Apparently, Napier is one of the art deco capitals of the architectural world. I wasn't quite sure what art decco meant before we got here, but after spending a few hours walking around the city I have a pretty good idea of what it means now.
We didn't come to Napier to jump back into the 40s, we came because it was a convenient place to stop right in the midst of literally hundreds of vineyards and wineries. The Napier and the Hawke's Bay regions of New Zealand produce most of the country's wines and are very proud of it.
After about a five hour drive from Wellington through more farmland and rolling hills, we checked into our old-school Masonic Hotel and promptly had an evening picnic on the deck while people watching over the marine harbor walk.
We spent the next day visiting wineries pretending we knew the difference between a gewurtztraminer and a port and walking around town looking at all of the crazy art deco buildings. It was a pretty low-key day and it was nice to take it easy in the sunshine by the coast for an afternoon.
We spent the evening at a park making dinner on our little one burner propane tank cooker before enjoying some of the wine from our vineyard goodie bags and retiring to the motel for the night.
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