Marci and Steve Go Back to Europe

A lovely breezy day for the last of Oceania. A slow start, a bit of shopping finding a great NZ -designed shirt and then another from a Korean designer. A nice lunch at Baduzzi , where we tried to eat our first night and was it closed, but now back open.                                            A reservation for dinner at The Grove , the big sister restaurant of Baduzzi , where the manager assured us the Auckland celeb chef would be in residence cooking our five course degustation tonight. An easy, lovely last day where I found Auckland really growing on me as we discovered new places and lanes, architecture and even art at the Gallery. But as we wrap up our big trip and pack for the next week or so in Oahu, here is why travel is wonderful. Last evening, after seeing The Experimenter at the hip art-house movie theater with only 16 seats, we walked to the...

We actually had a quick and easy drive into Auckland with no wrong turns, right to our hotel. We drove in on a four lane each way road, which I believe may be the only one that big in the entire country. The Sky Grand was indeed grand, compared to our digs in Rotorua and especially because this lovely 18th floor room with a modern bath and floor to ceiling windows actually cost a dollar a night LESS than the Rotorua piece of crap.  We are finding this all over Australia and New Zealand...the bigger the town or city, the more luxurious and cheaper the accommodations are. In the small, middle of nowhere places, rates are high and hotels are clean and adequate at best. Guess that goes along with my overall impression that the best of NZ is in the big tourist spots.  Steve dropped the car off to Hertz while I met with the concierge to line up what to do and where to eat. Imagine my surprise to learn that there were not an over abundance of city attractions, there wer...

Before we left on this trip, everyone I knew who had been to Australia only absolutely loved it. Those who had been to both Australia and New Zealand really liked Australia, and raved about New Zealand.  Since we had postponed our trip a year and decided to add a couple of weeks, I was enthusiastic about spending more time in NZ and one of my parts of planning this journey was the 17 nights in NZ.  Steve got the Great Ocean Road part to plan. Both were on the road, in-the-car days between the big cities and sites.  Most people I know who have been here, granted that is probably only about five, had 10 days or so to do the NZ highlights, usually flying from place to place. I had read many guidebooks and websites and found it impossible to pick only one island to visit. Each time I settled on the South Island, with Queenstown, Milford Sound and the Glaciers, I would read great things about Wellington, Napier, Rotorua and Auckland, on the North Island. I sim...

24 little hours....🎶..... From the empty Christmas Day streets with not a restaurant open, Napier obviously comes alive on Boxing Day. We had booked an architectural walking tour of this Art Deco town of 60,000. To our surprise, many were out in full regalia - clothing and cars from the 1930's, in keeping with the downtown spirit.  In 1931 Napier suffered a huge earthquake, actually two, just seconds apart with both close to an 8.0 on the Richter scale. Not only did they loose all but three buildings in the downtown and 1% of the population, but the surrounding lakes and rivers were sucked out to sea and the earth pushed up meters in their place. Less buildings, less people, but lots more land for the town to grow.  They decided to rebuild the town quickly and in a cohesive plan with new buildings that could not only withstand earthquakes, but were lacking ornamentation that could fall off and injure people. They went for Art Deco architecture, low struct...

Traveling in a far away place is a bit like being a turtle - you carry a lot on your back. But instead of your house, it's your culture. You simply bring it, along with your accent, everywhere you go.  Take today, for instance.  After a day and a half in Wellington, a lovely small city, totally walkable to and from each museum, we awoke to Christmas Day.   Quiet, empty, just like we expected. Lucky for us the biggest museum, Te Papa, was open Christmas Day  at 10 am , perfect for a couple of hours before we started our four hour drive.   I guess we figured it would be empty, just a few non-Christians looking for something to do. Guess we didn't count on all those travelers and tourists just like us.                                                                  ...

Merry Xmas to all our Gentile friends! Hoping everyone found something they wanted under the tree, and can't wait to see you upon our return! Christmas is not nearly as 'showy' here down under - hardly any decorations, no jingles playing, no public displays of the holiday--- and no snow!! Even the shops barely acknowledge the day, but I think we are starting to see the sales that start on Boxing Day ( the 26th ) being prepared in the stores and their windows. We will not have much to report the next day or two, but that's O.K….. So wishing you the very merriest of Christmases, from Wellington, North Island, NZ and from our hearts. And wishing, as always, for great peace and equality in this world.  ALL ABOVE AND BELOW MADE OF LEGOS....... **************May the new year bring you peace & happiness........Steve and Marci.                            ...

....And I've been doing it wrong the whole trip???   Now you finally tell me?? Travel always sounds so exotic, especially when you take a long plane ride to get there. And a two or three week vacation is usually packed so full, long days, lots of activities and moving from place to place. In other words, every day is a day of nothing but highlights...the major museums, the thrill activities and a fancy dinner out. But a two month vacation is quite different. It is closer to regular life with one or two good surprises each day. Like our drive to Blenheim, a sleepover, and a ferry ride from Picton to Wellington  on Tuesday to Wednesday . It was really nice and I could describe what we did, the drive, the vineyards we visited, the dinner, etc. But this blog is meant to be more than just a travelogue. It's about observing and learning, looking at things with distance and perspective.  And traveling to a very far away place that is not so different than where y...