Other Orlando PicturesJeff & Karen's Sabbatical Blog
Last Updated 09/06/2005
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September 6th, 2005 - Karen's final thoughts from Orlando, USA
We have enjoyed two packed days of fun at Disney's four theme parks: Epcot Center, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom (new safari/zoo attraction), and of course, Magic Kingdom. Despite the fact that it was labor day weekend, the parks weren't crowded and we were able to ride pretty much every attraction and see every show that we wanted to. Enjoying Disneyworld as an adult is different in many ways to experiencing it as a child. For one thing, Jeff & I ate frozen bananas, funnel cakes, ice cream bars, and chili cheese fries whenever we wanted. No permission required. At the risk of upsetting our health-conscious moms, I have to say that was a blast! At least until we started suffering from digestive issues at the end of the day.
Despite the minor physical impairments, we enjoyed a bunch of new and classic attractions: Kilamanjaro Safari (where a dining giraffe blocked the road, delaying a long caravan of trucks), Space Mountain (not as scary as when I was little), Splash Mountain (which I was reluctant to ride but, according to Jeff wouldn't get me wet because otherwise they would have named it Wet Mountain...he was so wrong), and Cinderellabration (Cinderella's coronation including Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine and Belle as special guests)
Finally, we went on one of my favorite rides, which may be the most fitting conclusion to this journey: It's a Small World. It's a boat ride where a bunch of children and animals serenade you to a song. Even though all the costumes and kids look different, the song points out how much we all have in common. It was a poignant summary of our experience over the past nine weeks and a sweet ending to this fairy tale.
September 3rd, 2005 - Jeff from Orlando, USA
After about 19 hours of travel yesterday, we finally made it to Orlando! It was a pretty terribly trip with delays, flight changes, missing reservations, etc etc. However, our room here is huge (compared to Europe) and we get dozens of English cable channels! Today we're going to hang out in the hotel and get over jet lag. Tomorrow we'll start hitting the parks... those 3 dollar frozen bananas will seem like a bargain compared to France.
Can't believe it's almost time to go home, but I guess it's about time. It's been a LONG Trip!
August 29th, 2005 - Karen from Barcelona, Spain
We are staying at the Hotel Colon, which is across the street from the Barcelona Cathedral. Our balcony overlooks the cathedral as well as a square full of cafes, tourists, street performers. We visited the Barcelona and St. Mary Cathedrals today, where I bought a nice set of coasters as a souvenir for my brother (just kidding Warren, I got you a soccer jersey). We are a little underwhelmed by the sightseeing in Spain since it seems like we saw the exact same things in France, Italy, Greece....Nonetheless I am shopping up a storm out here. The prices are reasonable and the stuff is as cute as it was in France. H&M is one short block away from our hotel and I've discovered a bunch of other Euro-chains with sales, sales, sales. Life is good.
August 27th, 2005 - Karen from Paris, France
Upon consulting with key travel advisors (thanks mom & matz), we went to see the Eiffel Tower lights at night and the Champs-Elysees. Paris is spectacular by day & night.
In addition to sightseeing, our 8-day stay in Paris has afforded us time to recharge our batteries (and supply of laundered clothing). This week, we went to the movies and saw The Island and The Wedding Crashers (in english with french subtitles). We have also been enjoying 65-cent fresh, hot baguettes while watching French MTV (Real World New Orleans baby!) in our apartment. Party on.
Tomorrow we are leaving for Barcelona, the land of tapas and sangria. Bring it on.
August 25th, 2005 - Karen from Paris, France
Yesterday we did another marathon session of sightseeing. Making the most of our 3-day museum pass, we crammed in the Picasso Museum, the Pantheon, the Middle Ages Museum, and the Archeological Crypt. My favorite was the Pantheon, even though we've seen a gazillion of these in Greece and Italy. Beneath the Pantheon is buried some of the most celebrated French people, including Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Voltaire, and Marie Curie.
For dinner, we ate at a French restaurant called Seraphim. Jeff had salmon tartare and grilled sea bass. I had a haricot salad and duck with cherries. For dessert we bought crepes from a street vendor next to the subway. We saved some money on that one.
It's rainy and cold today so we may take a break from sightseeing. Our apartment is pretty comfortable -- we bought some secondhand dvd's and have been tuning into CNN. We're also located in a modern part of town with movie theatres and yuppie entertainment nearby.
Other pictures from our two days of Museum
tours
August 23rd, 2005 - Karen from Paris, France
I am having a wonderful time in Paris and am finding that my requisite 8 years of french (while growing up in Canada) is coming in handy. -- "Excusez moi monsieur, parlez-vous anglais? Je voudrais la spaghette bolognese s'il vous plait..." Although I have fallen short of getting us around like native Parisians, I am at least able to translate the poster for the new Chicken Little movie.
We visited the Musee d'Orsay and chilled in St.Germain de Pres today. The d'Orsay houses the best Impressionism and post-Impressionism paintings we've ever seen, including Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Bazille, Degas... St. Germain used to be a cool bohemian area where Satre and Hemingway hung out. It has since evolved into a lively bunch of bars and cafes mixed with upscale boutiques like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. We had lunch at a wonderful West Indies bar called La Rhumerie (the rum distillery). I think I drove Jeff crazy because the food was so good that I just sat there eating for almost two hours.
After holding back for most of sabbatical (not including Shanghai, where the clothes are such a great deal they're practically free!), I let loose today at Dior and picked up a little souvenir. It's the brown signature print bag from their new fall line with silver chain handles decorated in velvet ribbons and silk flowers. I also bought brown suede rounded toe (god I hope they're still in next season) pumps to match so it wouldn't be lonely. The clothes and accessories here are so beautiful and unique, every store I walk into is like another museum. Somehow I don't think Jeff is going to be talked into skipping the Picasso and Rodin museums tomorrow in favor of the Galleries Lafayette (giant department store in Paris with Bulgari, Gucci, Chanel, Zara....every label you could ever imagine).
August 22nd, 2005 - Jeff from Paris, France
We had a busy day today. Above are just a few pictures from the Jardin de Tuilleries. The last pictures is from the Moulin Rouge where we went and saw a crazy show last night. The dinner was just okay but the experience was worth it. We ended up sitting in the very front row of the theater where I almost got kicked by a crazy gymnast and Karen almost fell into a pool of snakes.
Below are some pictures from our day at the Louvre. This place is crazy big, but we were fortunate to have seen a lot of similar artifacts from our time in Greece and Italy.
August 21st, 2005 - Jeff from Paris, France
A busy day in Paris today! We visited the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's Grave in the Dome Church, and Notre Dame. We visited 2 cafes which were both nice but ridiculously expensive. Our second cafe experience consisted of a Hot Chocolate and a Beer for ~$18 US Dollars. For dinner we had some home cooked pork chops, spaghetti, and 1/2 bottle of Chateau Lamothe Vincent, a 2002 Bordeaux. Tomorrow's main events will be the Louvre and dinner/show at The Moulin Rouge.
August 20th, 2005 - Jeff from Paris, France
Yesterday was a good day in Venice. Although we missed our friends on the local island of Murano (where they are famous for their glass works), we had a nice day of touring around on all the waterways with a day pass on the transit system. We sat down to a nice dinner near our hotel and Karen tried the local Italian Liquor (Grappa). We don't care so much for Grappa but it was worth the experience. I've posted a few pictures from yesterday, but they aren't remarkably different from those of the day before.
A few pictures from Day 2 in Venice
Today we made our way to our apartment in Paris. The size is small but it is very well furnished and extremely comfortable. We sat down to some instant noodles and went out to a small grocery store where we bought some spaghetti for tonight. We have dinner and show plans for the Moulin Rouge on Tuesday night. Tomorrow we will begin our week long tour of Paris.
August 18th, 2005 - Karen from Venice, Italy
Last night our ship pulled into Venice around sunset. By the time we passed St. Mark's Basilica, it was dark and the city was lit up beautifully. Italian opera music was playing in the background and the dinner crowd gave us a warm welcome as we traversed the Canale di San Marco. It is way better than pulling into the Venetian in Vegas by yellow taxi.
This afternoon, we took a vaporetto (water bus) today and experienced the Grand Canal during the daytime. Besides the beautiful palaces and churches along the Grand Canal, we visited St. Mark's Square to say hi to the pigeons and take in a free orchestral concert. We also ambled around the old military areas and the Rialto Bridge. We've made good use of the GPS device that Gary gave Jeff for his birthday; maps are pretty useless here since there are a gazillion alleys & streets and very few street signs.
Venice is quirky and full of interesting characters -- from street performers dressed up in renaissance garb, to old ladies carting pet bunnies around town. Dogs and pigeons happily play in the drinking faucets scattered around the city. There are no cars, but instead, water taxis and gondolas. A gondolier serenaded an alleyway full of tourists today and it reminded us of Jeff's dad. We think he may have missed his calling because he would fit in well in Venice.
August 16th, 2005 - Karen from Corfu, Greece
After many late nights of Scattergories, Poker, and Ramen, the exhaustion finally caught up with us so we slept in until 11:30am this morning. We walked around Corfu a bit and found that it sucked. We ended up sitting at the edge of the pier where our ship was docked, watching the different kinds of fishies swim around. During this cruise, we've visited a bunch of wonderful Greek islands (Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos, Katakalon, Corfu) and have had memorable experiences. Although each island has been beautiful and interesting in its own way, the only ones I'd consider visiting again in the future would be Santorini and Mykonos. The architecture and landscapes of these islands are unmatched and I love the relaxed vibe.
Later this afternoon, we participated in yet another wine tasting, the fancy schmancy Maitre'D wine club. In addition to really expensive booze like Opus 1 and Veuve Cliquot, they served carefully-selected pate/caviar/prosciutto canapés, fresh pasta, and chocolate covered strawberries to go with each glass. Yum.
August 15th, 2005 - Jeff from the Mediterranean
Tonight was our second formal night and what a night it was! We met up with the usual dinner crowd but soon found everyone to be in rare form. The night started with a typical 5 course dinner and the typical 5 bottles of wine for 6 people. Dinner was followed by a Broadway show which everyone thought was terrible. Karen and Mike actually found it so bad that they insisted on showing everyone how it was supposed to be done; they both got up and on stage and performed independent karaoke solos! The night ended with Chinese cup of noodles (from a greek grocery store) and room service at 1:30 am. Suffice it to say that the land photos of Corfu on the 16th will suck.
P.S. Ching, Mike, Here's your zip file of Mike's performance. It's ~70M so be patient. Let me know if you want me to destroy the evidence :) - Mike.zip
August 15th, 2005 - Karen from Katakolon, Greece
Yesterday we spent the day in Athens, where we visited the Acropolis, the Plaka (central shopping district), the National Archeological museum, and the Olympic stadium. And as we did in Sydney, we went to check out a Greek McDonald's and their local delicacy, the Greek Mac. It's wrapped up like a gyros.
Pictures of the Acropolis in Athens
Today we spent the day in Katakolon, where we rented a scooter and putzed around on our own. We found a couple of beautiful beaches, which had cabanas and lounge chairs and everything....We also scooted up to a small village called Skourohopi, where we met some really nice locals. They surprised us by treating us to a round of beers (at 11 in the morning...yikes!) and appetizers, and helped us brush up on some Greek. Meet our new friend Stephen below.
August 13th, 2005 - Jeff from Mykonos, Greece
Today was a lazy afternoon of walking and touring. Karen and I got up early and walked around town before it got too hot. it reached about 31 degrees C (~91F). The town is very touristy and pretty typical of the Greek islands. Nothing spectacular as you'll see in the pictures but a it had amazingly blue oceans. Last night was full of partying and dancing as our dining group went to a newlywed game show and then hit the club. I think we're getting a little old for this, but what the hell. No kids yet, right?
Tonight we're heading to a 18 course Italian sampler dinner. You'll be surprised to know that it wasn't actually Karen's idea. If it were up to her, we'd probably just have 1 course of spaghetti and meat sauce.
August 12th, 2005 - Karen from Rhodes, Greece
When we were in Santorini yesterday, we met up with Erik & Michelle. In order to get to the city though, we hiked up a 700-ft public walkway full of donkeys and donkey output. Gross. Erik, Michelle, Jeff & I had lunch at Socrates' View, a second-story restaurant that allowed for views of the sea from both sides. (Santorini is part of a caldera -- skinny land mass crescent around a volcano -- that was formed by volcanic eruption). It was nice seeing familiar faces after many weeks of travel (Jeff had already met up with his bay area diving buddy in Phuket), and we commiserated over missing our cats.
Last night, Jeff entered a poker tournament and won $75 and a nifty t-shirt. I had a heavenly facial and massage at the spa. It was heavenly because not only was it relaxing, but free as well.
August 10th, 2005 - Karen from the Mediterranean Sea between Naples & Santorini
Yesterday we docked in Naples, where we took a hydrojet to Capri, a resort island about 40 mins from Naples. Capri is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, with charming villas and stores built into the cliffs and gardens overflowing with exotic flora from Africa and Asia. We sampled some Limoncello (a yummy liqueur made of lemons and sugar) and olives, before boarding another hydrojet to Sorrento.
Remaining pics from Naples and Capri
Sorrento was also charming but not as breathtaking as Capri. We had a yummy three-course lunch and did a little shopping. Afterwards, we boarded a bus taking us to Pompeii, the famous city that was destroyed by an eruption at Mt. Vesuvius in 89AD.
Pompeii was fascinating because it was pretty much an entire city preserved, as opposed to the individual buildings we saw in China and Rome. We saw body casts of people who died of suffocation and heart attack. These casts were formed by pouring plaster into molds created when the volcanic ash completely covered & hardened around the poor victims of Pompeii.
Today, after 3 straight days of (exhausting) touring, we are spending the day at sea. We signed up for a wine tasting this afternoon and tonight Jeff will be making a donation to the casino's poker tournament. These are pictures of our Cruise dinner waiters (Watti & Leon) plus our dining buddies (Jeff, Karen, Mike, Ching, Zin, Hussein):
August 9th, 2005 - Karen from the Tuscany Region of Italy
After China, we flew into Rome, where we stayed for 2 nights. That allowed us one arrival night to be completed exhausted, one departure day to travel to Civitavecchia and catch our cruise ship, and one full day in between to see everything we could possibly cram in. In addition to the museum & St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, we also visited the Coliseum (one block from our hotel), the Roman Forum (ruins from ancient Rome), and the Pantheon (a well-preserved temple). We also tossed a coin into the Fontaine de Trevi to ensure we'd be back in Rome again someday; and we pigged out on pasta and chianti, of course.
Vatican and St. Peter Basilica
We boarded a Mediterranean cruise from Civitavecchia (near Rome) a few days ago. I'm really looking forward to this cruise. On the first day, Jeff & I listened to a presentation on all the spa treatments and ended up winning a facial and a spa sampler (massage and facial). We've also met some really nice couples who we eat dinner with. So far we're off to a great start.
Our first stop was Monte Carlo, Monaco, where we took an excursion to Nice, France and sampled some pain avec jambon, fromage et noisettes (fancy bread with ham, cheese & nuts). Today, we docked in Livorno (near the city of Pisa), where we took another excursion to Florence.
Between the full day of sightseeing in Rome & the Vatican City before the cruise, and a crash course tour of Florence, we've gotten to experience a lot of Renaissance art. We have seen works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonarda da Vinci, etc....yep we have all the mutant ninja turtles covered now. My favorite piece is the School of Athens, a fictional landscape depicting scholars like Socrates, Euclid, Pythagoras, etc...The cool thing is that Raphael painted in all his peers' faces like Da Vinci, Bellini, etc. as the scholars. The Sistine chapel was pretty impressive too, but I like the School of Athens the best.
August 2nd, 2005 - Jeff from HangZhou, China
Today is our last touring day in China. We had a good time looking around HangZhou and the Pearl facotry in Wu Xi. Karen did very well and we bought a few gifts for the in-laws. In the afternoon we went to a Buddhist Temple and then over to Westlake in Hangzhou. It is a very famous lake as a large number of chinese restaurants are named Westlake Something or another in the states. Tomorrow we do laundry in Shanghai and prepare for a 14 day of travel over to Rome (via Vienna).
August 1st, 2005 - Jeff from Wu Xi, China
The trip is starting to wind down. Last night was particularly difficult because we didn't arrive into Su Zhou until 1.30 in the morning. The tour stated this morning at 8am so we all had to wake up around 6.30 to 7am. Today we went through historical sites in Su Zhou which included the City Wall, a silk factory, and an amazing historical Chinese garden/home. The pictures below are from the Wall and the Silk Factory.
Afterwards we drove to Wu Xi and to the Lake Tai. This is a great park next to the lake which exports most of the worlds fresh water pearls. We're going to visit a pearl factory tomorrow so I know Karen is going to have fun! It also looks like we just received ECBP (for you Intel folk out there) so that money's pretty much gone.
This last picture (above) is one of our tour group. This is just one of 3 tables that routinely eats together. The food out here has been absurdly good. Each meal is like a 10 course banquet. There is never a shortage of any dish and there's always plenty of fresh fish. I keep telling myself that I'm going to eat light at the next meal, but it just never seems to happen. The best that I've been able to do is to skip breakfasts... which are also pretty delicious.
We can't believe that a whole month of our sabbatical has passed already. At the same time, we're amazed that we still get another 5 weeks off to travel. This thing is freakin' long but no complaints here.
July 31st, 2005 - Jeff from Gui Lin, China
On the 30th we traveled from Xian to Gui Lin via plane. The day was fairly uneventful but we visited Gui Lin's Elephant rock landmark, visited their huge limestone Caves, had a nice dinner, and saw a small show featuring China's indigenous people in the hotel. The following day we went and on the Li Jiang River Cruise through the scenic Mountains of Gui Lin. The pictures speak for themselves since this destination brings 10 Million tourists a year to see Gui Lin's natural beauty. Tonight we make our way back to Shanghai and start early tomorrow for a full day of touring.
July 29th, 2005 - Karen from Xian, China
We visited the famous archeological site where the terra cotta warriors are being unearthed. Proclaimed the "eighth wonder of the world" (probably by the china tourism board), this attraction was one that Jeff has been looking forward to visiting all week. There are several types of warriors recovered, including generals, captains, infantrymen, archers...and all of them have unique facial features. Kind of like cabbage patch kids.
For lunch, we went to a restaurant that features not one, but two types of handmade noodles made fresh, right there on the spot. I was in heaven. One type was "jumping noodle", where the cook rapidly cuts noodles that "jump" into the boiling water to be cooked. The other type was stretched noodles, where the cook pulls one piece of dough into 2 noodles, folds them, and pulls them again into 4, and so on. It was buffet style, all you can eat so I must have gotten at least 4 bowls of noodles.
Oh yeah, and we also climbed Xian's city wall which allowed for a panoramic view of the city. Although it was interesting, it was kind of anticlimactic after climbing the Great Wall of China. There were no $2 t-shirts available either.
Photos from Xian and the Terra Cotta Soldiers
July 28th, 2005 - Karen from Xian, China
Tonight we gorged ourselves at a dumpling banquet featuring 20 courses (not including 8 small appetizers at the beginning). This restaurant makes all kinds of dumplings, some even shaped like bunnies and flowers and ducks. Yum.
We also learned about the Tang Dynasty, which is my favorite dynasty so far. The Tang Dynasty was a very liberal era where the only female emperor in Chinese history had her reign and plump women were considered ultra sexy. (I'm totally hot stuff right now with all the pigging out we've been doing). We were told Emperor Wu had her share of male concubines and boy toys. You go girl.
The highlight of the day was our purchase of a scroll painting of black & white bamboo we bought at the Tang Dynasty museum. I like how bamboo symbolizes humility and loyal friendship, because of how it stands straight in the ground throughout the cold winter. It was a pretty significant purchase so I probably won't be buying much Chanel in Paris. Don't worry though -- we've already loaded up on some cool souvenirs for friends & family! (and it's not those stupid $2 t-shirts either).
July 27th, 2005 - Karen and Jeff from Beijing, China
Today we went to an Emperor's tomb in Beijing. After that we climbed the great wall of China (one of the seven wonders of the world). We climbed (literally climbed -- it's a steep hike up huge mountains) up in the blistering sun and then got caught in a sudden thunderstorm on the way back. Not a problem though, since we were able to pick up some dry, snazzy t-shirts for super cheap ($2 USD) that we could dry off and change into. See us model these fine garments below. Tonight we feasted on Peking duck at this famous restaurant where all the dignitaries eat. It was ok but I miss eating KFC in front of Tivo with my cats.
The Other Great Wall Pictures.
Zhu
Yi Jun Tomb Site Pictures (just a few since Cameras weren't allowed in the
tomb).
Yesterday's tour schedule was brutal lasting from 6.30am to 9pm after arriving at the hotel at 1am the night before. We went to the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and a cool Beijing Acrobatic Show. When we got back to the room we had a nice massage, but it was tough love. It's not nearly as relaxing as a Thai massage but we felt pretty good afterwards anyway. Here are photos from yesterday:
A few Pictures from the Forbidden City - As with all the other sections, there were tons and these are just a few. Frankly, all these selections of photos make the places (here and in the summer palace) look pretty small. However, they were seriously huge. It's just that a lot of the buildings looked the same and therefore weren't worth posting also.
The Temple of Heaven. The last photo is one of Karen w/ our Tour Guides.
The Summer Palace. Again, much smaller than it appears. I just couldn't believe how much was done for the royal families. The last couple photos are just a few snapshots of the show.
July 25th, 2005 - Jeff from Beijing, China
It's been a tough couple of days. Yesterday was particularly brutal in that we got up at 4.30am in Phuket to get to the airport in time for a 7am flight. When we got there, we found out that our flight was delayed by 3 hours. Our flight from Bangkok to Shanghai was also delayed, but only enough to force us to miss our tour group when we finally arrived in Shanghai at 7pm. I got a nasty case of food poisoning and ended up puking 4 times; I was also forced to visit the men's room for other un-pleasantries a countless number of times. When we got to the hotel in Shanghai, Karen met up with the tour group at 9.15 for a dim-sum dinner. I was stuck in the hotel recovering, but had a taste of some leftovers that evening.
Today was better. I was mostly recovered and our tour group got started with an aggressive schedule. We visited the Shanghai Museum and then visited Shanghai's radio/observation tower. We later visited various suburbs of Shanghai and did a little shopping. Add to that a massive lunch, a tremendous dinner, and a 2 hour flight to Beijing and you're all caught up to now... 1:25am in Beijing. The wake up call is 6.30am tomorrow for an 11 hour day of site-seeing in 93 degree (and highly humid) weather.
Here are some pictures from today:
The Rest of the Shanghai Pictures
July 23th, 2005 - Karen from Phuket, Thailand
Couldn't leave Thailand without doing some weird touristy things like ride an elephant and watch a snake show. We rode a very independent-minded elephant named Kiwi, who kept stopping to eat snacks (weeds along her path). After that, we met Somlee (a really cute monkey who likes her chin rubbed) and watched an elephant show, where Jeff got yet another Thai massage. All in all, a super fun day.
Other Pictures from The Phuket Tour
July 20th, 2005 - Jeff from Phuket, Thailand
We went on a diving trip today. It was a miserable ride most of the day with large swells that made the boat ride unbearable. Half of the boat was sick and throwing up on the back, but we managed to do the dives nonetheless. Karen actually came with us cause we assumed it would be a nice ride on the boat... but unfortunately, the dive sites were two hours from the harbor! Karen is very proud of the fact that she didn't throw up.
Other Photos from the Dive Trip
July 19th, 2005 - Jeff from Phuket, Thailand
Ok, nothing to add today... we're going to go get a long massage soon and we've put up some of the pictures from the past few days.... Relaxing is hard work!
July 18th, 2005 - Karen from Phuket, Thailand
We made it safely to Thailand after a very uncomfortable 12-hour flight to Bangkok, another short hop to Phuket, and an overnight stay at a shady airport hotel in between. The Novotel Coralia resort we're staying at is paradise, however, so after 60-min massages (at 350 baht, ~$7.50 USD!), Jeff & I are over it.
The resort is on a hilltop which allows for spectacular views of everything -- ocean, sandy beaches, tree-filled hills. We just came back from breakfast, which is basically a buffet of everything you could ever want to eat, including made-to-order omelets, pastries, fancy fruits...even fried noodles and congee, which I'm actually starting to enjoy. Last night, we had dinner at another restaurant in the resort that specializes in authentic Thai dishes. We had cabbage/fishcake salad, roasted duck, and pork with lemongrass & chili peppers. It was delicious but not as good as June's cooking! The area near our resort is full of Italian and seafood restaurants so I know I'll be happy here.
One last word about Australia, New Zealand and the southern hemisphere in general. I had hoped to use this amazing travel opportunity to verify the fact that the toilets do, in fact, drain clockwise south of the equator. Despite my best efforts to unearth evidence to this effect, the plumbing systems are so damn powerful that the water just goes down, really quick. So I'm disappointed to report that my findings are still inconclusive. Sam - you're going to have to have to remember to check this out for me next time you're in Brazil. And please tell Petey & Stu that I miss them too.
July 14th, 2005 - Karen in middle-of-nowhere, NZ
Jeff got me up at a staggering 8am this morning so that we could drive to Waiotapu and catch the 10:15am eruption of Lady Knox Geyser. When we got there, we found out it was artificially prodded into action with some bicarbonate material (simulating the origins of how this geyser was discovered -- accidentally by some convicts washing their work clothes in the pool with some bicarbonate-based soap). In addition to Lady Knox, the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland Park had another 20 or so freakish geological formations like mud pools, sulphur caves, etc. See the pictures by clicking the link below - the colors came out pretty true to life, without the smells.
After the thermal park, we drove to Waitomo caves and toured the Glowworm caves, lit up like Christmas lights by the tails of Glowworm pupae.
Today's food highlight was the Kumara & Orange soup I tried at the yuppy pub where we had dinner. Kumara is a sweet potato popular with the Maori (local native people).
Our drive to Waitomo and Some Pictures of the Caves
The Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland Park
July 13th, 2005 - Karen in Rotorua, NZ
We walked around Rotorua today. It's kind of a disappointment given the reviews from the Fromer's book but has some cool geothermal activity all over the place. Our hotel had geothermal baths (like a Jacuzzi but with still, naturally hot mineral water instead of chlorinated jets) so we gave that a whirl. We also had a BYO (bring your own wine) experience at the local chophouse Lewisham's, where we had the requisite NZ lamb chops with Shiraz. Lewishams also served this yummy homemade chicken pate with Cumberland sauce (jam + red wine + mustard) and pickled veggies, an appetizer we're going to have to duplicate when we're back home.
July 12th, 2005 - Jeff in Auckland, New Zealand
We made our way to New Zealand today. We spent yesterday vegging in the hotel since we've seen most of Sydney and I'm fighting a cold. We were also trying to figure out what we're going to do in New Zealand. Now that we're here in Auckland, the best part of it is the Hyatt Regency's Club Lounge. Free food, Free Booze, and Great views. The rest of Auckland is just like Sydney but colder. The worst part of the day was trying to figure out how to drive in the city on the left side of the road from the right side of the car. The car is backwards with it's windshield wiper and the blinker handles reversed! :)
July 10th, 2005 - Karen in Sydney, Australia
McDonalds has these "McCafes" all around the city, serving espresso drinks and baked goods. We had some flat white coffee (like a latte but stronger w/less foam) and tiramisu. It's definitely not the McDonald's we're used to at home. Sean recommended it and we were not disappointed.
We also joined a tour that took us to Featherdale Park (awesome up-close experiences with roos, wallabies, & koalas) and the Blue Mountains (like the Grand Canyon, but cold). Also met some nice folks from Ireland and the UK. The UK couple lived a couple blocks from the bombing sites so they were thankful to be away. We're taking the day off from touring today. Jeff's trying to fight a cold from yesterday and we've got to figure out what we're going to do in New Zealand.
Featherdale and Blue Mountain Pictures
July 8th, 2005 - Jeff in Sydney, Australia
We spent the day on the west side of Sydney at the Darling Harbor Area. We visited the Aquarium, which is pretty nice but not quite comparable to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We left there and went to Chinatown for lunch in yet another food court. But the truth of the matter is that they're actually quite good. For dinner we went to a great Spanish Tapas restaurant. Does anyone know what the customary tipping percentage is in Australia?
July 7th, 2005 - Karen in Sydney, Australia
G'day mates...Sydney rocks! We visited Circular Quay, where the famed Opera House and Harbor Bridge are located. We also saw Gilbert & Sullivan's "Trial by Jury" and "HMS Pinafore" at the Opera House last night and it was fabulous. The funny thing was that, when we bought the tickets, I was thinking "Rogers and Hammerstein", not G&S, so I was expecting something like "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" from South Pacific. G&S is actually hard-core opera. Had I known that, I would have doubled the caffeine intake at dinner. Opera is great, but I've found that it is best accompanied by some chemical stimulant. Oh well, we got our hands on some industrial-strength coffee at the intermission and we were ready to go for Act II.
Another interesting venue we stumbled upon in North Sydney is the State Public Library. Sounds ordinary but they had a floor filled with the Associated Press Photo Exhibit (award-winning pictures of recent world events like the Tsunami, US election, Kashmir conflict....) and a tribute to Felix the Cat. It was great. Especially since it was free.
Finally I'd like to give a shout out to my goddaughter Daphne. Happy Birthday sweetie!
Other Pictures of the Harbor and Opera House
July 5th & 6th, 2005 - Jeff - Sydney, Australia
We seem to have lost this day on our way to Sydney.
Here's a photo of sunrise from the plane & from the top of our Hotel:
I'll post some other pictures if we end us seeing anything cool. The food situation in Sydney seems much better. Being a little homesick we had Chinese food from the local Food court called "Eating World". Around the corner from Eating World was a Maxim's (seems to be the universal moniker for a Chinese bakery), where we bought a bunch of custard, pineapple and savory buns for snacking/breakfast. Also - note to our moms - there's a fruit stand next to our hotel where we bought a bunch of bananas, so we're getting plenty of potassium, no worries.
July 4th, 2005 - Karen in Waikiki
We went to the Honolulu Zoo today. Kind of a letdown after living in San Diego and having a season's pass to one of the best zoos in the world, but at least we got to see the giraffes and elephants up close. After feeling pretty screwed over by tiny, but freakin' expensive portions of poke & Kirin (and opting instead to eat at McD's and KFC as a result), we've decided that the food situation here in Oahu sucks.
We're preparing for our 10-hour red-eye flight to Sydney. Sounds pretty painful, doesn't it? We plan to dress comfortably, drink a lot of water, and self-medicate.
July 2nd, 2005 - Karen in Waikiki, Hawaii
McDonalds serves fresh cut pineapple with their extra value meals here in Waikiki. Yum. After breakfast, we hiked up to the Diamond Head Crater (just 1.4 miles & 750ft) and caught a fantastic view of Oahu.
THE REST OF THE DIAMOND PEAK
PICTURES
We had also wanted to snorkel at the east end of the island, but the bus driver misunderstood us and dropped us off at the mall instead. No worries -- Jeff and I caught "War of the Worlds". Felt like a typical Saturday afternoon in San Jose.
On the way back from the mall, we stopped off at Waikiki Beach where Jeff went Snorkeling. Here are some pictures that Jeff took while finding Nemo...
THE REST OF THE SNORKELING PICTURES
July 1st, 2005 - Jeff in Waikiki, Hawaii
We made it to Hawaii! We managed to use Karen's points and upgrade our flight to first class. It was a long wait list of 15 but we managed to squeeze in. When we finally got to our hotel they told us they were overbooked. They sent us over to the Outrigger and upgraded us to an ocean view, but they wouldn't tell us if this was a good thing. The room is descent but we have nothing to compare to. All I can say is no-one should ever use hotwire. When the Hotel moved us, they insisted that we wait for a cab to take us over to the Outrigger. After about 10+ minutes of waiting, we get into the cab and find out that it's 2 hotels over. We could have walked it in 30 seconds. We'll upload pictures when we figure out how to get broadband in this place. Ciao!
June 29, 2005 - Jeff in San Jose
So we're pretty much packed now but we're still trying to get our arrangements together. Karen has been saving up her us weeklies for the past two months so that she'll have stuff to read on the plane. (Karen: OMG did you know that Tom Cruise is dating Katie Holmes?)
For those of you who want to track us down, see our Itinerary
BTW, We have a house-sitter w/ a .357 and two vicious cats so don't get any ideas! ;-)
June 25 2005 - Jeff
We're leaving for Sabbatical in 6 Days. We've bought travel Boggle and travel Scrabble and our IPODs are all juiced up to go. There are no pictures to share with you yet... except maybe Jeff's Big ass fish he caught today.
Caught off Macabee Beach, Monterey. 9 lbs and 28"
