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Russell writes…
Last evening, Gail unwittingly consumed Phenylephrine with alcohol. This morning, she was still so loopy and dizzy that she decided to curtail her activities for our day in Napier, New Zealand. We were originally scheduled for a 4.5 hour “Cape Kidnappers & Gannet Safari” excursion. Instead, Russell turned in our tickets and set out on his own with the three-hour “Art Deco Highlights of Napier” excursion.
On February 3, 1931, Napier (and surrounding Hawke’s Bay) was hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The entire downtown was leveled by the quake and subsequent fire. When the city rebuilt, it did so with the prevailing architecture of the day: Art Deco. When downtown began renovating in the 1960s, wise historians realized what a unique time capsule they had. A trust was established, and downtown remains a showcase of Art Deco architecture.
Here are the four main Art Deco architectural styles…
Russell was so enamored by what he saw, he skipped the last hour of his excursion (a panoramic drive into the surrounding neighborhoods). Instead, he took a shuttle back to the ship, grabbed Gail, and went back downtown again. We had a terrific afternoon admiring the downtown architecture, the Marine Parade coast, and the many quirky monuments along the way.
Today is our 33rd day aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. This is the longest we have ever been on a cruise. (Our 2012 South America cruise was 31 days.) We are still having the time of our lives, and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!