Staying at the Hamilton Hilton

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We spent four days with Debbie, Criss and Oscar. It was a relaxing time, no pressure to do anything in particular and great conversation and friendship.Debbie made us ham and cheese toasties for breakfast each morning and dinner most nights.We went to Hamilton Gardens twice. The first day it was to see the new Egyptian garden and renew acquaintance with some old favourites. The second time we took Oscar for a walk in the Rose Garden This was stunning, with some beautiful colours and a huge variety of breeds.
On Wednesday Criss drove us all to Raglan. This is a lovely seaside village at the mouth of the Waikato river where we marvelled at the strong surf and the number of surfers paddling out for their turn on the waves. We had a lovely lunch there, sitting on the veranda at a rural restaurant. I had very delicious beef cheeks, very tender. On the way back we went to Criss's favourite wine shop where we bought a lovely Yalumba red.

The highlight of our stay was Friday night. Criss drove us out to the countryside to the Zealong tea plantation where we had a fabulous meal at the Camilla restaurant. This is set in a beautiful garden over looking the fields of tea. It is only open on Friday and Saturday nights and is very exclusive. We had a wonderful meal. We were brought an amuse bouche of gazpacho which was delicious, then I had a pork terrine while Fletcher had Tiger prawns. For main course I chose the stuffed quail served with grapes and mushrooms, while Fletcher and Debbie had the fish of the day which was snapper. Criss tried the gnocchi. My quail was one of the best meals I have had for ages. It was tender and tasty. The others all reported how delicious their meals were. For dessert we all went for something different. I had the hazelnut mousse while Fletcher had the chocolate and Debbie, the strawberries. We had lovely wine to accompany it all. The service was excellent with very friendly and efficient staff. What a great night!!
On the last day Criss went off to Athletics. I went to a local coffee shop and met up with Jessica Rayner an old scholar, Class of 2005, who is now working as a vet in Poipoi not far from Hamilton. She had her partner, Michael, with her and we spent a pleasant hour chatting. Then Debbie and Fletcher picked me up and we went to Hayes Common for a tasty lunch.The rain had set in early and kept falling all day, so we were happy to be inside.
We might not have done a lot but we thoroughly enjoyed our four days, just being with good company!!

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