On our way…

Slowly but surely.

Many moons ago, we planned and organised a trip to Italy. And by “we”, I mean we commissioned Kiwi company Operatunity to organise it for us. Fortunately, they do this sort of thing all the time. Well, once a year, anyway.

Flights were booked and we were sent itineraries for our trip. We’d discussed with them about getting from Wellington to Auckland and the timescales required to ensure that we didn’t miss our flight. We going with Emirates, via Dubai, and landing in Rome. The return trip will start in Milan.

We left them to organise flights from Wellington, having expressed a preference for timings which suited us but still gave us plenty of time in case of unforeseen circumstances. On Monday, our house-sitter arrived at 12:30, drove us to the airport, and we waved him goodbye. Our flight to Auckland was slightly delayed, but the pilot made up most of the time and we landed a tad before 3:00. So far, so good.

The check-in for the Emirates flight didn’t open until 4:30, so we sat in the café drinking beverages until the time arrived, then joined the check-in queue. The mercifully short check-in queue, as it transpired, as when we handed over our passports the Emirates staffer asked to check our booking reference, and on doing so, found out that we were in fact booked onto…tomorrow’s flight!

Well, that’s a bugger. We hastily backpedalled, investigated the prices of the two on-site hotels, and checked into the slightly cheaper one, the Novotel. Then we checked our travel documents and found out that the information had been cunningly concealed in writing all along! Why Operatunity decided to book us a flight a full 30 hours before our departure remains a mystery. We stayed overnight and sent them an email in the morning to find out what the hell had happened.

Meanwhile, we had a day in Auckland at our disposal. A quick Whatsapp with The Big Foody guides availed me a recommendation for lunch – Gochu, a Korean establishment which features on one of their Auckland tours (I do some of the Wellington tours). We took the airport bus into town (through the new tunnel, which cuts the journey time down to less than half the previous), and headed to the War Memorial Museum. They're currently hosting an exhibition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, a show we had often seen in London – it’s exhibited at the Natural History Museum every year, before going on tour. We were accompanied by a bunch of young children who were being somewhat raucous, but the museum attendant shushed them and their mums (one of whom cheekily asked “Do you mind if they’re loud?” “Er, yes” came the reply). Fortunately, they soon tired of the photos and we were able to enjoy them in relative peace.

Whilst consuming a beverage at the museum café, we had correspondence and a chat with Operatunity, and they agreed to refund our unexpected hotel cost.

We took the bus back into town and located Gochu (handily, on Queen Street), and surveyed the menu. They do an express lunch special, which includes the charred chicken with comté  sauce which had been recommended, so really needed to look no further. I also sampled a 144 Islands vermouth on Tor’s recommendation, and found that it packs quite a punch! I may need to investigate further on our return to Wellington.

We picked up the Skydrive bus back to the airport and were recognised by the driver who’d brought us in in the morning. A quick stop at the hotel to pick up our luggage, and we returned for a replay of the check-in process, this time with the desired results! So now we’re waiting for boarding for the first leg of our trip to Dubai, and then onwards to The Eternal City.