Food Porn and Random Bits

Anthony Bordain, I believe, was the man who coined the phrase "food porn" because some pictures look too good to be true. I've adopted it when the feeling moves me - I do hope not to offend. Here are a smattering of random pictures - unworthy of a complete post - that will hopefully bring a smile to your face.

(Top to Bottom, L to R):
1.) New rental car on the south island... a Honda Vitz. Cute, no?
2.) The coolest bike shop in Christchurch.
3.) C1 coffee house, also in Christchurch, had the best coffee and the most amazing ceiling!
4.) Giant chess in cathedral square before it started to POUR!
5.) Having beer at The Bog in Parnell. Later a band showed up playing American covers and we got him to play some Stevie Wonder by telling him we just got engaged. Hey, it was a white lie!
6.) One of, our many, amazing sunsets!
7-12.) Cool heaps of produce. It's summer here, don't forget, and it's much more temperate. We have had amazing fruit and it's all uber local!
10.) Dentistry and Podiatry in one place... just what the sign says and shows!

More posts soon (tomorrow, probably). You get to see Monteith's Brewery and the Pancake Rocks! Lucky you!!!

Hobbiton in a Few Words:

There are inherent differences between men and women. Men, most that I've met anyhow, love Lord of the Rings. Women, mainly me, would rather read than go on a tour about the flick.

When passing through Matamata, Chris really wanted to go see that was left of Hobbiton from the filming of LOTR. The other stunning scenery was shot in the South Island. Everyone here asks us when we're going to the pretty island... well, we were pretty satisfied with beauty up north! Here's a picture of a hobbit hole. (BOOOOOOOOring!)

After, as a bonus, the tour guides took them to a place to watch sheep shearing and Chris got to feed a baby lamb. (AWWWWWWWwwww!) I'm such a girl.

Roto-Vegas

Our next stop, ever so brief as it was, was in Rotorua which the locals have nicknamed "Roto-Vegas". It's really one of the only places in New Zealand where natural beauty is surpassed by built up concrete structures and shopping excess... not really the kind of place you'd want to find yourself for days on end - at least not us!

We went for one night only to see a traditional Maori show with the Haka (the warrior dance) and participate in the Hangi (traditional stone roasted feast). I know, how traditional could it be in a town called Roto-Vegas...? Probably not so much, but they did explain a great deal about Maori culture, weaponry, and dance... and it was run by a family. It was hard to take pictures from the darkened place where we sat, but you get the idea. Very ferocious warriors and women wrapped in pelts...

The property was magnificent and had been in the family for generations and generations. There was an amazing natural spring fed pond and stream that was so clear you could see everything in it - including the water bubbling up. The stone pathways wove through groves of old trees, ferns and greenery and family members explained the medicinal uses of the vegetation. Did you know that Maori tattoos originally were made from homemade ink... well, let me explain. Apparently the Maori used to starve a dog for a couple weeks, feed them some kind of nut to make them poo, and the resulting black excretion was used to dye their skin. They'd carve into their faces with knives, rub the black goo into the wounds, and then let it heal... doing this for years and years until they had a full face of very dark markings. At this show they use makeup... do you think the ladies would really have that on their faces or Covergirl?

For the Hangi, the Maori bury hot rocks in a hole with water (to create the steam), lamb, chicken, potatoes, and kumara (their sweet potatoes) and let them smoke underground for hours. Here was our feast after it was unearthed. In my family, cooking for people was how you showed them that you loved them. If you love them back, you'll eat seconds, thirds... you'll let gluttony ensue to show your love. Well, we love the Maori.

If You're Going to Die...

... do it from 15,000 feet above something beautiful.






I'm back in the swing of things and feel the need to write, post, update... you know - to keep ya'll up on things. I'll be posting smaller posts for a while now, more directed towards individual events for the next couple days. Keep reading!

So a while back Chris and I were in Turangi and planning our trip up the Tongariro Crossing (which I told you about in the last proper post), but before we actually went on our hike, we weighed our options for the day. After getting a late start on a blisteringly hot day, we opted to put off sweating and grunting as I casually said, "How about we do that tomorrow and go skydiving today?"

We headed to the village of Taupo on the lake of the same name (uh, Taupo) and were picked up in a limousine, dragged to the airport, and suited up. We put on super-hot blue jumpsuits, very tight harnesses, and were issued our beanies, oxygen masks, and goggles. Chris and I lucked out and were put into the hot pink airplane (fun, huh?) and flown up to 15,000 feet. Here's what we looked like with our respective instructors. Isn't my boyfriend a dork?


A few things about skydiving for me, personally. 1. I'm terrified of heights, but there is this weird disconnect when you are that high in the air. You get that you're high, that everything is really tiny below n' all that... but I didn't feel scared the same way that a ferris wheel freaks me out. 2. Nothing is pretty about plastic goggles and a leather beanie strapped to your head - especially if said head is a bit on the pumpkin side of things. 3. There are two parts to jumping - the freefall and the parachuting down to the earth. When offered the 15,000 (as opposed to the 12,000), I said, "Hell, I can do 15k!". With the higher height all you get is a longer freefall (the terrifying part) and the same length of parachute time. I think I was hustled... 4. After landing back on planet Earth, I got super tired. With the adrenaline rushing through you at such high levels, you really crash and feel like a nap - at least Chris and I did.

This was Chris' 4th jump, incidentally... and my, of course, first.


Help... I'm falling towards the earth attached only to Henk and a teal and pink parachute!

Look, we made it and we're still in love... (and Chris is still smiling like a giddy little boy). Now, Chris and I both opted for DVDs and the whole bit to commemorate our jump. His turned out great - and his instructor even got him to pretend he was a tiger for the camera (hilarity!!). For those of you who know me well, are related to me, or otherwise think you might rate with me... I will save you from seeing my DVD. Really... I'm doing it to protect you.

The Plague

I have been meaning to get out and to a computer for a few days now... and I'm sorry to report that I've been ill! It started a few days ago with inklings of nastiness and when we arrived in Cristchurch a couple nights ago, it was full-blown ick. Thankfully we're at a hostel and not in our tent, and Chris has been a champ with taking care of a wicked crabby Janice, but I'm still not 100%. I will post in a few days.

Are you curious?

Craters, Skydiving, Glowworms... OH MY!

It's truly amazing how much goes by in just a few days when you're away from home. I would post more often, but being in the woods and remote towns doesn't really afford much opportunity... also, it costs about $4 an hour. True, it's not a lot, but when you consider how amazingly slow the connections here are, you'd understand why I'm posting less pictures than I'd like - and at smaller sizes. It just plain takes forever!

Since last I posted, so much has happened. For more pictures, you will have to wait until I get home an drop 'em online.

So we hiked up Mount Eden in Auckland proper and it was so beautiful. Reg and Chrissy were right, the view was much more spectacular than anything manmade could possibly boast. Here are a couple shots of the crater at the top and the rare "volcano" cows that grazed at the top. Weird, huh? Chris got a tongue bath from one of them and I wouldn't let him hold my hand until he washed off the slime - regardless of it being wet or dried-on slime. I've discovered that my hands aren't long enough to do the "hold the camera away from you and shoot" thing, so you'll be seeing a lot more of Chris' arm... FYI.

The next day, Friday here (Thursday - Thanksgiving Day - at home) we rented the teeniest car ever, a Honda Logo, and headed south on the North Island for a town called Raglan. Now, Raglan is just about as small as our li'l Logo and the people are way friendly. It feels just like a little surfing town tucked slightly away from the general feeling of time. They had beautiful natural sights and Chris and Icamped right by the beach, but the coffee in the morning was definitely of note. Please see the picture... glorious, with soft little vanilla and cherry marshmallows. Raglan doesn't really have a lot, but what I can say about it, is that it's close to a couple other really fun things.

We took a short drive in the morning and made the short hike up Bridal Veil falls. Kind of amazing, no? You get two pictures, because I've decided you've been good... one cheeky one of me standing in front of the sign, and one from a viewpoint on the way down. The water was cool and refreshing on our toes.

The same afternoon we jumped back in the car for the Waitomo Caves and glowworms! Unfortunately it is not possible to take pictures of the experience, but I will tell you about it. Apparently a couple hundred years ago, a hunter who was chasing a wild boar followed him into this very cave (the first one!) and once inside, he looked up and saw what looked like crazy constellations on the ceiling of the limestone caves. I have seen limestone caves before and the glory of the stalagtites and stalagmites are not lost on me - and in fact, this cave is world famous for it's accoustics. Many famous people have sung deep in the caves at a location called "the Cathedral".

So anyhow, the Glowworms are actually 10" long larvae that glow from their backend. They release lines of mucus called fishing lines which capture passing prey and feed the larvae for 9 months. Their entire lifespan is about 11 months total. When you're in the boat, deep in the cave, it's dead silent, you feel quiet drips from above and hear then dropping into the water around you. It's so peaceful and then you look up and it's an unreal shade of greenish blue all clustered together and it looks like stars in the night sky. It was really quite magical. Here's what I can show you - a picture from the outside of the cave and our boat just after it emptied.

We drove a bit further and ended up in Turangi, at the south end of Lake Taupo, and set up camp. Because we slept later in the day and motivation was a bit low, we changed plans around last minute the next day. I said to Chris, "Why don't we got skydiving in Taupo this afternoon instead of hike?" Taupo is the cheapest place in the world to go jump out of a perfectly good airplane - and after buying a time slot and hopping in the car for a short, 45 minute, drive, we were there. I have pictures - good, professional pictures that they took for us and burned to a CD - and I'm so sorry, but they're not here with me. You will have to wait and just enjoy knowing that I went. A full recount is promised with the next post and the proper pictures. Basically, the long and short of it is, I made a jump at 15,000 feet... no lie... and I'm here to tell you about it now - so it was really all good.

Day 2 in Turangi and we hiked Turangriro Pass, which took about seven hours total. We booked a shuttle to the starting point and the antiquitous piece of junk that showed up was good for a laugh and then was worth questioning the liklihood of our arrival. We drove through fields that looked like what I imagine the moor from Hound of the Baskervilles would look like. Turangriro pass takes you through three active volcanoes... one called the South, one the North, and the most famous, the Red Crater. It was arduous at times and the climate change was significant... from cold to really hot and it was intermittently rainy and foggy. Had we gone the day before, we would have enjoyed full sun, but we were both happy with the day we got. The fog made for amazing pictures and we didn't roast like pigs on spits. Our hairs were covered with beads of condensing mist... this is Chris. Also on the hike were the Emerald Lakes which get their color from the natural sulfur springs all around. It smelled like you would imagine. There were two groups of high school aged kids on hikes that day, too. They settled for lunch around the Emerald Lakes and the girls' group had been singing all day. Now, the boys' group was positively enamoured with them and started singing back things like "Build me up Buttercup" and then a made up song asking for their numbers. It was way cute and way funny!

Here's just a smattering of pictures from that hike... the Red Crater, our feet on the clay at the base of the South Crater, and me by one of the small waterfalls in the "moor". Ask me about the Devil's Staircase when we come home!

Today we're off again, stopping for an hour at the internet cafe in Taupo and then off to Rotorua (known to locals as Roto-Vegas). The towns here in New Zealand that we've seen so far are beyond tiny - Taupo is the largest that we've seen outside of Auckland. Last night we were trying to find a beer and a snack in Turangi and there was literally ONE place... and even then only about 5 people eating there... about the same number boozing at the bar. So, Rotorua, we will be learning more about the Maori culture and seeing a village, the Huka, their traditional dance, and enjoying a Maori feast. They cook everything in the ground with hot rocks... should be interesting.

After that we'll be heading up towards the Bay of Islands and the penninsula to the west for a little sun and a relax. Saturday we'll fly from Auckland to Christchurch and start our exploration of the South Island before coming back up for Christmas and New Year's.

Love to you all... nearer and farther. :)

**Sorry about the formatting issues... URGH!**

Summer Lovin'

Hey All...!

I have traversed to the other side of the world and I've lived to tell of the tale. Let me fill you in on travel here and a couple days of fun. :) Keep in mind, I'm verbose, wordy, chatty, whatever you call it. Skim, skip or peruse as you see fit. I will strive to relay information properly.

The flight to Philly was bumpy, bumpy, bumpy and even though I never get motion sickness, I did purchase some Dramamine once I arrived there. Of course, travel karma states that once prepared, the flight will be smooth - and everything to LA was just ducky. I remember that leg being longer than I thought, but it was manageable... until I reminded myself that I had another, GULP, 14 hours + to go.

Now, I have prepared for every contingency - thought about illness, dehydration, how many pairs of underwear to bring, what type of camera strap is best, etc... but, I didn't think about my eyes. I had put in my contact lenses on Saturday morning and had no back-up lenses in my carryon and my super-hot glasses were in my checked bag. So, here I am, half blind without one contact lens (that was just too argumentative to stay in) and prepping for a longer than long flight to Auckland. When Chris called me at LAX just to touch base one last time, I warned him that he may be greeting the semi-blind at the Arrival Gate.

After watching too many movies and sleeping all odd hours, I woke to the most gorgeous Pacific sunrise I've ever seen. Vivid hues of electric tangerine, radiant goldenrod, and piercing azul blue were stretched across every window of the plane. I can't tell you how affirming this was in the midst of my long, boring, and mostly sightless flight. :) Then, I find that TSA thinks I'm a heathen with contraban in my carefully packed bag. Just knowing someone's greasy little fingers was in my stuff kinda freaks me. At least the didn't take anything - although the did unwrap a giftwrapped package which made me cranky.

Chris picked me up soon after with flowers in hand (!!!) and we checked into our cutie-cute little place for the next few days in Ponsonby, a hip, arty, suburb of Auckland. Auckland, by the way, is about the size of Cambridge, MA... and about the fun of Somerville on the Ponsonby side... more serious in city center. We went to Bliss Cafe and had the most lovely cappuccino of my life. How could I have been anything less than in love? A cute cafe and a cute boy! Chris' hair is super long and curly now!

We spent day one doing less than a lot... intermittently sleeping, drinking Champagne, catching up on the last couple weeks, and having a dinner out.

Day 2 yielded more productivity. I was up at the early dawn breaking and we stepped to the street in search of sustinance and adventure. Here is a picture of our GORGEOUS mexican breakfast and BLT. I know it's summertime here and that means produce will be better (as it is at home) but everything here is exceptional. The reddest tomatoes with such an intense sweetness... the bright orange hued yolks of the farm fresh eggs (I've seriously never seen yolks so intensely colored)... I'm a food girl - expect more food pictures. :)

We walked to the city center and Chris took me to the Sky tower, which stands 328m (you do the math) and is taller than the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney tower in Australia, and the Donauturm tower in Vienna - which I gather were rather impressive, but unknown to this gauche American. You can, for a hefty fee, throw yourself off this building (see picture... EEK!) and I think they commend you if you complete this feat without wetting yourself. Call us thrifty, but we decided we'd rather die a less mainstream death... and passed on the opportunity. Once at the top, however, they had plexi glass bit of floor where you could immerse yourself in the terror. Boo Yeah!

We went to Albert Park where they had the most AMAZING trees and took a bit of a nap in the sun. Being on vacation is fun, no? We decided we needed a street snack of pork filled Korean dumplings (although this Korean girl has never had such a thing before) and stopped in for a couple Belgian beers. This one, Kwak, has a special glass and wooden handle that read "A Votre Sante" or "To Your Health". Yes, I think Beligian beer with 8%APV is really quite health conscious.

We had an interesting chat with the bartender, a lovely woman from Argentina, about tipping customs. So, an FYI, servers and bartenders here make about $12/hr - which is about $8.50 USD. It's not the money making venture that it can be at home, and most of the servers have other jobs to keep up with rent - which they pay weekly (about $200 NZ per week). At the bar where we were, they enjoy a foreign clientele, and hence, make tips. A good week for them is about $200 extra. It kind of keeps things in perspective, no?

Chris and I enjoyed a simple meal of cheese, fruit, fresh baguette, hummus and jam back at our abode and watched an odd program about westerners mingling into African tribal culture. Truly odd... but as someone who does not own a television and doesn't really watch it at other's houses either, it was enjoyable. We're keeping in perspective that the next week will be filled with camping and hiking so the luxury linens, convenient shopping, and hot showers are not lost on us!

This afternoon we're off to do some laundry and hike up Mount Eden - which is a former volcano in the center city. Our hosts, Chrissy and Reg, tell us that the view from there are far better than the sky tower and also free... which is how we're rolling these days. :) I made Chris and I this beautiful breakfast at home this morning... eggs with onions, tomatoes, peppers and a bit of garlic and chive cheese... croissant with jam, orange juice, apples... coffee in copious amounts. Aren't we cute and domestic? See my cute gerber daiseys from Chris?

I think it also proper to mention that Auckland is kind of stuck in the 80s. Fashion wise it's such a trip and there are entire stores devoted to the sale of brightly colored shag carpet. No, I'm serious! The architecture is very 1970s and it's rare to see a residential building that is two stories high, complete with tin roofs and shingle-y siding.

Kim - I have picture proof that Chris' Cookies were enjoyed with NZ sparkling wine.

Cat - I've been drinking some interesting wine and writing it down in my journal.
Matt - No Maoris yet, but I'll try to bring one home for you.

Trish and Gary - Chris is alive and well, I can guarantee it!

Dad - You must start using your passport!

AP & AL - Can't wait to hear what you're thinking of the crazy, new chapter of my life.

Local time here is +18 hours... so I'm signing off at 2:20 on Thursday. (It's Thanksgiving here already - or is it... when you're in another country that doesn't celebrate!)

Love to you all - Janice

T'was the Morning Of...

So, there's a thing about excitement... you can't stop it coming on and when your body tells you "get up", you rise.  It doesn't matter that you went to bed at 4:30 after a late night drive, and it's now only 8am.  The odd thing is, I get that way when I know I'm going to bake something, too.  My body gets giddy with anticipation and sheer exhaustion will not keep me in bed.

I left Boston just after midnight last night after a lovely send off thanks to Joe and Kim.  Cake, ice cream cake, cookies, balloons... so thoughtful of them!  Who doesn't love cake?

My pack is down to 32lbs.  Not too shabby for a clothes horse of a girl who likes options and footwear.  I'm as ready as I'll ever be - and I'm also reminding myself that yes, in addition to a plethora of sheep, Kiwis, too, need things like deodorant, aloe, and band-aids.

Now Chris is a funny one... yep.  We spoke a couple nights ago to reconfirm times and everything.  He proudly announced that yes, he would be back in Auckland the night before and sleeping in a bed in the all male dorm.  Now with the flight times, international date line and details - I technically arrive on Tuesday morning at 6:30am.  He was also thinking that I'd be arriving on Monday morning.  So, Chris' idea was to pick me up a day early after weeks of being apart and take me to an all-male dorm.  I'm thinking that's less than ideal, no?  Since then he has rebooked and now has the right date.  While I'm all about hilarity and mishaps - messing with my arrival after 23 hours in transit is decidedly not funny in this context.

I'm off... jumping in my plane this morning and ready as I'll ever be.  The next post will be New Zealand and beyond!

Taking to the Open Skies

Y'all, I've done it. I'm going a bit mad, leaving normalcy behind, and taking to the open skies to head to New Zealand in a mere 48 hours. I'll spend two months romping about the most gorgeous country in the world... the land of hobbits and fjords... home of amazing accents, glaciers, and (I'm told) bland food. At this point, I have two nights of work, everything already packed into a bag and I'm beyond attempting to contain myself.

I blame it all on this man:












Yes, sure... I know what you're thinking. But Janice, you look so happy together, you are such beautifully attractive people, you pose like supermodels. These things are all true, I agree, but in the spirit of properly relaying events, let us leave these facts aside.

I met Christopher on the 7th of September and it has been a whirlwind ever since. He had the nerve of being all wonderful and then dropping the bomb on me that - SURPRISE - he was planning a three month trip to New Zealand and wouldn't be back stateside until mid January. Just my luck... the most strikingly compatible person I had ever met was running away from me - and then he asked and I thought... I can work this out!

Now, I love my job... every day has its ebb and flow and sure, there are moments when I feel a bit tested, but I love it. I'm proud to serve at No. 9 Park right in downtown Boston for one of the coolest women chefs ever, Barbara Lynch. After getting myself all worked up, I had a meeting with my manager and asked her what she thought - citing I wouldn't go if it would mean a negative association with my name and she said I should go... that they would still be here when I got back and she would fit me in as best she could. So there you go, proof again that you never get what you want unless you put it out there in the world and give people the opportunity to say "yes".

So Chris left on November 4th and has been tramping (isn't that a funny word?) around the northern peninsula of the North Island for almost three weeks - well, it will be three weeks until the time that we are happily reunited. I'm so in love that it's annoying and even being without him for a few weeks has felt like lifetimes, but that's the immaturity talking I suppose.

Highlights of the trip include camping in the fjords, kayaking, skydiving over the glaciers, seeing active volcanoes, plenty of hiking, the Rhythm and Vines rock festival for the new year, my first winery tour, and a plethora of other shenanigans, I'm sure. This is the first post of many - with more pictures than past trips... my trusty NikonD80 has a huge-o memory card and I have a fancy new strap that sports photographers use for ease of taking shots on-the-fly.

I'll be away for all three major holidays, but happy to be away, in love, and returning to a fantastic job and my wonderful family and friends. Check in often to live vicariously through the wannabe Kiwi named Janice.