Welcome to Parnell

Yesterday I spent most of my day in the neighborhood of Parnell. Parnell is just a brief bus ride from Remuera and is also very close to the city center. Around lunchtime, I had a meal with a friend from school and we went to an acoustic performance near Uni. Afterwards, I spent the afternoon wandering through Parnell. The village is about a block from the domain and not far at all from the water. It has a very colonial feel, with the craftsman-like architecture of the shops, old fashioned iron street lights and many parks. Parnell tends to have a lot of tourists milling about, because as I mentioned it is very close to the CBD, but they have some great restaurants and some very nice shops as well. The area is also Auckland's main design district. Off the main street, one will find a large number of design warehouses and showrooms. These buildings are almost all old industrial buildings that have been reworked into modern, open spaces.

My favorite part of the area is the many art galleries. Of course I am not exactly in the market to purchase a piece of art from such a gallery, but I certainly enjoy looking. One of my favorites is a contemporary art gallery. My favorite piece that I saw yesterday was constructed using old books that had been cut into triangles, opened and arranged to form three dimensional geometric patterns. Pictures are, unfortunately but understandably, not encouraged in the shop, but I hope my description has sufficed.

Also during my visit, I stopped by the library (pictured bellow) and checked out a few magazines, which I proceeded to read in the court yard of the enormous Anglican church that is just inside the Parnell village limits. The church had a banner outside advertising an upcoming Habitat for Humanity event and I'm planning on signing up as a volunteer.

Here is the Parnell Library. Auckland libraries has a very good system in which a patron can check out material from any library branch and return it to any of the other branches. The Parnell library is in a large historical building that is also home to the Parnell Council and Plunket, a non profit organization. One side of the building is occupied by an upscale design firm and home interiors retailer.

A glimpse of the church and an interesting copper sculpture

I have some fun things planned for my Sunday, but you'll find out about them tomorrow! I'm going to be more consistent with posting as my days become more scheduled (6 a.m. run and workout, 7:30 a.m. email and blog, etc etc). As always I love hearing from you all and appreciate your comments!

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.

~Leon J. Suenes

Lots of Love,

A