A Year of International Travel (2015)

A major motivator for my life is international travel. I love it. The cultures. The underlying assumptions that are the same everywhere, and the assumptions that are unique to each place. Each place's beauty. All of these things are what makes those international experiences amazing.

Each year I've noticed an increase of travel and I don't want to take it for granted! So, I'm going to take the slow train through the amazing good travel fortune that I have experienced in 2015, with one set of pictures to encapsulate what made the country special to me for that trip. 

France

Cool Factor: Ellie choosing Paris for her 8 years birthday celebration.

Underlying Stress: In Paris???? I'm not sure that's possible.

Favourite Moment: The simplicity of the beautiful French meals.

Luxembourg

Cool Factor: They serve champagne for everything.

Underlying Stress: I was really upset that the Post Office was closed the entire visit as I like to post things from each country I visit.

Favourite Moment: Getting champagne and frites with mayo as the typical fair food!

Switzerland

Cool Factor: Getting to see the Swiss Alps!

Underlying Stress: Tired, limited time, and wanted to experience so much.

Favourite Moment: Enjoying the engineering and peace around the fountain toys in Basel.

Germany

Cool Factor: Our first European wine trip.

Underlying Stress: Getting English translated menus, especially after the liverwurst incident.

Favourite Moment: Driving through Baden Baden's many beautiful vineyards and fab wine!

France (second visit)

Cool Factor: Getting a chance to pop into town on the way to Munich for the conference.

Underlying Stress: The terrorist attack redefined our experience that weekend.

Favourite Moment: Enjoying the morning ramble after the rose shoppe.

Germany (second visit)

Cool Factor: My first international speaking engagement.

Underlying Stress: My first international speaking engagement.

Favourite Moment: The plethora of mulled spiced wine during Bavarian Christmas season!

Australia

Cool Factor: All around great wine, great food, great vintage shoppes, great live music.

Underlying Stress: Limited on the number of lunches and dinners in the foodie world of Melbourne.

Favourite Moment: Attending a ballet and chamber orchestra at the Sydney Opera House!

New Zealand

Cool Factor: Getting to see the New Zealand Alps!

Underlying Stress: No real cities to speak of. Wellington was the biggest. And well. There we are.

Favourite Moment: I have an obsession about the beauty of glaciers and was not disappointed.

Fiji

Cool Factor: The most beautiful vistas imaginable!

Underlying Stress: It was hot. Sand got in my shoes too.

Favourite Moment: Snorkeling!!!! I'm officially hooked.

Australia (second visit)

Cool Factor: We ended up with an extra and unexpected couple of weeks in Sydney after Fiji.

Underlying Stress: The reason for the extra time was because Ellie got the chickenpox.

Favourite Moment: The New Years celebration in this city is insanely awesome!

The Upsides to Chickenpox

It's one day before our flight back to the States. We've spent 6 weeks on the road ... France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji ... fun, rewarding, and a bit tired of the current wardrobe.

"Mom, I'm really feeling itchy."

Yes, it was definitely chickenpox. I had little doubt and tried to not overthink the implications until I confirmed it.

And then the doctor said the magical words.

"You definitely have chickenpox; quarantined for 10 days."

Interpretation?

You are stuck in a gorgeous city with travel insurance in a great hotel with a view of the opera house near both a lovely wine shoppe and tea room.


Don't get me wrong, the logistics weren't exactly fun. Pulling Eric off of boarding his plane home (leaving a day earlier than us), getting back into the country officially, moving meetings, working with the hotel manager for extending stay with minimal disruption, handling the insurance, doctor visits, changing flights to open-ended tickets, and what feels like was plenty of other things but I forget.

However, remember, we are stuck in Sydney for New Year's Eve :)



An important takeaway include the reminder that, once again, the US health system completely sucks and I adore the way that EU and now Australia handles taking care of people and giving medication.

Ellie's important takeaway was that online school has significant downsides as it's inescapable .... BWA HA HA!

So, some pain, but nice benefits. Go chickenpox!

The "Bad" Day

I find the broad interpretation of bad days often amusing. For example, I have a close friend who seems to attract "bad days" like flies to honey. For example, the conversation where the truck broke down, his dog is dying, and his dad had a stroke is not a particularly odd one.

Meanwhile, we have Eric, the guy who blinks and gets pretty much whatever he wants. 

"Oh, I was hoping that you could just randomly upgrade me, would you do that?"

"Yes, Mr. Willeke, we would love to do that!"

"Oh, I was hoping that you would randomly give me [pick anything], would you do that?"

"Yes, Mr. Willeke, we would love to do that!"

Somehow, he manages to give people the impression that it would make their day better if they served him. 

Then we have to address the insanity of his not getting how normal people experience life. Platinum Medallion on Delta, Platinum on United, Lifetime Platinum at Marriott, Emerald Club at National, international Global Entry, and automatic various airport club memberships.... don't get me wrong, watching Road Warriors work makes me realise how important those perks are to have a sane life. However, it makes for an annoying person on occasion when normal life is forgotten.

"Honey, you just need to let it go...." when I explain how I got treated like total crap in airport experience.

"It's just all in how you approach it. Be nice to THEM, and everything will be fine...." when I explain what an ass the customs person was.

So, enter Eric's "bad" day.

Setting: Auckland International, Virgin Australia check-in desk.

Scene: We have skipped all the plebian lines and been given fantastic seats. So far, so normal.

"So, can you direct me to the club?"

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but you do not have club access."

"But....I'm Delta platinum medallion! I'm United platinum! Take your pick .... why wouldn't I get in the club?"

"It's just an odd glitch in our systems .....sorry about that.

It took Eric several minutes to recover from this, full of grumbling as I giggled my way to the shoppes. I mean, no free coffee, alcohol, or breakfast. He had to buy it!!!! Shhhhh....

So, we head through Passport Control. 

"Sir, that Express pass is for the Australian side; you are not qualified to go through our Express line."

Just for the record, there was literally nobody in the room. Like 4 people are in the plebeian line. That's it.

"No no! He gave me this express pass! I've always gone through the express lane!!

"No sir, please move along."

I watch Eric roll through the emotions that he felt would work best, and apparently the befuddled confused emotion was his choice. So, in a completely empty room at this point, where it matters NOT AT ALL which line we go through, he stands with an air of tearful confusion ....

"But I'm so confused....this doesn't make sense. This is very confusing."

"Sir, please move along."

So, we sit in gate area, without his club breakfast, and being turned away by a guard. 

Even better, the guard WAS wrong. 

Here is where I may have said sarcastically.....

"Honey, you just need to let it go...." 

Crossing Boundaries in Fiji

I’m wading out in the Musket Cove Bay surrounding one of the hundreds of tiny islands around Fiji. I’m cursing the fact that Eric loves tropical lands so much, but knowing I can’t complain because I usually get the Christmas locale choices, and it’s more than his turn.

“Look down honey.”

Underwater, a crab scurries in his little hole. A school of zebra stripped fish circle around me and through my legs. A much larger fish of brilliant colours leaps over Eric’s arm.

I gape.

Worlds of water are beautiful. It’s nice to sit on a rock in the middle of a rushing stream watching a western North Carolinian waterfall crash. It’s nice to work off the hotel balcony watching the ocean lap lazily up the beach at Hilton Head or Nags Head. It’s nice to see powerful waves crash against the rocks along the Irish, English, Maltese, or New England coasts. It’s even nice to wade over to the pool bar in whatever tropical locale one is in at the moment and indulge in the local rum (or tequila).

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is where the niceness of water typically ends for me.

Swimming never particularly interested me, as the thought of death by drowning had a significantly terrifying effect on me. Even watching “almost drowning” in movies is enough to make me hyperventilate.

So, you can imagine that Fiji didn’t have an overwhelming pull for me. However, just because there has to be another side to the coin, I am utterly fascinated and in love with marine life.

Hate or love water; the Fiji waters call you in, to at least visit … the clear greens and blues where you can see down to the floor like a clean aquarium can soften the most hardened hearts. To see the marine life’s world, I had to push my own boundaries. In that same place, with the fish swimming close enough to touch, their inquisitiveness overwhelming their own senses, I learned to finally tread water, which is a huge step for me. Decades of fear was being torn down by crabs and beautifully striped and spotted fish.

“So let’s go kayaking and look at the corals.”

Remember, this is me. Kayaking is the spawn of Satan, never to be considered across the many years of opportunities to kayak in stunning places. But there are corals out there. And starfish. Would yesterday’s experience be enough to convince me to make the "kayak leap"? You bet it was.

Sitting on topic of the water, I fought tears so many times crossing the channel where the big boats come in. I knew that the only thing that could flip my kayak was my own stupidity, and that comforted me even less. I could only do one thing, and that was to look at a spot in the horizon and be grateful that I always liked the rowing machine in my fitness facility as I hauled ass across.

“Look Mom!"

Ellie is calling me from Eric’s kayak (I refused to take responsibility for her death too even though she can swim) and she’s staring down. Then I see the coral. Huge bunches of coral spread across the bottom. My fear was totally forgotten. Through deep coral beds and shallows where I could watch starfish walk, it was only the tide that could convince that it was truly time to go.

“Snorkeling? Are you nuts? No. No. No. Just because I got into a kayak doesn’t mean I can lay in the water like that.”

It took two days and a lot of testimony from newbie snorkelers to convince me, and even when I got out there, I thought I was losing it. What was I thinking? I’d just stay next to the sandbar and not go out. Yes, I had a plan.

“Hey North Carolina!!! Get over here!”

It was the Dane. And yes, many of us referenced each other by where we lived. 

Damn him. I was very busy being completely enthralled with my safe little sea snake with black spots moving through the sea grass. I was in love, and certainly not ready to go out where he was.

He knew I was frightened, and I think he knew I’d forget my fear when I saw what he wanted me to see. He was right. When I was suddenly in the middle of a gigantic coral, I felt a new level of living. Purple coral. Blue coral. White coral. Never could I look at dead coral in a store again without being sad. It would be like looking at taxidermy. And the fish. The colours. They swam all over me and looked curiously at my face mask.

It was the shortest and longest hour I could remember in a long time. Time held still for me, but it didn’t for the rest of the world, and I had to leave.

So thank you to the crabs, the dozens of fish species, the starfish, and the coral. You took me across boundaries that I never thought could happen.

The South Seas Christmas

The warm Christmas. It’s a fascination of most northerners, for whom spending Christmas’ in Northern Michigan with 30 inches on the ground was a normal experience. At some point certain holiday rituals become part of the DNA. Gathering wood for a nice long Christmas fire. Preparing wassail, hot chocolate, or mulled wine. Whatever warmsy drink you prefer. Venison from the Thanksgiving hunt. The wind blowing through the coniferous forests that are so calming. Busy Christmas week last minute shopping, and not because you need anything. You just love being in the crowd and pretending that you’re in the old cities in the nineteenth century. Basically recreating the perfect Dickensian Christmas (and not the Nicholas Nickleby versions either!).

Those were so many of my Christmas’ that it was all that Christmas could be in my head, so having Christmas in Scottsdale during our 8-month stint in Arizona was fascinating to me. Taking Christmas photos is not a tradition for us, but when the tree is a cactus and I’m wearing shorts; yeah, gotta do that.

So as I lay here on Christmas Day in Fiji, on the tiny island of Malolo Lailai. the fan in my little bure is spinning in the laziest possible way, and it’s the only movement even close … so I lay there soaking in the air movement. As I hear Blue Christmas spitting out of the wireless Bluetooth speaker, my only connection to the modern world, the fan gets slower somehow, and everything is surreal.

I’m in an Agatha Christie novel. I can even match the characters from A Caribbean Mystery to these Australian, English, New Zealand, and a few European visitors … several wearing their perfect linen whites with Cuban hats. Some wear bikinis and dinner was only about 30% “proper” dinner attire instead of Miss Marple’s 100% adorned dinner companions. Still, 30% flabbergasted me, as we are living in 2015. I realized that I lived in a different age myself being so firmly in the 30%, as Eric popped the Christmas champagne cork and Ellie snapped her Christmas cracker.

The fan speeds up again and the tropical birds bring me out of my reverie.

Christmas in the South Seas …

Coconut and pineapple.

White linen.

Colonial.

Slow…

The Snowman Army

Listening to our family can be entertaining. Actually, listening in to any family or group of people who frequently reference gaming situations is amusing. To put it in perspective, I never really thought the Big Bang Theory truly represented just how stupid gamers can get. There were snippets, but reality can be much scarier.

Gaming can also evoke some crazy emotions in us. Somehow there was a glitch in Terraria’s update and Ellie lost her most experienced character. This was a year of investment. NPCs. Weapons, like mushroom spears. Godly hellfire. Ice rods. Pirate staff. Poison staff. REK 3000. Magick mirror. The list goes on.

You may be giggling, but trust me. It was not funny. Wretched heartbreak on an 8-year old’s face is never funny. Fortunately, Eric and I are gamers enough to cry with her.

This is how Ellie managed to accomplish the impossible … playing one of our characters. Well, I don’t play that stupid game because why would I mine and build when I could blow crap up, but Eric sharing his character and letting her adjust it? Impossible. But, it happened, and funny conversations like this get heard by our neighbors in the train car heading up to Auckland.

Elle: Daddy, can I have the snowglobe?

Eric: Absolutely not. Do not TOUCH the snowglobe.

Elle: OK, I’ll put it in your piggy bank so I don’t get tempted. Can I use your Queen Bee?

Eric: picks himself up off of floor. NO! Definitely not!

Elle: OK. Oh look! I got you an eggnog.

Eric: Thank you. Look if you stand still and you can use the yo yo around the corner.

Eric and Elle: frustrated mumbling back and forth

Me: You know, you guys sound completely crazy if anybody is listening. And what’s wrong with her using a stupid bee or snowglobe anyway.

Eric: Yeah? Do you know what the snowglobe does????

Me: rolls eyes

Eric: The snow globe is a one-off artifact that gives me an evil snow army.

Me: Holy shit. That’s awesome.

Moments pass.

Me: Can I have your snow globe?

Australian Wine

Whenever I travel to a new country, my tasting typically stays focused on the wine from that region. The original plan for Australia was to rent a car for the weekend and head into to Yarra Valley, but then, that just sounded tiring. After 4 weeks on the road in as many countries, I admit that the idea of driving did not entice me.

As such, we decided to investigate Australian wines from the quiet, walkable distance to wine bars.

I mentioned Punch Lane in the previous post for a tasting menu, but it was the wine tasting that originally got us in the door, and there I discovered that I had grossly misjudged Australia.

What do you think when you hear "Australia" in the same sentence of wine? Shiraz. Of course. Maybe we can even stretch to a syrah!!!

Neither reds are particularly my thing, although a syrah is palatable. White wine has become more and more of interest to me, with bubbles being the chief point of attention.  The reds in my world have moved strongly to the Spanish style wines, and I'm not referring to the fruit forward stuff of the young Tempranillos and Garnachas, but focused on the high tannic versions, such as aged Tempranillo, aged Garnacha, Monastrell (same as French Mourvedre), and Bobal.

However, good Pinot Noirs usually win me over any day of the week.

I digress.

Delamere Cuvee: blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Tasmania*
Tellurian Fiano: locally grown Viognier, one of my favourite varietals

 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir: having almost went to the winery, we had to try it**

We limited ourselves to only three shared glasses per location in order to maximise tasting value, so off we went to The Wine Shop mere blocks away. As life is always an improvement with oysters and bubbly, we kicked this tasting off right.

Chandon Blanc de Blanc: Yarra Valley wins again! Maybe we should have driven out there....

Jamsheed Roussanne: hand picked and whole bunch pressed, this was a winner

Punt Road Pinot Noir: another Yarra Valley winery we would have visited

Bottom line, yes, I'll happily return to Australia to enjoy the bubbles and whites of Victoria***, and definitely will be returning to the New Zealand south island to ramble through vineyard after vineyard  after vineyard... it was a beautiful site.

*Tasmania is in reference to a little island off of Australia but still considered Australia. I thought at first it was only a monkey, then I thought maybe it was in Africa. Those were awkward conversations.

**If we had not decided to focus on Australian wines, I would have gotten the Saddleback Pinot Noir from NZ Central Otago region. Thank GOD we stuck to our plan as I got the joy of discovering at the winery Peregrine) the next week that the Saddleback line was created purely for it's lighter fruit forward approach to pair with food. We opted for the beautifully aged complex Pinot sold at the vineyard during our visit.

***I discovered that Victoria was the state where Melbourne was .... the taxi driver was not impressed when I asked if I was in a different state when I was in Sydney. I suddenly realised I was being one of "those" people when I have to explain that yes, New York City is in a STATE and is not a standalone country.

Australia's Tasting Menus

So what is the magic of tasting menus?

Two words.

Food.

Wine.

OK fine. Four words.

Amazing food.

Awesome wine.

While I could talk at length of the wonderful Asian food selections available in Melbourne that has turned my lack of anticipation of our 3-month Asian trip in 2017 on a dime, one of the truly self-indulging spoiling self-love I can do for myself is a proper wine and food tasting menu of chef's choice. 

No food decisions.

No wine pairing decisions.

Getting to see art, and eat it too.

Just sit down, and enjoy.

Two restaurants especially stand out for the Melbourne scene. 

Hell of the North

Cured ocean trout with a riesling. Good start.
Bacon wrapped rabbit .... ok, you have me at bacon ...
Blue eyed cod with pea foam. Pea foam? Yes. 

Lamb shoulder with shiraz. Meh. So does everybody else.

Mental capacity diminishing by this time, so we'll boil it down to cheese and crackers.

Chocolate. REALLY GOOD chocolate. With fortified wine. 

Taxi, please.

Extremely reasonably priced; more so than I would have expected for what we got, definitely a huge thank you to the colleague who referenced us to Hell of the North, although I will always remain curious where in the world that name came from, especially being just about as far south as possible.

Next Stop.

Punch Lane

Tuna sashimi with watermelon. SUPER spicy, making the watermelon perfect.

Pate. Sure, but the wine? Gruner Veltliner is definitely a new and awesome varietal!

Barramundi. New local fish to try! The beet root and vermouth a major plus.

Lamb with cab. OK folks. You like the lamb with the heavy reds. Got it.

OK. Dessert. Awesome. Don't know what it was, especially by that time, but it was GOOD!

Walking home.

I adored Punch Lane from the start because its name was Punch Lane. How awesome is that? Also, the bartender knew.his.wines. Watching him was simply fun and educational, and while this was my first tasting menu there, it had not been my first visit to the well-stocked wine bar :)

Thank you Melbourne!

Finding the Beautiful Juxtapositions

As our world becomes scarier with not only growing racial tensions as well as higher awareness of existing racial tensions, it can be easy to overlook the beauty that is found in experiencing diversity. Opening my New York Times app is always an exercise in discouragement over American behaviour. 

However, sitting in the coffee shoppe in Wellington NZ, looking through these articles that represented the most extreme of cognitive dissonance that I could conceive, I was able finally smile.

Because I remembered.

I remembered the story of a beautiful juxtaposition of racial connection.

When I was running a Tae Kwon Do school for inner city kids, part of the role included getting them into tournaments, which required a lot of volunteer work for coaching, chaperoning, and pick-up / drop-off. My parents were among these volunteers and were delivering a very happy little boy with his rather large second prize sparring trophy sitting on his lap the whole way home.

So when the very white guy (my dad) ordered an ice-cream at the local McDonald's (black neighborhood), nothing was unusual.

But when he pulled up with a black kid in the back seat with a huge trophy on his lap, dad noticed the McDonald's worker peek at Roscoe. He then watched the happy smiles of the McDonald's workers.

Despite the smiles, dad expected the typical anemic McDonal's ice cream. However, this was not delivered. Rather, an absurdly oversized ice cream that was taller than dad had ever thought possible with soft serve was served with rather large smiles, completing an already lovely day for Roscoe.

Would this have occurred if one of our black volunteers had pulled Roscoe up for an ice cream? Possibly the oversized ice cream. Possibly not.

Would this have occurred if one of our white volunteers had pulled up with a white kid for an ice cream? Possibly the oversized ice cream. Possibly not.

However, I have a feeling that normal transactions happen, but then we get happy surprises. The unexpected. When the order was taken at the McDonald's box from a white guy, they simply had no anticipation that it was going to a little black kid who had clearly earned a martial arts trophy. So when they saw Roscoe's shining eyes, it was a happy and beautiful juxtaposition.

These unexpected happy surprises should not be easily forgotten, and during these difficult times, they especially need celebrated.

It's always better live.....

The culture of cities teach us important mindsets. For example, 

Living in Asheville has taught me the joys of frequent live music to be a common occurrence. 

While New Orleans put me back in touch with my love of Blues and 

London always reminds me just how much I love the theatre, 

Australia is reminding me of the value to also splurge on the high-end production events.

It goes without saying that the Sydney Opera House is a must-visit venue for pretty much anything they are producing at the time, but in my case, I lucked out with the absolutely most stunning ballet ever. A visiting English lady told me that the designer, Gabriela Tylesova, got extra funding for the set, which aligned with the quality we saw. Ballets are funny things. You either feel like magic or feel like your witnessing rocks falling on the stage. The former was experienced with Lana Jones leading the fabulous fairies.

Then there was Sol Gabetta. The woman who can make the cello do whatever she wants because they are so intertwined in soul and spirit. Fortunate enough to be in her debut performance with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in the opera house's concert hall, I was shifted to a new dimension. If I was incapable of listening to local orchestra before, they are forever banished now. I'm sorry. I'll happily financially support local orchestras, but my ears are so spoiled.

Moving on down to Melbourne ... where I fully expected a foodie world, but didn't realise that the amazing music would continue to enlighten and thrill ....

Granted, a live performance of AC/DC is what we could define as a shift in the music palate, but that doesn't take away from the amazing music and all around show!

AC/DC STARTING....

THUNDERSTRUCK VIDEO

The videos are too long to load onto this interface, so I provided drop box links where you can watch.

It's so funny to me that people record live shows with their crappy phones when they can buy or watch the professional versions.

So I definitely recorded some great bits with my crappy phone. Why are mine special? Because I was THERE!

sheepishly moving on....

The best thing about Australia is that we are not done, as my still ringing ears try to recover from a soccer stadium full of shrieking people and awesome rock, I prepare myself for Vivaldi's Four Seasons at the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra tonight with Tognetti playing his interpretation ....

Music ... it's always better live ....

and most definitely always worth the extra effort to experience the professionals at their best.

PENGUINS!!!!! (Wild ones. Not from the zoo.)

Seals coming up on the shores of Aran Islands off Ireland.

Puffins all over Iceland.

Bears sniffing out the finch seed in my garage.

Armadillos blocking me from driving across the car park in Florida.

Buffalo doing the shake down on Antelope Island in Salt Lake City.

Baby Roadrunner getting lost in and totally freaked out in the flat in Scottsdale.

Yes, all of these experiences have been really cool. But penguins are a totally different class. So when  Eric promised us wild penguins, Ellie and my excitement got a little abundant. 

This is when he noted that they are they same KIND of penguins we'd find in Antartica.

Marian

Not the same kind? They aren't black and white and super cute?

Eric

Well, ummm, no, I think they are brown....and pretty fluffy.

Marian and Ellie

BROWN???? FLUFFY????

Ellie

I think they are puffins and Daddy is confused.

Marian

PUFFINS? We know what PUFFINS look like in the wild. WE WANT PENGUINS!

Eric

Penguins are penguins. Turns out there are more than the few breeds that stand around Antarctica.

Marian

They sound suspiciously non-penguin so far.

Ellie

Daddy, do you need a picture of puffins? Are you sure they aren't puffins?

Eric

OH MY GOD! I was told they were penguins. I don't know!!! You can't hold me accountable to what somebody else told me. You'll have to see for yourself.

They were brown. They were also the smallest breed of penguin in existence at 33cm tall. While this was being judged harshly before we got there, all Eric had to do was stand there and point 

"oh look, a penguin" ....

...and we totally forgot about our issues that they weren't Emperor penguins standing on a glacier in Antartica, because they were penguins. FREAKING PENGUINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Priorities

An insight into the detailed planning approach of Willeke Family Outings (or the lack thereof).....

Eric
All right everybody! I have a plan for New Zealand.

Yes, that would be us finally putting together a travel plan for our 8 days in New Zealand between Australia and Fiji ... or at least grapple with the fact that there is an 8-day gap between our last day in Melbourne and our first day in Fiji. Other possibilities for this 8-day window included figuring out how to get to the coast of Antartica or visiting South Africa. However, New Zealand is REALLY close and after all, Legalos ran across it's mountains.

*everybody gathers*

You can translate this as Ellie actually pausing her game and me lifting my head from the Kindle.

So, what would everybody say if we took a train for a five-day trip that is all glass on the sides and roof and dining car for five days from the New Zealand alps across the south island and up through the north island to Auckland?

Any normal person
Holy shit yes, sign me up!!!

Not normal person known as Marian
Does it have alcohol?

Not normal person known as Ellie
Does it have wifi?

There are two distinct schools of thought involved here. Trapped in a glass tube or having the best office in the world. I mean, we ARE talking about five days here! The lack of or presence of wifi/alcohol informs which mindset would be present.

As it turns out, lamb is served in the dining car, local wine and tea is available all day, and power is available at each seat. While wifi is available, it's promised to be spotty at best. I suppose that's what one gets when training by glaciers, through alps, and under oceans.

So,  train here we come in T minus 5 days! 

The Palate of Melbourne

Sydney is, of course, pretty awesome with it's great scenic views and amazing performing arts.

We were fortunate to get this view of out of our hotel window...

...not to mention the amazing experiences at the Sydney Opera House for Sleeping Beauty and actually getting to see Sol Gabetta in person take the cello to a new standard of living.

I belatedly had realised that I had tears in my eyes during the cello performance in the gorgeous concert hall, while I had a hard time keeping my breath steady with the overwhelming beauty of the scene sets presented to us in Sleeping Beauty (not to mention the incredible ballet technique we saw).

So yes, Sydney is a truly stunning place to visit, and I'd consider returning for just having a week of their performing arts.

Melbourne, however. Wow. I didn't know Asian food could be so divine. I've had good Asian food. Even great Asian food. It's rare that I feel a massive craving for it though as frankly, it can be not only predictable in the States, but usually on the heavy side of the palate.

Let me put it this way - we were planning a big Asian trip in 2017, and our time in Asia keeps getting extended based on the smorgasbord of cultures and food varieties we are experiencing in Melbourne!

So far, I can only claim (in the order of the photos) the styles of hot pot, ramen, dumplings, and udon, not to mention Thai fusion that was gobbled too fast at Chin Chin to get a photo.

How does one know which one of each type of food is the best? Simply take frequent walks and find out which restaurants have the lines regardless of the time of day .... then show up 15 minutes before the place opens for lunch for a guaranteed first wave of the lines :)



....and best thing of all? There's so much MORE!

Walking down Little Bourke is simply an exercise in options of excellent Asian delights. Doing this requires the removal of any preconceptions as it turns out nothing I've tried so far tastes anything like it does in the States. I knew it would be different, but had no idea it could be that good!

To make matters better, I have a week left of intensive taste testing, not to mentioned surrounded by wine bars, but that will have to be another post :)