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Day two of London sightseeing. We decided we should do the river boat ride on the Thames first, then additional hop on hop off bus routes as time allowed.  It was enough of a cool breezy morning that we decided to sit inside the boat as we traveled the one hour to the city of Greenwich. Boat trips are a great way to get a totally different perspective of a city. We passed the iconic sights of Parliament and Big Ben, both of which are shrouded in scaffolding and undergoing restoration. It turns out that the tower holding Big Ben is sinking and they need to shore it up. It is a pity as they are both popular photo ops. We passed the London Eye, the overgrown Ferris wheel, fancy apartments housed in converted ancient wharfs, and the famous Tate modern art museum, housed in a former power plant. There was a constant narrated commentary as we sailed downriver, pointing out other famous sights like the real London bridge, whiich is not what most people think it is.  Most people think the twin towered bridge is the London bridge. It is not. That is the tower bridge. The real London bridge is a bit upstream and not as visually dramatic. And furthermore, the original London bridge is now on Lake Havasu in Arizona, purchased by an American when the English decided the original bridge had to be replaced.

The boat stopped at the Tower of London to drop off those who wanted to visit the site, before continuing on to our destination, Greenwich. We wanted to go to Greenwich to see the prime meridian, where time is defined (Greenwich mean time).

We passed two areas you often hear a lot about: the Docklands and Canary Wharf. Both areas were heavily involved with shipping in earlier days; today they have become areas of fashionable homes, restaurants and shops.

Greenwich turned out to be a lovely area and worthy of a longer visit then we were able to give it. One of the world’s fastest clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, is in it’s final resting place and  available for exploration. The Royal Naval College( designed by Sir Christopher Wren), the National Maritime Museum and a lovely small town are also there to explore. One should really spend a full day to experience all that Greenwich has to offer.

We had to pass these other attractions as we were on a mission- finding the Prime Meridian (the line that divide the Eastern Hemisphere from the Western Hemisphere)  and taking our picture with one foot on either side of it. We have done that at the equator which divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere, so this would complete the set.  The Royal Observatory, where the line is located, was a bit of a hike from the Thames River but we were not deterred.  Twenty minutes and some 5,000 steps later we found the Prime Meridian and got our desired pictorial documentation.

Back to the dock for a very quick lunch and onto the boat for our return to London proper to continue taking a Hop-on, Hop-off route.

We chose the blue route as it took us through areas like Kensington, Knightbridge and Paddington, and past museums like the Victoria and Albert.   Trivia for the day: entrance to the British museums is free.

We had to limit our hop-on hop-off experience to only two as it was late in the afternoon and we had another early dinner reservation and tickets to see Hamilton. Tonight was steak night and they were surprisingly good-tender and tasty!

By chance the theater where Hamilton was playing was across from our hotel so there were no transportation issues to deal with. It was an easy 5 minute walk from the hotel to the restaurant and then to the theater.  Our tickets to Hamilton were paperless and when we got to the theater at 7 PM we found ourselves in a line that stretched at least a block.   My immediate thought was there would be no way we can be in our seats before the performance begins at 7:30. We were suppposed to bring the credit card used and photo ID to get our tickets. That would be very time consuming. What a major screwup this would be. The line started moving, slowly at first but then surprisingly fairly quickly.  We were funneled into multiple lines depending on what our seating location was and reached a lady with a scanner who asked for the credit card I had used to purchase the tickets. She ran it though her reader and our seat tickets were printed by the hand held scanner. Bam, we were checked in and headed to our seats! It took all of 7 minutes. I was astonished the system worked so well. They never did ask for our photo ID however.

 

I did not expect to enjoy Hamilton. I was going because of the publicity and awards it has received. Based on the little I had seen on TV it seems like simply a “hip-hop” musical, a music genre I really do not like. I thought I would have trouble following the story and music. Well, I was VERY wrong. I absolutely loved the production. The costumes, the choreography and the story lines are awesome. It is extremely fast paced and keeps your attention. The first act lasted almost 75 minutes and no one moved and and not a sound was heard in the auditorium. The audience seemed mesmerized with the spectacle. I have not seen anything as absorbing since first seeing Lion King. I would go and  see it again!

Our pre-trip visit to London is over. We leave on our escorted tour of England tomorrow morning.

 

As I mentioned earlier it has been at least 15 years since we last traveled in London. I actually found a city map dated 1999 in my files!  It is the same for Gerry and Sue. So our goal for the day was to rediscover London by taking the hop on-hop off bus tours of the city.  “Big bus” tours actually offers 4 different tours plus a river trip on the Thames River so we selected two of them. The main tour is the red tour which covers the major sights of central London in about 2.5 hours. Even better,  it stops right outside our hotel door. For a nominal extra fee you can get a two-day pass which included the Thames River boat ride so that is what we picked. By 10 AM we were on the road. 

I had forgotten how pretty London is- clean streets, varied architecture (old and new) and plenty of flower boxes in residential areas. We drove through the area of Belgravia where the rich and famous live(d), past luxury hotels favored by the movie crowd and where the homes must all be repainted cream color every 5 years. Next was Hyde Park, Mayfair, Buckingham Palace, Bond Street, Harrods, etc- places we have all heard about. A new feature on this tour was the presence of a live narrator rather than the normal recorded storyline. It added a lot to the experience with anecdotes and funny stories added to the narration.

About half way through the tour we were at the Tower of London and decided to get off and explore it in more depth because of its historical significance. We thought it would be a quick stop but ended up spending almost 3 hours there. I had forgotten how really large the area was and how the cost of admission has increased (23 pounds for a senior) since we were last here. We arrived in time to join a tour lead by one of the famous Yeoman Wardens( who guard the Tower), commonly known as the Beefeaters (dressed in the iconic red/black uniform with the big hat),  who live, patrol and secure the site. We were told that they are former military people who, once selected, remain as part of the Beefeaters for life. We learned there have only been some 400+ Beefeaters since the 15th century when the group was formed. A piece of trivia: more people have been in space than the total number of Beefeaters since its beginnings.

The tour lasted about an hour and we learned about life (and death) in the Tower over the centuries of its existence.  The original tower is called the “white tower” and was the home of the royal family up to the 16th(?) century when the royalty moved to the present palaces. We heard about how executions were carried out and the famous people who lived (and died) in the Tower- like Thomas Cromwell, Sir Thomas More, Ann Boleyn and 16 year old Lady Jane Grey who was queen for only 9 days. It was a fascinating history lesson for all of us. 

While there we were also able to see the Crown Jewels as they are stored here.  Endless to say security was tight and no photographs were allowed. 

The resident ravens were seen. To refresh your history they have always been residents of the complex and history said  that if they ever left the Empire would fall. Some smart person decided to clip their wings and feed them well so they have no reason (or ability) to leave.  They are still here today and the Empire (although diminished) remains!

We grabbed a quick lunch on site and jumped back on the bus to complete the red line tour before returning back to our rooms for some rest and prep for our scheduled evening on the town.

An important London activity is attending the theater, as it is probably the 2 largest theater scene in the world. Tonight we are scheduled to see the musical “Tina”, based on the life of Tina Turner. The musical is new to the world, having only opened earlier this year and it is not even playing in the US.  We like her music and had seen her perform live in Milwaukee years ago.  

The shows always start at 7:30PM and most nearby restaurants offer “pre- theater”,  two or three course, dinner menus. I had made reservations for a 5:30 dinner at a French restaurant a few blocks from the theater. Because the theater was in the Covent Garden area and our hotel was near Buckingham Palace we would have to either take the “tube (underground subway)” or a cab to the district. The tube would require a change of lines and given the cost  for a ticket we decided to simply take a cab as it was no more expensive because there were four of us.  There must be a million (we’ll at least 1,000) of those famous black cabs roaming the city and we found it very easy to flag one down. I did look up Uber and there were a few of them roaming the area, but we decided to simply stick with the local cabs as the cost for a cab and an Uber was not all that much cheaper here. Traffic at 5 PM in London is as bad as any other major city and it took longer than I expected to get to the Covent Garden district. Another piece of trivia: Covent Garden got its name because there were once many “convents” in the area. Those disappeared and the name was simplified.

London theaters are much smaller in size compared to US theaters, making the experience more intimate. You are typically closer to the stage so it is easier to see the actors and more importantly they are easier to hear. In many respects it is a much nicer experience. The only negative is the seats tend to be closer together and leg room can become a problem for tall people. Our seats were about 8 rows from the stage and you felt you were part of the action.

The show is about Tina Turner’s life, starting as a young girl in the south, singing in church, being “discovered” by Ike Turner when she was a teen, her 16 year marriage to Ike and the abuse she received from him during that time, her subsequent divorce and hard times until reinventing herself with the help of a British music producer and subsequent stardom later in life. She really went through some very rough times and was near bankruptcy after her breakup with Ike Turner.

Obviously her songs were an important part of the musical and all those memorable hits were sung by a young lady with a great voice and dance moves, and an excellent back up band.  Supposedly Tina herself approved of the lead actress for the show and was involved in the creation of the musical. The musical ends with a foot stomping, hand clapping mini concert with the audience on their feet.  If it comes to the US it would definitely be worth seeing.

There are many theaters in the area and when the shows exit there are hundreds of people looking for transportation. I was concerned we might have trouble getting a cab but it turned out to not be much of a concern. It must be that the very large number of cabs plying the streets makes the problem less of one.

We called it a night as we had a long, busy day and tomorrow promises more of the same as we have tickets to see “Hamilton”.

We are heading back to London today after a great stay in Corfe Castle. The weather is still excellent with an expected temperature of 75 in London.

We had another proper English breakfast and said our goodbyes to fellow travelers. Our driver arrived on time and we are now on the way to our London hotel, a trip that should take about two hours.  My brother, Gerry, and wife, Sue, are hopefully arriving in London from Chicago this morning to join us for the next phase of our United Kingdom tour. 

Small world experience:  We are scheduled to meet Jim and Diane Grasha, a fellow  A.O. Smith executive, for dinner tonight. It turns out that Jim and Diane are arriving in England today on a transatlantic cruise, on their way to a wedding in Croatia next week. It is ironic we are in the same place at the same time and a pleasant surprise as we last saw them 5 years ago when we all cruised the Croatian coast.

Our trip back to London took almost 3 hours because of weekend traffic. The time went quickly as we both snoozed a little during the trip.  

As we were checking into the hotel I asked if Gerry and Sue had checked in yet (I had anticipated they would arrived in the late morning) and was told they had not yet arrived. Suddenly behind me in walks Gerry and Sue. It turns out their original flight had been cancelled and the alternative flight left 4 hours late because of weather so they had just arrived!  We all had a good laugh about the coincidence of meeting each other at the hotel registration desk. 

We had communication from Jim and Diane Grasha waiting for us when we got into the local internet. Ironically they were staying at a hotel right around the corner from us and we met for drinks and dinner at a local restaurant and spent a good three hours catching up with each others’ lives over a leisurely dinner.

That was it for the day. Tomorrow we plan to explore London as it has been 15-20 years since any of us have been here.

Today is the day that brought us to England in the first place – the wedding of Ashley Porath, the daughter of Nancy, one of the Wisconsin “Pink Ladies”.  The weather was absolutely wonderful-69 degrees for a high and sunny all day. You could not ask for a more lovely day.

Since the wedding was not until 2PM we went out for a brief morning walk to see the few sights we missed the last few days, including the very small local museum housing artifacts from the area and life in Corfe Castle over the centuries.  We also stopped in at the visitor’s center to see a model of what the castle would have looked like in its heyday.

The wedding ceremony took place here at the 21 room Morton’s House Hotel where many people are staying. We were asked to not take any pictures during the ceremony so I had to wait until after it’s completion to record some aspects of the event. The actual ceremony was conducted by the local magistrate and her recording clerk. She did a very nice job, interjecting both humor and seriousness to the proceedings which lasted about 30 minutes. Approximately 45 people were in attendance, most of whom were friends of Steven, the English-born groom, who has lived in the US for many years. I came to find he holds dual citizenship which I did not know was possible. We also learned that the marriage ceremony performed in England is also valid in the US. Vows would not need to be retaken in the US.

After the ceremony we adjourned to the dining room for “high tea”.  There was champagne and tiers of finger sandwiches, pastries and scones along with the featured drink-tea. We had assigned seating and met several lovely couples from England and a couple from California, all friends of Steven.

At 5 PM we convened at the entrance of the hotel for some group photos, after which we boarded a 50+ year old double decker bus (red in color, of course) for a tour of several local landmarks (on or near the beach) for more photo ops. The bride brought her prerequisite Wellington boots (we were told that all proper English people own at least one pair of these iconic boots) and dutifully posed for pictures on the beach at Lulworth Cove wearing them while we toasted the newly weds with prosecco.

Back on the bus we went to another favorite beach location called “Durdle Door”, a large rock arch formation on the shores of the English Channel. It was a pretty good hike from where the bus had to park and locals were entertained watching the wedding party and guests winding their way down the path through the woods to the shore for more picture taking.  Thanks to Ashley we all got in our 10,000 steps for the day.

It was now close to dark as we were taken to a small local pub that is housed in a 16th century building where we had a very tasty buffet and continued the traditional wedding celebrations with toasts by the wedding party,  followed by a cute game called “shoes”.  A game where questions are posed to the couple (sitting back to back, each holding one of the bride’s shoes and one of the groom’s shoes) then they answer  questions by raising up either his or her shoe.  It is a cute game we had not seen before. And by the way, they did quite well on their answers.

By the time the DJ music began for those interested in dancing to the wee hours, it was after 11PM and we decided to call it a night as we had to pack for our trip to London tomorrow morning. The groom had hired a local cab for the evening to take people back to their respective hotels on request, which was a nice touch.

All in all it was a beautiful day and an even more beautiful wedding! We are certainly glad we had been invited and that we came to help celebrate the happy occasion.

We slept through the night! Yvonne says it was the best sleep she has had in years! The day offered blue skies and cool temperatures, which we love.

The day started with a traditional English breakfast which consists of egg, back bacon, sausage (called a banger), grilled mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. Surprisingly there were no baked beans or black pudding (blood sausage) served as part of the meal offered here at the hotel. I seem to recall that they are normally part of the dish. Anyway there was more than enough to eat; neither of us could finish it.

Our goal for the day was to visit the ruins of Corfe Castle, now part of the English National Trust. What we quickly realized was how much larger the site is compared to what it looks like from a distance and as seen in most photos.

Trivia for the day. The name Corfe (pronounced “Korf “) is an Anglo Saxon word meaning gap or cutting. Millions of years ago rivers carved valleys through the local landscape, giving the area its name.

As I mentioned earlier Corfe Castle was originally started by William the Conqueror, the first Norman king, in the late 11th century. Others added to it and it remained one of the major English fortresses until the 17th century when it was sold to Sir John Bankes in 1635.  Civil war broke out in England in 1642 and in 1646 the castle was partially destroyed by Parliamentary troops. The castle was so strong they were unable to totally destroy it and what we see today is what remained after that event.

When you enter the castle area you quickly learn that it is much larger than what appears when you view it from a distance. The “keep” ( tallest part remaining) is actually 80 feet tall with walls that often were 10 feet thick. It was stout!

The castle is a popular tourist attraction and we saw a lot of families exploring the site even though it was a weekday. There was a series of tents located on the grounds featuring people acting out what life was like in 17th century times, including a doctor, a cook, armor maker, stone worker, gunsmith and a garrison soldier. It was intriguing talking to them and learning more about the knowledge and technology of the times.

After several hours we retreated to our room to rest our feet (and eyes). 3PM found us having our daily ration of Dorset Cream Tea. We have been told that only strawberry jam is acceptable but it is optional as to whether you put the jam on the biscuit first or the clotted cream.  Experimenting showed us that putting the clotted cream on first is much easier as it was difficult getting the cream to stick to the jam!

At 5:20PM we joined the wedding party for a 20 minute ride on the old fashioned steam train from Corfe Castle to Swanage, a distance of about 6.4 miles. The train meanders through the countryside past pastures housing llamas, sheep and dairy cattle.  Rather than exploring Swanage we chose to take the return train to Corfe Castle and have dinner at our hotel.

Dinner there proved to be a lovely event. You start by sitting in the “oversized” living room where the staff takes drink orders and shows you the dinner menu. You select your dinner and when it is ready you are taken to your table in the dining room where you are served. It was a lovely approach to having dinner. And furthermore the dinner was excellent.

Tomorrow is the wedding and associated planned activities. I will not tell you what they are until then.

 

 

 

We are experimenting with a different airline this time. I originally booked  business class seats on a British Airways flight to London. When it came time to select seats I found they wanted a significant fee to pre-select seats (each person, each flight) – in business class no less!  That irritated me. I can understand charging for economy seat selection, but when you pay for business class the seat selection should be free! I cancelled my reservation and  decided to look for alternative airlines and flights to London. What I found was that a relatively new start-up (2013 for international flights), Norwegian Airlines, was flying non-stop from Seattle to Gatwick airport on brand new 787s. Their business class seats were not totally lie flat but they appeared to be like Lazy Boy recliners with an ample recline and leg support. The flight from Seattle is less than ten hours and we leave mid-day so there will not be an opportunity to get many hours of sleep.  And at half the price of the British Air tickets I decided to give them a try.

Bad news, good news:  Arriving at the airport for check-in we learned that Norwegian does not yet participate in the TSA precheck program so we would have to go through the general security check process.  Bummer.   The line was long and I figured it would be at least a 30 minute plus process. I decided to time it.  It turns out it was surprisingly quick. The line moved quickly as they were using dogs to “sniff” passengers as we walked by. And when we got to scanners we were told we did not have to remove shoes or anything from our bags, all because of the “prescreen” by the dogs. The line was just like a TSA precheck line and the process took all of 7 minutes!  My compliments to TSA for this new procedure. Hopefully it will continue to stay in effect. 

Observations about the Norwegian flight. They use 787s on the international runs which is a delight. I love the larger windows, and the fresh air climate control system which seems to leave you more refreshed. We flew at 39,000 feet and there was virtually no turbulence. The route from Seattle to Europe takes you up over Canada, Hudson Bay and Greenland. 

A first for Seattle-we boarded the plane not by a jetway but were transported by bus to the plane located out on the tarmac.

The downside was mainly in the cabin and food service. There was no overnight amenity kit but they do provide blankets and ear buds for their AV system.

The movie selection was limited so I ended up reading the book I brought. The seats were comfortable but more like a recliner and they did not recline as much as pictures on the internet seemed to imply. Yvonne also wished the leg rest could have been raised higher. There was a lot of leg room. Since the flight was less than 9 hours the seating was adequate.

Regarding the food service, there were no hot towels before the meal, no bowl of hot cashews as an appetizer, no china, instead plastic utensils, paper napkins and the wine was served in plastic glasses. Even though the meal was labeled as a “premium meal” the food was more like economy service. In the past I always suggested not to order beef on airplanes because they always tend to overcook it. Unfortunately, I did not take my own advice (because it smelled good when the food cart came by) and selected the beef over the chicken entree. It was a decent cut of meat but it was badly overcooked. At least the macaroons served for desert were quite tasty and the dinner rolls were fresh and hot. 

Other than that I could not complain and saving $1,800 per person on the airfare certainly made up for the lack of amenities. 

The flight actually left Seattle 15 minutes early and we arrived in London 30 minutes earlier than expected. Gatwick was a pleasant surprise; it is not as big as Heathrow and as a result is not as chaotic.

Corfe Castle is about two hours from Gatwick. There is limited train or bus service and I did not want to rent a car so we arranged for a car and driver to take us there. The early arrival in London did cause us to make a few phone calls and have to wait 45 minutes for our driver who obviously did not monitor the flight arrival times. 

We arrived in Corfe Castle about 10:30 but our room was not yet available. The lovely people at the front desk said they would rush the turnaround of the room so we could occupy it ASAP.  In the meantime we wandered down the street to get a feel of the town. It is absolutely stunning!  Old brick homes with slate roofs lined the street with flower boxes beautifying the street and entrances to the homes. We wandered to the town square where we found  a local tea room that offered freshly made scones, strawberry jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea listed on the menu as “Dorset Cream Tea”.  When in Rome mentality made us each order it as a mid-morning snack. What a treat, and I am not a tea drinker(until now). We wandered into the few shops in the town before returning to the hotel about an hour later to find that our room was now ready. A 2 plus hour nap and shower restored most of our energy. Outside our window we heard people on the patio enjoying afternoon tea so I suggested that maybe we should try it as a mid afternoon snack. We again ordered the Dorset cream tea for our second serving of clotted cream for the day.  I laughed, as when we were in Italy it was often a two gelato day. Here it might become a two cream tea day!

At 7 PM we met up with the groom who grew up near here ( but has lived in California for many years), the mother of the bride, Nancy, one of the Pink Ladies, her husband, and several other friends and wedding party members for a hike to an overlook of the ruins of Corfe Castle. It was a bit of a climb to the top of a nearby hill but the views of the castle ruins and the surrounding area made the effort worth while.

The 8 of us then adjourned to a local pub for refreshments( beer or wine) and some dinner. By 10 PM, after traveling 17 hours since leaving our home and 10,559 steps since arriving in England we were ready to call it an evening and we retreated to the comfort of our bed for the night.

Tomorrow will be another day for exploration of the area.

 

 

 

One of Yvonne’s Wisconsin “Pink Ladies” has a daughter getting married in Corfe Castle, England and we were invited to attend. Where, pray tell, is Corfe Castle? It is a small (population 1355) village located in the county of Dorset near the English southern coast and the towns of Swanage and Wareham. Now you know! The village is named after Corfe Castle, which is near the village and was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century.

It was too tempting of an invite to pass up and so we are off to join the festivities. And as long as we are going all that distance I proposed that we do something we have not done before-see parts of the United Kingdom other than London. When we lived in Wisconsin we went several times to London during the winter months to experience the city and attend some theater productions. It was cheaper than going to NYC back then. Those trips never found us leaving London so we never saw the rest of the country. Yvonne agreed with my plan and we found an Insight Vacations tour called the “Best of Britain” with a departure from London three days after the wedding. We have traveled with Insight on three previous occasions and like them very much, so we signed on.

When I mentioned our upcoming trip to my brother Gerry and wife Sue, our frequent travel companions, they decided they needed another vacation and would be joining us in London to also take the Insight tour.

Not one to simply sit around for the three days before the tour begins I wondered what was playing in the London theaters. And,”what to my wondering eyes should appear” (apologies to the authors)- the musical HAMILTON was there! I have avoided seeing it in the USA because of the outrageous ticket prices. What was the price in London I wondered? Amazingly I found I could get tenth row seats, center stage for $280 each! Can’t pass up a deal like that, so we all are finally seeing the musical about the unsung American hero-in London!

We still had another night to do something and I found there was another musical that would appeal to me- “Tina-The Tina Turner Musical”. We are both big fans of her music. I still remember a memorable concert we saw in Milwaukee when she was still touring. So we are also planning to see it while in London.

So off we go on another adventure. I will be collecting a couple of new countries (making my total 105) and finally seeing other parts of the United Kingdom.

I have jumped ahead three days with this entry. The last three days were spent with our family in Auckland doing unstructured things. Scott worked, Jess went to her spinning exercise class early one morning, Isaiah started a new job with a start-up company who plans to make deliveries in the downtown area using electric assisted bicycles and Yvonne and I vegged out a little.  We did go with Jessica to see a couple of homes for sale that interests them, as they are seriously considering buying something instead of paying the high rental fees. We went grocery shopping at their local store and learned they do not refrigerate eggs in New Zealand-no need to because of the way they are processed. We walked down to the beach and watched the world go by.  We went out for an amazing breakfast one morning where the dishes were works of art. And on the day we were to leave Jessica signed us up to go at 6:30 AM to help 25 other volunteers make 2025 sandwiches for school kids who could not afford lunches. And I thought the USA only had children who could not afford lunches. The company who donates these lunches is rather unique. They are in the catering business and for every meal they sell they donate a school lunch (sandwich, apple, snack mix). Since beginning the program they have donated over 700,000 school lunches.

Our return flight to seattle left Auckland at 11:55 PM on April 4, and will land in Seattle on April 4. We regain the day we lost when we came here. The first leg takes us back to Honolulu where we change planes for the flight to Seattle. It actually worked quite well. We boarded, told the staff we were not interested in a meal, donned eye shades and both got 5-6 hours of sleep during the 9 hour flight to Honolulu. There was a 2 hour layover in Honolulu and then a 6 hour flight back to Seattle. We did eat on that flight and also caught another few hours of sleep so when we arrived in Seattle at 10PM local time we were surprisingly awake and alert. It was raining, as expected. We picked up the car, drove to Edmonds in plenty of time to catch the 11:45 PM ferry to Kingston which is only 10 minutes from our home. We arrived safely back at Miller Bay by 1:15 AM. Moral of the story:  if you fly North to South or vice versa, the time zone change is minimal and not as tough on the body. Also leaving late at night helps as you are ready for bed anyway.

Perspective on the trip:

After flying over 15 hours to get to New Zealand, you realize how big this planet really is.

The people of New Zealand are welcoming and friendly.

We still equate life in New Zealand as being like the US in the 1950s- No big box stores, a much better balance between work and home life, small neighborhoods with locally owned stores. It is a more laid back pace of life there. We should be jealous.

Everyone says the South Island of New Zealand is much better than the North Island. We disagree. We both like the North Island more. Of course, the beauty that the South Island offers (oceans beaches, mountains, rain forests,glaciers) reside in our backyard. Don’t get me wrong. We did enjoy what we saw and did but it did not overwhelm us. I guess we are simply lucky to be living where we do.

 

Quote of the day:  “Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”  Gustave Flaubert

Our flight to Auckland was not until 2:20 PM so we had the morning to do a little more exploring in Napier. Scott and Jess went to buy coffee and we took time to walk the beach one last time. Packed up, we decided to visit the National Aquarium of New Zealand, which is located here in Napier, before going to the airport. It is not large but it is well done. They have a great exhibit of injured/abandoned Little (also called Blue) penguins who only live in New Zealand and parts of Australia, and an exhibit of live kiwis. Kiwis are only active at night so the exhibit is darkened. As a result people can see them actively searching for food. This species of kiwis are about the size of chickens. My attempt to take a picture proved futile because of the lighting conditions. We even got to see bones of the now extinct 500 pound Moa bird that once inhabited the island. They were obviously a tasty bird as they were hunted to extinction centuries ago.

The flight to Auckland is about an hour and we arrived to sunny conditions we have had all weekend. On the way home Scott took us to see his workplace at Z-Energy where he is Chief Innovation Officer. We were proud to see what he has accomplished in assembling a team and creating a “Refinery” workspace in the year he has been with the company.

We were reunited with grandson, Isaiah, and we all walked down to the nearby waterfront for a celebration at a local Mexican restaurant where we sat outdoors and enjoyed the early autumn evening in Auckland.

We awoke to brilliant sun and blue skies. One could get used to this climate. Yvonne and I had wanted to take a walking tour this morning to learn more about how the city became the Art Deco city that it is. Scott and Jessica wanted to go bike riding on some of the many trails that criss-cross the city, so we went our separate ways and planned to meet in a few hours.

Napier was another city that earthquakes devastated. Their calamity occurred on February 3, 1931 when a 7.8 quake shook the city at 10 AM.  256 people were killed and the downtown area was destroyed. We signed up for the tour, sponsored by the Art Deco Center, an organization that promotes and oversees the development of the city. Before the walking tour we watched a 20 minute movie with film clips and photographs of the 1931 quake and what city fathers did to rebuild the current city. What amazed me was that they completely rebuilt the city with an Art Deco motif in two years! The Art Deco style of architecture was selected as it was the popular style of the times. Over time the city continued promoting its Art Deco heritage and today it is known world wide for this. The city even sponsors a special Art Deco weekend in February where people come from all over to relive the 1930s.  The weekend features the dress, music, and events to celebrate that era in history. There are also many old 1930’s vehicles still in the city that are used for city touring.

Our walking tour, lead by a knowledgeable docent, lead us past different buildings in the area where she pointed out the Art Deco design features of the building. We learned that when the city was rebuilt they gave total authority to only two men to oversee the work. Maybe that is why they were able to accomplish what they did in two years! The result is a vibrant downtown area with heritage trust oversight to preserve its future.

 

After the tour we met Scott and Jessica and learned they had biked over thirty miles along the waterfront while we were on our 2 hour walking tour. After a quick pizza lunch, It was time to seek out some of those wineries that were not open yesterday for wine tasting. We stopped at two different sites. Although I equate the area to Napa Valley it is Napa Valley of decades ago. With a couple notable exceptions the wineries here are small, family owned ventures. Tasting is often free. I focused on the rose and Syrah as that is what the area is noted for.

Before we knew it, it was time to eat again. We decided to make it a picnic and stopped at a local grocery to buy some cheese, crackers, salami, olives and fruit and simply “nosh” back at the bach, followed by a beach walk. The latter was rewarded by experiencing a novel fishing method used by fishermen here. A battery powered boat (torpedo shaped) pulls a fishing line 1-2 km out to sea. Attached are a series of about 25 baited hooks. After an hour or so the vessel is reeled back in and hopefully some fish have been caught. Of course, this is accompanied by a bottle or two of beer/wine while waiting. We happened to come on the beach as the vessel was being reeled in and we engaged in pleasant conversation with the fishermen/women and watched the action. The catch was light- two good sized fish but the people were happy as they had caught three that morning, so a decent meal of fresh fish was guaranteed.

The sun was rapidly setting and our day came to an end. Tomorrow we all fly to Auckland.