After a fun filled few days in Gisborne, we headed down the coast to the ‘Art Deco Capital of the World’ – Napier. The city had suffered a devastating earthquake in 1931, and rebuilt the city in the ‘Great Gatsby’ era with its rich colorful buildings and street signs.

Downtown Napier 

We pulled into the Toad Hall Backpackers hostel and got ready for our dinner reservation at a local favorite – Kilim. A Turkish café with BYOB (you can bring your own WINE!) the reviews from the hostel owner and online didn’t lie. The food was fabulous and very large portions!

We started off with the traditional baba ghanoush with the softest, most delicious bread I have ever tasted. Everything on the menu sounded great, but we eventually decided to try the Beef Musakka and Chicken Saganaki – both accompanied by homemade hummus, rice, salad and this yummy yogurt sauce (kind of like a tzatziki).

Enjoying a delicious Turkish meal 

For desert we opted for the traditional Turkish sweet – Baklava. A lovely honey flavor philo pastry, filled with roasted nuts with a side of vanilla bean icecream. Yum! I couldn’t resist the homemade Turkish delight as a take-away snack for later – reminded me of my dad as that is his favorite chocolate bar! (the authentic stuff looks and tastes a bit different though)

Authentic Turkish Delight 

We strolled back to our hostel where we enjoyed the 90’s rock band – The Temple of the Grunge – who were playing at The Cabana – the bar that happened to share a wall with the hostel. We didn’t even have to leave our room to feel like we were watching it front row. Haha

Once it was dark, we strolled downtown to check out the entertainment along the water. The streets were full of people of all ages enjoying the free music and beautiful summer evening.

Downtown Napier NYE celebrations 

As it neared midnight, we wandered back to the hostel to the roof top patio where a small party had been taking place that night. With the best seat in the house, we enjoyed the fireworks and counted down to 2014!

Welcome 2014!