Dream Trip Part Two

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to check out the neighborhoods and houses.  We stopped in Akaroa, NZ, and found it to be totally charming.  I loved these cottages with the tin roofs.

Since it is the middle of summer there now, the flowers and gardens were in full bloom.

This one, complete with the picket fence was my favorite.  I wasn't sure if the 1876 on the sign was the house number, or age of the original house.  It was probably the house number.

 

 Imagine our surprise to find Crocodile Brochette on the menu one evening.  Not something I see every day, and I was less than enthusiastic about trying it.

 

It was beautifully served, but still I wondered to myself how bad it could be.  Maybe it was the wine that gave me the courage to give it a go.  It wasn't THAT bad.  They say it tastes like chicken, but I'm not so sure.  It was chewy, so I just swallowed my little piece, and washed it down with more wine.  At least I can say I tried it, which is more than one person in our group can say.  Right, Kelly?

 

My sisters camera had a better zoom than mine did, so she shared her photos.  I could see the little dots (sheep), but couldn't get good pics of them.  I was told by a local that the sheep population is way down from what it used to be.  I still like any place that has more sheep than people. 

 

 

 The scenery was so beautiful in New Zealand.  I've never heard anyone say that they didn't love visiting there, and now I know why.

 

More to come, but for now I need to get back to model stitching.

Dream Trip Part one

 

 G'day mates!  It's been a week since I returned from New Zealand and Australia.  It seems like only yesterday that we started planning it, and now it's over.  I think we would all agree that it was a wonderful time, well worth the two grueling travel days that included more than thirty hours combined in air time.  I wasn't sure if I would survive the 14 hour straight flights, but watching several movies, the occasional cat nap, and a few glasses of wine helped.  I have so many photos to share, so I'll do it in several posts.  Here we are at the very top of our ship, the Celebrity Solstice.  We flew from LA to Auckland, and met up with our two week home on the Pacific and Indian Oceans, plus the Tasman Sea.  Yes, that is a grass lawn at the top deck of the ship.  Lawn games took place there, along with a glass blowing exhibit.  In this photo, we were all a bit frazzled, sleepy, and a bit grumpy (me), but still looking forward to the adventure ahead.

 

 If you look to the right of the big X, and about halfway up from the middle tender boat, you can see our balcony.  We were anchored off the Bay of Islands, NZ here.  Our rooms were fab.  We had a little sitting area to stitch, of course.  I got quite used to having breakfast delivered, not to mention the chocolates on my turned down bed.  Even though we were a day ahead with the time difference, we watched all the football playoff games.  My friend, Patti below is a die hard 49'er fan.  I'm sure they could hear her yelling all over the ship.

 

 We were on the tender boat, on our way to explore and shop.  Not sure if Patti was flashing gang signals or not :)  Actually, I believe that was for day 2.

 

 Beautiful Bay of Islands.   I've never seen so many boats in one place.  The crystal blue water often matched the sky.  The sea water did nothing for my hair, however!

 

 This photo needs no explanation.  It was the first happy hour on the ship.  We played musical trivia every afternoon in the lounge.  We did so well, and ended up getting first place several times.  It will be one of my favorite memories.

 

Until next time, I will leave you with a look at what I do best...  Be back soon with more to share that will include meeting up with a couple of very special friends.  I had my very own welcoming committee in Australia.