So it's been a long time coming... and here it is! The official guest entry on the infamous week of fun down under (or close to it)! For those of you who don't know me (which I would imagine would not be too many people) I'm Sam and I was visiting Erik down in New Zealand from June 28th through July 8.
The trip over to Auckland was not without its own drama. One of the great perks of working for an airline as I do is the ability to get great rates on international travel. Of course, with every great perk comes the flip side. International standby. There's really nothing like starting a week that is supposed to be the ultimate in relaxation and fun with 5 hours of pure stress, wondering if I'm going to get on the flight, trying to figure out alternate routes to get to Auckland in time for the Guns and Roses concert (more on that later), trying to be patient and graceful as the departure time nears and I still don't know if I'm going to make the flight or not, etc. The greatest part of all this is that my flight leaves at 9:55 and they finally give me my boarding pass at 9:45. The guy at the ticket counter calls me up and says "Here is your boarding pass. Run!" At this point, I still have not made it through security and I have about 10 minutes to get to the plane before it goes. Fortunately, the people waiting in line at security were very gracious and let me cut in front of the line. I don't know if it was my winning smile, dashing charisma, or the sheer look of panic in my eyes that made everyone so willing to let me go. After I got through security, I didn't have time to tie my shoes and I didn't want to run barefoot through the airport, so I slipped on my untied dress shoes and started sprinting. Of course, my gate is the very last one in the LAX international terminal. If anybody has ever flown out of the international terminal in LAX, you know just how big it is. Finally, after what seems like an eternity of sprinting, I get to the gate and dash onto the plane. The flight attendant looks at my boarding pass and escorts me to my seat. In business class. In my sheer desperation to make the flight, I didn't even realize that I had been upgraded. I get to my seat completely out of breath, hot, sweaty and fried. The guy sitting next to me asked me if I was going to have a heart attack or something because that would make for an uncomfortable experience. He actually turned out to be a really cool guy and I had a great conversation with him after I caught my breath and cooled down.
To paraphrase Ferris Buehler: International Business class is so choice. If you have the means, I suggest you try it.
We arrived in Auckland at 4:45 am and Erik and Carsten are not going to get there till 10. So I have the lovely chance to check out the Auckland International terminal... and domestic... and parts between... while weirdly jet lagged. Once Erik and Carsten arrived, we went to Carsten's friend Milsie's house where we chilled before the Guns and Roses concert. That's where I learned how to play a great game called "3 card lou." It's a little like euchre with gambling involved. The more people who play, the higher the stakes get. I started off a little rough, but once I figured out how the game worked (and after my nap) I won back most of the money I lost at the beginning of the game. Erik did pretty well himself I believe.
After the game wrapped up, we ordered some pizza. Good stuff by the way. I'm not sure exactly what I would equate it to here in the States as the flavors are different than what I would expect for pizza. I guess you can get some weird stuff like that in California, but I've had Cali pizza and this was different. We ordered from a place called Hell Pizza. Hell Pizza is a nationwide chain and they do good work. I'd be very interested to see how everyone there would like something from Giordano's. Very different stuff.
On we went to the GNR concert which was, in a word, amazing. I had never seen them live before and, even though the band is just Axl and a bunch of new people, they were very tight. Actually, they had Robin Finck on lead guitar. Robin is formerly the guitarist for Nine inch Nails. Granted most of NiN is Trent Reznor, but for touring purposes, Finck was the guitarist before he left and joined up with Axl for the latest tours. Anyway, on to the show!
Erik and I managed to squeeze our way up to the front of the floor (I make a great lead blocker) where we ended up about 5 rows off the stage. Great positioning for a great show. They played all the favorites, opening with a great rendition of Welcome to the Jungle, playing Sweet Child O' Mine, Live and let Die, November Rain, and closing with Paradise City while shooting off a huge cloud of confetti. Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row fame) opened for GNR and by the time Axl got off the stage, it was about 2:30 am. Fortunately, my internal clock was so skewed up I had no idea what time it was.
We left the concert in varying stages of exhaustion, and hopped a cab back to Milsie's place.
The next morning (afternoon?) I had my first experience with the famous New Zealand baked pies. Mmmmmmm pies...... Erik's cousin Carsten was jonesing for KFC, which I could not support at all. It's interesting how in the States, fast food is somewhat universal, but there are some definite differences in the same chains over there. For example: in New Zealand's McDonalds, they have something called the Kiwiburger. It's kind of like a Big Mac, but it has a fried egg on it (nice) and instead of pickles, it has beets (sounds worse than it is.)
That afternoon Erik, Carsten, Sarah and I flew back to Wellington and I got my first hit of the real mountainous region of Wellington. It was raining pretty good that Sunday evening so there weren't any real opportunities to go out a-wandering, especially with the sun setting so early. It took me a little while to wrap my mind around the backwards seasons, although I would have to admit having New Years fall in the middle of summer would be pretty awesome. It might make for less frigid evenings on rooftop decks watching fireworks from behind the Chicago skyline.
From Monday through Thursday, Erik had to work so I was on my own for the days. Pretty much every day I slept in and then started wandering around, taking pictures, getting a feel for Wellington, watching people, seeing the sights, going to little coffee shops, trying tons of different cuisines and different hits of local flavor. Erik and I did meet up for lunch every day at different places, all of which were awesome. On Monday, I went to the Te Papa museum which is a fantastic museum of the history of New Zealand. There are some great exhibits which talk about the history of the Maori, a beautiful art gallery with local artists through the years, an examination of the geological region of New Zealand. There is a big fault line running right through Wellington and they examined what could happen if that ever went. That night, Erik, Andy (Erik's flatmate) and I went to this great Belgian restaurant and had some amazing mussels for dinner. Not only amazing mussels, but also a fantastic variety of Belgian beers. After that, we went out and hit a couple bars including a backpackers bar where Erik and I tried to dispel some stereotypes about Americans that are out there. I think we got through to a couple Aussies and one guy from Japan before calling it a night. Tuesday, I went for a hike in the mountains directly outside Erik's place. He's right. I did get indignant when I found out he had not checked that area out yet, so I'm glad he finally did. Much like the pictures he posted, that area is absolutely gorgeous. I came across this passage through the trees that seemed like it was straight out of a movie.
The views were spectacular. The day was pretty sunny and I noticed something very interesting. The sun is much more intense down there, probably from the huge hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica. As a result, the colors seem almost washed out because the light is brighter. Even when it was partly cloudy, I was happy I had my sunglasses with me. After lunch at this nice Indian restaurant, I wandered towards the Botanic Gardens which are breathtaking. I would imagine in the summer they'd be even better with all the plants blooming and the rose garden in full effect. As it was, it was awesome. I got some spectacular views from the top of the hill where the Cable Car goes from downtown to the top. On my way back, I stopped in for a pint at the Speights brewpub. Good stuff. I especially like their Distinction Ale. Very nice that. That night, after Erik, Andy and I went to catch Transformers, we went for some authentic Hong Kong BBQ. That is like no Chinese food I've ever had before. It felt a lot more authentic. Dessert was at this amazing coffee/dessert shop and was really really good. We all had more food than I think any of us knew what to do with. Wednesday was a lot of fun. I wandered around Cuba Street which really reminded me a lot of my home town of Boulder, Colorado. Lots of little eclectic cafes and shops that felt a lot like the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder. I was enthralled by this water sculpture that would pour water into the scoops below. Very neat.
That night, Erik took me to play with him in his basketball league. That was awesome. I haven't played b'ball in quite some time and I'm not sure what I was expecting. I do know that it felt more hardcore than I had originally thought. We had jerseys, referees and everything. It was great to get out there and dominate. Erik and I were twin towers down low. We absolutely crushed the other team. I found out later that the guys were asking if I could come back and play with them again. That would be awesome, but I don't know if I could handle the commute.
Thursday night was a blast. We went to Mac's Brewery and made it a point to sample their entire selection of hand crafted brews. Very tasty beverages if I might say so myself. Dinner was amazing as well.
We ended up hanging out there for quite a while before we headed out and checked out some fun live music at one of the Irish bars downtown. That band was a lot of fun as well, although they didn't play many of the "traditional" songs that I knew and could have sang along with. Oh well, maybe next time. After that, we bounced around a bit and Erik showed me a really neat place called Good Luck. His joke is that it's called Good Luck because "Good luck finding it!" As we went in, the aroma of fresh citrus was overpowering. That's because they make all their drinks from scratch (at least the fruits. I'm guessing they don't distill their own spirits.)
On Friday, we dragged ourselves out of bed and went to go rent a car for our journey up into the countryside. The full descriptions of that adventure will be forthcoming in the second half of "The Long-Awaited Guest Entry."
Monday, July 23, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Backyard Hiking
Something I've been meaning to do for a while is explore the hillside boarding Thorndon (my neighborhood) on the northwest. This is the same network of hills circling central Wellington that I wandered through while staying with Carsten and Sarah. Between weather and other distractions, I just haven't gotten around to checking out that part of my neighborhood (when Sam was here he was rather incredulous I hadn't explored my what is essentially my own backyard).
So, this past Sunday, after sleeping in (necessary after a late-night celebration of the All Blacks thumping Australia to retain the Bledisoe and Tri-Nations cups), I went for a little hike. What's great about these particular hills, is they don't waste any time - within 20 min I had some fantastic views of the city and the harbor.
I've mentioned this before, but it is striking how quickly city turns into wilderness here in Wellington - after hiking to the top with rock music blaring from my Ipod, I turned the music off on the descent and could hear nothing but the trees (giant trees mind you) creaking in the wind. I still see the city through the trees, but was completely isolated otherwise. In addition to the view, the wildlife is intriguing - I've found that on the whole, plants don't look that much different down here from back home. But, if you actually look closely, many are totally unfamiliar (example - giant ferns!). I imagine there will be many more impromptu walks through these hills before I leave.
This week will be some more adventures in New Zealand sport... Tuesday night I am going with Aaron to see the National Basketball team take on Venezuela. They call the national team the "Tall Blacks". Seriously... too funny (many NZ national team names derive from All Blacks, but this is by far the best). The team stars include Kirk Penny (of Wisconsin Badger fame when I was in college) and Craig Bradshaw (played for Winthrop in the last couple NCAA tourneys). Aaron used to play with a couple of the Tall Blacks in HS, so he'll be a wealth of information at the game. Also, on Friday the national rugby competition (Air New Zealand Cup) starts, which includes teams from most of the major NZ cities, as well as some of the less populous regions. There is a big international film festival in Wellington this week too - I may try to catch a couple of films before the week is out.
For my tailgating breathren, we did some grilling this weekend before the Rugby. My flatmate picked up his propane tank recently, so the grill on the front porch is now operable. We didn't go all out, but I cooked Lamb Bratwurst, which I give two thumbs up (next I'll try Ostrich). During the Air NZ Cup, I think it's likely that the tailgating will come out full force. By the way, the words "tailgating" and "grilling" don't work in NZ - it's barbequing (every time I say the word "grill" at work, Ian - one of the Kiwis on our team - makes fun of me).
I'll sign off with an ACC fun fact that I recently learned: in the last three months, the most common concern received by 0800-Poison (NZ's version of poison control) was for ingesting dish-soap.
So, this past Sunday, after sleeping in (necessary after a late-night celebration of the All Blacks thumping Australia to retain the Bledisoe and Tri-Nations cups), I went for a little hike. What's great about these particular hills, is they don't waste any time - within 20 min I had some fantastic views of the city and the harbor.
I've mentioned this before, but it is striking how quickly city turns into wilderness here in Wellington - after hiking to the top with rock music blaring from my Ipod, I turned the music off on the descent and could hear nothing but the trees (giant trees mind you) creaking in the wind. I still see the city through the trees, but was completely isolated otherwise. In addition to the view, the wildlife is intriguing - I've found that on the whole, plants don't look that much different down here from back home. But, if you actually look closely, many are totally unfamiliar (example - giant ferns!). I imagine there will be many more impromptu walks through these hills before I leave.
This week will be some more adventures in New Zealand sport... Tuesday night I am going with Aaron to see the National Basketball team take on Venezuela. They call the national team the "Tall Blacks". Seriously... too funny (many NZ national team names derive from All Blacks, but this is by far the best). The team stars include Kirk Penny (of Wisconsin Badger fame when I was in college) and Craig Bradshaw (played for Winthrop in the last couple NCAA tourneys). Aaron used to play with a couple of the Tall Blacks in HS, so he'll be a wealth of information at the game. Also, on Friday the national rugby competition (Air New Zealand Cup) starts, which includes teams from most of the major NZ cities, as well as some of the less populous regions. There is a big international film festival in Wellington this week too - I may try to catch a couple of films before the week is out.
For my tailgating breathren, we did some grilling this weekend before the Rugby. My flatmate picked up his propane tank recently, so the grill on the front porch is now operable. We didn't go all out, but I cooked Lamb Bratwurst, which I give two thumbs up (next I'll try Ostrich). During the Air NZ Cup, I think it's likely that the tailgating will come out full force. By the way, the words "tailgating" and "grilling" don't work in NZ - it's barbequing (every time I say the word "grill" at work, Ian - one of the Kiwis on our team - makes fun of me).
I'll sign off with an ACC fun fact that I recently learned: in the last three months, the most common concern received by 0800-Poison (NZ's version of poison control) was for ingesting dish-soap.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Pictures!!!!
Hi All - Below is the link to Sam's pictures from the week he spent with me here in Wellington. A brief overview of the week - we met up in Auckland with a bunch of my cousin's friends for the Guns N Roses concert (which was awesome), then chilled out in wellington getting a good dose of the local scenery, food, and beer, and spent the final weekend driving north to Taupo to see the mountains and countryside of the north island. Sam will be giving a more in-depth report in his guest-post, but for now, enjoy the photos!
http://picasaweb.google.com/samwalter21/NewZealandTrip
http://picasaweb.google.com
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
An update... finally.
So I'm officially fired. Apologies for not living up to my every-week-or-so-updating plans. I'm hoping to get a couple of posts up this week, plus a guest column from Mr. Sam Walter who was out here to visit last week (this is Sam and I enjoying the local brew).
For now, just a quick update:
Work continues to go well - I've been learning all about Elective Surgery of late, which is one of the hot-topics at ACC (mostly because it costs a lot). The resident expert is likely leaving sometime in the next few months, so I'm helping to cover the reporting and knowledge base for that service in the interim. Also, we had a team breakfast this morning at the pub instead of our weekly team meeting at the office!! This I highly recommend (note that no beer was consumed - only normal breakfast foods).
In the non-work arena, I've joined a very laid back basketball team, and an indoor footy team (soccer), both which play weekly. The bball guys are all real young, but are a blast to play with - the only downside is it takes a little while to get to the place we play. I end up getting a ride there from my flatmate and biking back. Getting home is easy though - it's all downhill (very downhill) which was extra exciting tonight in the driving rain!
It is definitely a bit colder here now that winter has arrived, but relative to the winters I'm used to, it's still pretty nice. Here's some photos from this past weekend - Carsten, his friend Aaron, and I went golfing (almost 1 year to the day since I last golfed). The weather was perfect and the course we played was gorgeous.
As you can see, things here are pretty much sweet as (as they say here). Sam and I had a great time last week - I'll get some pictures and such up from the concert we saw, and our road trip through the countryside. He'll undoubtedly have many more to add as part of his guest column. Hope things are good back in the states and that nobody is melting from the heat!
For now, just a quick update:
Work continues to go well - I've been learning all about Elective Surgery of late, which is one of the hot-topics at ACC (mostly because it costs a lot). The resident expert is likely leaving sometime in the next few months, so I'm helping to cover the reporting and knowledge base for that service in the interim. Also, we had a team breakfast this morning at the pub instead of our weekly team meeting at the office!! This I highly recommend (note that no beer was consumed - only normal breakfast foods).
In the non-work arena, I've joined a very laid back basketball team, and an indoor footy team (soccer), both which play weekly. The bball guys are all real young, but are a blast to play with - the only downside is it takes a little while to get to the place we play. I end up getting a ride there from my flatmate and biking back. Getting home is easy though - it's all downhill (very downhill) which was extra exciting tonight in the driving rain!
It is definitely a bit colder here now that winter has arrived, but relative to the winters I'm used to, it's still pretty nice. Here's some photos from this past weekend - Carsten, his friend Aaron, and I went golfing (almost 1 year to the day since I last golfed). The weather was perfect and the course we played was gorgeous.
As you can see, things here are pretty much sweet as (as they say here). Sam and I had a great time last week - I'll get some pictures and such up from the concert we saw, and our road trip through the countryside. He'll undoubtedly have many more to add as part of his guest column. Hope things are good back in the states and that nobody is melting from the heat!
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