Alice's Page
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Alice's Page |
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Sunday 22 October 2006 Dave and Miranda headed into Auckland with their cameras to check out flower shots at the Domain Wintergardens and at the Parnell Rose Gardens. I discovered ice cream......
Miranda and Dave went over and bought a chocolate dip each. Dave said it was a soft serve icecream and he had to eat it real fast before it started leaking all over his beard. I was feeling left out, as I do when they eat in front of me, especially when Dave is going for it like he was, and I must have looked a bit woebegone because the man in the van made a small one just for me and didn't even charge. So if you see this guy in the Domain, buy an icecream from him and tell him Alice says thank you. I'm not sure what a hot dog is, though, and I didn't really like to ask. Miranda held the cone for me.
Then we headed inside. The Wintergardens are like huge glasshouses and the smell is overpowering. Wisteria all around the place, late freesias, wallflowers, stock. So much and so confusing. I got very excited and Miranda took me out beside the big goldfish pool where I could run around with her holding the long lead. That fernery looked interesting. There was a lovely blood and bone smell coming from some new plantings, but unfortunately Miranda smelt it too and stopped me investigating any further. She has a really good sense of smell for a human. Sometimes I wonder if she is part bitch.
Nice water in the pool but not up to the stuff at the waterfalls yesterday. Lots of people, though, mostly tourists from a big bus. I don't like the term Asian. People tend to sound a bit dismissive when they say it, but it is really hard to know whether they are Japanese or Korean or Chinese. I know how I feel when people ask me if I'm Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. I'm not. I'm me.
Anyhow, they loved me and Miranda could have made a mint charging people $2 to have their pictures taken with me. This is me in the tropic house.
I tell you what, standing over those grilles can be an experience. Next we went over to the duckpond. I had been looking forward to this, as there were a number of interesting smells on the grassy area as we went into the Wintergarden but after yesterday Dave was on the alert, and kept the lead quite short. I watched the pigeons instead,
as Miranda honed her bird photography skills,and Dave discovered to his delight that if he was sitting down the camera was a lot steadier for shooting with.
We had a cup of coffee in the van and went on to the Parnell Rosegardens. I was pleased it was the Nancy Steen section of the garden we went to because that's where the best smells are. However, the light was starting to go by then, and we headed back home without staying very long.
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