NEWZEALAND

warning! image heavy post

so i went to New Zealand last week
parents flew in, we packed up and off we went

rented a car in Auckland, and then did a little 'road trip' as far down as Taupo.
this was our first time travelling in this style, involves more planning ahead, but to really take in the sights of NZ a good car is definitely warranted!

PART 1

Auckland, City of Sails. More boats per capita than anywhere else, and it shows!

Stayed at Quay West the first 2 nights. Splurged a little bit and had a lovely grand corner suite.

View from our awesome wrap-around balcony of the Viaduct.

Happened to have my camera with me at the hotel sport area and it was empty so i snapped a quick shot. Was so pretty i couldnt resist having a quick swim though i was dog tired. Lying on my back doing a lazy backstroke while watching the painted sky was very relaxing though

Quick spot of shopping! hehe

Another shot from the balcony, was trying to angle the camera to catch a reflection, and this shot was the most successful

DAY 2

Shopping at Newmarket in the morning. Spy a lovely tree with big pink flowers, and play around with my filter settings and flash for a bit while parents wait impatiently haha.

Lunch at Mt Eden Fish and Chips. SO AMAZING. I understand now why this has been consistently voted the best, the texture of the batter and freshness of the barramundi was extraordinary. And i now have the idea of pairing lemon pepper-salt and aioli with fresh chips, thanks to the place! Plus they always have Bluff oysters! Shocking service, but the food was undeniably excellent.

View of the city from Mt Eden, the highest natural point in Auckland! Its a dormant volcano whose explosions over the years have caused this crater formation.

Parents went for a stroll around the crater, leaving me to photograph myself! i wish i knew how to photoshop so i could fix this image up a little, not wearing makeup eek.


top of the world! ish.

Hot chocolate from Chocolate Boutique in Parnell. Incredibly rich, dense and yummy. Can just taste the fat in this, the texture was like buttercream but chocolately. Couldnt finish it, it was too rich, but boy was it good!

Strolling around the harbour. Almost has a little bit of a London feel

Day 3- Leaving Auckland and driving down to Rotorua

Visited Ohinemuri Winery. A small family run winery in the Karanghake Gorge. Horst, the owner, spent a good deal of time with us, and we had an enjoyable time. Made off with a few bottles of very good gerwurztraminer and my favourite, the 2008 riesling to be kept till 2014.

Stopped by the Honey Hive, put my macro lens to good use taking bee shots, while parents went nuts buying UMF active Manuka honey, Mum loves this for the antibacterial and healing properties, and i just like the sweetness!

Had a look around Taupo Museum and this is the famous Ora garden (Garden of Well Being). A little wet as it was rainy, but you can see the Ngawha (mineral pool) being replenished by the Hotwater Lizard!

Favourite display is a dried floral display by Emma King. The full piece is impressive, and the beauty of the thin webbed veins juxtaposed with the abundant flower arrangement is mindblowing!

A maori meeting house

After the museum, managed to squish in a visit to Craters of the Moon, a geothermal walk.

Had a lot of fun here, and a great opportunity to take photos!

A few of my favourites.

The place had an amazing dream like quality, it really was out of the world.

Will update part 2 soon!

:D

burton and coda

found some older images in a memory card
and decided to have a quick update before the New Zealand photos!

Took these the day we finished our mid year exam in June

went to Grossi Florentino Cellar Bar for lunch
met Guy and Liz Grossi at an event some time ago
and it always gives me pleasure to dine there as i really admire their dedication to good food.

natural oysters with balsamic vinegar


pappardelle al ragu di fegatini di antra
(duck liver and mushroom ragu) really yummy, full bodied and well balanced. I think my years of friendship with Bri, Clare and Lee have given me a healthy appreciation of all things mushroom and mushroom like!

went to Taco Bill later as it was raining and didnt want to walk far, had desserts and drinks. Dont remember much of this as I didnt take photos, but i suspect there was sangria and a rather dense but tasty creme caramel involved.

stopped by the arcade after. Used to frequent arcades when i was younger, but since the games we used to play fell out of fashion some years ago (Time Crisis anyone? and Clare- Para Para!) I havent kept up. Won a sticker for our efforts though!

Took this photo when i was up in Canberra. Not sure if they have this store in Melbourne, but i loved it. Spent a good few moments browsing their hefty selection before buying some orange blossom lapsang suchong for Mum.



Up to current events now!

Attended a talk by Tim Burton, who is here for the opening of his exhibiton at ACMI. Didnt manage to get tickets, so watched the live screening at Fed Square. Freezing!

Tim B and Johnny Depp may quite well be a match made in heaven though, never realised till now.

Bri managed to get her books signed by Tim earlier that day, and after the talk we went into ACMI, and managed to meet him and get a photo! He was very gracious. Photo is in Bri's camera unfortuanately.

Super cool Bat Mobile at the exhibit entrance

Went for dinner at Adam D'Sylva's Coda after.

Had 2 entree dishes: spanner crab, galangal, roasted chilli and lime betel leaf (yum!), and a Coda roll- crisp parcel of bone marrow, ginger, shitake mushroom and rice paddy herb. Heard so much about the Coda roll and wanted to try it, and it didnt disappoint! this dish all but disappeared while Bri was in the restroom.

Hen had Hervey Bay scallops with pearl tapioca and Yarra Valley salmon caviar. She gave this a thumbs up.

Main was roasted yellow duck curry. Thought it was good but not fantastic, but funnily enough i woke up this morning craving it. Duck was heavily salted, which may be a good thing or not. Personally I didnt mind it. Lotus root crisps gave this a great texture too!

what to choose, what to choose??

Disappointing dessert: Monkey banana fritters, salted peanut coconut caramel and black sesame ice cream. Fritters tasted funny and a bit bland, and the sesame ice cream didnt taste like it either.

However this more than made up for the banana fritter dessert. Was a special of the night, but if you can get this, DO! A gorgeous concoction of whisky foam, chocolate, caramel and wafer.


Went to Chadstone. Met Nick, satisfied my Lindt macaroon cravings, and was sorely tempted in Miu Miu.

Was a good girl and resisted though.

Then watched Shrek, the final chapter in 3D. Headache! But it was a funny movie, the fat Puss in Boots totally stole the show. Oh and the donkey dragon babies.

loves.




Oooh and i didnt quite stick to my list of things to buy. Meet Lola, by MJ. Couldnt resist!

wasnt as short a post as i had planned, opps.
k back later, going over to Tracey's now!

MSO

because i m flying off tomorrow
and following the trip to Canberra, going almost straight on to Auckland
i thought i had better finish this post as promised so i dont get a huge backlog of events and pictures again!

Attended a concert by the Melbourne Symphonic Orchestra with Bri on Saturday
didnt realise it was one of the last concerts to be held at the Arts Centre
(it undergoes refurbishment at the end of the month)
so i m doubly glad we went!

Sir Andrew Davis was conductor, impressive job, especially with the Ravel. He's in the white turtleneck.



Repertoire was Stravinsky's Pulcinella: Suite, Mozart's Horn Concerto No.4 in E flat major, K.495 and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloé

Andrew Bain's solo on the french horn was great. Especially thinking back on past band practices, the horn is so hard so get right. Respect!

One of the most crowded stages I ve seen, with the Melbourne consort, 2 harpists (Kat i thought of you!), contrabassoon, bass trombone, huge percussion and some wind sound making machine, the whole she-bang. They really couldnt have squished on another player. Amazing flute solo, and i love the story of Daphnis and Chloe, though i always thought it had a tragic ending a la Romeo and Juliet! Guess not. :(

will i ever see Lang Lang?

Bri and I wearing similar shoes. Pointy winklepickers are back in vogue!

Went to Movida after.
That place seriously has the sloooooowwwest service

Oven baked scallop with potato foam and jamon. Genius!

Pan seared quail with grapes and fried bread. This was yummy, and went very well with the Fusta Nova 05' Moscatel the waitress recommended.

Roast lamb encased in catalon pork and paprika pate. I suggest, give this one a miss and have the morcilla instead! That one is an oldie but a goodie.

Was wandering around Swanston St and decided to check out Retrostar

This place is bewildering! Tons and tons of things lying around, but i can promise you, its like nothing you ve ever seen. And their collection of band t shirts is quite incredible

And because I havent done a outfit post in ages and ages, here's what i wore

Last Gasp denim jacket, Bonds black tank, genie pants (my fad of the month, they are seriously comfortable), Burberry bag and Cavalli scarf

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This is the first time I ve tried Money Order Office
318 Lt Bourke St
didnt have a booking, just spontaneously walked in and we were lucky enough to get a table
we were pretty early though, before many people arrived.
I LOVED IT
how can this place not have a Age Hat?!

this place is so awesome, we made a booking on the spot for dinner with Clare and Lee in July

private booths, great place to have a chat and relax

isnt the place gorgeous?

butternut pumpkin ravioli with carrot, leek and lemongrass sauce. so buttery and delish, i could have this all day

superb oilve bread with goat's cheese in oilve oil. wish my oilve bread turned out like that

i ve found my favourite dessert. millefeuille of toffee apple&vanilla cream,
apple jelly & calvados panna cotta and custard apple sorbet. Bri was laughing at my face cause i swear i swooned at the first mouthful, but this dish is like the Bistro Vue tarte tartin in Bri's heart. OMG.

very loose interpretation of a millefeuille btw, more like a strudel, but YUM.

went with the 2009 Granite Hills riesling i had, had the apple aromas wafting everywhere and i was all dazed with happiness heh

seriously! the place is not Hatted!

and Rockpool is.

!!?!?!?

feel my indignation, cause the food here was reallyyy good! wish portions were bigger, but that's probably cause they were so goood. especially the dessert. it needs to be at least twice the size to make me happy! haha