Well, OK, surf and turf might be a stretch. Last night for dinner I had: escargo (turf), shrimp cocktail (surf) and lobster tails (surf). I have only had escargo once before and liked it. This time I loved it. In fact, both Tracy and I were getting more bread to soak up the butter and garlicy goodness that was left after eating the snails. The shrimp cocktails have been fantastic each time and what can I say about the lobster. I wonder how many people DIDN'T order the lobster. I have heard of only one. Normally for dessert, they offer you a dessert menu from which to make your choice. That night, no choice! Baked Alaska was FORCED on us. Well, I choked it down ... greedily and happily :)
Tonight for dinner I had wild boar with sweet potatoes, broccoli and baked pear. It is a burden, but one I am willing to bear. Why do I feel like my roommate Michelle won't be offering me espresso each night?? I have come to be used to it. Oh well, we all knew real life would interrupt the fantasy ... eventually ... but not yet!!!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Last Excursion :(
Today was the last excursion stop of the cruise. We stopped in Tauranga. In order to bring us full circle on the trip, it was raining in the morning. We walked into town, did a little shopping and then came back to the boat for our final excursion. It was a trip to Longridge Fun Park. When we got there, we were shuttled from the bus to a truck with seating in the bed and a trailer with seating. We proceeded to go into a kiwi farm and learn about kiwi's. The kiwi branches will grow 4 feet a day. Dang, that is like kudzu in Georgia! They are developing another kiwi called golden kiwi. It is supposed to be sweeter and is golden colored inside. Sadly, all those are going to China for now, but perhaps in a couple of years, we might see them in the US. After a few more stops with information about trees we got to the fun part ... a jet boat ride. We broke into two groups and got into two jet boats. The trip was about 7 1/2 kilometers up the river. The boats were fast and the driver was fantastic. We were sluicing up the narrow river at about 40 MPH and would do some fast 360 degree turns. It was screaming fun and I wish we could have done it again. The only downside was the driver asked if we wanted to do the turns faster and the old people in the back of the boat said no. What the hell did they think was gonna happen on a jet boat??? Oh well, we had fun nonetheless. So, we are back on board the Statendam and soon we will be taking off for a day at sea before arriving in Auckland and that my friends will be the end of the cruise. Bitter sweet.
Which Title?
I could have titled this post either: 1) Meanest Bastard On The Boat or 2) Have You Made Your Wine Steward Cry Today?
The other night, Joe brought a bottle of wine to the table at dinner. The ship charges an uncorking fee when you bring your own bottle. They are proud of this service as they charge $15 to uncork your bottle for you. Another important piece of information is that the bottle of wine Joe brought to the table had a screw top and not a cork. So, when the steward came to the table and reminded us about the uncorking fee. I told him he shouldn't charge us for an uncorking fee as the bottle had no cork. I then asked if they perhaps have an un-screwing fee instead. He seemed flustered and said he would have to ask his supervisor and just disappeared. A while later, the dining room manager came by and let us know that I had made his steward cry. He told us that Michael was one of his very best stewards and just to be nice to him. Eventually, Michael came back to the table to finish pouring the one bottle of wine and then disappeared for the rest of the night. I felt a little bad that I made him cry, but honestly, if just a simple joke can bring that boy to tears, then he had better get another job. Seriously, I was never mean, I just asked questions in my sarcastic way. Luckily, they really do have a GREAT wine steward named Enricho. He is always smiling and is always very helpful. So, have you made your wine steward cry today???
The other night, Joe brought a bottle of wine to the table at dinner. The ship charges an uncorking fee when you bring your own bottle. They are proud of this service as they charge $15 to uncork your bottle for you. Another important piece of information is that the bottle of wine Joe brought to the table had a screw top and not a cork. So, when the steward came to the table and reminded us about the uncorking fee. I told him he shouldn't charge us for an uncorking fee as the bottle had no cork. I then asked if they perhaps have an un-screwing fee instead. He seemed flustered and said he would have to ask his supervisor and just disappeared. A while later, the dining room manager came by and let us know that I had made his steward cry. He told us that Michael was one of his very best stewards and just to be nice to him. Eventually, Michael came back to the table to finish pouring the one bottle of wine and then disappeared for the rest of the night. I felt a little bad that I made him cry, but honestly, if just a simple joke can bring that boy to tears, then he had better get another job. Seriously, I was never mean, I just asked questions in my sarcastic way. Luckily, they really do have a GREAT wine steward named Enricho. He is always smiling and is always very helpful. So, have you made your wine steward cry today???
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wellington and Napier
First I have to say thanks to all who are reading and writing in. It's really a treat to hear voices from home. Thanks for playing! Still can't get the pictures to upload. :-( Maybe when we get to Auckland and have a land-based connection...so sorry.
Wellington is the largest city we've been to in NZ. It has a beautiful harbor (especially viewed from atop the nearby hills we accessed via the only working cable car in the southern hemisphere) and a bustling downtown area. We didn't go on a tour, but armed with a city map and our adventurous spirit, we set out for the day. The first thing on our agenda was to find a post office and mail back all the souvenirs we've collected to date. Joe and i seem to do this every trip...we buy so many souvies, that we just don't have the room to bring back in our suitcases. So we mailed a boxload home (for half the price it cost us to mail from Europe last year!). A quick visit with a helpful security guy gave us the proper direction to find a pub. And darn it, if we didn't find one! Not only one but several! The first was The Dog and Bone. Run by a guy from Myrtle Beach, SC, who had a cajun from New Orlean for a chef...small world. He picked up on my, "How're y'all today?" and we made fast friends.
The next thing on the agenda was a haircut for Brett. Now, if you know Brett, I'm sure you're thinking, "Why in the hell does he need a haircut?" Believe me, we were thinking the same thing. But how many of you can say that you've had a haircut in NZ? One man's souvenir is...well...whatever.
We then headed for The Black Harp, a good Irish pub with great ambience and good food. Oh, and the beer wasn't bad, either! Directly across the street was a Scotish pub, The Feathers. It was kinda dead in there, but, then again, it was Tuesday afternoon. We did a bit of shopping and scampered back to the ship. Another good day!
At dinner, we opened the bottles of Savi Blanc we bought in Picton...delish!!! it's a shame we can't find a thing to drink down here!
Napier is a beautiful gem in the North Island's coast line. It's a little art deco beach town with a black pebble beach (Cindy, I found you a heart-shaped stone) and clear aqua blue waters. We had a really short time here...too short, but we managed to find Rosie O'Grady's and The Hogsbreath pubs...it's a gift.
Back on board, heading toward Roatonga (I'm sure I've misspelled that). It's hard to believe that this adventure is almost over. Let's not think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow. Maybe.
Wellington is the largest city we've been to in NZ. It has a beautiful harbor (especially viewed from atop the nearby hills we accessed via the only working cable car in the southern hemisphere) and a bustling downtown area. We didn't go on a tour, but armed with a city map and our adventurous spirit, we set out for the day. The first thing on our agenda was to find a post office and mail back all the souvenirs we've collected to date. Joe and i seem to do this every trip...we buy so many souvies, that we just don't have the room to bring back in our suitcases. So we mailed a boxload home (for half the price it cost us to mail from Europe last year!). A quick visit with a helpful security guy gave us the proper direction to find a pub. And darn it, if we didn't find one! Not only one but several! The first was The Dog and Bone. Run by a guy from Myrtle Beach, SC, who had a cajun from New Orlean for a chef...small world. He picked up on my, "How're y'all today?" and we made fast friends.
The next thing on the agenda was a haircut for Brett. Now, if you know Brett, I'm sure you're thinking, "Why in the hell does he need a haircut?" Believe me, we were thinking the same thing. But how many of you can say that you've had a haircut in NZ? One man's souvenir is...well...whatever.
We then headed for The Black Harp, a good Irish pub with great ambience and good food. Oh, and the beer wasn't bad, either! Directly across the street was a Scotish pub, The Feathers. It was kinda dead in there, but, then again, it was Tuesday afternoon. We did a bit of shopping and scampered back to the ship. Another good day!
At dinner, we opened the bottles of Savi Blanc we bought in Picton...delish!!! it's a shame we can't find a thing to drink down here!
Napier is a beautiful gem in the North Island's coast line. It's a little art deco beach town with a black pebble beach (Cindy, I found you a heart-shaped stone) and clear aqua blue waters. We had a really short time here...too short, but we managed to find Rosie O'Grady's and The Hogsbreath pubs...it's a gift.
Back on board, heading toward Roatonga (I'm sure I've misspelled that). It's hard to believe that this adventure is almost over. Let's not think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow. Maybe.
Mega Post
Time flies when you are partying your ass off! I just realized how long it has been, so here is a mega post. One of our first dinners out of Tasmania they had kangaroo on the menu. It was quickly seared and served with a plum sauce and was really quite tender and good. It was dark like beef. I highly recommend it! Another night we had New Zealand eel. What the hell, how often do you get that choice and again, quite good. The food on the entire trip was been very good. No complaints in that department.
Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound & Duskey Sound
After 2 days at sea, we came to the sounds. If you know me, you know that I don't use superlatives often. So, when I say that the scenery was just AMAZING, you will know it was something to see. The sounds are on the southwest side of the south island of New Zealand. My pictures are nice, but NOT ONE OF THEM will impart the beauty of the sounds. Their shear sides and yet are covered in vegetation. Since Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, I kept expecting to see an army of orcs come rushing down the sides of the sounds. This area gets 20 FEET of rain a year, so all the literature says to expect some rain. The weather gods were very kind to us and we actually got to cruise Doubtful Sound as well. We didn't see a drop of rain. In the daily itinerary, there was a note about a polar bear swim in Dusky Sound. I got pretty excited about the idea of going into the sound. Well, it turns out they couldn't actually let us in the sound. So, we went to the unheated pool in the back of the ship. They threw a glass of water, supposedly from the sound itself into the pool along with a bucket of ice. It wasn't as cold as I had hoped for, but it was cold enough to make you breath fast and shallow. About the temperature of lake Michigan in May.
Dunedin
This was the first stop we made in New Zealand. It is a quaint little town on the south east side of New Zealand. We were out of the Tasman Sea and were in the Pacific Ocean. A point of note, just south west of Dunedin is Invercargill. That is where Burt Munroe, the worlds fastest Indian is from. We went on a Taste of Dunedin tour. This included a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory and Speights Brewery. Cadbury was quite the tasty tour. We got bits of chocolate pretty much through the tour. If you live in the USA, you have never REALLY had Cadbury chocolate. It is licensed to Hershey's in the USA. At the end of the tour we saw the largest and tallest chocolatefall in the WORLD! One ton of liquid chocolate was dropped and it rushed down a silo. We were at the top of the silo and it was quite the site and very loud. The only sad aspect of the tour was that it ran long and we were whisked away to Speights for beer. I only missed the gift shop, so if you wanted a Cadbury chocolate souvenir from me ... tough :) Speights was quite the fun tour. It is a gravity system of making beer. This means that there are 5 floors involved in the process of dumping product and water and gravity feeds it all along the system to the brewing vats. Chocolate and beer ... what a good day!
Timaru
This was the first stop EVER for the Statendam in Timaru. Sadly, we didn't see much of the town. Our tour here was to Mount Cook. We had tried to get the ship tour, but it had been sold out for some time and they excursion folks didn't know if we were going to get on. So, Joe worked his magic and we ended up with a private tour. So, 5 of us, minus Brett, took off in a van with Phillip and Scott to see Mount Cook. Turns out, this is about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there. We were a bit late taking off, but the mini van could overtake each of the tour busses as we came across them. We had a quick look at Lake Pukaki. It was the most interesting color. Neon robin blue might work. Glacier blue would be accurate, but not terribly descriptive had you never seen such a color. After a short picture stop, we continued up to Mount Cook. WOW, what a sight. Big 'ol glacier and a statue of Edmund Hillary. Well, the statue wasn't much since I didn't make any effort to see it from the front, but the glacier and mountain were quite gorgeous. So, when we felt like the tour busses would be catching up, we took off to find some lunch. I don't remember the town, but we stopped and got some bread, cheese, pesto and jam. Pair that up with some incredible pinot noir and chardonnay wine and you have one hell of a lunch. I am glad I didn't have to drive back!
Picton
We didn't have any tours planned here, just to walk the town. We first came to The Flying Haggis, a Scottish pub. I had a pint of Mack's Black and ordered a lamb pie. I am glad we weren't any later as I got the very last one. That was one fine lamb pie. Went quite well with a pint of dark stout beer. We also an Irish bar and had more beer. Another nice day.
Wellington
This is the first town we visited on the north island. We didn't have any tours scheduled here either. The most interesting was basically a pub crawl for $80. I can find pubs for less! Joe and Tracy wanted to ship off souvenirs back home. They had a rolling bag full, about 22KG of stuff. At that point, we went and found our first pub, the Dog & Bone. After a pint, we were off to find the cable car. It is a small train that is pulled up the tracks by a cable and also slowed down on the descent by formerly mentioned cable. There are some nice views at the top along with a botanical garden. The garden was probably very nice, but we were hungry, so we rode back to the base and took off for yet another pub. As luck would have it we found The Black Harp. After ordering a round of pints, we ordered food. Most everyone ordered corn beef sandwiches, but I ordered a chicken sandwich. It was actually a nice sandwich, but I wish I had ordered the Guinness pie. Oh well, the sandwich was exactly what I needed rather than wanted. After we finished our food, it was time to find another pub and wouldn't you know, there was one across the street called The Feathers. We ordered another round of pints, but this pub was kind of dull, so we drank our brews and went back out to the street. We looked around town some more, but ultimately didn't find any more pubs to visit. We walked back to the ship and I think we all went to take a nap. Lots of walking, beer and sun can take it out of you. In the end, we visited one less pub than the tour, but we did the cable car and weren't rushed to get back in the bus and go to the next pub. So, in the end ... another very nice day.
Napier
This is a very small town and we were only scheduled for a few short hours. I think we headed out around 10 AM and we had to be back on board by 1 PM. You wouldn't think we would find much ... and yet we found a couple of pubs. SHOCKED? Probably not :) The very first place we saw as Lone Star Napier. Sadly, they didn't open until 5:30. After looking in some shops, we found Rosie O'Gradys Irish Pub. Had a local brew called Cutback. After that we headed out to find The Hogs Breath Saloon. It is named after the Hogs Breath in Key West, FL, but isn't affiliated. Had some local north island beer called Tui. We also had lunch. I had a cheese burger and it was quite good. Sadly, they didn't have any T-shirts that had New Zealand on them.
It is weird that we are coming close to the end of the cruise. At one point it seemed like there was lots of time ... and now we only have one more stop to make. But, that will be another post.
Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound & Duskey Sound
After 2 days at sea, we came to the sounds. If you know me, you know that I don't use superlatives often. So, when I say that the scenery was just AMAZING, you will know it was something to see. The sounds are on the southwest side of the south island of New Zealand. My pictures are nice, but NOT ONE OF THEM will impart the beauty of the sounds. Their shear sides and yet are covered in vegetation. Since Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, I kept expecting to see an army of orcs come rushing down the sides of the sounds. This area gets 20 FEET of rain a year, so all the literature says to expect some rain. The weather gods were very kind to us and we actually got to cruise Doubtful Sound as well. We didn't see a drop of rain. In the daily itinerary, there was a note about a polar bear swim in Dusky Sound. I got pretty excited about the idea of going into the sound. Well, it turns out they couldn't actually let us in the sound. So, we went to the unheated pool in the back of the ship. They threw a glass of water, supposedly from the sound itself into the pool along with a bucket of ice. It wasn't as cold as I had hoped for, but it was cold enough to make you breath fast and shallow. About the temperature of lake Michigan in May.
Dunedin
This was the first stop we made in New Zealand. It is a quaint little town on the south east side of New Zealand. We were out of the Tasman Sea and were in the Pacific Ocean. A point of note, just south west of Dunedin is Invercargill. That is where Burt Munroe, the worlds fastest Indian is from. We went on a Taste of Dunedin tour. This included a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory and Speights Brewery. Cadbury was quite the tasty tour. We got bits of chocolate pretty much through the tour. If you live in the USA, you have never REALLY had Cadbury chocolate. It is licensed to Hershey's in the USA. At the end of the tour we saw the largest and tallest chocolatefall in the WORLD! One ton of liquid chocolate was dropped and it rushed down a silo. We were at the top of the silo and it was quite the site and very loud. The only sad aspect of the tour was that it ran long and we were whisked away to Speights for beer. I only missed the gift shop, so if you wanted a Cadbury chocolate souvenir from me ... tough :) Speights was quite the fun tour. It is a gravity system of making beer. This means that there are 5 floors involved in the process of dumping product and water and gravity feeds it all along the system to the brewing vats. Chocolate and beer ... what a good day!
Timaru
This was the first stop EVER for the Statendam in Timaru. Sadly, we didn't see much of the town. Our tour here was to Mount Cook. We had tried to get the ship tour, but it had been sold out for some time and they excursion folks didn't know if we were going to get on. So, Joe worked his magic and we ended up with a private tour. So, 5 of us, minus Brett, took off in a van with Phillip and Scott to see Mount Cook. Turns out, this is about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there. We were a bit late taking off, but the mini van could overtake each of the tour busses as we came across them. We had a quick look at Lake Pukaki. It was the most interesting color. Neon robin blue might work. Glacier blue would be accurate, but not terribly descriptive had you never seen such a color. After a short picture stop, we continued up to Mount Cook. WOW, what a sight. Big 'ol glacier and a statue of Edmund Hillary. Well, the statue wasn't much since I didn't make any effort to see it from the front, but the glacier and mountain were quite gorgeous. So, when we felt like the tour busses would be catching up, we took off to find some lunch. I don't remember the town, but we stopped and got some bread, cheese, pesto and jam. Pair that up with some incredible pinot noir and chardonnay wine and you have one hell of a lunch. I am glad I didn't have to drive back!
Picton
We didn't have any tours planned here, just to walk the town. We first came to The Flying Haggis, a Scottish pub. I had a pint of Mack's Black and ordered a lamb pie. I am glad we weren't any later as I got the very last one. That was one fine lamb pie. Went quite well with a pint of dark stout beer. We also an Irish bar and had more beer. Another nice day.
Wellington
This is the first town we visited on the north island. We didn't have any tours scheduled here either. The most interesting was basically a pub crawl for $80. I can find pubs for less! Joe and Tracy wanted to ship off souvenirs back home. They had a rolling bag full, about 22KG of stuff. At that point, we went and found our first pub, the Dog & Bone. After a pint, we were off to find the cable car. It is a small train that is pulled up the tracks by a cable and also slowed down on the descent by formerly mentioned cable. There are some nice views at the top along with a botanical garden. The garden was probably very nice, but we were hungry, so we rode back to the base and took off for yet another pub. As luck would have it we found The Black Harp. After ordering a round of pints, we ordered food. Most everyone ordered corn beef sandwiches, but I ordered a chicken sandwich. It was actually a nice sandwich, but I wish I had ordered the Guinness pie. Oh well, the sandwich was exactly what I needed rather than wanted. After we finished our food, it was time to find another pub and wouldn't you know, there was one across the street called The Feathers. We ordered another round of pints, but this pub was kind of dull, so we drank our brews and went back out to the street. We looked around town some more, but ultimately didn't find any more pubs to visit. We walked back to the ship and I think we all went to take a nap. Lots of walking, beer and sun can take it out of you. In the end, we visited one less pub than the tour, but we did the cable car and weren't rushed to get back in the bus and go to the next pub. So, in the end ... another very nice day.
Napier
This is a very small town and we were only scheduled for a few short hours. I think we headed out around 10 AM and we had to be back on board by 1 PM. You wouldn't think we would find much ... and yet we found a couple of pubs. SHOCKED? Probably not :) The very first place we saw as Lone Star Napier. Sadly, they didn't open until 5:30. After looking in some shops, we found Rosie O'Gradys Irish Pub. Had a local brew called Cutback. After that we headed out to find The Hogs Breath Saloon. It is named after the Hogs Breath in Key West, FL, but isn't affiliated. Had some local north island beer called Tui. We also had lunch. I had a cheese burger and it was quite good. Sadly, they didn't have any T-shirts that had New Zealand on them.
It is weird that we are coming close to the end of the cruise. At one point it seemed like there was lots of time ... and now we only have one more stop to make. But, that will be another post.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
One Word: Pictures, Dammit!
Um...Cindy...uh, yeah, "pictures, dammit" is two words.
I'm having trouble uploading pictures, but I'm sure there's more than one way to skin a cat. We have kind of a slow day tomorrow, so I'll try to work it out.
Today we're in Picton. And for all my California readers, and the rest of you wine snobs out there, I just have to say a big ol' neener, neener! We toured two wineries today, with tastings at both, then we went to a place that had liqueur tastings and olive oil tastings...oh my!
New Zealand wines are very different than the wines I usually buy. Turns out their Savignon Blanc is one of the world's best (awarded to several of the more than forty vintners here). I'm a believer! The climate in the Marlborough region is cool and fairly dry - just right for these grapes. Reds need wetter, warmer temps, and most of the New Zealand reds reflect just that...they're just not that good. But the Savi Blanc...delish! We bought several bottles and hope to get them chilled so we can have them with dinner tomorrow night.
The weather was beautiful today, so before we did the wine tour, we walked around Picton, a quaint little town of about 4,000 people. We did a little shopping and then had lunch at The Flying Haggis (the food was way better than the name sounds). And guess what was on tap?!? Speights Gold Medal Ale. I love me some Gold Medal Ale.
I got an e-mail from my mother yesterday, and among other things she said she was a little concerned about all the beer and wine we were drinking (and glad I'd dieted prior to the cruise). I replied that, yes, we'll have to go big on the diet when we get back, but for now it's drink 'til we drop! Hey, we're not driving ;-)
Well, I'm off to play Broadway Team Trivia - although I can't imagine what they'll give me when we win...I already have every Holland America logo-ed thing they have!
I'll work on the picture problem...but I'm sure it has something to do with the ship's connectivity. After all, I could upload before we boarded. Hmmm...maybe Jon can wave his magic computer wand and figure this out.
Tomorrow: Wellington. No tours scheduled, but I can feel a pub crawl coming on.
I'm having trouble uploading pictures, but I'm sure there's more than one way to skin a cat. We have kind of a slow day tomorrow, so I'll try to work it out.
Today we're in Picton. And for all my California readers, and the rest of you wine snobs out there, I just have to say a big ol' neener, neener! We toured two wineries today, with tastings at both, then we went to a place that had liqueur tastings and olive oil tastings...oh my!
New Zealand wines are very different than the wines I usually buy. Turns out their Savignon Blanc is one of the world's best (awarded to several of the more than forty vintners here). I'm a believer! The climate in the Marlborough region is cool and fairly dry - just right for these grapes. Reds need wetter, warmer temps, and most of the New Zealand reds reflect just that...they're just not that good. But the Savi Blanc...delish! We bought several bottles and hope to get them chilled so we can have them with dinner tomorrow night.
The weather was beautiful today, so before we did the wine tour, we walked around Picton, a quaint little town of about 4,000 people. We did a little shopping and then had lunch at The Flying Haggis (the food was way better than the name sounds). And guess what was on tap?!? Speights Gold Medal Ale. I love me some Gold Medal Ale.
I got an e-mail from my mother yesterday, and among other things she said she was a little concerned about all the beer and wine we were drinking (and glad I'd dieted prior to the cruise). I replied that, yes, we'll have to go big on the diet when we get back, but for now it's drink 'til we drop! Hey, we're not driving ;-)
Well, I'm off to play Broadway Team Trivia - although I can't imagine what they'll give me when we win...I already have every Holland America logo-ed thing they have!
I'll work on the picture problem...but I'm sure it has something to do with the ship's connectivity. After all, I could upload before we boarded. Hmmm...maybe Jon can wave his magic computer wand and figure this out.
Tomorrow: Wellington. No tours scheduled, but I can feel a pub crawl coming on.
What the Tour Books Don’t Tell You
Simply that Tasman Glacier, Mount Cook (Akori in Maori) and Lake Pukaki are magnificent! Well, I guess they do tell you that, but there’s no word for the blue that colors the lake. Day-Glo Robin’s Egg? Opal Blue? Royal Aqua? Hugh Laurie’s Eyes-Blue? Whatever you want to call it...its an amazing color. And I saw glaciers in Alaska, but they got nothin’ on Tasman Glacier: it’s massive and imposing. I felt almost as if it might slip down the side of the mountain from its perch and swallow us all. As for Mount Cook: fantastic...now I know why they call these the Southern Alps! Its two peaks rose above a cloud and blistered the blue sky with their frosted summits. Humbling.
Our private tour guide, Phillip Nordt (a longtime friend of Wally’s, whom Joe knows) expertly navigated the small town traffic and landed us at the foot of the mountains way ahead of the buses. Good job! Although I was feeling a little woozy from a) the night before, b) the early hour and c) he’s used to driving on the Autobahn. Beautiful scenery (or at least what I think was beautiful scenery...seriously, it went by so freakin’ fast) abounds in New Zealand: pastures filled with sheep, both shorn and unshorn, and grazing dairy cows; small farms and quaint towns; rolling hills and grassy plains. It looks very European. As it should! The ancestry moved here and made it look like home.
After walking around Mount Cook and surrounds, we headed back to the ship (too soon for my tastes, but the gang plank was scheduled to go up at 3pm), but not before stopping for some lunch in Geraldine. This cute little village is home to some of the best cheese makers in the world. We sampled brie, peppered Havarti, chevreton (sp?) goat’s cheese, Huntington Redwood and some kind of really strong bleu cheese, along with some jam, pesto, feta dip, fresh bread and several wines. One of the best lunches ever!
We hit the ship about 15 minutes before sailing, and I hit my pillow for a two hour nap. Not much going on this evening, and it’s a good thing, Tomorrow we are in Picton and the Marlborough Wine country. Yep, you guessed it...we’re going on a winery tour. Three of them, in fact. Can’t wait!
Our private tour guide, Phillip Nordt (a longtime friend of Wally’s, whom Joe knows) expertly navigated the small town traffic and landed us at the foot of the mountains way ahead of the buses. Good job! Although I was feeling a little woozy from a) the night before, b) the early hour and c) he’s used to driving on the Autobahn. Beautiful scenery (or at least what I think was beautiful scenery...seriously, it went by so freakin’ fast) abounds in New Zealand: pastures filled with sheep, both shorn and unshorn, and grazing dairy cows; small farms and quaint towns; rolling hills and grassy plains. It looks very European. As it should! The ancestry moved here and made it look like home.
After walking around Mount Cook and surrounds, we headed back to the ship (too soon for my tastes, but the gang plank was scheduled to go up at 3pm), but not before stopping for some lunch in Geraldine. This cute little village is home to some of the best cheese makers in the world. We sampled brie, peppered Havarti, chevreton (sp?) goat’s cheese, Huntington Redwood and some kind of really strong bleu cheese, along with some jam, pesto, feta dip, fresh bread and several wines. One of the best lunches ever!
We hit the ship about 15 minutes before sailing, and I hit my pillow for a two hour nap. Not much going on this evening, and it’s a good thing, Tomorrow we are in Picton and the Marlborough Wine country. Yep, you guessed it...we’re going on a winery tour. Three of them, in fact. Can’t wait!
I’m Thinking of You...Honest!
Every day, every minute, every activity, I swear I'm thinking, "I'll put that in the blog." then I wake up and it's the next day and there is something else on our agenda. Hmmm... cruise life is a busy life!
Let's see, we went to Dunedin (doo-need-in), New Zealand's Scotland. The town is a shuttle ride away from the port, through the equally quaint Port Chalmers. Low slung, bungalow-style homes dot the hills, and acrrross the bay and verrry blue shipping channel (I'm rolling my Scotish Rs for you), are serene, sheep-dotted pastures, outlined by hedges and low trees.
You know how Scots find sheep in high grass? Verrry satisfyin'!
Anyway, Dunedin's town square is actually an octagon, all the streets radiating out from a beautiful little park, which today, has a tent market set up on it. Joe and I visit a couple of the shops close to, then decide to settle in a cafe and have a quick bite. We've got a tour later, and probably won't have much time to eat lunch. The beer we try is Montieth's: Joe has "Red" on tap, and I have Summer Ale in the bottle...delish! We buy some New Zealand kitsch and head back to the ship to catch our tour: the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and the Speight's Brewery. It's going to be a good day!
The Cadbury tour is good, and so is their chocolate, even though I'm more of a dark chocolate girl, myself. We get free samples and everyone on the tour is happy from breathing in the smells of chocolate...that is until we realize that we're late for the brewery tour! Now the real character of this bunch surfaces...no time for shopping...let's go sample some beer!
Speights has been around since the mid-1800s, and their beer is a testament to how practice makes perfect. I've never even heard of Speights (although they distribute Steinlager in the states). Their Gold Medal Ale is wonderful! And Keith, our tour guide is very proud of it...he should be. Please, sir, may I have another?
NZ is much like Australia in that everyone is friendly, open-armed and heading to the pub. These folks can't wait to share their heritage, their culture and their friendship and laughter with you. It's like the whole lot of them has good sense and a good sense of humor. Gotta love 'em!
Back at the ship we get ready to sail for Timaru. Tonight's festivities are particularly fun...Joe Jon and I play a game of Team Trivia with a few other folks (and win!), then we go to a show: The Ultimate Game Show, in which one of our Team Trivia teammates plays a round or two of Trivia against three other people in front of the crowd gathered in the Theater (and she wins), then we head up to the Crow's Nest where I am entered in the Statendam Superstar Singing Competition, an American Idol-style contest, (and I win)! All in all...a winning day!
The spoils of war are sweet! For all our efforts, we now have a complete collection of ship souvenirs we've won as prizes, including a bottle of champagne, which we'll crack some evening soon!
Tomorrow: Mount Cook
Let's see, we went to Dunedin (doo-need-in), New Zealand's Scotland. The town is a shuttle ride away from the port, through the equally quaint Port Chalmers. Low slung, bungalow-style homes dot the hills, and acrrross the bay and verrry blue shipping channel (I'm rolling my Scotish Rs for you), are serene, sheep-dotted pastures, outlined by hedges and low trees.
You know how Scots find sheep in high grass? Verrry satisfyin'!
Anyway, Dunedin's town square is actually an octagon, all the streets radiating out from a beautiful little park, which today, has a tent market set up on it. Joe and I visit a couple of the shops close to, then decide to settle in a cafe and have a quick bite. We've got a tour later, and probably won't have much time to eat lunch. The beer we try is Montieth's: Joe has "Red" on tap, and I have Summer Ale in the bottle...delish! We buy some New Zealand kitsch and head back to the ship to catch our tour: the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and the Speight's Brewery. It's going to be a good day!
The Cadbury tour is good, and so is their chocolate, even though I'm more of a dark chocolate girl, myself. We get free samples and everyone on the tour is happy from breathing in the smells of chocolate...that is until we realize that we're late for the brewery tour! Now the real character of this bunch surfaces...no time for shopping...let's go sample some beer!
Speights has been around since the mid-1800s, and their beer is a testament to how practice makes perfect. I've never even heard of Speights (although they distribute Steinlager in the states). Their Gold Medal Ale is wonderful! And Keith, our tour guide is very proud of it...he should be. Please, sir, may I have another?
NZ is much like Australia in that everyone is friendly, open-armed and heading to the pub. These folks can't wait to share their heritage, their culture and their friendship and laughter with you. It's like the whole lot of them has good sense and a good sense of humor. Gotta love 'em!
Back at the ship we get ready to sail for Timaru. Tonight's festivities are particularly fun...Joe Jon and I play a game of Team Trivia with a few other folks (and win!), then we go to a show: The Ultimate Game Show, in which one of our Team Trivia teammates plays a round or two of Trivia against three other people in front of the crowd gathered in the Theater (and she wins), then we head up to the Crow's Nest where I am entered in the Statendam Superstar Singing Competition, an American Idol-style contest, (and I win)! All in all...a winning day!
The spoils of war are sweet! For all our efforts, we now have a complete collection of ship souvenirs we've won as prizes, including a bottle of champagne, which we'll crack some evening soon!
Tomorrow: Mount Cook
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Fjordlands
And now for some purple prose:
Deep teal waters gently rock into the vertical shores of richly forested crags and crests that soar ever higher toward the sky. A glacier peeks out from a notch in the rocks. It glistens in the sun. The water is smooth; calm; a mirror. Tour boats dot the expanse, and I suspect that folks aboard them are having the very reaction I am, but Oh, My God! doesn't even come close. And just when I think I can't see anything more breathtaking, a sharp cliff pokes its nose into the air from out of a deep valley. Jutting, reaching, climbing, majestic, spectacular, mind-boggling, yet these giants are silent, still, content. Waterfalls, like strands of hair, tumble from their source high in the peaks. A small cloud clings close to the shaded side of the rock...a child sheltering from a chill. The sun slices into the crease and the cloud dissipates and rises into the warmth. A light mist hugs the water's surface and disguises the coming scenery - waiting to lift at just the right moment to surprise and delight its audience. New rule: we can no longer use the word "awesome" in everyday conversation, as in, "Your new car is awesome!" or "Awesome haircut, Tiffany." I have now seen the truly awesome. Words like dramatic, striking, stunning, incredible, fantabulous...meaningless. They say that on a clear day you can see forever. This day, I saw heaven on earth.
Deep teal waters gently rock into the vertical shores of richly forested crags and crests that soar ever higher toward the sky. A glacier peeks out from a notch in the rocks. It glistens in the sun. The water is smooth; calm; a mirror. Tour boats dot the expanse, and I suspect that folks aboard them are having the very reaction I am, but Oh, My God! doesn't even come close. And just when I think I can't see anything more breathtaking, a sharp cliff pokes its nose into the air from out of a deep valley. Jutting, reaching, climbing, majestic, spectacular, mind-boggling, yet these giants are silent, still, content. Waterfalls, like strands of hair, tumble from their source high in the peaks. A small cloud clings close to the shaded side of the rock...a child sheltering from a chill. The sun slices into the crease and the cloud dissipates and rises into the warmth. A light mist hugs the water's surface and disguises the coming scenery - waiting to lift at just the right moment to surprise and delight its audience. New rule: we can no longer use the word "awesome" in everyday conversation, as in, "Your new car is awesome!" or "Awesome haircut, Tiffany." I have now seen the truly awesome. Words like dramatic, striking, stunning, incredible, fantabulous...meaningless. They say that on a clear day you can see forever. This day, I saw heaven on earth.
Day Two at Sea
I'm still working on getting the pics posted from the park in Tasmania -- Jon's helping, so I should have them soon or at least a link. Today was the second day at sea sailing between Tas and New Zealand. Yesterday we finally finished our laundry...ugh...who knew everyone on the ship would be trying to get laundry done on their vacation???
We also managed to be cleared by customs. Okay so here's the deal. We have a day at sea, we just changed time zones, and they decide to pull an immigration inspection on us. I mean, come on! It's 8:15 am and some mealy mouthed staff is telling me that the Immigration Inspectors are waiting for us in some part of the ship I've never even been to. Moreover, she's on the PA in the hallway and not in my cabin, so I can't hear her for all the money in the world. It's like Charlie Brown's teacher, or that drive in speaker at the Char-kel: All I hear is blah, blah, blah, blah, Immigration, blah, blah, Inspection, blah, blah, blah. For all I know, the dogs are coming down the hall and will soon be scratching on my door trying to ferret out the sea shell that came with the pearl earrings I bought in Tahiti. Man! There were several people who didn't make it to the inspectors at their appointed time...they kept announcing, "Cabin whatever, Mr. and Mrs. whoever, WILL YOU PLEASE JOIN THE IMMIGRATION INSPECTORS TO CLEAR CUSTOMS. I'm sure they were in their room eating their honey as fast as they could.
The seas have calmed a bit. The day before they were really rocking. It wasn't making me sick or anything, I just wanted to get off the ride for a bit. Finally, around dinnertime, they slowed down some. And speaking of dinnertime, the food on this cruise has been outstanding! And so has my intake of it ;-) I went to the gym, but the waves made it too hard to stay on the treadmill. I wish I could have that excuse at home...oh well.
The weather has cleared and it's warmed up nicely. We spent most of the day lounging around on the deck reading, napping and drinking. That's what you do on vacation, right? Well, we're definitely vacationing!
One of the excursions we signed up for in New Zealand was the trip to Mount Cook. It's the most popular tour on the ship, and we've been wait-listed for about three weeks. The crew was working to get another bus to accommodate everyone, but they hadn't confirmed anything. So we did what we always do...we turned to Joe's dad for some help. Wally was able to put us in touch with a friend of his who helped arrange a private tour to the mountains. Yippee! We're guaranteed! Not only for an excursion to one of THE SIGHTS TO SEE, but now we won't be fighting with Gen O and hundreds of other people vying for the same real estate...especially on the buses. Ironically enough, when we got back to our cabin last night we found that we'd been cleared to go on the excursion from the ship. No worries about canceling our tickets, though, there are still folks waiting to get on the tour...the crew was delighted that we were giving up our seats. I'm really looking forward to my own private, guided tour of this spectacular mountain and surrounding parklands.
Tomorrow: Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds in the Fjordlands of New Zealand.
We also managed to be cleared by customs. Okay so here's the deal. We have a day at sea, we just changed time zones, and they decide to pull an immigration inspection on us. I mean, come on! It's 8:15 am and some mealy mouthed staff is telling me that the Immigration Inspectors are waiting for us in some part of the ship I've never even been to. Moreover, she's on the PA in the hallway and not in my cabin, so I can't hear her for all the money in the world. It's like Charlie Brown's teacher, or that drive in speaker at the Char-kel: All I hear is blah, blah, blah, blah, Immigration, blah, blah, Inspection, blah, blah, blah. For all I know, the dogs are coming down the hall and will soon be scratching on my door trying to ferret out the sea shell that came with the pearl earrings I bought in Tahiti. Man! There were several people who didn't make it to the inspectors at their appointed time...they kept announcing, "Cabin whatever, Mr. and Mrs. whoever, WILL YOU PLEASE JOIN THE IMMIGRATION INSPECTORS TO CLEAR CUSTOMS. I'm sure they were in their room eating their honey as fast as they could.
The seas have calmed a bit. The day before they were really rocking. It wasn't making me sick or anything, I just wanted to get off the ride for a bit. Finally, around dinnertime, they slowed down some. And speaking of dinnertime, the food on this cruise has been outstanding! And so has my intake of it ;-) I went to the gym, but the waves made it too hard to stay on the treadmill. I wish I could have that excuse at home...oh well.
The weather has cleared and it's warmed up nicely. We spent most of the day lounging around on the deck reading, napping and drinking. That's what you do on vacation, right? Well, we're definitely vacationing!
One of the excursions we signed up for in New Zealand was the trip to Mount Cook. It's the most popular tour on the ship, and we've been wait-listed for about three weeks. The crew was working to get another bus to accommodate everyone, but they hadn't confirmed anything. So we did what we always do...we turned to Joe's dad for some help. Wally was able to put us in touch with a friend of his who helped arrange a private tour to the mountains. Yippee! We're guaranteed! Not only for an excursion to one of THE SIGHTS TO SEE, but now we won't be fighting with Gen O and hundreds of other people vying for the same real estate...especially on the buses. Ironically enough, when we got back to our cabin last night we found that we'd been cleared to go on the excursion from the ship. No worries about canceling our tickets, though, there are still folks waiting to get on the tour...the crew was delighted that we were giving up our seats. I'm really looking forward to my own private, guided tour of this spectacular mountain and surrounding parklands.
Tomorrow: Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds in the Fjordlands of New Zealand.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tasmania
When we pulled into the port for Burnie, Tasmania, I rushed outside to take pictures. I looked on both sides of the ship for a great picture. Well, we had pulled into an industrial berth and there was nothing to see. So, I was starting to wonder just what kind of a day we were going to have.
I went to the room to find that Brett had overslept and was rushing to get ready. I ran up to the meeting point for the excursion to find I was on the right level, just the wrong end of the ship. Then to make matters worse, on level 7, you can't get from one end of the boat to the other. So, I dashed up the stairs to 8, across the ship, back down to level 7 and get my bus assignment. Sadly, Joe and Tracy had already checked in and were on another bus. Luckily, just a few minutes later, Brett showed up and he and I were on the same bus.
The excursion was called "A Taste of Tasmania". So, we get on the bus and take off for parts unknown in Tasmania. The tour guide was an older gentleman named Ken. He was a great spokesperson for Tasmania. The bus driver Peter would chime in when he had something to add and was yet another great spokesperson who obviously loved this island.
So, we headed off the Sheffield. Now, there isn't much in Sheffield, but they are known for their murals. Currently, there are 37 murals painted on buildings around the town to represent the town and its history. We didn't have enought time to see them all, so I opted just to walk around and look. One noteable citizen of Sheffield is an alpaca who has been shorn to represent a standard poodle. It didn't seem to mind.
So, 30 short minutes later we are back in the bus to head off to a honey store. The ironic twist is that you can't take honey into New Zealand (next destination on the cruise) so you can't buy any honey. Luckily, they also serve ice cream that has honey in it.
After 30 minutes or so at the honey farm, we are off to a wild animal park. The night before in our room, Brett and I watched a show about Tasmanian Devils and their rehabilitation and the breeding program. When we pulled into Truwanna, it sure looked familiar. When the manager of the park got on the bus, I was happily surprised to see it was Andrew Kelley who was the person depicted on the show. We got off the bus and had a BBQ lunch. It was quite good and I will be making lamb burgers when I get home! So then we got a tour of the park and of course, the hilight is the devils. I love those little creatures. Sure, they can be vicious, but they are so damned cute! After the guided tour we were cut loose to see the other animals. They have wallabies and kangaroos wandering and I went down to find them. Luckily, they are used to humans so if you move carefully you can pet the little buggers. As I headed back up to the main part of the park, I noticed that Joe & Tracy's bus had pulled in, so we had a short reunion. Turns out we were doing the same tour, only backwards, the only cross over at that point was the wildlife park.
So, after goodbye, we reboarded the bus and headed off to a chocolate shop. The Anvers Chocolate shop was amazing. They don't make the chocolate there. Rather, they take chocolate made to their specifications and make confectionaries from it. So, we had tea and chocolate ... Mmmmmmmm. Sadly, we had to leave eventually and made our way back to the port. I hated to leave Tasmania, but I assure you that I will be back!!
I went to the room to find that Brett had overslept and was rushing to get ready. I ran up to the meeting point for the excursion to find I was on the right level, just the wrong end of the ship. Then to make matters worse, on level 7, you can't get from one end of the boat to the other. So, I dashed up the stairs to 8, across the ship, back down to level 7 and get my bus assignment. Sadly, Joe and Tracy had already checked in and were on another bus. Luckily, just a few minutes later, Brett showed up and he and I were on the same bus.
The excursion was called "A Taste of Tasmania". So, we get on the bus and take off for parts unknown in Tasmania. The tour guide was an older gentleman named Ken. He was a great spokesperson for Tasmania. The bus driver Peter would chime in when he had something to add and was yet another great spokesperson who obviously loved this island.
So, we headed off the Sheffield. Now, there isn't much in Sheffield, but they are known for their murals. Currently, there are 37 murals painted on buildings around the town to represent the town and its history. We didn't have enought time to see them all, so I opted just to walk around and look. One noteable citizen of Sheffield is an alpaca who has been shorn to represent a standard poodle. It didn't seem to mind.
So, 30 short minutes later we are back in the bus to head off to a honey store. The ironic twist is that you can't take honey into New Zealand (next destination on the cruise) so you can't buy any honey. Luckily, they also serve ice cream that has honey in it.
After 30 minutes or so at the honey farm, we are off to a wild animal park. The night before in our room, Brett and I watched a show about Tasmanian Devils and their rehabilitation and the breeding program. When we pulled into Truwanna, it sure looked familiar. When the manager of the park got on the bus, I was happily surprised to see it was Andrew Kelley who was the person depicted on the show. We got off the bus and had a BBQ lunch. It was quite good and I will be making lamb burgers when I get home! So then we got a tour of the park and of course, the hilight is the devils. I love those little creatures. Sure, they can be vicious, but they are so damned cute! After the guided tour we were cut loose to see the other animals. They have wallabies and kangaroos wandering and I went down to find them. Luckily, they are used to humans so if you move carefully you can pet the little buggers. As I headed back up to the main part of the park, I noticed that Joe & Tracy's bus had pulled in, so we had a short reunion. Turns out we were doing the same tour, only backwards, the only cross over at that point was the wildlife park.
So, after goodbye, we reboarded the bus and headed off to a chocolate shop. The Anvers Chocolate shop was amazing. They don't make the chocolate there. Rather, they take chocolate made to their specifications and make confectionaries from it. So, we had tea and chocolate ... Mmmmmmmm. Sadly, we had to leave eventually and made our way back to the port. I hated to leave Tasmania, but I assure you that I will be back!!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
My Mania for Tasmania
Okay, I was wrong. Tasmania is not some windblown, tribe-inhabited, move-along-nothing-to-see-here, "Lost" kind of island. It is a beautiful, clean, friendly, delicious, wondrous place. It is at once city and rural, quirky and logical, well-maintained and wild. An Australian state that exports much of the Pacific Rim's supply of carrots, potatoes, strawberries and cherries, as well as a wide variety of chemicals (including opium), minerals, and wood and paper products and much of Holland's tulip bulbs. They have the world's largest lavender field, and they are the only producer of leatherwood honey in the world. Wow!
One thing about Tasmania, you can take just about anything off the island, but you can't bring anything on. It is a disease free place with the cleanest air and the purest water just about anywhere on the planet. And the sunrises are beautiful.
By way of a stray timing issue, we get separated from Jon and Brett (Charles and Elizabeth had signed up for the later "Caves" tour) and we ended up on different buses. Same tour, just in reverse. We take off from the dock with Barry, our tour guide, and head for the Anvers Chocolate Factory. Yum! Tea and cakes, a tasting shack and a quick trip down the chocolate timeline. The best part of the tour was the house that housed the factory. An old Craftsman-style bungalow, reminiscent of 1930's California, with a beautiful English-style garden. Lovely. The chocolate wasn't bad either!
Our next stop was more of a rest stop. Now, I know that I will someday get old and gray, but I have to tell you, I have never seen so many bluehairs tottering around in my life! And they all have to be somewhere today, but it takes them until tomorrow to get there. Yeah, I am not a patient person when I have to wait for granny to make her way down the aisle of the bus like she's testing for landmines, then finally get down the steps and outside. And when we got back on the bus, there were several who were not pleased that Joe and I chose a different seat (even though we were not assigned seats). I'm sure I made some smart remark, because I was ready to take grandma to the mat.
For lunch (and the highlight of the tour) we went to the Trowana Wildlife Park. Lunch was great, but let's get to the animals. Wombats, koalas, Tasmanian Devil babies and adults, baby kangaroos (joeys), teenage roos, ecidnas (a marsupial porcupine) a peacock, some lizards (eeewwwww)...all of them amazing animals. One of the Rangers there talked about each of them and then let us pet them.
First was Wizard the Wombat, a big baby. He was so relaxed, he just folded right over her arm while we mobbed him. Next was a cute koala. He was obviously thinking one thing: "Which leaf should I eat next." He sat in the crook of a tree and ate eucalyptus while we petted and patted...he couldn't have cared less. Next was a baby Tasmanian Devil in a cage, pacing. We didn't pet her, but we did get to pet her brother, who was nestled in our guide's arms. My biggest surprise was how soft a Tasmanian Devil is...soft, like a kitten soft. We visited a large enclosure of devils...and yes, Virginia, they were snarling and spitting; fighting over food (none of them were spinning around, though). You couldn't help but laugh at the noise they made. Although I'm sure if they were gnashing through my skin, bones and hair, I wouldn't be laughing. There was a joey named Ramona. Her mother had been killed, so the park adopted her. She was curled up in a backpack with her head sticking out. She had the softest ears and the sweetest face.
The whole park was just amazing. Almost prehistoric looking, with giant trees, lots of ground cover and the sound of wild devils wrestling for their supper.
I have lots of pictures, but for some reason they don't want to load today. Could be because I'm posting from my cabin (very far away from anything resembling a strong signal). I'll get them up soon, or at least send you a link to them.
We got back on the bus and sat in our proper places so as not to upset Gen O (old) and headed to Chudleigh and our Honey Farm visit. I personally think taking us here was mean. They have a free tasting of over 50 varieties of honey...but you can't take any of it into New Zealand. Bastards! There was a guessing game of how many painted cartoon bees were buzzing around the farm, and yours truly picked 108...right on the money...so I won a prize. Turns out Jon won the prize on his bus with a 107.
What a great day! Except I didn't get any honey. Pooh!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Let's Face it: Cruise Life is Busy
You thought I stayed in Sydney, didn't you!?! Well, I didn't...would have liked to, but we've got more fun ahead.
After a long line checking in for the ship, we made our way to our cabin...down a really long, narrow hallway. We're close to the back of the ship, which is good (you don't feel the waves quite as much as you do in the front), and bad (because it's such a long ass way to the front and all the activities!). The cabin is nice, functional and efficient. We have window, so no sensory deprivation issues like in Jon's last post.
First thing on the agenda after unpacking? Who can guess? Anyone? That's right, Cindy, we found a bar; A+ for you. It's the Explorer Bar, right next to the Internet cafe. Joe and I are so spoiled. I know you know that, but here's a whole new reason: we're not used to paying for our drinks on a cruise! They're a little spendy, here, and HAL (Holland America Lines) pushes a discount drink card for every kind of drink, except beer. Oh, and well drinks. Brett was confused as to why a Crown and coke didn't qualify as a signature drink when the poolside delight, "Suncicle," did. I, of course, explained that a Suncicle, by the very mention of its name made you snicker a little, and asking for a Crown and coke simply made you grin at your own evil-ness.
And let's talk for a moment about evil-ness...I mean, specifically, the combo that plays during happy hour in this bar. Fritzie, who sounds as if he's French/German/Asian, has got to be the cheesiest thing on the boat...and there's a lot of cheese on this boat. He's more like the Cheese Whiz on the boat. The combo is actually decent, until Fritzie chimes in. It's like Ishtar meets American Idol rehearsals. I'm serious. In fact, I just threw up a little in my mouth thinking about his rendition of "Ze Sunnieee Si ofda Sstreel" (That's the Sunny Side of the Street). He's awful!
Moving on. The second most awful thing on the ship is that the laundry rooms have been packed since we got here. Joe and I haven't seen the couch in our room yet due to the mounds of sorted laundry we haven't been able to do. Maybe we'll get it done over the next couple of days at sea. I hope so, I'm starting to run out of clothes!
Yesterday (our Monday) was a great day! We sailed into Melbourne with nothing on our agenda and ended up having a splendid time. We took a tram into the city center and started walking toward the shopping area. We did a little souvenir shopping, then Elizabeth and Charles took off for the Jail Museum (a pretty good tour, they said). The rest of us ducked into a pub...imagine that! But this was no ordinary pub. On the big screen was the NFC Championship game...live! Bonus! And, except for the f*&$#ing Giants winning (I so wanted to avenge my Cowboys, but sadly it was not to be), it was a good game. There were a couple of other Americans in the bar who were living in Melbourne, so we made friends with them. I made friends with the bartender.
I asked him for a taste of a draught called James Squire Amber Ale. Very good! It tasted a lot like Shiner's 98...but even a little smoother. That called for a pint! Or three! The next thing we knew, Mal, the bartender, was putting together a map of places we should visit while in downtown, including the brewing company that made the very beer we were enjoying. He gave us a few other tips and then gifted us with ballcaps and cozies bearing the name of the bar: The Oxford Scholar. I know, ironic, isn't it ;-)
Before we knew it, the Giants had won and it was time for us to head back to the ship and the Explorer Bar. Fritzie was waiting for us.
Later last night, I guess to shake off his "Eeet Hah tu vee Yooooo" (It Had to be You), I picked off contestants, one by one, in a round of Karaoke. I felt much better.
Today we're in Burnie, Tasmania. I fully expect to pet a kangaroo today. I'll let you know how that goes for me!
cheers!
After a long line checking in for the ship, we made our way to our cabin...down a really long, narrow hallway. We're close to the back of the ship, which is good (you don't feel the waves quite as much as you do in the front), and bad (because it's such a long ass way to the front and all the activities!). The cabin is nice, functional and efficient. We have window, so no sensory deprivation issues like in Jon's last post.
First thing on the agenda after unpacking? Who can guess? Anyone? That's right, Cindy, we found a bar; A+ for you. It's the Explorer Bar, right next to the Internet cafe. Joe and I are so spoiled. I know you know that, but here's a whole new reason: we're not used to paying for our drinks on a cruise! They're a little spendy, here, and HAL (Holland America Lines) pushes a discount drink card for every kind of drink, except beer. Oh, and well drinks. Brett was confused as to why a Crown and coke didn't qualify as a signature drink when the poolside delight, "Suncicle," did. I, of course, explained that a Suncicle, by the very mention of its name made you snicker a little, and asking for a Crown and coke simply made you grin at your own evil-ness.
And let's talk for a moment about evil-ness...I mean, specifically, the combo that plays during happy hour in this bar. Fritzie, who sounds as if he's French/German/Asian, has got to be the cheesiest thing on the boat...and there's a lot of cheese on this boat. He's more like the Cheese Whiz on the boat. The combo is actually decent, until Fritzie chimes in. It's like Ishtar meets American Idol rehearsals. I'm serious. In fact, I just threw up a little in my mouth thinking about his rendition of "Ze Sunnieee Si ofda Sstreel" (That's the Sunny Side of the Street). He's awful!
Moving on. The second most awful thing on the ship is that the laundry rooms have been packed since we got here. Joe and I haven't seen the couch in our room yet due to the mounds of sorted laundry we haven't been able to do. Maybe we'll get it done over the next couple of days at sea. I hope so, I'm starting to run out of clothes!
Yesterday (our Monday) was a great day! We sailed into Melbourne with nothing on our agenda and ended up having a splendid time. We took a tram into the city center and started walking toward the shopping area. We did a little souvenir shopping, then Elizabeth and Charles took off for the Jail Museum (a pretty good tour, they said). The rest of us ducked into a pub...imagine that! But this was no ordinary pub. On the big screen was the NFC Championship game...live! Bonus! And, except for the f*&$#ing Giants winning (I so wanted to avenge my Cowboys, but sadly it was not to be), it was a good game. There were a couple of other Americans in the bar who were living in Melbourne, so we made friends with them. I made friends with the bartender.
I asked him for a taste of a draught called James Squire Amber Ale. Very good! It tasted a lot like Shiner's 98...but even a little smoother. That called for a pint! Or three! The next thing we knew, Mal, the bartender, was putting together a map of places we should visit while in downtown, including the brewing company that made the very beer we were enjoying. He gave us a few other tips and then gifted us with ballcaps and cozies bearing the name of the bar: The Oxford Scholar. I know, ironic, isn't it ;-)
Before we knew it, the Giants had won and it was time for us to head back to the ship and the Explorer Bar. Fritzie was waiting for us.
Later last night, I guess to shake off his "Eeet Hah tu vee Yooooo" (It Had to be You), I picked off contestants, one by one, in a round of Karaoke. I felt much better.
Today we're in Burnie, Tasmania. I fully expect to pet a kangaroo today. I'll let you know how that goes for me!
cheers!
Melbourne Es Muey Bueno
So, yesterdays stop was Melbourne. We didn't have any organized tours set up, so we did it on our own. They have a very nice tram system in town. You buy a one day pass at the end of the tram line and that is good for unlimited use that day. Once you get downtown, there are 2 different free trams to get you around.
I keep trying to think of a good way to compare and contrast Sydney to Melbourne. Melbourne has a great amount of new and old architecture readily available. There were lots of young people. I am sure that the fact that we saw the entrance to China town was a huge influence in this note, but I sure saw lots of sushi restaurants. What was kind of cool was that most had rolls (maki) that weren't already cut up. Made them "fast food". If I had been hungry, I might have bought one to try. The price was surely right. Most of the rolls were less than $3. I didn't see as much nigiri, but it might have been in the back and not usually sold as a take-a-way.
We just kind of bumbled along, doing the tourist gawking thing. Charles and Elizabeth wanted to see the Jail Museum. The rest of us magnanimously offered to sit in a pub and wait for them. What a great decision that was. We found The Oxford Scholar pub and hotel. They had a large screen TV that had just recently started playing the Giants Packers game. So, we sat, had a large quantity of Amber lager and made a lot of noise. Interestingly, there were 3 different small groups of Americans who live in Melbourne that came to talk to us ... small world. The proprietor of the pub came out at one time and gave us hats and koozies to remember the place by. I don't know about you, but great local beer, great food and a HUGE TV are memorable :)
All in all, it was a great day!
I keep trying to think of a good way to compare and contrast Sydney to Melbourne. Melbourne has a great amount of new and old architecture readily available. There were lots of young people. I am sure that the fact that we saw the entrance to China town was a huge influence in this note, but I sure saw lots of sushi restaurants. What was kind of cool was that most had rolls (maki) that weren't already cut up. Made them "fast food". If I had been hungry, I might have bought one to try. The price was surely right. Most of the rolls were less than $3. I didn't see as much nigiri, but it might have been in the back and not usually sold as a take-a-way.
We just kind of bumbled along, doing the tourist gawking thing. Charles and Elizabeth wanted to see the Jail Museum. The rest of us magnanimously offered to sit in a pub and wait for them. What a great decision that was. We found The Oxford Scholar pub and hotel. They had a large screen TV that had just recently started playing the Giants Packers game. So, we sat, had a large quantity of Amber lager and made a lot of noise. Interestingly, there were 3 different small groups of Americans who live in Melbourne that came to talk to us ... small world. The proprietor of the pub came out at one time and gave us hats and koozies to remember the place by. I don't know about you, but great local beer, great food and a HUGE TV are memorable :)
All in all, it was a great day!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
3rd Day At Sea
This morning starts the 3rd day at sea. We will be stopping in Melbourne in a few short hours.
My FUN for the day was finding out that one of my watches hadn't been set to the right time. Probably set it without the use of my reading glasses. I thought it was after 7:30 AM, so I get up, be very quiet not to wake up my cruise mate, take a shower and go up for some breakfast. When I noticed it was dark outside, I thought something might be wrong. Sure enough, I check the time on my camera and it was only 5:15 AM ... not the 8:15 AM my watch was showing. The watch is set correctly now and later I will be verifying the entire collection. Oh well, just some "bonus" time today.
The cruise has been nice. We have already done one formal night of the three scheduled. I wore a button down shirt and a tie and nobody kicked me out :) I might have been slightly under dressed when compared to the rest of the room.
They REALLY push the drink cards here. I have purchased 2 so far. That is good for 20 signature cocktails. After having a couple of high octane drinks yesterday afternoon, I might be seeking AA when I get home.
The ship is nice. Made out to be very opulent. I think they are trying to cater to a higher class of people other than me :) I actually help bring down the average age and I am sure the average income as well!! I am having a good time in spite of these "handicaps".
My FUN for the day was finding out that one of my watches hadn't been set to the right time. Probably set it without the use of my reading glasses. I thought it was after 7:30 AM, so I get up, be very quiet not to wake up my cruise mate, take a shower and go up for some breakfast. When I noticed it was dark outside, I thought something might be wrong. Sure enough, I check the time on my camera and it was only 5:15 AM ... not the 8:15 AM my watch was showing. The watch is set correctly now and later I will be verifying the entire collection. Oh well, just some "bonus" time today.
The cruise has been nice. We have already done one formal night of the three scheduled. I wore a button down shirt and a tie and nobody kicked me out :) I might have been slightly under dressed when compared to the rest of the room.
They REALLY push the drink cards here. I have purchased 2 so far. That is good for 20 signature cocktails. After having a couple of high octane drinks yesterday afternoon, I might be seeking AA when I get home.
The ship is nice. Made out to be very opulent. I think they are trying to cater to a higher class of people other than me :) I actually help bring down the average age and I am sure the average income as well!! I am having a good time in spite of these "handicaps".
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Post I Owe You
Yesterday was a day of anticipation; of waiting for a cab, of standing in line, of "let's get this freakin' show on the road!" But the day before (our full day in Sydney) was amazing! Jon, Brett, Joe and I walked from the hotel and found a little breakfast place not too far away. Absolutely delicious...especially the coffee! Afterwards, we hooked up with Charles and Elizabeth and got ready to go on our Harbor lunchtime cruise. The weather was still being a little uncooperative (a few showers), but it was refreshing and the breeze felt great. We boarded at the Circular Quay and took off into the harbor.
Lunch was really good, and the views were fabulous. Thanks, Debbie!
After we finished eating, we went outside under an overhang (it was still raining), and took some more great pics. My favorite part was being outside as we glided under the bridge. At that moment, I felt like I was a part of the structure and a part of the water all at once. My heart soared, much like the iron gridwork above me. Looking back as we passed, we saw a troop of hearty souls climbing the bridge, waving from the topmost point.
When the cruise was over, we trekked just around the corner to the Opera Quay...a short walk to the Sydney Opera House (SOH).
Now, I haven't seen the great pyramids or Niagra Falls. I haven't seen the Taj Mahal or the Colosseum in Rome. I haven't seen Joe clean the pool, but I have seen the Opera House...one of the greatest wonders of the world, in my book!
The structure itself is art - simply art - much like the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge. But the fact is, the functionality of the space is equally amazing. There are five venues under the "sails": three smaller intimate venues, a narrow Opera House and a giant Concert Hall (holds about 1200 people). At any one time, they may be proffering five operas, one or two one man shows, the ballet and a giant concert. Incredible. The foyers and the outside promenades also are used for small concerts or festivals...it truly is an awesome place. Raw cement "ribs" intersect with beautiful rich woods and jewel-tone carpeting. The arcing ceilings took my breath away...it was almost like being in church.
Back along the Quay, we stopped at the Opera Bar for a beer...imagine that. I ducked into the ladies room and found one of the cleanest, most well kept public facilities I've ever seen. I know that may be a little too much information for many of you playing along, but there's not a public restroom in Dallas that I would even go into, much less award a good housekeeping seal of approval.
We finished up the day with a meal at a little bistro in the Rocks. Eating and drinking in Australia is a bit funny...most pubs/cafes are self-serve. You go up to the bar and order and pay, you go up to the grill and order and pay, then they bring it out to you, and when you're finished, they'll pick up. I kind of like it. You get what you want (you're not relying on some waitress to remember that you wanted the dressing on the side or the veggie, rather than the pasta). Every place we've been to eat and drink we all sit down and wait for a few minutes before we realize, "Oh! We need to go get!"
After dinner, we trudged back to the hotel, once again exhausted...but sated, a little buzzed and with a new love in our lives...Sydney.
Friday, January 18, 2008
For Jim Cuaderes
Who wants proof that the water goes down the drain counterclockwise south of the equator. Um, Jim, it turns out that they can plumb the drains to go any direction they want. Most of the toilets go straight down (they're air forced), but the sink in the bathroom at the Sydney Marriott gave me the proof I need. I wish I had some food coloring or something to make it easier to see, but you can tell...the water is, indeed, decending counterclockwise.
I have lots of pictures from yesterday's Harbor Cruise and Opera House tour, but I've got to pack and get ready to get on board this afternoon. I'll post later with a couple of funny stories and some great fotos. Cheers!
A Post From The Future
Each time I sit down to make a post, I see the time and date my PC thinks it is. It is still on Dallas time. So, as I start to compose this post, locally it is 9:33 PM on the 18th. However, my computer thinks it is 4:33 AM on the 18th. On Saturday morning, it will be the 19th here, but still the 18th at home.
We had another great day in Sydney. The only unfortunate part is that it was overcast all day and rained on and off. Well, mostly on. Luckily, we popped into a Woolrich store and picked up some little umbrellas for $6. We did a harbor lunch cruise with Captain Cook Cruises. The lunch cruise was nice, but they served food the entire time! The food was good, but you couldn't spend a lot of time just standing on the deck and taking pictures. Luckily, when you could pop out for a picture or two, there were some overhangs and you could keep the camera out of the rain. Next time, I would pick a snack cruise so I could see more of the landscape.
We then went and did a tour of the Sydney Opera House. That is a nice tour, and even better when all the outside choices will include rain. The SOH is definitely worth the tour. The one thing I really wanted to do in Sydney was the Harbor Bridge Climb. Sadly, tomorrow's forecast is more of the same. If I am going to climb the bridge, I really want to see a panoramic vista. So, sadly, I will put that off to the next time I come to Sydney and I will come back!
I have some friends who live across the street from me in Dallas. They have lived in New York & Sydney for a good number of years. Since they moved to Dallas, they haven't been happy with the food. I often wondered why. Well, I think I have a much better idea now. We have eaten at a variety of pubs and restaurants in our short stay and each place has had one or more fantastic food items. You also don't see as much fast food. The only down side, is that the price of food is higher, but after coming from Tahiti, it seems much more reasonable now!
Since we have been walking the last couple of days, I have had a chance to see a great variety of the population here in Sydney. What I have noticed is the ratio of overweight people to the normal sized people is SUPER low compared to the states. Also, the number of just beautiful women seems rather high. Sure makes for enjoyable people watching.
Airfare to Sydney: $1,850
Marriott Hotel Per Night: $125
Watching attractive long legged, short skirted Aussie Women: Priceless
We had another great day in Sydney. The only unfortunate part is that it was overcast all day and rained on and off. Well, mostly on. Luckily, we popped into a Woolrich store and picked up some little umbrellas for $6. We did a harbor lunch cruise with Captain Cook Cruises. The lunch cruise was nice, but they served food the entire time! The food was good, but you couldn't spend a lot of time just standing on the deck and taking pictures. Luckily, when you could pop out for a picture or two, there were some overhangs and you could keep the camera out of the rain. Next time, I would pick a snack cruise so I could see more of the landscape.
We then went and did a tour of the Sydney Opera House. That is a nice tour, and even better when all the outside choices will include rain. The SOH is definitely worth the tour. The one thing I really wanted to do in Sydney was the Harbor Bridge Climb. Sadly, tomorrow's forecast is more of the same. If I am going to climb the bridge, I really want to see a panoramic vista. So, sadly, I will put that off to the next time I come to Sydney and I will come back!
I have some friends who live across the street from me in Dallas. They have lived in New York & Sydney for a good number of years. Since they moved to Dallas, they haven't been happy with the food. I often wondered why. Well, I think I have a much better idea now. We have eaten at a variety of pubs and restaurants in our short stay and each place has had one or more fantastic food items. You also don't see as much fast food. The only down side, is that the price of food is higher, but after coming from Tahiti, it seems much more reasonable now!
Since we have been walking the last couple of days, I have had a chance to see a great variety of the population here in Sydney. What I have noticed is the ratio of overweight people to the normal sized people is SUPER low compared to the states. Also, the number of just beautiful women seems rather high. Sure makes for enjoyable people watching.
Airfare to Sydney: $1,850
Marriott Hotel Per Night: $125
Watching attractive long legged, short skirted Aussie Women: Priceless
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A Whole Day In Sydney
After we get a very early check-in, we go to our rooms, unload our bags, freshen up and get ready to see Sydney. I looked outside my window and realized that just to the left is the American Express building. Now, big whoop to most people, but my friend Tamara and her husband used to live in Sydney and she works for Amex.
We headed down towards the Quay and Rocks area. Sydney is just a very beautiful city. New buildings and old buildings and lots of parks. Totally was the typical tourist walking down the street gawking at everything. When we got down to the Quay, we started looking for some food. One of the "to see" places on Joe's list was Lord Nelsons. So, we bumble around for a while, but find Lord Nelsons. It is famous for being the oldest pub in Sydney. They also make their own beer. I had the Admiral's blood, a porter style beer. Sadly, they ran out of that, so I went with the lighter Old Admiral beer. It was fantastic as well. As luck would have it, they also had a bar menu. Let me say the fish and chips were out of this world. They listed a wasabi mayo side. The mayo was the lightest of green, sadly, I didn't taste any wasabi though. The curry dish smelled fantastic too!
Eventually, after many beers, we head out to amble and look at the shops. Not surprisingly, we found another pub. Another one that claims to be the oldest pub, The Fortune Of War. The bartender, Jennie, was a stunner. Tracy's comment later was, "Hell, I would have done her!" She was quite fun to chat with. She explained to us the basics of cricket. When asked, one of her recommendations for dinner was the Lowenbrau. Luckily, we had passed that on the way, so we headed out to amble and look at yet more shops on the way. We had a great dinner there, but it became pretty obvious that the long flight for Brett and more time changes for the rest of us was catching up FAST! Somehow walking, drinking and eating can really take it out of a group of jet lagged folks!
Let me just say that the bit of walking I did in preparation for this vacation sure helped. My feet were killing me after walking all day. If I hadn't done that prep walking, I am sure I would have been reduced to tears.
We slowly made our way back to the hotel and I know I was down for the count by 9 PM. All in all, a great first day in Sydney.
We headed down towards the Quay and Rocks area. Sydney is just a very beautiful city. New buildings and old buildings and lots of parks. Totally was the typical tourist walking down the street gawking at everything. When we got down to the Quay, we started looking for some food. One of the "to see" places on Joe's list was Lord Nelsons. So, we bumble around for a while, but find Lord Nelsons. It is famous for being the oldest pub in Sydney. They also make their own beer. I had the Admiral's blood, a porter style beer. Sadly, they ran out of that, so I went with the lighter Old Admiral beer. It was fantastic as well. As luck would have it, they also had a bar menu. Let me say the fish and chips were out of this world. They listed a wasabi mayo side. The mayo was the lightest of green, sadly, I didn't taste any wasabi though. The curry dish smelled fantastic too!
Eventually, after many beers, we head out to amble and look at the shops. Not surprisingly, we found another pub. Another one that claims to be the oldest pub, The Fortune Of War. The bartender, Jennie, was a stunner. Tracy's comment later was, "Hell, I would have done her!" She was quite fun to chat with. She explained to us the basics of cricket. When asked, one of her recommendations for dinner was the Lowenbrau. Luckily, we had passed that on the way, so we headed out to amble and look at yet more shops on the way. We had a great dinner there, but it became pretty obvious that the long flight for Brett and more time changes for the rest of us was catching up FAST! Somehow walking, drinking and eating can really take it out of a group of jet lagged folks!
Let me just say that the bit of walking I did in preparation for this vacation sure helped. My feet were killing me after walking all day. If I hadn't done that prep walking, I am sure I would have been reduced to tears.
We slowly made our way back to the hotel and I know I was down for the count by 9 PM. All in all, a great first day in Sydney.
Holy Crap! I Love Sydney!
We set out yesterday from our hotel to do a bit of exploring. Okay, we set out to find a pub. But on the way to finding one, we saw a couple of other things.
I asked a couple of people for directions for Lord Nelson
(the pub we were in search of), and in our pursuant conversation they asked where we were from. I told them we were from Texas; they replied with "Where everything is bigger, right?"
I said, "Well, y'all have some big things here, too."
So on to the Lord Nelson. It's a restaurant, a small hotel, but most importantly, a brew house.
Great beer, great food, great fun. (Ryan if you're reading this...here I am tossing a few pints down to the pub. Bonzer!)
Of course, Brett and Joe had their share of beers. I think they had their shares, one of my shares, probably on of Jon's share...or maybe they're just not the big dogs we thought they were. Brett has an excuse (he's just come off of a 20-some-odd hour flight), but Joe...? well, those of you who know Joe...he's heading headlong toward that last hurdle of sobriety, and it's only mid-afternoon. Turns out, Charles is the biggest dog in the bunch - he put the rest of us puppies on the porch...but I don't have a picture of that.Okay! Moving on. We shopped a bit and then found another pub where we spent an hour or so before trekking over to Sydney's version of the Barvarian Grill, the Lowenbrau. It probably would have been much better, if we were not already so tired, so drunk and so addle-minded from our long, strange journey, but we managed to down a few more beers and some schnitzel...hey, we had to!
I promise I'll get you proof that the water flows down the drain counterclockwise down under, but now it's time for coffee and a shower. Today, we have a lunchtime harbor cruise planned and a tour of the Opera House. Should have some great pics from that! See ya, Mates!
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