Left Ed's at about noon. Got to Rose's, in Auckland, at about 2 o'clock. Rose has a shining personality that's bold & colorful. She wears rich, colorful clothes & lipstick, and has a wide smile. Cloedah, her daughter, is one of Tansy's best friends. They live in one of those old "row" houses that are 2 story & share walls with their neighbors. She had it nicely decorated with original art & the kitchen had rich wood cabinets & counter tops. Out back, she had a little garden. A lovely scented jasmine plant was growing by the door.
Rose manages a company that provides lighting, sound, & camera crews. Her company filmed the "Lord of the Rings" interviews on the DVD's.
We hopped in the car & all went to the Te Papa National Museum. On the way, we passed the theater that the third "Lord of the Rings" movie was premiered last week. It had a huge dragon type creature on the building. One of the Ring Wrath's creatures.
At the museum we saw the earthquake & volcano section. Very interesting. Also, the "Golden Ages". A short film of clips of New Zealand's past 50 years or more. Nina could really emotionally relate to it but I had no connection or nostalgia at all.
We stopped in the Maori area that had the treaty of Waitangi in English & Maori. This was the treaty signed in the late 1800's that gave the Maori rights to their land but were under sovereignty of England. It is still the law today. We looked at a Marae (community).
There was a Whari house (meeting house) that we walked into without shoes. A lot of carved woodwork on the walls & columns. Also woven flax wall hangings that represented things of nature like water & wind. A Whati Kai was displayed where food preparation would take place.
We stopped at an India display. It had filmed interviews of couples that had "arranged" marriages. That was interesting too.
On the way out of the museum, Tansy noticed her purse missing. When she went in to get it, she bumped into Kinsie, Louisa (her daughter), & a friend, Ann! We all hugged then crowded into each other's cars & went back to Rose's via the grocery store, to visit some more. We all had a good time piled in the little living room. The dining room table was set up in the middle of the room with added leaves & after dinner we tore it down & set it aside. More wine. I think we've had wine with every dinner since we got to NZ. Even when we were camping. I still have not acquired a taste to it & I've had quite a bit, especially at Ed's.
I slept on the floor in the living room. Boy was I tired.
*** Gini asked if Tansy got her purse back, & yes she did. It was where she left it. NZ is a safer place to live than here. Alison was telling me about how things aren't as safe as they used to be & gave me an example of an atrocity that had happened 6 months ago. A hitchhiker was picked up. He & the driver got into an argument. The hitchhiker was dropped off & later he sought out the driver & beat him to near death. It's sad to say, that here in Phoenix, that kind of violence doesn't even hit our news.
Susan said that when she was visiting NZ, a car was stolen, & it was all over the news with the description, etc. I don't think the thief had a chance.
Frank left his wallet on the Ferry, later on our journey. I'll tell you about it when we come to that part of the trip.
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