Advantages of crashing at a Master Sommelier's house

Hospitality and making someone feel welcome has always come naturally to me but I have been one upped in tremendous fashion. Cameron and his partner of 25 years Janet have hosted me for two days now and I feel like family. Tasting amazing wines, having wonderful meals with "flat white" coffees followed by biscotti and then tea at the end of the evening is of common occurence here. I could think of no better place to start my stay in a big city in a new country. Not to knock my friends down south for their luxurious couches but sleeping in a bed again has done wonders for the quality and length of sleep I've been getting.

I'm on the hunt the majority of the day to find a flat to rent out in time for the job to start but I'm coming up empty so far. No calls back yet but I'm confident something will come up soon. Probably going to live in a fun suburb near the city centre because living right near work would be excessively expensive for both room and parking. But, I especially have no worries because the Douglas's have had backpackers come through their place before and have told me not to rush in finding the right place. I'm being as uninvasive as possible but it's hard to feel like a burden when you feel right at home.

Probably going to go sit in on one of Cameron's classes at Auckland University tomorrow; Janet is lecturing because Cameron is judging wines the next two days at an event for small single vineyard producers. Life is pretty shabby right now, let me tell you...haha. They've also been kind enough to invite me down to their friends place in late October for a weekend away. Simon Wolley at the moment is producing one of if not the finest still and sparkling artesian water in New Zealand sourced from NZ's highest and deepest well in Whakatane. The name is Antipodes and it's really good stuff. The company and it's processes are certified carboNZERO from aquifer to anywhere in the world so you don't have to worry about shipping it to your table back in the states!