I Love Sydney!

I'm in love Sydney! No, not that Sydney...

This one...

This past week Will and I have been in one of the most wonderful cities in the world, Sydney! I had been there before, but I was 13 and brooding and thus didn't really enjoy it to the full potential. This was Will's first time to the land down under. Will had to work in Sydney for the week so we thought it would be fun to make a holiday out of it.

Saturday we flew in early in the morning. Our friends from a Contiki Europe trip 4 years ago (Rick and Emma) picked us up at the airport and after getting our hotel situated (long story), we drove out to Bondi Beach for a beautiful day in the sand. It was a hot, but windy day and we even got in the water! The water was a bit chilly, but Rick said you know it's a good swim if you can't feel your legs :) After that we went back to the hotel, got cleaned up (tended to our burns...) and then we were off to the Opera House. After getting some obligatory pictures we went to The Opera Bar for some drinks. Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea. No where to sit! After an hour of standing drinking we decided to join everyone else in "claiming" tables from people while they are still sitting. We asked two ladies if we could have their table when they were done and they said "well we're not planning on leaving for a while, but you're welcome to join us". So we did, and we had a lovely time! They had also met while traveling in Asia years ago. After a few more beers we decided to have dinner, and invited our new friends along. We tried to go to Jamie Oliver's new place, but with a 3 hour wait, it wasn't going to happen, so we ended up at La Rosa in the Strand. We had a lovely meal and just a great time with old and new friends. Thanks Rick and Emma for an awesome first day in Sydney!!

Bondi Beach

Looks like other people had the same idea...

Will and Rick swimming in the waves

After our swim, Bondi in the background!

The Harbour Bridge

Opera House and Bar, you see why it was hard to find a seat!

Up close of the opera house tiles

The most photographed image in Sydney!

With our Contiki friends Rick and Emma

Traveling friends! 

Sunday we got up early and toured downtown a bit. Our hotel was right near a nice park, a stunning church and some old buildings including the first hospital in Australia, Sydney Hospital. After that, we walked around the Botanical Gardens for a while, took some more obligatory pictures and made our way to Surry Hills for lunch. For lunch we met up with some of my old classmates from JIS, some I haven't seen since I moved away in 10th grade! It was so fun catching up and felt like it was just yesterday sine seeing them! Sunday afternoon we took the fairy to Manly Beach for a bit. The ferry only had a few outdoor/scenic seats, which was a bit of a bummer, but it was still lovely.

St. Mary's Cathedral

St. Mary's Cathedral

Sydney Hospital, the oldest hospital in Sydney

Hyde Park, "Art and About" In Auzzie speak, it rhymes :)

At the beach in Manly

Monday Will had to go to work so I trudged out on my own. First stop was the Aquarium, which was amazing. Of course the sharks were best, but they also had a Dugong, which is like a cousin of the Manatee. Don't need to say much here, the pictures do all the talking. Then I just walked around Darling Harbour, stopping for some coffee and enjoying the view.

Beautiful sea life

Angel fish! 

Sharks hanging out

The Dugong (a cousin of the manatee)

Watching a storm come in. We don't get this in Auckland!

The rest of the week I hung out in the hotel room, walked around, shopped and had nice lunches by myself.  We ate dinner with Will's work mates, and one night with his old high school classmate Elsa! I even ended up running into one of my best friends from middle school (Tara's) mom, crazy!

Shopping in the Queen Victoria Building

Shopping at The Strand

The Harbour Bridge up close, you can see people walking up it doing the "Bridge Climb"

Only in Sydney is Carhartt clothing sold in the uber trendy stores

Will's Rib dinner :)

We absolutely LOVED Sydney. It had such an amazing feel, wonderful weather and really neat sites to see. We would move there in a minute! We are also so thankful we stayed in touch with friends from our near and distant past and made the effort to connect with them. We will definitely be going back there again and again :)

Airplane Etiquette

I'll post more about our holiday in Sydney later, but for now I'm inspired to write a somewhat wingy blog about appropriate and inappropriate etiquette when traveling by air. There are so many people who irritate me on a daily basis due to their lack of awareness of the world around them. When you are at an airport, you get to see those people at their finest. So here's my pointers if you are one of those oblivious to others, or if you just agree with my stance!

1. When in lines, please relax. Be orderly and be aware of where a lines begins and ends so you don't completely walk by everyone standing in line so you can be first. Also, If I am at the front of the line I will stand behind the "red line" painted on the floor until the customs agent/security officer/ticket clerk calls me. It is just plain respect. Even if the rule to stand behind the line seems stupid, it is their rule and it has a rationale, so just follow it.

2. When going through security please move all your items through the end of the belt before putting everything on. If you haven't noticed, the other traveller's items get backed up and they have to stop x-raying so you can put your belt back on right in front of the conveyor belt.

3. Listen to the safety demonstration, especially if you have children. You ignoring the flight attendant teaches your child that you don't have to listen to people if what you are doing is 'more important'. I know you fly all the time and are a pro, the flight attendants are doing their job and deserve respect.

4. Be nice to the person next to you on the plane. You don't have to talk, but try to keep in your own space (think Patrick Swayze's instructions about staying in your own dance frame). Also, be aware of what you are doing when they are sleeping.

5. Don't touch other people's bags. (this is a personal one) Someone moved (and shoved) my bag form the overhead compartment to a different compartment to accommodate his bag directly over his head. Jerk!

6. When exiting the plane, please do so from front to back. Unless someone indicates they are choosing to stay seated until everyone else is off the plane, let people who got "trapped"in their seats in front of you.

7. Don't be rude to people that deliver bad news. It's not the flight attendants fault that the plane is delayed, it's not the ticket agent's fault your bag is over-sized, it's not the security agent's fault you forgot you had scissors in your bag. It's life. Deal with it.

So these are my grievances relating to air travel...sorry if it is wingy. What do you have to add to the list?

Anniversary trip

This past weekend we took a trip to Hawke's Bay for our 2nd wedding anniversary. Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's version of Napa Valley with over 140 wineries/vineyards. It's about a 5 hour, beautiful drive from Auckland. We had great weather the whole time and really got to enjoy the coast.

Hawke's Bay highlighted in black

We stayed at Ormlie Lodge which is a lovely Bed and Breakfast outside of town. It was just lovely and was a great place to just relax. Plus, they had two dogs and two cats. One of their cats actually slept with us!

Me with the B&B kitty

Doggie #1

Doggie #2 (Sandlot!)

Saturday we drove from Auckland to Napier going by way of Lake Taupo for a picnic lunch. To be clear, picnic lunch was peanut butter and nutella sandwiches and chips--nothing classy. Then we carried on through some very pretty mountains/big hills that led up almost right to the coast. We got settled in at the hotel then set off for our first winery Craggy Range. This was one of the more well known wineries of the area. Set just below Te Mata peak it was breathtaking. We decided to pay a little extra for a tour and it was nice having someone show us around and give us an individual attention during the tasting.

Cellar of Craggy Range

Tasting room at Craggy Range

In some of the vines, it's a bit windy

Will with the vines

Will with out lovely tour guide

After the winery we drove up Te Mata peak which is 400 meters above sea level. It was quite the windy road getting up there, but the view was definitely worth it! We were there on a "cloudy" day so couldn't see quite as far as on a clear day, but we still got to see quite a bit!

View of the Southwest from Te Mata Peak

View to the Northwest from Te Mata peak

View of the Northeast from Te Mata Peak

View of the Southeast from Te Mata Peak

After that it was fish and chips on the waterfront, and unfortunately so ends Will's portion of the vacation. 2 hours after the fish and chips he was showing definite evidence of extreme food poisoning (no need to elaborate, right?)

Sunday we had a tour of several different wineries with a company called GrapeEscapes. It was really nice and we got to have private attention at the cellar doors. Will was nice and came long even though he didn't feel good, but didn't do any tastings for free of stirring up his stomach lining again...The first winery we visited was called CrossRoads Wines. There wine was good, nothing that stood out to me though. The second winery we went to was Ngatarawa. This cellar door had the best ambiance as it was set us kind of like a farm, dog and all! We got to try a Gewurztraminer varietal that had a really neat rosewater taste to it, best paired with curry they say. After that it was on to Saleni Estates. Here my favorite wine was a 2009 Riesling which had a "jet fuel" or in my opinion burning tire aroma, but the flavor was so sweet and had a honeysuckle after taste. It was so unique I had to purchase a bottle! Next stop was Ash Ridge which is a smaller, boutique wine producer. I have to say this place was my favorite overall. Truly each of their wines were just so smooth and flavorful. I took home the Chardonnay from here. Last stop was C.J. Pask Winery. This place also had some very good wines, I especially liked their Merlot.

Monday we took a drive towards Cape Kidnappers, then went into Napier for a stroll along Emmerson street. Napier is known as the art deco capital of New Zealand. Because of it's architecture it very much  reminds me of Miami. Then we tried to ride our bikes along the coast, but it was so windy I actually stopped moving despite pedaling, so we called it quits. That night we hoped to go out for our anniversary dinner, but of course, everywhere good was closed on Mondays, so we ended up with Mickey D's.

Possum World in downtown Napier 

Some of the art deco architecture on the waterfront

Tuesday was the long drive home then a real anniversary dinner at an Italian restaurant, Prego.

We had a great time and are very lucky to have each other as spouses to go on great adventures like this!

It's Spring! (so let's get out of the house)

Well, after a rainy, cold winter it is finally Spring here is Aotearoa. Spring technically "sprung" on September 1st, but it has still been pretty chilly/windy/rainy so it hasn't felt much different. This weekend was an especially nice one with beautiful weather both days allowing for typical spring-like activities.

Saturday we woke up early (6:30!) and took the fairy to Rangitoto Island. Rangitoto is the largest and youngest volcano in Auckland at 600 years old and is now extinct. There are several hiking tracks that go around the base and over the top. We had pre-planned out about a 4 hour hike to the summit. When we left it was really cold so I was dressed warm, but later regretted it as the sun assaulted me while I hiked up a freakin' volcano... We had gotten off the ferry with several other groups and of course everyone is doing about the same hike; so to avoid the irritating tourists (remember, we're locals now :)...) and get some peace we had to work our butts off to get ahead of them. Once we were away from the pack Amazing Race style, it was so peaceful and we really got to enjoy nature. Plus, we were not visible by anyone else so I could strip down to minimum layers to try to cool down without judgement of my non-sixpack :). Some trails were like roads, other parts were more of the fun, through the forest kind, which provided much needed shade. When we finally got to the top, boy was it worth the pain...and I do mean pain. When we finally got home at 2pm we were le tired.

Will at the start of the hike. Doesn't he look like a college kid going to class?

Only a little bit left of the climb, but already a great view!

Exploring the caves created by lava flow

Ta Da! The summit. You can see the Auckland skyline over my shoulder and the rest of the Hauraki Gulf. 

That's what we hiked!! Wowza!

Sunday after church we decided to go to the North Shore and spend some time chillin on the beach. There are about 28 beaches in the Auckland metro area. Not bad, ay? We just hung out and read while watching people wind surf, kayak, fish and swim, wishing we knew how to do water sports or had a friend with a boat. It was warm enough to lay out in a swimsuit, but not quite warm enough to get in the cold water unless you are under the age of 10). It was a really great day!

Narrow Beach

Oh, hello. It's just us, hanging out at the ocean Sunday after church.  

Don't be alarmed by Will's incredibly cut, tan, chest muscles :)

After the beach we drove up a smaller volcano with another spectacular view of the city.

At the top of North Head

We are definitely starting to enjoy more time outside with Spring here. I expect more beach days a BBQs as the Spring progresses. Can't wait for summer when we can actually get in the water!

Cheers mates!