Napier: a city pretty much destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, and then rebuilt in the style of the day, which just happened to be Art Deco. This is definitely the sort of place Miss Marple would be solving murders in. I mean, I’m writing this from the library of our hotel, with two decanters of port dangerously close to me, a saddle to the right of me, and a pump organ to the left. If I play the right notes I fully expect a bookcase to swing open to reveal a secret passage.
Besides being Art Deco capital of the world, it’s also smack bang in the middle of the Hawke’s Bay wine region, which means after a morning of dragging Holly around looking at every single variation of parapet and geometric tiling, we were able to take a break and visit a non-architecturally-significant winery for something slightly more relaxing.
Also this is the first time since we’ve been in New Zealand that we’ve actually seen the ocean. After non-stop rolling green hills dotted with sheep, it’s a pleasant change to drive along some coastal roads.
Thankfully despite the distinctly retro vibe, Napier has some rather excellent contemporary (or as Holly described them, modernz) restaurants. After a white tablecloth meal at out hotel last night, with a very friendly and informative sommelier, tonight we dined at a place called Mister D which we chose purely because when we glanced at the menu on our walk past we saw they had bone marrow ravioli – it did not disappoint.
Napier has definitely been an unexpected delight on our travels so far, and we could easily spend more time here, but alas we’ll just have a few hours in the morning before starting the drive down to Wellington. But as one last Art Deco treat, stay tuned for an upcoming post where I’ll reveal the most inappropriate use of an Deco style font by a Napier business.