I left work earlier to meet my family at the airport; their Qantas flight was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon. We waited a long time at the arrival hall and they were one of the last few to exit because my sister’s baggage didn't turn up and had gone missing. I had arranged for them to stay at Brentwood Hotel as there was free airport shuttle and it was near the places I had scheduled for them to visit in the city the next day. After checking in to their rooms, we hanged around while they settled down and took a rest after a long flight. They were all in good spirits and filling me in with how the flights went, showing me what they brought, asking me what they should wear, what’s the plan for tomorrow, etc. It was very lively and chaotic, a familiar atmosphere I haven’t experienced for a very long time.

We walked over to a Chinese place for dinner which both of us had tried before and tasted alright but the dishes that night were quite poor; my father unabashedly exclaimed to the staff the food was too salty after he took a bite and the rest complained the ingredients in each dish were no different from the other and there was too much broccoli. Now they understand the kind of lousy food we both get here! Lol. Took them grocery shopping at Pak n Save after dinner and let them rest for the night. Left one car at the hotel and both of us went home in the other.

Rui very kindly agreed to use his leave since he had enough of his job and took my family around town the next day. He dropped me off at work and brought them to Chocolate Fish for breakfast and photos around Shelly Bay. While my sisters and Jeffrey were at the Weta Workshop, Rui took the old folks for a walk at Centennial Reserve. He said they like the fresh air lol. Lucky the weather was kind to them on their first day.





I met up with them for yum cha at Regal and went back to work while Rui took them to Te Papa and grocery shopping at New World. I left work as early as I could to avoid the peak hour traffic; Rui & I drove back home to pick up our own baggage, food, rice cooker, condiments, etc while the rest wandered around the house. They were fascinated with the big lemon tree and kept complaining the house was colder than a freezer lol. I was tailgated by a vehicle when going over the winding Rimutaka Hill at night. After checking in to our bach in Martinborough, we quickly prepared dinner and I received a phone call saying a courier man will be on his way to deliver my sister's lost luggage to us. Hooray!
 




I think they were more satisfied with our home cooked dinner than previous night's salty meal :)