Monthly Archives: February 2013

Port Douglas, Australia Wrap Up

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Hello 100% English speaking country.  It is very nice to see you.  Your food: pretty similar to what you find in America.  The most exciting thing ever—nope.  What we were in the mood for—absolutely.

No more wondering if a soup was a main course or appetizer.  No more menus in complete Japanese.  Much less asking each other “do you know what this is?” and hearing back “nope, but it is good.”

Don’t get me wrong, we loved Asia, but it was great to be someplace that was familiar…Well, mostly familiar.  We are not on a vacation, but a holiday.  You don’t watch your step, you mind your step.  You don’t get in line, but queue up.  After a thank you, it is not you’re welcome or no problem, but no worries (I’ve even been told no drama)…And of course, you drive on the left and the steering wheel is on the right.

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Wellington

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We left Hawke’s Bay today and headed to Wellington.  I was sad to leave our little vineyard cottage, but I’m always excited to see the next place that Justin has planned.

It took about 4 hours to get to Wellington.  The drive was very scenic (again), lots of sheep, cows, goats, and even a few rams. We traveled through many windy road and hills.  Usually, I’m pretty bad on car rides.  I either fall asleep right away (terrible company) or complain about how long it is taking.  I have done neither of those things on our car rides so far.  There’s just so much to look at……much more entertaining than driving from Baton Rouge to New Orleans (one of the most awful drives which is inevitably made worse with Kenner traffic).

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.  It is a much bigger city compared to Rotorua or Hawke’s Bay, both of which were more rural.  Unfortunately, we are only here for one night, but I’m really glad that we were able include this stop on the trip.

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Hawke’s Bay

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Yesterday, we drove from Rotorua to Hawke’s Bay.  I’m not sure if we mentioned this before, but we are basically driving through the whole country of New Zealand.  We started in Auckland then drove to Rotorua and now we are in Hawke’s Bay.  It is easier to understand when you look at a map of New Zealand.  We are starting in the North Island and going all the way to Queenstown, which is part of the South Island.  We get from 1 island to the next by taking the ferry.

new-zealand-map

 

So that is our overall plan.

Hawke’s Bay is another wine growing region of New Zealand.  Here, we are staying in a vineyard cottage.  It is literally a little house overlooking the Tuki vineyard.  I love it here!!  We drove up a little gravel pathway flanked by lime trees on one side and grape vines on the other.  When we got to the cottage, we were greeted by the hens.  Obviously, they are very comfortable with visitors because they ran right up to us.  Actually, I think that they just wanted to be fed!

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Sydney In Pictures

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Usually, I try to post the wrap up and pictures before I move on to a new destination, but I am getting behind on typing the wrap ups…So here are the Sydney pictures; the Port Douglas wrap up will hopefully be up before too long.

I was able to break out the tripod more in Sydney.  It is a little dorky, but it let me get some great night shots – as well as pictures of us together.  It also let me do some cool stuff that I may be able to post later.

Here is the link to all the pictures in full size.  Some are below:

http://justinandalyce.smugmug.com/Other/Sydney-Australia/28028532_HwSx8B#!i=2367077295&k=XT4k2NL

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Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking

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New Zealand is basically a mecca for thrill seekers.  I’ve never been much of an adventurer.  I’m much more of an inside girl, but this trip has certainly been pushing me out of my comfort zone!

Today, we went whitewater rafting. I’ve never done it before, but Justin went a few times in Costa Rica when he was younger.  I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We got there around 9 am.  They gave us a  life jacket, water shoes, helmet, and fleece (optional).  They said that the water was warm enough that we wouldn’t need a wet suit. I kinda wish I would have worn one because we got soaked, and I was a little chilly.

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Hello New Zealand!

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Hi everyone!

Sorry for the post from a few years ago! Actually, it’s been almost 4 years since we got married! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone.  I really enjoyed reminiscing about our honeymoon. It was wonderful and the beginning of our travel adventures together.  I look so young in those pictures. I suppose that’s before school made me haggard!

Ok, well let’s get back to the present.  We made it to New Zealand a couple of days ago.  We took an Emirates flight from Sydney to Auckland.  We were in economy of an airbus A380.  It was so nice! Each seat had its own TV screen and entertainment system. I really think that Emirates has the best selection of TV shows and movies that we have seen so far.  Unfortunately, the flight was a little under 3 hours.  I didn’t get to watch everything that I wanted.  That was the twelfth flight that we have taken since we left, but we will have a little break for a while.  No flights until we go back to Australia in a couple of weeks!

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Retro Review: British Virgin Islands

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We’re tight on time right now, but I had typed up reviews of our trips in the past.  So this can serve as some interim entertainment

British Virgin Islands – June 2009 (Honeymoon)

We went to the British Virgin Islands for 15 nights on our honeymoon.  We stayed on two different islands (for a week each), in addition to a night spent on St. Thomas the day we arrived.

 

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On the whole, we loved the BVI’s.  We always felt safe on the islands.  They were not overly touristy.  Plus there were plenty of things to do when you actually are looking for something to do.

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Sydney, Part 2

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After such a big meal at Quay (which we later learned is pronounced “Key”), we wanted to sleep in a little bit and have a later breakfast.  Unfotunately, the housekeeping lady was ringing the door bell before 9 am.  It was so weird.  That’s the first time we had that problem!  Well, we were awake after that and decided to head down to breakfast.

The breakfast at the Park Hyatt in Sydney was very good, but it is an extremely busy restaurant.  The views are beautiful and it seemed like it is a popular spot for brunch.  As a result, the service is somewhat slow.  Usually, we just attribute the difference in service expectations as a difference in culture.

It has been interesting to learn the different terms that Australians use for coffee.  For example, a “long black” is two shots of espresso over boiling water.  A “short black” is two shots of espresso.  A “flat white” is similar to a latte.  Usually, we just took the easy road and ordered cappucino.

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