Last night The Boy and I went to the Auckland Lantern Festival, which was fantastic. Loads of food stalls lined Princes St (we managed to gorge ourselves on pad thai and dumplings!), there were loads of gorgeous lanterns (many which reminded me of objects you’d find in PS3′s Little Big Planet) and many cute little asian stalls (I got The Boy a bamboo hat for a mere $3!)

There was loads of shows and displays. We saw a dragon dance (I love those), and listened to people sing in languages other than English. We also (randomly) watched a group of people dress up in medieval costumes and ‘duel’ with plastic swords. The Boy almost hurt himself laughing, and it reminded me of Laire from Role Models. Although, in a much less cool or funny way.

The only downside was that we took Quinn, and walking through the crowds it seemed that every few seconds someone wanted to touch him, or talk about him. Yes, he’s a dog, yes he’s fully grown, NO you can NOT touch him, NO you can not buy him from me. In the end I picked him up and carried him, growling at anyone who dared reach out toward him (which was basically everyone). I’m quite over the phrase ‘OoooOOO – Look at that cute little dog!’

It got worse when Quinn accidentally got covered in teriyaki sauce and some asian lady said “Oh, he’s SO CUTE, I just want to eat him!’. We left shortly after that, and I don’t think I’ll take him to another festival again. If Quinn was a St Bernard or a Alsatian or something they would show proper respect and not touch him. Apparently cute and little says “by all means, stranger, do what you want – molest me”.

Sorry, ever so slightly bitter on behalf of my little pup! Apart from the weird dog fascination, it was a great night! The festival is running all weekend, so if your in Auckland go check it out!