Our city break in Auckland

Over the weekend it was Hayden’s birthday! We had a fantastic morning on Saturday, with a family walk over to one of favourites, Ripe Deli, for coffee, Spanish eggs and berry-coconut slice. We got it to go and ate it in Grey Lynn Park so Amelie could play on the playground. This playground is one of my favourites – it’s easy to get to on foot, there are good coffee options close by (important) and it feels really safe and fun for a toddler Amelie’s age – lots of playgrounds seem mostly designed for bigger kids, but this one is pretty relaxing.

We got home just as my parents were arriving, and conveniently Hayden took off for a ride just before Amelie’s nap, so I could get everything ready. Because unbeknownst to Hayden, we were taking off that afternoon…

…to a hotel a ten minute drive away.

Hotel DeBrett is this totally gorgeous design-led boutique hotel in the centre of the city, and the perfect place to celebrate Hayden’s birthday, as well as enjoy our first night ever away from Amelie. We arrived about 3.30pm, and after checking in we headed out to Pilkingtons, just up the road, for a drink and snack. We then went shopping around Britomart and High Street, before heading back to the hotel to relax and get ready for dinner.

For dinner, we ate at Euro, which is a total Auckland institution. Neither of us had ever been there before, and it was a great experience. The food was delicious, the waiter was hilarious (not actually in a good way, but thankfully he was so ridiculous as to be farcical, and we enjoyed that rather) and it’s a great spot to watch Aucklanders head out and about for the night.

The next day, we slept in until an unprecedented 7.41am, then had a relaxing breakfast before heading home to a happy, tired Amelie and her happy, surprisingly un-tired grandparents.

I’m so pleased with how the weekend came together! Hayden was surprised, just as I was hoping, and very happy (also just as I was hoping). Amelie coped absolutely fine with us being away, and we coped really well too – we didn’t worry about her at all. And now that first is checked off! Having children seems to be a never-ending parade of firsts, and this particular one is kind of bittersweet but also awesome. It’s so important to be more than parents some of the time.