New Zealand Adventure

Arne and I headed off in mid-February for a "Summer Vacation" in New Zealand. It was an amazing trip.

Day 1: Travel to New Zealand and Queenstown



Arne and I left Friday night for New Zealand and arrived early Sunday morning. Our first stop was Queenstown. The decent to Queenstown airport was exciting - a big jet plane flying down a narrow canyon, snowy mountains in the distance.



After checking into the hotel, we had a lovely breakfast and then took the noontime sailing of the 1912 TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak farm tour.



Arne loved seeing the steam engines working, hearing the loud steam whistle / horn. I loved the animals on the farm tour, watching the sheep dog work, seeing sheep shorn and getting to hold a baby lamb!



After a lovely afternoon nap, we went out for a Valentine's dinner of fish and chips and ice cream - it was the perfect end to the day.



Day 2: Milford Sound

We were up early for a bus ride to Milford Sound - with commentary the whole way there. Arne found the details on the difference between silage and hay fascinating. It turns out silage dries for 4-5 hours and hay dries for 2-3 days, and thus there are different storage means for each. One needs a plastic cover, the other doesn't - can you guess which goes with which? At the Te Anau we had a quick breakfast (egg and bacon pies, muesli and yogurt, OJ and a lemon shortbread cookie) and then we ran down to the water.



The scenery got more spectacular after Te Anau and I got to fill my water bottle with glacier runoff at the Monkey Creek stop, which one of the explorers named after his dog named Monkey.



Once in the sound we did a boat cruise around the sound (which is really a fjord) and saw seals, waterfalls, and lots of lovely scenery.



After the cruise we walked over to the airport, and flew back to Queenstown in a tiny plane with lovely views of the mountain tops right below us. We saw Walter Peak farm as we flew down lake Wakatipu and into Queenstown.



After the outing, we headed to the gondola for good views and a luge ride. The views were fantastic from the top. Arne created this amazing video of the day:



Link to Video on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ZvVik_KtE

Day 3: Travel to Mt. Cook



We woke up early and walked around town and had breakfast at Eichardt's Private Hotel. I had blueberry pancakes with fried bananas and cream, Arne had omelet with mushrooms, arugula and chevre. Then we walked around the botanic gardens that were just outside out hotel.



We picked up the rental car and it turned out to be a red Mazda 3, like Arne used to have, but made for driving on the left side of the road. When he tried to signal a turn, he ended up turning on the windshield wipers.



We headed north and stopped for a bit in Arrowtown and had a walk along the river.



The next big stop was Twizel, a little town before the turnoff to Mt. Cook, where we had a mince and cheese pie for lunch.



The weather was again beautiful, clear sky and the mountains looked gorgeous.



We had a lovely dinner in the fancy restaurant before bed.



Day 4: Mt. Cook and Glacier Explorer

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning. Then a kea flew in the room and landed by my feet. I clapped my hands and it flew out. This was an exciting start to the morning.



At 10:00 we went on the Glacier Explorers tour. A short bus ride took us to the adjacent valley. After a 30 minute walk over the terminal moraine, we boarded small boats to view the icebergs on the lake created by the retreat of the Tasman Glacier. Clouds were threatening rain, but it didn’t come until the evening.



In the evening, we went for a short walk in the Hooker valley, up to the Alpine memorial and the bridge and lake overlook.



Day 5: Travel to Christchurch



Thursday morning started off with RAIN and no good views of Mt. Cook. Even with the rain, Arne was excited to hike up to the waterfall we saw the day before, that was hidden by the clouds. The waterfall ends in glacier rocks, with no stream or lake below it - awesome.



We then drove to Tekapo, had a meat pie and walked over to the Church of the Good Shepherd.



We continued our drive to Christchurch through Geraldine and Ashburton, where we stopped at the Ashford Spinning Wheel factory. We then drove on to Lincoln, Arne's old NZ University. It was wonderful to have him show me around to his favorite places, including the library, which still has the box for gumboots by the door.



We stayed at the Classic Villa in Christchurch, just a block from the botanical gardens. For dinner it was my favorite, fish and chips.

Day 6: Christchurch and Travel to Auckland



Friday was a beautiful day. We started it off with several hours exploring the botanic gardens. Arne loved vegetable garden and I loved the begonias exhibit.



Then we drove out to Sumner, walked on the beach, and drove over the hill to Lyttleton (third largest port in New Zealand) for lunch, before heading out to the airport for our flight to Auckland. Arne's friend from Lincoln, Craig, picked us up at the airport and drove us back to his and his partner Michael's place. We had a wonderful BBQ dinner before bed.

Day 7: Waiheke & the Sky Tower



It was a sunny and warm Saturday, as we headed downtown to the ferry building for a ferry to the island of Waiheke.



We did a bush walk around part of the island, stopping off at the Cable Bay Winery for a drink and chips.



Then we walked on to Oneroa beach, had a swim, then lunch at Lazy Cafe. Then it was a power walk to catch the ferry by four (we made it with 3 minutes to spare).



That night we got dressed up and went to dinner at the Sky Tower. We had a view of all of town as the dining area rotated as we ate.





Day 8: Hangi & Long Bay

After an exhausting Saturday, Sunday was a day of rest for us. We slept in late and then headed down to south Auckland for a Maori style hangi cooked meal with Michael's relatives. The hangi reminded me of luau food - it was meats smoked with wood chips from the local "tea tree" the Manuka.



After the parted we headed out to Long Bay for a walk along the ocean and the cliff area before heading home to a final dinner in New Zealand.



Day 9: Rangitoto and the Flight Home

On our last day we woke up early to take a ferry to Rangitoto - a dormant volcano that created an island only 600 years ago! We took a tractor train ride up to the top area of the volcano, and then walked around the rim had a snack at the top, before hiking down to the ferry back to town.



Back in town we had wonderful ice cream before heading to the Cultural Museum to see a Maori performance and then have a picnic on the lawn. We loved the WinterGarden and Fernz Fernery.



Then we headed to the airport and home. More pictures can be found in our New Zealand 2010 Picasa Album Arne will be posting more videos soon!

Happy Sundays

Ever since the New Year's Day engagement, Arne and I have been busy planning out wedding, planning the trip to New Zealand, and just enjoying weekends in the bay area.

We now have our save the date card all sent out



the ring is sized perfectly for me



and we are enjoying life with the dogs.

On SuperBowl Sunday, we gave them a wash, played in the courtyard, then went to the city and a big tower for a SuperBowl party. It was a great day that Arne captured with his cool new video camera.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with my family (Mom, Frances, Sherry, Jan, Jim, Matt, Alex, Bob, Warren, Ann) and Arne's Parents (Julie and Bob). Bogey and Summer greeted everyone at the door with barks.

Arne and I cooked up Turkey, stuffing, gravy and whipped potatoes. Mom brought some appetizers and cranberry sauce (homemade and from a can). Jim brought wine. Julie made rolls, beans and beets. Jan made roasted vegetables. Sherry brought holiday salad. Frances made a mince pie and Matt made pumpkin and hickory nut pie (so GOOD). Bob made vanilla ice cream. Alex brought coffee. We used my old curtain homemade (someone made for me, because I don't iron or sew straight) napkins and place mats. It was a wonderful meal.

Arne's Dad took an amazing set of pictures of the day: Bob's Pictures and we took a few pictures too: Arne's Pictures

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Italian Cooking Adventure with Mom

For my 35th birthday, my Mom took me on an amazing adventure to Italy - cooking school at Torre del Tartufo.

Friday Arrival in Florence



Arne and Bogey said goodbye on Thursday morning. Mom and I flew out Thursday afternoon, and after a connection in Frankfurt, arrived in Florence.



Our first outing for the trip was to climb to the top of the Duomo Dome for a view of all of Florence. We stayed to watch the sunset and it was totally worth climbing the 463 steps.





We then got the first of our gelatos before wandering around and eventually finding a dinner place in the Plaza Republica. We had arrived in Italy - the land of good food and wine.



Saturday Exploration of Florence

I was lucky that Mom made reservations to the Uffizi and Accademia. We wandered down to the river and took an early look at the Ponte Vecchio before exploring the Uffizi.



After a quick bite of food we went to see David. It was great to see the big sculpture.



After David, we wandered through town and the central market before exploring the Santa Maria Novella.



We had an awesome local dinner at a place described in one of Mom's guidebooks.



And then on the way back to the hotel, we got our third gelato of the night, before visiting a lovely art showing on the way back to the hotel.




Sunday More Florence and Travel to Torre del Tartufo

Sunday started off slower, but after a wonderful breakfast, we headed out to see the Medici Chapels and then the Boboli Gardens in behind the Pitti Place.







Then we headed over to the train station for an hour ride to Arezzo. A cab took us up a very intense gravel hill to the absolutely delightful property of Torre del Tartufo.



Our first night, we had a great 4 course meal prepared by the previous weeks students. After every meal, dozens of liquors were put out for us to try. Cream Lemoncello was Mom's favorite.



Monday: First Day of Cooking



We spent the morning relaxing. After days of being on the go, it was nice to just hang out at the beautiful site before class. For the first 3 days of class, the core group of Mom & Me, Peg & Dana, Mimi & Annie, were joined by newlyweds Dion and Amanda, and Joe and Julie.



The cooking was very hands on. I worked with Amanda on the pasta course, which was this wonderful eggplant spaghetti dish. After working on our courses we all made pizza dough for the Tuesday pizza lunch.



After cooking, we sat down for a lovely 4 course meal. The first course Mom made, and it was this lovely artichoke salad in a parmesan cup. Then it was our pasta course, followed by rolled chicken, and finally a tiramisu for dessert. It was a great first meal made by us!



Tuesday: Car Rental, Arezzo, and more Cooking



Tuesday morning we took a cab into Arezzo and rented a car. We got the cutest little Fiat Panda. Then with Mimi and Annie, we explored Arezzo and all the amazing art frescos of Piero della Francesca on the walls of the churches.



Once back at Torre, we made pizza with our dough.



After lunch, we had a five hour class where I made a pork dish with Julie, cleaned mushrooms with Pam and then the 3 of us worked on the wild boar stew.



After this, everyone made squash ravioli from scratch! Our four course meal was stuffed tomatoes, squash ravioli, the pork dish I helped make, and then a pound cake with homemade gelato for dessert.



Wednesday: Group Outing Day



We woke up to rain on the day of our group outing, but this did not keep us from having an amazing day exploring the region. First, we visited a cheese farm, called Casa Pallino and got a demo on how pecorino is made.



Everyone loved the cheese and we bought some to take home. Then we headed to a wool shop, where I got a lovely hat, made from Casentino Wool.



Our next stop was the Castello di Porcano, where the lady of the castle gave us a tour and lunch in the tower.



After the castle, we stopped by a ceramic factory, and then headed to an old renaissance home called Villa La Ripa for a wine tasting. The vintner charmed the whole group with his sangiovese wines.



Thursday: Angahri and Cooking



In the morning we drove to Angahri and a little place outside of town called Ravagni, where Francesco showed us how to make olive oil and we did a tasting. Everyone loved the basil olive oil.



We then headed into Angahri and enjoyed exploring the old town and the Busatti linen factory.



Then it was time to cook. I worked with Pam and Annie, and we made desserts, a grandma's cake, chocolate pudding, cookies, pie, and a main course of chicken with fennel.



Mom made the most amazing eggplant parmesan, although it did take a long time to create.



Our meal was the eggplant dish, Pasta Fazoli, the turkey dish, and then chocolate pudding cake for dessert.



Friday: Day Off Visit to Siena

Friday was our day off, so Mom and I headed out of our little region to Siena. Neither of us had ever seen the city. It was a long drive (and a horror trying to find parking) but it was worth it once we made it there.



The cathedral was a wonderful cacophony of art and we were in the season where the inlayed floors were all visible. Amazing.



We both climbed up to the ramparts for a view of the area.



Then it was off to the central square for a lovely lunch.



The drive was worth it for the lovely little city.

Saturday: Cortona and Cooking



Mom and I got up early and headed out to Cortona, a lovely old town.



In Cortona, before we left we got some great cheese to bring home.



Then it was time for our final cooking adventure, with the final six cooks.



The kitchen busted as we cooked up all sorts of yummy things and learned how to debone a fish!



The final four course meal was a pastry and truffle starter, then a pasta with swordfish or octopus, then a trout (that Mom deboned!), and finally a deep fried chestnut crepe.



It was a wonderful final meal



and a great last night in Tuscany.



Sunday: The Long Trip Home

It was fall back morning, so we slept in an extra hour then drove up to the Florence Airport for our connection to Munich and the flight home.



It was a great trip and now I have many amazing recipes to cook for everyone now that I am back!

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