturdays 8am to 1.30pm
Open Sundays 9am to 1.30pm

69 St Georges Bay Rd (off the Strand end)
Parnell
ph 3669361

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miss confetti goes to kiwi land

By: Unknown on Tuesday, July 12, 2011

During this trip to New Zealand, I have learn to enjoy this place from a different perspective. Coming from Asia where life is vibrant and colourful, life over here pales by comparison. Over here, it's hard to find anything open after 7pm, so let's say if you're looking for a place to hang out at night after work, your safest bet is probably the city's casino. In other words, night life here seems a little dull to me. But that is not to say I didn't enjoy myself here, just in a different way. Like I don't remember in any of my holiday in the Asian countries, I am willing to stroll down the beaches during the daytime and not diving into any shades in sight or wake up in the morning with a cup of coffee and eating pikelets while looking out to the beach, not thinking about what to do next in my head. Needless to say, Auckland as a city, the pace here is a lot slower and to enjoy this place, you need to reduce your the pace of your footstep.

A shot of the view along Tamaki Drive just outside Kelly Tarlton's. Winter came late for the Kiwis, so I still manage to catch some beautiful sunny days while here. Looking at all this little boats bobbing around, makes me want to go on a sea cruise and enjoy the breeze against my face.

We had wanted to go to the underwater world but dropped the idea in the end. Honestly just looking from the main entrance, it didn't really make me wanna go in that much. Perhaps I'm the packaging type of person where my purchasing mentality is very much drawn by the outer appearance of the product. The entrance is just a doorway that leads to a dark staircase which doesn't seem pleasant to me and I didn't bother to explore further than the doorway or maybe I might be at the wrong entrance, who knows.

New Zealand is considered the pioneer for flat white, although there are some ongoing debate on the birth origin of this beverage between Australia and NZ. Whatever it is, for coffee addict like me, I never forget my cuppa every morning and I thoroughly enjoy drinking the various coffees offered by the take away kiosk or cafe. To me, that's kind of like collecting stamp but I'm collecting the taste of coffee in my memory.

This is the little stone house next the Mecca cafe where I spent an afternoon enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking the sea and strolling along the beach. This little house offers to host events as well as it's actually a restaurant but open only when there is an occasion. I did try to imagine myself hosting a special occasion while dreaming my time there.

One of the things I enjoyed throughout my stay is the sunset view along Bucklands Beach. The ray peeking through the clouds is just too amazing and mesmerizing.

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