Maintenance

While many people we know were enjoying a long weekend back home in the US, camping, watching baseball, having a barbeque, we unfortuantly only had a standard 2 day weekend down here.

I struggled all weekend to fight a cold that started to come on towards the end of the week, but despite that we still had a good weekend. Saturday morning Erin and I got up nice and early to bring our car in for a tune up and an oil change. It's the first service we have brought it to, since we purchased it. Unfortunately it has a slight oil leak and had to be fixed and it costs a couple extra hundred dollars to get repaired. In addition, we were told that we should get the Cambelt replaced as well, because it is old and could break which would result in major engine trouble. We will make an appointment to have this done this coming week (another $500).

We went over to our friends Brian and Diane's house to have dinner, watch a rugby game, and play with their 3 month old son (Matthew). We had some Indian food and it was very tasty. On the way home, we drove through an alcohol checkpoint and I had my breath tested for alcohol. I had only had 3 beers over 4 hours, so we were free to continue on home.

Sunday was a relaxing day, where Erin did a lot of cleaning and I watched the Celtics win their first road game of the Postseason to take the series lead 2-1.

We hope that everyone is having a nice long weekend!

Erin the chef

A couple weeks back Erin and I talked about how we weren't trying many new or different recipes in the kitchen. Erin took this as somewhat of a challenge and has created a number of new dishes. She's focusing her efforts right now on soup type meals. Here's a break down of the various meals she's put together over the past couple weeks:

Pasta Fagioli - Otherwise known as Pasta and beans, Erin used her newly purchased crock pot (on Trademe which is the NZ equivalent of eBay). It made a large portion and we ate this for a few nights.
Sausage with White Beans and Escarole - This meal was served with a garlic white wine sauce and tasted "professional".
Grandma's Spaghetti - This is a meal that Erin has made before and if you couldn't tell, came from her Grandmother. Always a yummy meal.
Manhattan Seafood Chowder - Attempted to make Clam Chowder first, but it was changed to seafood chowder which included crab, shrimp, and oysters. This was made in the crock pot as well and brewed all day on Sunday, but because we went out to dinner on Sunday with Mascha and Jeroen, it wasn't eaten until Monday.
Italian Wedding Soup - Unfortunately Erin didn't find any mini meat balls, but she was creative and took sausage and cut it open and into small bits. This was a very tasty meal as well and we ate this one tonight.

I'm sure Erin is busy searching for more recipes, so if you have any specialities to suggest, let us know and we will give it a try and post our results.

Entertaining Clients

I've had a big week with entertaining various clients. As we wrote earlier in the week I attended the Elton John concert with a few clients. The tickets were $400 and we had drinks and food before hand, so I was glad that I wasn't paying.

Erin was able to secure a ticket from one of my co-workers, so she was very excited. Her seats were $320, but she was able to get up to the stage and dance. She was only a couple feet away from Elton.

On Friday I had another big client entertaining event and we went to the Blues vs. Hurricanes Rugby game. It was the last game of the regular season for the Super 14 (which is 14 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). The event was great with dinner, drinks, and good seats. The Blues won the game in the end and it was a lot of fun.

This weekend we have dinner with a few friends and plan on enjoying the sunshine before the winter rain starts falling.

We also send our thoughts and prayers to Wendy and Paul's friend Mary Ann who lost her husband Bill to cancer last night.

Elton John in Concert

Jeremy and I are off to see Elton John in concert tonight. He was able to get a ticket through a work event and I am going to go with one of his co-workers whose husband can't go. Our seats aren't together but I'm sure we'll still enjoy the show!

Erupt Lake Taupo Festival

Our free weekend in Taupo at the festival was GREAT! We headed out of Auckland at 2:30 on Friday so we could make it down there for the first show and beat the traffic. We stayed at the Miro's Motel which is close to the town centre as well as the lake. The place was very nice and we had breakfast included which was brought to our rooms both mornings. In addition to the shows, we walked around the town and Erin found an All Blacks sweatshirt which she quickly snatched up so she will have something to wear when we go to the game in June. On our way out of town we stopped at Craters of the Moon which is a really neat park which has all this geothermal activity (Don't worry the last eruption here was in 2002 and we made it through our visit).




Here's a summary of the shows that we saw:

Hotel: This was play that brings the audience in to experience what goes on behind the closed door of Hotel Room 22. There were only 13 of us in the audience and we were like flies on the wall as we watched the lives of different people and how they used/stayed in the hotel room. We both loved this show and would see it again in a heartbeat.


The Songs of Kurt Weill: This was a cabaret which brought to life the songs of German born Kurt Weill and murder, prostitution, and political corruption. The band and singer were amazing and they were so skills in the various instruments that they played. It was a very entertaining show. We sat at a table for this show and met 4 individuals who have retired in Taupo. They were great to talk with and were very interested in our travels, etc.


Arte Kanela: This was a flamenco musical group from Australia which had 2 dancers, 2 musicians, and a singer. The dancing skills that both the male and female dancers had were absolutely unbelievable. The combination of the Spanish music and dancing resulted in a standing ovation at the end.


Moana and The Tribe: A band which pull together traditional and contemporary Maori, soul, reggae, and classical music along with moving images of the New Zealand landscape. The music was very soothing and we purchased their newest CD at the end of the show which is called "Wha".

Big Win

We renewed Citymix magazine last week and we entered a contest for a weekend away...Erin got a call today...WE WON!!! We won a weekend away in Taupo which is 3 hours south of Auckland. A good vacation spot. We have lodging and tickets to a big festival that is happening. The festival is called Erupt Lake Taupo Festival. We are so excited as we never win things like this! We are going this coming weekend. The package is worth $850...we can't believe it!

Pilobolus

We continued to ensure that our cultured backgrounds are improved and went to a dance show at the theatre. The show was called Pilobolus and is a US based dance company that actually started at Dartmouth College in the 70's. The show was very good and we had great seats. We were very pleased with our decision to buy tickets.

This weekend we also said goodbye to Jochen who headed back to Germany. We had breakfast on Saturday morning and then a few of us headed to the airport with him. We had a great time with him over the past year and look forward to seeing him and his girlfriend Susanne in a year when we head home.

Emu? Crocodile? Kangaroo?

I've been having a very good time in Darwin, Australia. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and is on the Timor Sea. On Sunday I went on a tour to the Kakadu National Park. I saw aboriginal paintings on the sides of rocks which are dated to be around 1500 years old, a ton of birds, crocodiles, and a lot of bugs. (I took pictures, but will post them when I get back)

We started work on Monday, but wanted to ensure we could see the town so went looking for a place to eat dinner last night. We found this place called the Wisdom Bar and Cafe. We sat outside and there was this massive tree right in the middle of where everyone eats. We ordered our food and waited. About 2 minutes later we looked in the tree and saw a POSSUM. There were actually 2 of them in the tree and we found out that they live there and eat food out of peoples hands. If we were in New Zealand, I'm pretty sure that possum would have been shot and killed, but over here in Australia, they treat the Possum's differently.

So we enjoyed watching the Possum eat everything from carrots to peppers to even french fries. When our food came, we ordered the Australian Sampler which contained Crocodile, Emu, and Kangaroo. We all tried them and they were pretty good.

Travelling Man

Jeremy is off to Darwin, Australia today for work. The trip today is a long one as he arrives in Darwin late tonight. But, he has a fun day planned tomorrow where he will go on an all day trip tour of the area before starting work on Monday. Have fun and I'll see you later in the week Jeremy!!

Sailing Away

We started out our weekend nice and early on Saturday when we became Certified Beginner Yachters! Our final lesson continued on from last week and we also learned how to rescue a "man overboard". After another 5 hours sailing in Auckland's Harbour with wind gusts up to 37 knots, we were awarded our certificates.

We now have basic knowledge of sea terms, parts of the boat, rigging and sails. We are also able to tie the following knots: figure eight, round turn, two half hitches, and bowline. We know how to use winches and jamming cleats, can steer a yacht under sail and power and have experience sailing a yacht on all points of sail. Look out America's Cup...here we come!

The rest of our weekend will include the usual activities of laundry, grocery shopping and some household chores. Jeremy will hopefully fit in some sports watching as well. We have a short week this week (4 days) as Australia and New Zealand celebrate Anzac Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) on Friday. Last year we went to the Auckland Museum to watch the Memorial Service. We haven't planned what we will do this year, but Jeremy will be busy packing as he is off to Darwin and Adelaide in Australia for a week of work.

Back from Melbourne

I am back home now after a week of training in Melbourne. I had a great trip and learned a lot which I am looking forward to putting into effect at work tomorrow! Jeremy and I have also now both been to Australia more times in the past year than we have been to the US. We never thought we would have that statistic to report!

Sailing Lesson

Living in The City of Sails, there can't be a better time for us to learn to sail. On Saturday morning, we boarded the French Connection, a 32 foot Beneteau with our friends Mascha and Jeroen for Practical Yachting, a ten hour, on the water course.

On our first day we learned the parts of the yacht, ropework (including several necessary knots), the rules of the road, and then we were off sailing! We had a mix of weather including sun, rain, no wind and lots of wind so we wore all sorts of sailing gear.

Our second day was to include more sailing and practicing rescuing a man overboard, but the winds today were at 40 knots, so our final lesson has been postponed until next weekend. We look forward to becoming certified beginner sailors!

Erin's Travelling

Erin has her first big work trip coming up next week and she's very excited about the opportunity. She is heading to the Hudson office in Melbourne Australia to work with people in her similar position. She will be away for 3 nights / 4 days and will be the first time that I will be at home while she is travelling for work. (Generally it's the other way around).

Good luck Erin!

Auckland Food and Wine Festival

We were once again blessed with amazing weather this weekend. The days are still warm, but it is getting a little bit cooler at night.

We started the weekend early on Saturday. After giving Jeremy a tour of my new office and a quick morning coffee, we stopped by the Auckland Food and Wine Festival. We had a great time! We paid $20 for admission which included a wine glass and an environmentally safe shopping bag. Over the next few hours we enjoyed live music, wine, beer, cheese, sausage, fresh fruit, bread, donuts, and many other delicious things. We were really spoiled with free samples.

After a quick cat nap, we met up with our friends Philip and Anna for a farewell dinner. They are heading back to Sweden today after 18 months in Auckland. Before starting work in Stockholm on May first, they will stop in Dubai, France and southern Sweden. Safe travels!

Today we are just relaxing and watching NCAA basketball. We had daylight savings today, so we are now 16 hours ahead of Boston, rather than 17-18.

One Year Anniversary

Today marked our one year anniversary in New Zealand. We have very much enjoyed our experience thus far and have a lot planned for the next year.

To "celebrate" our milestone we went to see a play with the Culture Vultures, a group of friends who try to do something cultural each month. This month was our choice and Jeremy did a great job planning the night which included burgers at Burger Fuel, a few drinks and Nina Rain's Rabbit. Despite the hot theatre, we enjoyed the play and ended the night with a delicious dessert.

We're still on a the hunt for someone to rent our apartment in Boston but hope to find a good tenant soon!

Tim and Jackie left Boston today for a three month volunteer experience in Peru. My mom is travelling to California to visit Julia, so we wish everyone safe travels. (Happy Birthday Julia!!)

Day Five - Bridge Climb

Before hopping on a plane back to Auckland, we had one more adventure up our sleeves. We were scheduled for an early morning climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I was very nervous as I am a little bit afraid of heights and narrow scaffolding things, but how could I saw no to the opportunity?

The first step was to take an alcohol breath test to make sure we were sober for the walk. We then got suited up in jumpsuits with harnesses, hat clips, sunglass clips, sweat rags, and radios. Then we had to do a practice run on a bridge simulator to gain an understanding of what we had signed ourselves up for.
Construction started on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1923 and it was opened for traffic in 1932. It is 440 feet high at the top of the arch and is the fourth longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world. The bridge also carries eight lanes of traffic, a footpath, a bikelane and two train lines, which makes it the widest long span bridge in the world. Needless to say our climb wasn't going to be a simple task!

The climb was an amazing experience. When we reached the top of the arch we were amazed by the views (and how safe and sturdy we felt!) We weren't able to take our cameras with us, so we had to purchase a souvenir photo to remember the journey. We highly recommend the experience to anyone! It was a great way to end our exciting weekend in Sydney.

Day Four - The Blue Mountains

On Monday we rented a car to drive to Katoomba and explore the Blue Mountains. We were very hopeful for a sunny day as we had been told stories of how disappointing the experience is when it is foggy or rainy. The day started out with heavy rain and clouds, but by the end of our two hour drive, we were greeted with sun!

We enjoyed the view of the Three Sisters (a famous rock formation) from Echo Point and decided to hike the Giant Stairway. The Giant Stairway was carved into the side of The Three Sisters and took us along a trail in the valley. At the end of the walk we took a ride up the steepest railway in the world.We then rode a cable car over the top of the valley back to where we started from. The sites were amazing and we were very lucky to have such great weather!On our way back into Sydney we stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park. At the park we fed wallabies and kangaroos and had our photo taken with a koala. We were very happy to see those animals in Australia. My goal for our next trip will be to see them in the wild. I'll just have to remember that it isn't safe to get so close!We rushed back to the city to return our rental car before closing. Unfortunately, we got stuck in holiday traffic and couldn't find a gas station in time, so we were forced to valet park the car for the night at the hotel.

We followed our evening routine of drinks and nibbles before settling in for our last night in Sydney.

Cute Laughing Baby

We saw this video on Yahoo.com today and just had to share. The baby had us on the floor laughing. Enjoy! More on Sydney coming tomorrow...

Day Three - Happy Easter!

To celebrate Easter, we went to church. We ended up at St. Mary's Cathedral (the taxi driver thought it was the church we wanted to go to, even though it wasn't) which was a huge Catholic church in the middle of Sydney. The service was very crowded but still very nice.

When we were leaving church, we were stopped by a news reporter who wanted my thoughts on the day! We didn't get home in time to see the news, but Jeremy got some pictures of me.

After my "interview" we went for a walk in the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are beautiful, but one part is really scary. We came across HUNDREDS of giant bats hanging out in the trees. The bats were fighting and flying above our heads. Fortunately, they are herbivores, and we didn't get attacked.

Our next stop was Sydney's very famous Bondi Beach. Even though it was Easter Sunday, the beach was still very crowded. We enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch on the ocean before going for a long walk in the sun. Jeremy's favorite part of the beach was that it was topless. I enjoyed that the water was warm enough to walk through. We learned later in the evening that the beach was evacuated just after we left because of a shark sighting. Good thing we didn't stay longer for a swim!

After a day in the sun we caught a ferry to Manly which is a suburb of Sydney. Manly is also where our new friends Jaclyn and Jimmy live. Jaclyn is the sister of Melanie who visited us in Auckland late last year. Jaclyn and Jimmy also hosted Wendy and Paul when they were in Sydney. We had a delicious pizza dinner and then had a few drinks at a Belgian Beer Cafe before catching the ferry home. Sunday was definitely our latest night out, but it was well worth it!

Day Two - A Busy Busy Day

We started our day with a tour of the Sydney Opera House. On the tour we saw three different performance halls. We also got to listen to a sound check for a concert that weekend (we think it was for Harry Connick Jr.)

After our tour, we took a ferry to Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Aquarium. We were amazed with the variety of sea creatures that we saw. The aquarium has a huge tank filled with sharks and sting rays. We've never seen sharks so big!

We also saw Nemo and Dorey swimming around an anemone.
Our next stop was the Star City Casino. We grabbed a quick lunch before trying our luck at Roulette and the slot machines. Unfortunately, our luck ran out very quickly and we were off for some shopping in the city. We visited David Jones, Sydney's department store. The store is so big that the men's and women's sections are on different roads! During our shopping exhibition, Jeremy found a new pair of shorts and I bought a new skirt. We also visited an open air market at The Rocks before heading home for the night.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to watch a street performer, Bendy Em, who folded herself into a box. Jeremy was picked out of the crowd to be her assistant. He had to carry her around the crowd and then help her into the box. He was proud to be her assistant!


We finished our night with another dinner at the hotel with more free food a drinks. After all the walking we did today we were ready for an early night! Our alarms were set for an early wake up so that we could make it to church on time the next morning.