tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55236371945545300622024-03-14T02:47:55.255-07:00North of NowhereMandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-73733489383387616682014-09-28T20:06:00.002-07:002014-09-28T20:06:33.538-07:00Okay, so I'm a little obsessed with The Amazing Race<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The reason I say this is because I not only watch the US version of the Amazing Race, I also watch the Canadian and Australian versions of the show. I am able to watch the Canadian Version on the internet on CTV, which I am grateful for. I have also seen several episodes of the Australia TAR on YouTube. Unfortunately, the episodes stopped being posted a few weeks ago of the Australian one, so I can't see how it ended.<br />
<br />
Of all of the seasons of the Amazing Race I have watched, I would have to say that my favorite ending was that of TAR Canada, Season II. It just made me happy. You will have to watch it yourselves and let me know if you agree. There was one team on the race that was pretty dominant throughout the race, and I don't usually like that. It isn't as exciting that way. It was a female team, and the members were on the Olympic Canadian Hockey team. They are definitely competitive. I actually felt there were several likable teams on that Amazing Race Season.<br />
<br />
On the other had, I am not really in love with any of the teams on this season of the (US version) Amazing Race. I guess it is probably too early in the season to really know what the teams are like, though. I did appreciate that even though the team that won the latest leg did help out the other teams with how to use the compass (despite the fact that they seemed pretty arrogant in their interview early on in the episode).<br />
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-10975378612178982522013-06-08T14:47:00.002-07:002013-06-08T14:51:46.908-07:00Sea Days aboard the Diamond Princess<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, I wrote this soon after the cruise, but did not post it. I went back to look through it again today and make a few edits. It seems like it ends abruptly. Probably because I wasn't finished with the draft, but now I've forgotten what else I was going to say, so this is what you get. WARNING: It is long and without pictures. <br />
<br />
Ours was quite a long cruise (14 days), and while many of the days were spent in Ports, we also had a number of days at sea. This post is my general review of the Diamond Princess, primarily the food, activities, entertainment, and the staff.<br />
<br />
First, of all of the cruise ships I have been on, this one has been my favorite. On previous cruises I had been on, we ate all of our evening meals in the main dining rooms. On this cruise, the buffet food was so good, that several of the nights we ate at the buffet instead of the dining room. The positive sides of this are:<br />
1. You can eat at your own pace<br />
2. Variety - You can sample a number of different meats, vegetable dishes, fruits, salads, and desserts that all sound good. (I took several small helpings of a number of different foods)<br />
3. You can make your green salads the way you like them<br />
4. You don't have to get dressed up<br />
<br />
That being said, the Dining Room experience is nice as well and should not be missed. This is the first time I have tried the anytime dining, and I quite liked it. The pros of anytime dining are:<br />
1. You can build your meal around your schedule, rather than building your schedule around your meal.<br />
2. You don't feel as bad if you do choose to eat at the buffet,<br />
3. You do have the opportunity to eat with a variety of different people (if you choose, most nights we were at a two-person table) rather than having to eat with the same people every night.<br />
4. If you don't like your waiter, you can try a different waiter.<br />
<br />
The cons are:<br />
1. You don't necessarily get to eat with the same people every night (as you can see, this is a pro and con); and,<br />
2. You don't necessarily build as strong of a rapport with your waiter, as you may not have the same waiter every evening (however you can make reservations so you do have the same waiter every night, or you can request a specific waiter when you get to the dining room if (s)he is available).<br />
3. You might have to wait for a table (once again, you can make reservations, though) <br />
<br />
In terms of eating in the dining room, we preferred the ambiance of the Santa Fe dining room. We did try out the Pacific Moon dining room one night due to the wait at the Santa Fe, but returned to the Santa Fe the next time we ate in the dining room. The night we were at the Pacific moon, we ate with 4 couples, and it was nice and interesting conversation (3 of the couples were from Australia), but I'm glad we didn't do that every night. I didn't like our first waiter at the Santa Fe dining room, but we were given a different table the second night we were there, and I felt like our waiter was excellent. He was friendly and he didn't drag the meal out. As a bonus, our table offered a free massage. After the first night at that table, we did request it the other times we ate in the dining room. One night the couple in front of us said they would eat anywhere, but would not mind eating at our table. The hostess knew we liked that table, so she told them she had another table for them.<br />
<br />
My dad had a chocolate ice cream cone almost every day. I tried the ice cream a few times. I liked it. Since it came from a machine, I was expecting typical soft-serve ice-cream. Instead it was more of a Wendy's frosty type consistency and taste (which was a positive for me, as I am not a huge fan of soft-serve ice cream). So I would give the ice cream good ratings. I was not a huge fan of the pizza on board. The grill, was okay. I got the fries a couple of times, and one hamburger. The hamburger was good (Definitely better than a McDonald's hamburger in my opinion. Then again, I've never really been a fan of McDonald's hamburgers).<br />
<br />
Now, on to the activities.<br />
<br />
The first and second days we were on the ship, they were holding a treasure hunt. The task was to get stamps from various locations throughout the ship (the casino, a boutique, the internet cafe, the spa...) I think the goal of this was to orient passengers to the ship and all of the services it had to offer (many of these services make money for the ship, so...). Once you have a stamp from each of the locations, you drop your paper into the box, and you are entered into the drawing for a number of different prizes. My dad won one of the prices ($25 towards photos). I thought it was a fun activity.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite cruise ship activities was similar. It was a scavenger hunt held on sea days for the duration of the cruise. I missed the first day of the scavenger hunt, but they allowed people that missed that day to join in, because you had until the last scavenger hunt day to turn in the paper from the first day. This paper asked several questions about the ship and the activities and the staff. Some examples include "How many bars are on the ship? How many passenger pools are on the ship? Where is the pool table located? How many lifeboats does the ship have?..." The second page required participants to get signatures of several of the staff on board such as a line dance instructor, a ballroom dance instructor, an Explorer's Lounge band member, the Employee of the month, a married couple that works on the ship...It was fun to go around the ship asking for signatures, but at the same time, I felt like a nuisance. The staff were all very helpful in helping me obtain the signatures. It was especially hard for me to get the Employee of the Month's signature, and a few different staff members helped me to locate him and get his signature, and when I asked questions of the staff, they were all very willing to help me find the answers. They often also gave me extra, interesting tidbits of information.<br />
<br />
The second day of the scavenger hunt (the first day I attended), I went alone. I didn't have a team, however my dad did say he would be willing to help, so I did include him in the team because I was going to need some help. After they gave us the task, I went back to our cabin to retrieve a number of items, including him. The task on the second day, was to bring back items starting with each letter of the alphabet, and if you brought something with double of that letter (a princess patter, for example) you received two points for that letter (like in scattergories). We had about 25 minutes to do this. We didn't do the greatest, but we were able to bring back something for every letter but two (y and ?). I also receive double points for a couple of them (I think 3) so we should have received about 27 points in the end. One team had 33 or so points. <br />
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The third day of the scavenger hunt required us to bring our cameras. Our task was to get names and signatures of staff from as many different countries as we could. We also had to take a picture of their badge (which listed their country on it) to prove they were from the country in question. The time limit was somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes (I don't remember exactly). We retrieved signatures from the floor we were on (the 7th floor) around the atrium area, and also a few signatures from the 6th and maybe the 5th floors. We then headed up to the lido deck (where the pools and food is) because we thought we would be able to get a number of new countries there. In the end, we felt our time would have been better spent trying to obtain more signatures from the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors. One thing that slowed us down a bit, was that I forgot to get my pen back from one of the staff, and they walked off with us, so for the future staff, they had to scramble a bit to find their own pens. That staff member that had my pen actually tracked me down and returned it to me - incredible! I don't remember how many staff member countries we collected in the end, but it was kind of fun. Even after the scavenger hunt was over, we found ourselves looking at the badges of the other staff members to see if they were from a country we hadn't obtained on the hunt. We had a chance to talk with one of the staff members at the buffet, and he told us how many staff were on board and how many different coutries they represented. I want to say that there were 1040 staff members from 40 different countries, but I don't think I'm remembering that right. I did notice (even previous to the scavenger hunt) that their was a more diverse group of staff than other cruise ships I have been on. Those cruise ship staff consisted primarily of Filipino and/or Indonesian staff members. While this cruise ship still had a large concentration of filipino staff, it wasn't nearly as large of a percentage as the other ships.<br />
<br />
The 4th day of the scavenger hunt also required a camera. We had to take pictures of ourselves participating in various activities. This day we gained a new member, as he was on a team by himself, and he would have had to ask other passengers to take his picture doing the activities. Honestly, though, I think we slowed him down. Once again the time limit was somewhere before 20-30 minutes. Some of the activities we needed to take pictures of us doing included: doing laundry, eating pizza, playing ping pong, riding the exercise bike, dancing in the night club, playing ping pong, laying on the floor in the middle of the atrium...We completed all of the tasks except for one, and we received the highest score for that round. Our team member (from the UK) was going to join us for the final round (and the first round paperwork) Unfortunately, he didn't show up to the fifth round. <br />
<br />
The fifth and final round required us to hand in our papers from the first round and then we were given a paper of random items to collect around the trip. For this round, my dad and I split up. We first looked through the list of items and ascertained that a number of them could be obtained from the cabin. My dad went to the cabin to get those items, and then I set out to collect a number of the other items. Some of the items included: something tart, a coffee card, a heart-shaped chocolate, casino chips, etc. We were told that we did not have to spend money to obtain the items (although we could if we wanted to) and that we should try to be creative. For a few of the items, we could obtain bonus points. I think we were able to return all but two items (the princess patter from the day of embarkation - it had been in our stateroom for the entire trip, but unfortunately our room steward chose that day to throw most of our previous princess patters away). The second item we didn't have was a funny picture of a particular cruise director staff member.<br />
<br />
All-in-all, I had a lot of fun with this. Our team didn't do that great, but in the end we came in third for a couple of different reasons. a) there weren't many teams to begin with; b)only three full teams showed up for the final round. I can't remember for sure what our prizes were - maybe princess pens?<br />
<br />
Another of my favorite activities were the trivia activities. I would say this was one of the most popular activites on the boat. The average age of the passengers on the boat was 63 (the karaoke and princess pop-star was not as well received by this crowd). I tried to attend as many of these as I could. Early on I met a couple of cousins (Pat from Connecticut and Lynn from New Jersey) and I paired up with them and others on many of the trivia games. Sometimes they already had a number of members on their team, so my dad and I either formed our own team, or else we joined other individuals. Our success at trivia was hit and miss. Pat and/or Lynn (sometimes they were on different teams) won a few trivia games each, but usually when I wasn't on the team with them. I did win one trivia game when I was on a team with Lynn. Overall, we were usually in the middle of the pack or close to the top score. I think our worst performance came towards the end of the cruise, where we were shown a movie poster, and had to name the movie it was from. My dad and I were on our own team, and neither of us are great at that sort of thing. We tried to add humor to a few of our responses, but I don't think the cruise staff were catching on to that fact. Actually, I was a bit embarrassed during this game as well. Instead of writing all of our answers down, and then having our answers scored, after each poster we had to walk our answers up to the stage, and the cruise staff member scored them on the spot. At the beginning of the game, our team was given a number that we were to put at the top of each paper we turned in. Usually, I would put our team number on all of the pages that we had. This time, for some reason I didn't, so I didn't realize when I turned one of my guesses in that our team number wasn't on the page. At the end of the round, the emcee pointed to our team and asked "Which number?" or maybe just "number?" Since the movie was Legally Blonde and there were at least two legally blonde movies, I thought he was asking which number of movie, I said, "I don't know, I guess the original one" and he said, "It's been so long since you got one right that you don't remember what your team number is?" While the first part of the statement was probably true, I felt stupid for not realizing he was asking for our team number, but I do feel the question was vague. <br />
<br />
I think my favorite trivia set-up was one in which we were given 3 different clues. If we put down the right answer after the first clue, we were awarded 30 points; a correct answer after the second question awarded us 20 points, and we earned 10 points if we turned in the correct answer after 3 clues. This was set-up like the movie poster trivia in that we took our answers to the front once we had completed them. One caveat to the game, though, was that you only received one guess. So, if you guessed on the 30 point question and were wrong, you didn't receive any points. There was a flaw or two in the actual quiz, though. For example, while New York State has a famous canal (The Erie canal), New York City does not, so the first clue on this trivia question was incorrect.<br />
<br />
The battle of the sexes was another one of my favorite trivias. This was also a cruise long competition, with different formats each time. The men pulled ahead in the first round or two, but when we hit the Millionaire round, the women built up a pretty good lead over the men. Unfortunately, we lost a bit of the lead the next round, and we almost lost the whole game, but we pulled out a save in the end. Unfortunately, the final prize was champagne, and since the men lost, they were supposed to pour it for the women. Since I don't drink, I wasn't too thrilled about the prize. Speaking of which, in general I was not impressed that champagne was a prize of so many of the games. My other negative about the trivia is that I felt too many of the trivia activities were focused around entertainment (movies and/or music). I would have liked to see a bit more variety both in the prizes and in the trivia content.<br />
<br />
Another activity I attended a couple of times was pictionary. It was pretty poorly attended both times, but we did barely recruit enough people to be able to play. I am definitely a better guesser than a drawer. On a few things, people were amazed I could guess what I did from the picture that was drawn. One of the times they were giving out prizes to the winner of the game, and my team won, so I received a princess cruises lanyard. The cruise ship also had some games and puzzles in the library that passengers could check out, and next to the library they had a couple of puzzles set up on puzzle mats on tables. I did work on one of the puzzles a couple of different times. Actually, I think I was the first person to start a puzzle, and after that others came along and started the other puzzle. When we were working on it, this other passenger on the ship came along and said she loved puzzles and then was looking over our shoulder giving us advice. It was annoying yet sometimes helpful at the same time. The library also had books available to check-out, travel reference books, a different soduku puzzle each day, and then one other paper activity each day. There was also a daily question on the Wake Show that could be turned in at the library.<br />
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Another activity available on the ship was "Movies under the stars" There was a movie screen on the Lido Deck and lounge chairs were set up around the pool facing the movie screen. Each day they had a couple of different movies they would play, usually one in the afternoon, and one a couple of different times at night. The ship also had a small putting course (which was also very difficult to find), and a fitness center with trainers, bikes, weights, etc.). <br />
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While I didn't attend any port lectures in person, they were rebroadcast on one of the television stations. On past cruises, I have attended port lectures, and much of the focus was on shopping, shopping, shopping and they didn't even touch on anything related to the shore excursions. Maybe part of this relates to the locations of the cruises - who knows. The port lectures on these cruises contained some very practical information. They also discussed not only the shore excursions offered by the ship, but also how to get around, and things to do if you are not signed up for one of the shore excursions, and sometimes even the best order to do them and an estimate of the amount of time each activity would take if you just rush through it, or if you spend a bit of time. Overall, I was very impressed.<br />
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As for the entertainment on the boat, I would say this was the most variable. I enjoyed listening to retrospect in the wheelhouse lounge. I felt like the orchestra was pretty good. I wasn't a huge fan of the type of music C & C Duo offered and the band in the explorer's lounge wasn't my favorite. That being said, different people have different music tastes. So, what I didn't like, I think others might enjoy. That being said, I wasn't overly impressed by the production show singers and dancers, even though I did like the style of some of their music. I just didn't think their voices/dancing were that wonderful. Sorry. Some of the other shows I did enjoy were the illusionist and the violinist, and the performance by Jamie Clarke, one of the cruise director's staff. He has a great voice, and his impressions are pretty spot-on. His songs were those covered by singers including Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Buble. It doesn't hurt that he has a bit of a snarky sense of humor. I also enjoyed the talent show on the last night, that allowed staff to see the talent that staff members other than the regular entertainers and cruise directors staff show off some of their talents (bar tenders, room stewards, etc.). Hopefully more staff will have the courage to participate in this talent show in the future, as there were a lot of fillers by cruise director's staff. Oh, and I very much enjoyed the magic class taught by the deputy cruise director, Dan.<br />
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A couple of the negatives from this particular cruise ship experience. 1) The buffet beverage service was hit and miss. Sometimes we would complete our whole meal before we were asked if we would like a beverage. Now, on other cruise ships, the beverages were easily obtainable by passengers themselves, and I didn't mind getting my own beverage. On this ship, that wasn't so much the case.<br />
2) Not really a negative, but only an okay compared to my previous cruises - the room steward(ess?) I will have to say that she was new to the job, and she really wasn't bad, it just wasn't like the experience I had with other room stewards.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-72588391204351852922013-05-19T21:46:00.001-07:002013-05-19T21:46:05.729-07:00It's Celebrity Apprentice's turn this week.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, I still love the show. Yes, with all of the political hulabaloo and weather disasters going on I am choosing to speak about this instead. Instead of just speaking about the final outcome, I would like to talk about the season in general. In Apprentice fashion, I will state the pros and cons. I will start with the cons, because in my mind, there were so few of them.<br />
<br />
CONS:<br />
1. Omarosa - I don't need the drama. The show is good enough without it.<br />
2. Stephen Baldwin - see above<br />
3. I really wasn't a fan of Trace's attitude during the beginning task. I felt like maybe he'd been too influenced by his loss to Piers Morgan<br />
4. Certain players were afraid to bring Omarosa to the boardroom. <br />
5. The dresses that many of the women wore in the finale. Please forgive me Trumps if the dresses were from any of your lines, but seriously I was questioning if we were back in the '80s.<br />
6. The fact that Trump brought back Piers Morgan to be a celebrity judge. I think my feelings about Piers echo those of Trace on the finale (although I must say, I was glad to see Piers' charity get the money it did from him winning. It was a very worthy charity).<br />
7. Dennis Rodman's look on the finale - sorry, Dennis.<br />
<br />
PROS:<br />
1. The integrity of a majority of the players.<br />
2. The general civility on the show (minus the two characters mentioned in the "CONS" section). Give me civility any day of the week. I think this season showed that you don't need all of the drama to make a good reality show. If you have the right talent of the players and the right tasks, the show should be able to stand on it's own. Drama is only needed if the competition isn't good enough.<br />
3. Penn's creativity<br />
4. The true reason I felt Trace should win the show - He knew how to not only handle Gary Busey, but how to use his talent's to the teams advantage. I especially loved the first episode when he used Gary to distract Piers. Also, he did choose a darn good team - that shows that he knows what he's doing.<br />
5. The talent on the show. I seriously thought many players were good enough to win<br />
6. The cleaned up Dennis - he was a completely different person this season.<br />
7. The fact that Marilu Henner and Lisa Rinna were not nearly as annoying!<br />
8. That the true Trace eventually came back<br />
9. The money given to the charities of those who didn't win tasks.<br />
10. The 100k given to Lil John's charity on the last episode - love that guy!<br />
11. Penn's charity <a href="http://www.opportunityvillage.org/">Opportunity Village</a>. Not only the charity itself, but the fact that it was a local charity. While I love Trace, and I feel the American Red Cross does wonderful things, I still liked Penn's charity better.<br />
12. That players were able to illustrate that a leader does not need to be high energy and a stress case to accomplish something<br />
13. The wonderful directing job of little John on several of the videos. <br />
14. That the two final contestants were both worthy of the win. They both played with honor, they did not tear each other down, and they both showed respect for each other throughout the entire show and on the final episode.<br />
15. Trace's nod to God<br />
16. Trace's video in the final task - loved Gary's dance.<br />
17. Learned more about teller.<br />
18. This one I'm torn about, but I think I appreciated that in the final task Trace used his team without bringing in outside performers. Now, he did bring in outside performers to donate at the event, but he didn't make a big show of them as Penn did. That being said, It was very smart of Penn to use the blue man group, the dancers, teller, etc. to pass out ice cream and just entertain in general. That is why I am torn, but I think I like the more purist route of Trace. I think.<br />
19. I'm sure there are actually so many more that I am not remembering right now...please post any comments on your pros and cons (and by that, I'm basically only expecting comments from E.G.B. but if others post, wonderful!)</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-67209449769376965492013-05-05T20:25:00.000-07:002013-05-05T20:25:12.303-07:00WARNING - Amazing Race Spoiler Alert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, I know you were all amazed that I made it through the complete Amazing Race season without even a post. Now that the season is technically over in my time zone, I'm commenting. Hooray to the Hockey Players! You did a wonderful job Bates and Anthony. I was routing for you, although there were quite a few teams that I wouldn't have minded winning. This season there was a pretty good group of teams in my opinion. (The fact that Bates and Anthony were two single men may have had a little to do with why I was routing for them. Also the fact that they weren't airheaded. They had pretty good heads on those hockey bodies). I also enjoyed that the season finale was in Washington, D.C., where I used to work and near where I used to live. Btw, for those of you who don't know, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. is the Old Post Office Pavilion. I recognized it, I did not Google it, so if I am wrong...feel free to tell me. I was also surprised at the lack of non-"spies" at the tidal basin<br />
<br />
In other news - Last night I went to IHOP and had some incredible peaches and cream brioche french toast. There were so many other good looking foods on the menu as well. I was thinking that I may have to visit there a few more times on my 2 weeks away from home. I went on a Sunday afternoon drive today. It was a beautiful drive. The western part of the state is definitely more beautiful than the eastern part, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
In terms of the Kentucky Derby, I missed it. There was a Montana owned horse in the race this year, though. It didn't do too well. We'll have to see if we have a triple crown winner this year.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-50657854306496319952013-03-07T21:03:00.000-08:002013-03-07T21:03:04.105-08:00Auckland - The beginning of the end<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, to be honest, I didn't really plan for the last destination of our trip - Auckland. I guess I figured we would have plenty of time on the vacation to do that. I was wrong, but I did have an enjoyable time in Auckland.<br />
<br />
We originally received our disembarking time, and as I am not really a morning person, it was way too early in my opinion (just after 7 a.m.). I was able to change this to the latest disembarkation time available for people with independent transfers. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that we had to be out of our staterooms at 8 a.m. regardless of our disembarkation time. If I would have realized this, I would have probably tried to get a time soon after 8 rather than 9:40! It wasn't too bad waiting, though, as I had a book I was reading on the kindle.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_nhpgj2tfvA1OZ60bq16gTxeRdOwc-kXRE2ymohgAt4xZtuYvAkT3CyI2IGXd6p11pLd-PvfCNksC5dgc7I9FAxJlD96q0w0sZC0L0M0uU4JXAr6K5kb-3H4E8OXYRJuXGvtdvdttoB1/s1600/IMG_1366.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_nhpgj2tfvA1OZ60bq16gTxeRdOwc-kXRE2ymohgAt4xZtuYvAkT3CyI2IGXd6p11pLd-PvfCNksC5dgc7I9FAxJlD96q0w0sZC0L0M0uU4JXAr6K5kb-3H4E8OXYRJuXGvtdvdttoB1/s320/IMG_1366.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye, Diamond Princess. I will miss you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we did finally disembark the ship, our first task was to figure out what to do with our luggage. We ran into a nice man who gave us some information, and we headed to the local iSite which does store a limited amount of luggage in their back room. We arrived there just in time, as there was just enough room for our bags. I believe he also said that luggage could be stored at the Auckland subway. We stored three large bags, and were allowed to place personal items/smaller bags on top of the large bags and still only count them as one bag. The charge was $10/bag. The caveat was that the isite closed at 5 p.m. so we had to pick our bags up by then.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">Airport transfer tip: The cruise ship offered an airport transfer of $40/person. We were able to arrange for an airport transfer that was less than half that price ($16 nz/person?) and that shuttle ran every 15 minutes from the harbour. It was probably also cheaper than a taxi, as the airport is quite a ways from the Harbor/Downtown Auckland.</span><br />
<br />
After storing our bags, we wandered around searching for a McDonalds or some other location that offered wifi access. We ran across a mall that had a McDonalds, unfortuately it did not have wifi access, but another restaurant in the food court had wifi access and we were able to use it (after a small purchase). We had also picked up some brochures of things to do around Auckland and perused them. At this point is was probably approaching 11 a.m. and I really wasn't feeling like a field trip out of town (especially since we had to pick up our bags by 5), and not much in town was striking my fancy. Eventually, we decided on the Auckland Museum (even though earlier I said I was kind of sick of museums in general - not from this vacation but just from life in general). After seeing the museum, I was glad I changed my mind. As a side note, I recognized several cruise ship staff at the Mall's food court.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_v-fvYMNYow_XVGnTNtVuOFCPFCbfLteKA9nRaO1qcMYtHdN8UlP3xrp2ys6Es3A6txPOweoh6OUgTxDvagky8KwluTFiu5xt6YDcJKnDq8lZLAYXkGEuPCAnhYTnjJmdywNUti_rL1Y/s1600/IMG_1361.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_v-fvYMNYow_XVGnTNtVuOFCPFCbfLteKA9nRaO1qcMYtHdN8UlP3xrp2ys6Es3A6txPOweoh6OUgTxDvagky8KwluTFiu5xt6YDcJKnDq8lZLAYXkGEuPCAnhYTnjJmdywNUti_rL1Y/s320/IMG_1361.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The streets of Auckland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To get to our destination, we decided to utilize the public bus system. This worked out pretty well, as we looked up which buses went to the museum online. Finding where to catch the bus was a different matter, but we ran into the man who had helped us earlier, and he helped us again. We found the bus station, asked the bus driver to tell us when we were at our stop, since the stop was not right at the museum and required a bit of walking. It turns out this was unnecessary, as they do announce the stop as the Auckland museum. After disembarking from the bus, we took a short hike (maps do not show hills) to the museum. We secured tickets to the Maori cultural performance, and looked around a bit until the cultural performance was to begin.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-pxvNcyIHRE7uUCw0TgSlKT_D5bovRzKdvYKyvuZELDkpz3wJOLzPqPDi7a_pkfQ853kYelgfDWjVo-mOZ_OFuoy_nUcQ_Crhy9C2RU6-FaZiM8Z8Ueza5E5XT8C7PC0W3ptCPLBGI_c/s1600/563.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-pxvNcyIHRE7uUCw0TgSlKT_D5bovRzKdvYKyvuZELDkpz3wJOLzPqPDi7a_pkfQ853kYelgfDWjVo-mOZ_OFuoy_nUcQ_Crhy9C2RU6-FaZiM8Z8Ueza5E5XT8C7PC0W3ptCPLBGI_c/s640/563.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map from the bus stop to the museum (if we would have taken this bus - we took the INN instead, which had a different bus stop, but this illustrates how helpful the Auckland transport website is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The first exhibit we visited was something like "wearable art" or something like that. It included clothes, mostly dresses made from a number of different materials. The clothes had an artistic component to them, thus the title of the exhibit. Below are a few examples:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2S9zNClAjz-kprrIMKXOysuNIOb7gt9opN5iJVWcL2DLDfdBylz-lXtQC8QyLLAcmG5QWm_Z2BMGaUowwsjjuGwzWWep0tSklGxWiDSdnYa_479z1hF0nfXZi9cgQAVK0vG6m1HxS9V2/s1600/IMG_1351.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2S9zNClAjz-kprrIMKXOysuNIOb7gt9opN5iJVWcL2DLDfdBylz-lXtQC8QyLLAcmG5QWm_Z2BMGaUowwsjjuGwzWWep0tSklGxWiDSdnYa_479z1hF0nfXZi9cgQAVK0vG6m1HxS9V2/s320/IMG_1351.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uUK_lfbGNXEbvhzmcwzo54S0Kn9jtPuQLyHYMtn2mmvak3h-uHhl-_MyQUGm00GC73mQDp8F7E6HM7ieuxizOycFt2ynfQ9LiMF4PWVh4YsZmY5Qw-XGrtI9C_FbzBu0c1SIh4p07Rps/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uUK_lfbGNXEbvhzmcwzo54S0Kn9jtPuQLyHYMtn2mmvak3h-uHhl-_MyQUGm00GC73mQDp8F7E6HM7ieuxizOycFt2ynfQ9LiMF4PWVh4YsZmY5Qw-XGrtI9C_FbzBu0c1SIh4p07Rps/s320/IMG_1354.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is made from the metal of some sort of car part (was it a carburetor?)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnBKjZh7quX5GGrtnjon4DHBtp62-Hslqr-dsV4EKSzjc4FnBOJ8cN66wZ6TZDHQ9InmkiS4aDjIQm-66y8x0YEUx_nKCZbZPihGTnKl5RiiVBIQ4jXU7zT3Kz1xUXZnCRbVCFo6gI5Ke/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnBKjZh7quX5GGrtnjon4DHBtp62-Hslqr-dsV4EKSzjc4FnBOJ8cN66wZ6TZDHQ9InmkiS4aDjIQm-66y8x0YEUx_nKCZbZPihGTnKl5RiiVBIQ4jXU7zT3Kz1xUXZnCRbVCFo6gI5Ke/s320/IMG_1356.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This dress was made from wood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_A0akDKvgKMsmVLAJ9mbJ79wG3FB2n_k_l5duo8FM4vyDdMy7T-BPXPF0rzxQ6W5fct_g1wpS6uQeSiw3xzsiP55g91uN2lV-OqqFUjI0uqX30M4Y7bYOn9Z1jLISjnosjEFfomQEkM5/s1600/IMG_1357.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_A0akDKvgKMsmVLAJ9mbJ79wG3FB2n_k_l5duo8FM4vyDdMy7T-BPXPF0rzxQ6W5fct_g1wpS6uQeSiw3xzsiP55g91uN2lV-OqqFUjI0uqX30M4Y7bYOn9Z1jLISjnosjEFfomQEkM5/s320/IMG_1357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "armor" was made from suitcase leather</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFBmF4Ag5T4HQmbgx-ONXUi7cqvd9nmBfmfiJe8H8MVx10YQSpmkgI-Vt-R55QZDOb3_QFhAixr9PV_LJJpykDOCChyJKUOxO4C9iWiuGMZOzLu0Jt8Gpx3WwSlo-t8TX-x1KtQCi3Ocp/s1600/IMG_1353.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFBmF4Ag5T4HQmbgx-ONXUi7cqvd9nmBfmfiJe8H8MVx10YQSpmkgI-Vt-R55QZDOb3_QFhAixr9PV_LJJpykDOCChyJKUOxO4C9iWiuGMZOzLu0Jt8Gpx3WwSlo-t8TX-x1KtQCi3Ocp/s320/IMG_1353.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
After that exhibit, we went to an exhibit on childhood. It included items that showed what childhood was like through different decades. It also included a full-sized elephant that had been preserved by a taxidermist, and a tree house. It was getting close to time for the performance, so we returned to the meeting place. After a couple of minutes waiting, I decided to ask the information desk if we were in the right place. They said that they had already been out to pick up those with tickets to the exhibit, and were very helpful in getting us into the performance before it began.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdw7OIjxkLzQg-_P7rq0rDPu1NBzFOOVbCw-hy6C1YzBDLh-GlrZ1AYs0X44PZh42NsBAzgclkBxlzr2AHgte78dgBmFchvx2aftwmDpizOGW-X1Yv8h3HqaLWB7VJrKM0pEsT_ihMH1S/s1600/IMG_1313.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdw7OIjxkLzQg-_P7rq0rDPu1NBzFOOVbCw-hy6C1YzBDLh-GlrZ1AYs0X44PZh42NsBAzgclkBxlzr2AHgte78dgBmFchvx2aftwmDpizOGW-X1Yv8h3HqaLWB7VJrKM0pEsT_ihMH1S/s320/IMG_1313.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The elephant in the museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I actually quite enjoyed the performance. I've actually never been to any other cultural performances to compare it to. I have seen the haka, and I was glad that the performance was more than just dances and songs, there were live narratives, and it included information about different instruments and recreation activities performed by the Maori culture. The performance was only 20-30 minutes total, but I found it very informative and fun to watch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNME6_xwhipBZr910qqJ1NdmZ2Pk9536rq8m-x5h2cJWxte0wIlKro6LH4QRkF04u-xcUJHHdFB3o7rsUfZEfXkzEQa4sOj1x9aZkgwVDuH-J2Drvf4ILr0780e9_X8-m8d6eNL0iFnQT/s1600/IMG_1315.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNME6_xwhipBZr910qqJ1NdmZ2Pk9536rq8m-x5h2cJWxte0wIlKro6LH4QRkF04u-xcUJHHdFB3o7rsUfZEfXkzEQa4sOj1x9aZkgwVDuH-J2Drvf4ILr0780e9_X8-m8d6eNL0iFnQT/s320/IMG_1315.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only real negative I found with the performance was that it took place inside a museum building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After that, we made it through the rest of the exhibits on the floor (including some on the Maori culture) and on the next floor of the museum. Due to worries about time, however, we didn't make it to the top floor of the museum which primarily dealt with war-related exhibits. It would have been nice to make it to those exhibits, but we also wanted our luggage back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEbQXFIL7n6y_CM-8nNf-sAB5rTxh6CP6iJlO5qrFY59uHKstmPmwDS0VfbfES1LVGfY6hxC7huRCoLvhKKDsjhoxfE5Yhb_cRiu6ZMkjClTR1Ntpd-YZ2tJ4wZhYGhiLlyYet_KP_gI7/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEbQXFIL7n6y_CM-8nNf-sAB5rTxh6CP6iJlO5qrFY59uHKstmPmwDS0VfbfES1LVGfY6hxC7huRCoLvhKKDsjhoxfE5Yhb_cRiu6ZMkjClTR1Ntpd-YZ2tJ4wZhYGhiLlyYet_KP_gI7/s320/IMG_1320.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBQdUud7xKPeyLjnLiGlgZ0afIVCax24N-idH4S3gIbehrBEpqXRAUO6Vr_IrHj7FIBUM_suyor6oMlhjl4Hf94m9R8vKE-t0WmE9acgEZta3n5xlgNV8a7267qru9brjveBn9IY7gpKo/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBQdUud7xKPeyLjnLiGlgZ0afIVCax24N-idH4S3gIbehrBEpqXRAUO6Vr_IrHj7FIBUM_suyor6oMlhjl4Hf94m9R8vKE-t0WmE9acgEZta3n5xlgNV8a7267qru9brjveBn9IY7gpKo/s320/IMG_1327.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicN0fDaHFMqxRCbF1pysEGt5EoXICe9bGSNut5jeVhcStY8nzntB7cslyRCzbgacl_2Knnba3Hjmk_BU9V3-IQvnubJTRBKiYzYXWkOkUIjOVRPcDb38ZZ0INdOAntpf42_waOGsYhQIIO/s1600/IMG_1336.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicN0fDaHFMqxRCbF1pysEGt5EoXICe9bGSNut5jeVhcStY8nzntB7cslyRCzbgacl_2Knnba3Hjmk_BU9V3-IQvnubJTRBKiYzYXWkOkUIjOVRPcDb38ZZ0INdOAntpf42_waOGsYhQIIO/s320/IMG_1336.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We began our trek back to the bus stop, where we met other Princess cruise ship passengers. These passengers were on the either the Dawn Princess or the Sun Princess, (whichever one was also in port). They had just started their cruise a couple of days earlier in Brisbane. We had a nice little chat with them as we waited for the bus to arrive. On our bus trip back to the Port, we were able to observe an interesting verbal exchange between the bus driver and another bus passenger regarding the timeliness of buses. Poor bus driver. We departed the bus a few stops early (my fault) but we were still in the same general vicinity we wanted to be in.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P2iXleiH1mkQmH3m4CyoN3_J8oGC9V3HD-0hP8sf5ur2HGXuA-cwKdOY4qQwDqDWPoyH7sjrDq-QfdxLmk4i0hxvsQacFs7eSo8XxGTPBchZr7ZuH5K8xsuA4TybjKvqP8ifevbNtmBj/s1600/IMG_1360.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P2iXleiH1mkQmH3m4CyoN3_J8oGC9V3HD-0hP8sf5ur2HGXuA-cwKdOY4qQwDqDWPoyH7sjrDq-QfdxLmk4i0hxvsQacFs7eSo8XxGTPBchZr7ZuH5K8xsuA4TybjKvqP8ifevbNtmBj/s320/IMG_1360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the roots from a couple of trees we passed on our walk to and from the Auckland Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We then found our way back to the iSite to pick up our baggage and get tickets for the airport shuttle. We then visited a subway restaurant for nourishment (and to spend the rest of our New Zealand money). It was located inside a store that had a breathalyzer machine, so of course we took a picture. We found the airport shuttle, and I was glad we had chosen to take it, instead of a regular public bus (if that was even a possibility) to the airport, especially during rush-hour.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_v-fvYMNYow_XVGnTNtVuOFCPFCbfLteKA9nRaO1qcMYtHdN8UlP3xrp2ys6Es3A6txPOweoh6OUgTxDvagky8KwluTFiu5xt6YDcJKnDq8lZLAYXkGEuPCAnhYTnjJmdywNUti_rL1Y/s1600/IMG_1361.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
Now, our flight was not that night, but the next morning, but our hotel was near the airport. So, we took the shuttle to the airport, and then took the hotel shuttle from the airport to the hotel. It did take us a bit of time in the airport, and a visit to the airport iSite, to learn that the hotel had a contract with the Park 'n Ride shuttle. We were able to find where the shuttle picked people up, and we made it to our hotel.<br />
<br /></div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-45447723233583083432013-03-07T20:32:00.000-08:002013-03-07T20:32:09.824-08:00The long trip home (sorry, no pictures).<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We arrive at our hotel near the airport the night of February 22nd. We had booked a family room, but the hotel was
originally going to give us a room with one double bed. Then they asked
if we had wanted one double or two singles. Not knowing we had booked a
family room, I said two singles and my dad told them about having
booked the family room. They switched which room we were in, and it
had...two singles. Also, the hotel did offer internet access in rooms, but not FREE internet access in rooms
(although the kiosk downstairs may have offered free internet).<br />
<br />
The
hotel was near a grocery store, so we decided to go and pick up a few
snacks to eat for dinner/breakfast/plane ride. At the store, the
cashier was asking us if grocery stores in the United States were
similar. I told her they were. The big difference is that I think, in
general, our stores are bigger, and also our food is cheaper (I didn't
tell her that). When we returned to our room, I showered while I had
the chance (since I was going to be on such a long plane trip home).
One redeeming factor about the hotel was that the shower did have nice
water pressure. The rooms themselves were tiny. Two single beds (one
against the wall) with about 6 inches between them, and probably 12" to
the side of the other bed. But, when you just need to sleep, it works.<br />
<br />
We
awoke early the next morning for our 6 or 6:30 a.m. flight (after only a
few hours of sleep), to start our extended February 23rd. In the end, we awoke/left too early, as the check-in
desk was not yet open. Then, after checking in, the customs/security
portion of the airport was not yet open, so we had to sit and wait even
longer for it to open. So, that whole show up to the airport at least 2
hours early...well, if you are flying out of the Auckland airport at 6
a.m., you are going to be doing a lot of sitting around and waiting if
you show up that early.<br />
<br />
We made it to the Sydney
airport, and guess what? we had to wait in line again. Of all of the
stupid things, if you are just transferring flights in Sydney, you have
to go through another security screening. I guess they don't trust
other airports in something. We passed the second security check
(although some other passengers had items taken away (and I think they
were less than 3 oz, so I'm not sure what that was all about). They
were not happy about it. We did have quite a long layover in Sydney, so
it's not like the security screening wait made us worry about catching
our next flight...it was just annoying.<br />
<br />
We learned that our flight back to LA was full, meaning that there would be someone sitting between us on the flight. Luckily, the man sitting between us was the last person on the plane, so we did have a bit of room during the boarding process. Actually, the full flight wasn't too bad either, although I did notice that the bathrooms were occupied a lot more of the time. A part of this was also probably due to the fasten seatbelts sign being on for a larger portion of the flight due to turbulence.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, it was still a long flight, and I didn't sleep too much, but I was able to sleep for longer than I did on the flight to Australia. I also talked for a couple of hours to the man sitting between us. He was from Australia, and was going to some sort of conference on water pumps, or something similar. It made time pass more quickly. We flew Delta Airlines, and the flight was better than expected (based on previous Delta overseas flights). No, they don't offer eye masks or earplugs like some other airlines, but they had quite an extensive FREE entertainment selection. There food was not as good as the food on my other flight, however.<br />
<br />
We arrived in LA, quickly made it through customs, and because we were not on a connecting flight, we reclaimed our bags. I went to check my large bag in right away, so I wouldn't have to lug it around. Then we found a place to sit, and I had some time to transfer pictures from my dad's iPad and camera to my computer. Then, my dad watched my bags while I (kinda) slept on a row of seats with no armrests for a bit. We then parted ways, and I headed towards my terminal to catch my flight. I really don't remember much about the next two flights. I do remember my meal at the Denver airport. It was a burrito, from Que Bueno. It does not even hold a candle to Chipotle or Cafe Rio. If I remember this, I don't think I'll ever eat there again. I also remember that I was having a very difficult time staying awake in Denver for about an hour before the flight.<br />
<br />
When I arrived in Billings, I called the hotel where my car was at to get the shuttle back. On the ride I asked the driver about the weather and how it was supposed to be, and he encouraged me to drive home that night, instead of waiting. I wasn't sure if I would be able to stay awake for the drive, but I made it home safely, stopping a few times along the way to check in with family. I was so exhausted the next day, however, that I only made it through sacrament meeting at church. Then, I went home and slept for a good 6-8 hours more. I did feel refreshed after that. And then, it was back to work :(.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-45203193631209660722013-03-01T22:20:00.000-08:002013-03-04T21:49:40.777-08:00Vacation 2013 - Tauranga/Rotorua - and a visit to Hobbiton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After 3 Port Days (Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, and Wellington) we had a day at sea to recover. Our next Port after that was Tauranga. Our boat actually docked in Mt. Maunganui. On this shore day, we decided to head out on our own again in a rental car. I was more used to being a passenger in a car driving on the wrong side of the road at this point. It also helped that there weren't a lot of mountainous, curvy roads.<br />
<br />
Our first task was actually to pick-up our rental car. On our way to find get a taxi, we also found some information about public buses that ran to and from Tauranga, which were cheaper than the offered shuttle. Granted, buses don't necessarily run on schedule, and they do require local currency, which we hadn't really obtained at this point. Since we were going to the airport to pick-up the car, though, and didn't know of any buses that headed there, we obtained a taxi to get to our destination.<br />
<br />
When we reached the airport and picked up the phone for the rental agency, they said they had sent us an e-mail asking if we could pick the car up in Tauranga itself. This would have actually been much more convenient for us, but we hadn't received the e-mail. It didn't matter, though. They said they were going to be at the airport in about 1/2 an hour, so we waited there. Everything went great with renting the car, and the agent was very helpful giving us maps and advice on which roads to take. I navigated as my dad drove.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EWkPPBB13CTpkhhwFLn-oSCQolIO2gRdWJiQd0FRquZGpBWKSfx9sndAloXSzuWZRnwmB3r3i82hQuAS4xx9S3lydOLmeMIcv_3XvoO8v5Hd3Pu-TVusoaksaXZ61qaiZ3aL3KdCNTfR/s1600/IMG_1207.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EWkPPBB13CTpkhhwFLn-oSCQolIO2gRdWJiQd0FRquZGpBWKSfx9sndAloXSzuWZRnwmB3r3i82hQuAS4xx9S3lydOLmeMIcv_3XvoO8v5Hd3Pu-TVusoaksaXZ61qaiZ3aL3KdCNTfR/s320/IMG_1207.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many John Deere Dealerships in New Zealand</td></tr>
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<br />
We wanted to see the geothermal areas with geysers and mudpots and also some Maori cultural sites/performances, so I chose <a href="http://tepuia.com/">Te Puia</a>, home of the Pohutu Geyser. It also has several mudpots, a Maori Carving School, a Maori Weaving School, and some replicas of a Maori village. We did not watch the cultural performance at the village, as the performance during the time we were planning on being there was sold out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1Ng3D85dD8o1TPzVVmi7iTM6KXZ1ozwW6nkTpXHDOSJG5ZYDQ39cYonhnaW_Ufhi5JCQr65PXU6jCcOie_W3GCZyWtrwuHPjjfZJNKM_lbJwGP1bjxRrA8pUgzQr5Wd9ZyOnJScPx9kP/s1600/IMG_1214.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1Ng3D85dD8o1TPzVVmi7iTM6KXZ1ozwW6nkTpXHDOSJG5ZYDQ39cYonhnaW_Ufhi5JCQr65PXU6jCcOie_W3GCZyWtrwuHPjjfZJNKM_lbJwGP1bjxRrA8pUgzQr5Wd9ZyOnJScPx9kP/s320/IMG_1214.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mud pot at Te Puia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SUbVWTy3QwaTwmj3AV448lZVa2Uzbe_d0fo9-gHTck21Jxdl2SBFGqNeiQjg05yoXpAzrKCod7Hjdg1h1Skhulz7hF5L5a8uZTrvMXHYyp3P9MvHV_8se0fAoevsTp73QLLW7koNwoFM/s1600/IMG_1280.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SUbVWTy3QwaTwmj3AV448lZVa2Uzbe_d0fo9-gHTck21Jxdl2SBFGqNeiQjg05yoXpAzrKCod7Hjdg1h1Skhulz7hF5L5a8uZTrvMXHYyp3P9MvHV_8se0fAoevsTp73QLLW7koNwoFM/s320/IMG_1280.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carving School</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggk5kWpOt4ksmFR3KGsj51b5Wq5NrRobughGaY1f_zS0qcY54aCnZo40xj23rL_OrC3IhySSftw5fmS8nPwJOl7hsAvKkDVAhtwCbwR5Tg_SDDAB3SVpmfKPgPDtZc5ZW9hzHdUxp-FV2T/s1600/IMG_1283.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggk5kWpOt4ksmFR3KGsj51b5Wq5NrRobughGaY1f_zS0qcY54aCnZo40xj23rL_OrC3IhySSftw5fmS8nPwJOl7hsAvKkDVAhtwCbwR5Tg_SDDAB3SVpmfKPgPDtZc5ZW9hzHdUxp-FV2T/s320/IMG_1283.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weaving School</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rOf2ozFTXDenoVDF0NuZxwZ5Vh-SPO2xZKNyuH3peWL5yyjjf1BLPaKKogcTsG_-iakRjfBfuQnPy1ueMW4KWEEzjPapysxWCHB0kjMt03MBCd2vZzvZZ9Md1cw5kRQSdV_l4YCyYIcv/s1600/IMG_1270.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rOf2ozFTXDenoVDF0NuZxwZ5Vh-SPO2xZKNyuH3peWL5yyjjf1BLPaKKogcTsG_-iakRjfBfuQnPy1ueMW4KWEEzjPapysxWCHB0kjMt03MBCd2vZzvZZ9Md1cw5kRQSdV_l4YCyYIcv/s320/IMG_1270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Maori Craftsmanship</td></tr>
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The Pohutu Geyser usually erupts 1-2 times per hour. I think while we were there waiting for it to erupt was probably the only time it took more than an hour to erupt. Our patience did pay off and were were able to see it erupt. The time aspect really makes you appreciate Old Faithful. About 20 minutes later I looked towards where the geyser was at, and it was erupting again. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls_431yCYwgGKJDxlvPOYe8odiz84alYT9A99N-ijsvtdD9YnrUq-XWiMc0EXdJBukdLe53eVvToXEK8RNGiGDaGT7JJTzfrKPKXCnAb9ECj-6Gr1D4yXDr7GR_rv-BKJ78YzSBvF-0Uz/s1600/IMG_1260.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls_431yCYwgGKJDxlvPOYe8odiz84alYT9A99N-ijsvtdD9YnrUq-XWiMc0EXdJBukdLe53eVvToXEK8RNGiGDaGT7JJTzfrKPKXCnAb9ECj-6Gr1D4yXDr7GR_rv-BKJ78YzSBvF-0Uz/s320/IMG_1260.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pohutu Geyser</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
After Pohutu, we considered a couple of options. One option was heading over to Hamilton, where the temple is located. As we calculated the amount of time it would take, we felt like it might not give us enough time to get back to the ship in time. So we decided to head towards Hobbiton movie site. This is one movie site that did not have to be deconstructed after shooting was finished. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the isite in Matamata, they informed us that the next tour left at 2:45 and the tour took 3 hours. We were due back at the ship at 5:30. The math just didn't add up. I did enquire about whether there were any other tour options or whether we could go to the site on our own without taking a tour. Unfortunately, these were not options. So, we walked around town a bit, stopped off at a grocery store for hydration, and then headed back towards Tauranga. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD9To3vt58gMl56QKh_E4TlGJm3eny0JOR4v9SzS-wipzy5dzOqLyaq00YIpN5-9brInmQT1qRNPHfHVJtY1bje9hPKOYdlXalpfXfQppcseptLpdn7mFowWrDBgyG2j6llJQaKTOKMXR/s1600/IMG_1295.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD9To3vt58gMl56QKh_E4TlGJm3eny0JOR4v9SzS-wipzy5dzOqLyaq00YIpN5-9brInmQT1qRNPHfHVJtY1bje9hPKOYdlXalpfXfQppcseptLpdn7mFowWrDBgyG2j6llJQaKTOKMXR/s320/IMG_1295.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hobbiton - AKA Matamata - New Zealand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqDDsaylWimrlXb4Kfs3sLqHLHzHEUYm6IubiNwGh83RdmU9zBM7r2wPKdEz1WW1AcagrZmQzMOQaqs87soEOhgkmjH2nWf0innbO-Q0iog4aC3osswCcefOKZ50IFOi0Icw5EhHi94Sg/s1600/IMG_1296.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqDDsaylWimrlXb4Kfs3sLqHLHzHEUYm6IubiNwGh83RdmU9zBM7r2wPKdEz1WW1AcagrZmQzMOQaqs87soEOhgkmjH2nWf0innbO-Q0iog4aC3osswCcefOKZ50IFOi0Icw5EhHi94Sg/s320/IMG_1296.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Matamata isite</td></tr>
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We took a small detour to Mclaren Falls on our way back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKv6Kkw-AB9VRkoLqmK9_mrohBHtNpbIMAkgqHQSknwycz2LK8i44ejVtj_y-c7sBpoSlSHnX9uuzh5qVFGboH3uzE-5roeZt74UWzE1gCpO6xu49ofHvIAPMuagwB6Zr46XZEVonGFiq/s1600/IMG_1309.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKv6Kkw-AB9VRkoLqmK9_mrohBHtNpbIMAkgqHQSknwycz2LK8i44ejVtj_y-c7sBpoSlSHnX9uuzh5qVFGboH3uzE-5roeZt74UWzE1gCpO6xu49ofHvIAPMuagwB6Zr46XZEVonGFiq/s320/IMG_1309.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mclaren Falls through the car window - can you see them? Many of the rivers we saw in New Zealand were primarily expansive beds of rock with a stream or two of water running through them. I think there rainfall this year was lower than normal.</td></tr>
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<br />
We returned our car, and then I checked out some places for a necklace my cousin, Bee, had asked me to obtain for her. I did not know which necklace to choose, but I burned maybe a bit too much time in the store (Don't worry Bee - I have your necklace. I picked it up somewhere else). We headed to the isite so we could learn where to pick up the bus. Many of the past isites we had been to had offered money changing services, so I thought this one would as well. It turns out they didn't. There was a bank across the street, however, so we just went there to change our money, and went back to the bus stop location they had pointed out to us (We had been told we wanted the #1 or #2 bus that morning).<br />
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As I was looking at the time schedule, something didn't seem right. It didn't look as if either of the buses was going to Mt. Maunganui. I went to talk to the isite people again and maybe be more specific about the direction we wanted to go on the bus. As I was waiting in line, my dad rushed over and told me the bus was there. I said I didn't think it was the right bus, and he told me to just ask the bus driver. I asked the bus driver that apparently just got off his shift, and he told me that the bus we wanted was on the other side of the street. By this time, we were stressing a bit about time.<br />
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We didn't know how long it would take the bus to get to the bus stop we needed to get off at. According to the schedule, the #2 bus would be the next bus coming, but about a minute later the #1 bus showed up. It was late, luckily! We hopped on the bus, asked a few questions, and hoped we would get back to the ship on time. As we arrived near the port entrance, I saw a long line of people. I thought they were all waiting to get passed the security to get on the dock. It turns out many of them were there to see the Queen Elizabeth ship which was also in day.<br />
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That reminds me of a funny story from that morning. The cruise ship photographers from the Queen Elizabeth had thought we were from their boat and they tried to stop us for a picture. I don't really like getting those pictures taken, but I was tempted to say yes only because I wasn't a passenger on their boat.<br />
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Oh, we did make it back to the ship on time - we had about 4 minutes to spare (they probably didn't really stop allowing people on at 5:30, so we probably would have been okay otherwise, but you never do know).<br />
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I will post about Auckland, Sea Days/the Cruise ship experience, and possibly other general trip comments in the next few days. I'm all blogged out for now.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-67285307216990483832013-03-01T20:41:00.000-08:002013-03-01T21:16:14.952-08:00Vacation 2013 - Wellington, New Zealand - more LOTR sites: not quite the same without the movie sets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a day where we learned a lot about the deceptiveness of movies. We learned that many movie scenes were actually a combination of CGI, filming in the studio, on-site sets on the North Island, and backgrounds of the scenes from the South Island, usually somewhere near Queenstown. Some of the filming of scenes themselves were also completed in Queenstown. Other examples are where a person may have been filmed in a river in one place, but where they were filmed "washed ashore" was the bank of a completely different river.<br />
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Our day started at the Port in Wellington. One could choose about a 30 minute walk to get downtown, or one had the option of taking a round trip shuttle ticket for $15. Of course, if you booked a shore excursion from the boat, the transportation left directly from the dock. We booked an independent tour this time as it was much cheaper, and the hours still worked with the cruise ship's itinerary. By this day we were awfully exhausted of all the tours, so we chose a half day tour and decided not to stay in New Zealand for more sight seeing after the tour. As we had booked a tour, we did not have to take a shuttle, but we did have to take a "security transport" vehicle off the dock area, where we waited for our tour bus to arrive.<br />
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The tour was pretty good (minus the fact that the movie sets weren't still there - we knew that in advance). What I liked most is that they showed clips from the movies of the places that we were going to, and also clips from the extras on the DVDs. Sometimes it was difficult to imagine the scenes had taken place at those places, but they did also bring some still pictures to help us out. They even brought props so tour members could pose if they chose to. I also learned a lot of interesting information about Viggo Mortensen. It sounds like he is a very admirable individual.<br />
<br />
Instead of explaining where each of the pictures are taken, we'll play a
guessing game. Guess which LOTR movie site or sequence was filmed at
each location<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3b33vfsTnILt570awEk7ispABKkMYGcsMxD2L45JDQHtY_ZOG7TpmvHunUVLvn58J-TT1Rmagy_dDJHyV70Cz7FPsSRnKEb3mcnl2DFJSjwsIQ-Kdks2kwOIRu4_49WnOTU7ATJ6mHqV/s1600/IMG_1136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3b33vfsTnILt570awEk7ispABKkMYGcsMxD2L45JDQHtY_ZOG7TpmvHunUVLvn58J-TT1Rmagy_dDJHyV70Cz7FPsSRnKEb3mcnl2DFJSjwsIQ-Kdks2kwOIRu4_49WnOTU7ATJ6mHqV/s320/IMG_1136.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. A Quarry outside of Wellington. Which <u><b>2 </b></u>Lord of the Rings locations were filmed at this Quarry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVcx4_e1vFK1jVkpqvNemnigD4IlDPE7k82EH3rUyiykOsJgvD_aFf58Pb9Gum3b3jQKuf0qUC2aUvuZsz_aDwhEVic46NSgmxtPGenjohzf2RPpZPyOE5rv7yYQndluaNSbXADZOQGgX/s1600/IMG_1145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVcx4_e1vFK1jVkpqvNemnigD4IlDPE7k82EH3rUyiykOsJgvD_aFf58Pb9Gum3b3jQKuf0qUC2aUvuZsz_aDwhEVic46NSgmxtPGenjohzf2RPpZPyOE5rv7yYQndluaNSbXADZOQGgX/s320/IMG_1145.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2. A city park in Wellington - several movie scenes were filmed at this park, including the scenes of the Orcs pulling down the trees. Which scene was filmed in this portion of the park. Hint: one of the trees in the scene is no longer there as it did not survive a storm there from a few years ago. Also, a portion of the section of the park has been planted with a different variety of grass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWN3CJ2qt3fFRVdzoW-b0kOw4cF5hIT-tYiO1rkOy8y1RQ6bBLTy5UEE87tZiJqGPUHB7SUn0vrM0QLUrOTDJ3cEoFq6YJxs580UIFpTbLhWGL5NWNesc4LiV5r4RgIq8xrZ_xpLWlPKC/s1600/IMG_1150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWN3CJ2qt3fFRVdzoW-b0kOw4cF5hIT-tYiO1rkOy8y1RQ6bBLTy5UEE87tZiJqGPUHB7SUn0vrM0QLUrOTDJ3cEoFq6YJxs580UIFpTbLhWGL5NWNesc4LiV5r4RgIq8xrZ_xpLWlPKC/s320/IMG_1150.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3. At the same city park as the picture above - What scene of the movie was filmed in this part of the park. HINT: notice the two individuals in the picture. They are re-enacting the scene. Look closely at their props.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcf91cVPANX5hCTRn5lvCNOTF0Ma2RdU9oHuPt2klnbRZjDabvEr-rwEPVR_GGoDd722WG2CpV5-ABrEHxO7qid8n8IqvbZ5A-ocwX4XF5nQi8zPgkhGb-5VGdZI6u11BqMXPhdibIjZ6/s1600/IMG_1161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcf91cVPANX5hCTRn5lvCNOTF0Ma2RdU9oHuPt2klnbRZjDabvEr-rwEPVR_GGoDd722WG2CpV5-ABrEHxO7qid8n8IqvbZ5A-ocwX4XF5nQi8zPgkhGb-5VGdZI6u11BqMXPhdibIjZ6/s320/IMG_1161.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. The individual in the picture is posing to give you a clue. Also, there is a hint in the text of the blog post.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOSxqzmF4emMLwrhKxnPbzY-7uj1YHDTAzDk2hZQhdNh5fw60RsRSmjlhSgLBcmyAgyQFZ2knEjjr1qa7AAKHoni6iviECCoAnccxR6FklxshSpI0yKrZOV6xUxPp9fRt1NSfPHCDYH9G/s1600/IMG_1184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOSxqzmF4emMLwrhKxnPbzY-7uj1YHDTAzDk2hZQhdNh5fw60RsRSmjlhSgLBcmyAgyQFZ2knEjjr1qa7AAKHoni6iviECCoAnccxR6FklxshSpI0yKrZOV6xUxPp9fRt1NSfPHCDYH9G/s320/IMG_1184.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5. This is not an actual scene from the movie, but it is a scene related to the movie. The girl in the picture is playing the role of Legolas.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzsL4wUMcEU31ywmcf2i9vVrkZosvNodeg2j7Dch-8OB4y-IjCmU8AC4LE-e_aPZ_Ps6JxsIwKI5tYvyM_jPAU3Vssc5-jHSXgMWuJBWcQ4gVl8c3c3PdSTfLpQAMH99i6YHnmqQix1jA/s1600/IMG_1178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzsL4wUMcEU31ywmcf2i9vVrkZosvNodeg2j7Dch-8OB4y-IjCmU8AC4LE-e_aPZ_Ps6JxsIwKI5tYvyM_jPAU3Vssc5-jHSXgMWuJBWcQ4gVl8c3c3PdSTfLpQAMH99i6YHnmqQix1jA/s320/IMG_1178.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6. I'm giving you a big hint by telling you that this picture was taken at Kaitoke Regional Park in New Zealand. Which city from Lord of the Rings was recreated here?</td></tr>
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Please answer by e-mailing me, or adding a comment with your answers. Earl, I expect you to get 100% on this quiz.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-68959872014077885102013-03-01T20:39:00.001-08:002013-03-03T18:52:25.812-08:00Vacation 2013 - Akaroa, NZ - French New Zealand; Edoras, Rohan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In Akaroa, we did a "Lord of the Rings" tour, but really we only visited one site from the Lord of the Rings. While preparing for the trip, we had considered doing the "<a href="http://www.akaroa.com/tours/akaroas-eastern-bays-scenic-mail-run">Eastern Bays Scenic mail run</a>" which has received <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g285727-d1943195-Reviews-Eastern_Bays_Scenic_Mail_Run-Akaroa_Canterbury_Region_South_Island.html">incredible reviews</a>. Unfortunately, we were in Akaroa on Sunday, and the mail is not delivered on Sunday. But, for anyone else considering a visit to Akaroa, you might want to consider the option if you are not in town on a Sunday.<br />
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The ride itself was beautiful, but being on the bus for so long was not my favorite thing in the world. We also did stop at Salmon World (for a bathroom stop), and in another small town (Stavely) for morning tea. We ate lunch at a little restaurant on the station (Mt. Potts Station) where the Lord of the Rings site is. We also got out at a few other places for viewpoints of various sites and to stretch our legs.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90_4r6yc9cUYNIpYE9hJg0-0vZNUA590rdsytOO0i5K-HYgAvvAFu_655zh0fjpfh4p6QnEkYYUE_BwpPttSIv2BGvkpSvv3K37Sh1Efwha83t_7ml22WIc3Ue_Fd89zQA9I0moNP_52D/s1600/945.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90_4r6yc9cUYNIpYE9hJg0-0vZNUA590rdsytOO0i5K-HYgAvvAFu_655zh0fjpfh4p6QnEkYYUE_BwpPttSIv2BGvkpSvv3K37Sh1Efwha83t_7ml22WIc3Ue_Fd89zQA9I0moNP_52D/s320/945.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salmon World</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MimxlrFOC37bFAGQhI_JoNHFUcwK59KhqGe8eZyWI3dGiZX2JY6TVjlU1kR2XTVsZYLVkQn8LP-SAWekb3HEI5cBh3Ys8mA2HdH0e9sOAOdm5hiD4-dRR8YaRVqLzxeninCvZibG0BbO/s1600/963.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MimxlrFOC37bFAGQhI_JoNHFUcwK59KhqGe8eZyWI3dGiZX2JY6TVjlU1kR2XTVsZYLVkQn8LP-SAWekb3HEI5cBh3Ys8mA2HdH0e9sOAOdm5hiD4-dRR8YaRVqLzxeninCvZibG0BbO/s320/963.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped for morning tea at Stavely Hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvP1lE9hQdGSIOvSesIQTUCF6rGUddehiBqZzqNLrIpSFWV6Zn4zyOQli18sjwBUJ0OOvAju-VweRbC0gEA0U5RhK8HDPKcC7e4iqUAF9GDteq7JjYgLCobXNwITaH-AQJjTLUB9tRnjZ/s1600/930.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvP1lE9hQdGSIOvSesIQTUCF6rGUddehiBqZzqNLrIpSFWV6Zn4zyOQli18sjwBUJ0OOvAju-VweRbC0gEA0U5RhK8HDPKcC7e4iqUAF9GDteq7JjYgLCobXNwITaH-AQJjTLUB9tRnjZ/s320/930.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view somewhere along our trek</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXeoGeNQPLByGro5PA1IBGmbdydZVY7MtVLAYOKMWJ5z_2HHaBDvDjv8rCDLzpLpLX2BM9vpo7vX1g6JgpGek_ERAcOZmpmOSK2o47osAXihCmE9ZnRIaHRevd7Y4fHR21BcOIgQ00nAI/s1600/IMG_1035.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXeoGeNQPLByGro5PA1IBGmbdydZVY7MtVLAYOKMWJ5z_2HHaBDvDjv8rCDLzpLpLX2BM9vpo7vX1g6JgpGek_ERAcOZmpmOSK2o47osAXihCmE9ZnRIaHRevd7Y4fHR21BcOIgQ00nAI/s320/IMG_1035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another scenic view</td></tr>
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The Lord of the Rings site was Mount Sunday. Mt. Sunday is where the Rohan Capital of Edoras was. Keep in mind, the
set's of the movies are no longer there. Basically, it looked like a
small knoll with all of the Mountains in the background dwarfing it in
size. It was interesting to learn what parts of the set were actually
built on the site, what parts were added with CGI, and which parts were
actually filmed in the studio in Wellington. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H2DIVdQgTyHSUnypwbYCgtaStr0_wvnd6jsB3zCY8NVa-nvtvw_QRJJSsEJVTsAULZbiWuhdLKZ_rmspgE8ZWTaTP18GCP31A1-loNrFomHd4LcJYaT6jICcuNjIXfZBVK7A9AjFzkeR/s1600/1000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H2DIVdQgTyHSUnypwbYCgtaStr0_wvnd6jsB3zCY8NVa-nvtvw_QRJJSsEJVTsAULZbiWuhdLKZ_rmspgE8ZWTaTP18GCP31A1-loNrFomHd4LcJYaT6jICcuNjIXfZBVK7A9AjFzkeR/s320/1000.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Sunday AKA Edorras, Rohan. The mountains in the back are much taller, unfortunately you cannot see this as the clouds are occluding the view</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r6MTdhvRaw-SNYryEFlqRE05y6fXZmOhND6damDPRGgLA5EuSrNSdSDacR7xjUT-E8JtTgGcAf2JR0PuOFRSdBWMF0CPc_XAogsACFTpNWoxbE5KyPn3KM43Uq662re6QfKH-oZNPvb_/s1600/1006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r6MTdhvRaw-SNYryEFlqRE05y6fXZmOhND6damDPRGgLA5EuSrNSdSDacR7xjUT-E8JtTgGcAf2JR0PuOFRSdBWMF0CPc_XAogsACFTpNWoxbE5KyPn3KM43Uq662re6QfKH-oZNPvb_/s320/1006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with a dwarf axe in front of Mt. Sunday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJpmQKP_3Ve6XJOZgrQ836J6RroMFjEM8jPcv07MIB5YSrGtSu5sCL9OzX2hg42vqxxrAysijTcdC744-TpxLMGuOSQ3fpcdq08PuQ8jC9BI43-UYaIULYgZ1F66jBXIwkVE3krpxXnTM/s1600/1012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJpmQKP_3Ve6XJOZgrQ836J6RroMFjEM8jPcv07MIB5YSrGtSu5sCL9OzX2hg42vqxxrAysijTcdC744-TpxLMGuOSQ3fpcdq08PuQ8jC9BI43-UYaIULYgZ1F66jBXIwkVE3krpxXnTM/s320/1012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A View near Mt. Sunday</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf8oot7-rEqn4fcZ3C8-wm9svu8m294xBKqLHESONjQVtj9UBjkQypA4Gt-WKXcFDfPI4URFuUKhuNvToRRoCGDQePRgXmcvt-QUDGYQBXNqqa82E9CQ9s7SVYohT1ZLFVzs18A1zOm8p/s1600/1013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf8oot7-rEqn4fcZ3C8-wm9svu8m294xBKqLHESONjQVtj9UBjkQypA4Gt-WKXcFDfPI4URFuUKhuNvToRRoCGDQePRgXmcvt-QUDGYQBXNqqa82E9CQ9s7SVYohT1ZLFVzs18A1zOm8p/s320/1013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A creek near Mt. Potts Station </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K010TCwI_R6vLHyE9WowfJHBC6OVpruPRUDrucy2u0BjxewRPtApRnub_tbN09cRQak09REFVRBPHnwIsptC4nGLDB6U2ekZf1ujM7N5iVNIEpfNVYd1cRVoL0oG3PLM9orlffFhdphc/s1600/IMG_1044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K010TCwI_R6vLHyE9WowfJHBC6OVpruPRUDrucy2u0BjxewRPtApRnub_tbN09cRQak09REFVRBPHnwIsptC4nGLDB6U2ekZf1ujM7N5iVNIEpfNVYd1cRVoL0oG3PLM9orlffFhdphc/s320/IMG_1044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view near Akaroa, New Zealand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our tour guides themselves were quite interesting. One of them had been
the body double (not stunt double) for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings
Films, and one of the Oscar-winning sound editors, Hammond Peek.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTcZDl_Qmr83akSZotTvdXmpcz3OVn78tKDtzvpsW5rXTQG9GIdroS7zQ5iS8xS8-9-je3KzMzsNAAAm4Y2va1DHCqPj04gO3gpXYWTIlYmnovxMJGE8pfHah4K1FVtX0Qq2SoQiX-Zq2/s1600/IMG_1049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTcZDl_Qmr83akSZotTvdXmpcz3OVn78tKDtzvpsW5rXTQG9GIdroS7zQ5iS8xS8-9-je3KzMzsNAAAm4Y2va1DHCqPj04gO3gpXYWTIlYmnovxMJGE8pfHah4K1FVtX0Qq2SoQiX-Zq2/s320/IMG_1049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammond Peek</td></tr>
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-19334250341800825832013-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:002013-03-01T22:23:40.125-08:00Vacation 2013 - Picton, NZ - a beautiful drive through mountains and vineyards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This was the 3rd day of 4 port days in a row. We did not have any plans for Picton before we left, but my dad did reserve a car for us in case we decided that is what we wanted to do. At this port, our ship actually docked in Shakespeare Bay because it was too large to dock at Akaroa itself. Unfortunately, with our car, we had paid an extra fee to have the rental car at the port (which we weren't docked at). The area did provide free shuttles to the town, however, and where they dropped us off wasn't too long of a walk to the other port.<br />
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When we first arrived at the rental office, we weren't sure if we were going to have a car, because the woman told us that they got their cars from Christchurch, and the cars hadn't arrived yet for the day. Fortunately, they must have had some left overs from the day before, because they delivered us a car, which in the end was quite expensive after all of the added fees.<br />
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The Marlborough area where Picton is located has developed into quite the wine country. So we drove South of Picton past Blenheim - I can't remember if we made it to Seddon or not. Then we turned around and drove towards Nelson, stopping at the McDonalds in Blenheim for internet access and to check out a local grocery store. We didn't quite make it there due to wanting to get back to the ship on time, and due to the windy roads. The drive both ways was beautiful. Here are some pictures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1wswtOUkiH0Z5dDNpxLdMo1lIj7ffQd6PdS0VS5cR66JYpMbNEPX4L2Ofvrq7UJEkwIWDq0KJbJbzGPW0181kdS2MDkxg_UQqdpIAWbWf6i8iXKT5HwttWtHY4czaU6BP8cA83ZEhTze/s1600/IMG_1072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1wswtOUkiH0Z5dDNpxLdMo1lIj7ffQd6PdS0VS5cR66JYpMbNEPX4L2Ofvrq7UJEkwIWDq0KJbJbzGPW0181kdS2MDkxg_UQqdpIAWbWf6i8iXKT5HwttWtHY4czaU6BP8cA83ZEhTze/s320/IMG_1072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view south of Picton</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJu_w_zrXo7C7SSWWFofRVf5f5wE3LFAju3ALBWhpnreXqVMPKig7hOu9PoFxzAU97B-gaVFFHjveRVMj3ImOFqdzLCJSE3-QcNW7aikz6I-iAXObI80_88irz5ikwCliT1ZpLRH_iXzU/s1600/IMG_1085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJu_w_zrXo7C7SSWWFofRVf5f5wE3LFAju3ALBWhpnreXqVMPKig7hOu9PoFxzAU97B-gaVFFHjveRVMj3ImOFqdzLCJSE3-QcNW7aikz6I-iAXObI80_88irz5ikwCliT1ZpLRH_iXzU/s320/IMG_1085.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This cow, near one of the vineyards, was posing for one of the pictures. I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but she was not where she was supposed to be. She was in a different field than the other cows in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8voX3P5AjcUCMUxQ0P7CVw1YwZHzNnPe_jtTMtnCqNwyjcUVb7lnQPIa0eBexBcvXAQq8V7CDrOdjTueL2_E3hJN6ZRW7Vy7oWoO1H4eAJyvk1X3QmLEM_N_ZaoTrDFOuHJbW1H0ex5Q/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8voX3P5AjcUCMUxQ0P7CVw1YwZHzNnPe_jtTMtnCqNwyjcUVb7lnQPIa0eBexBcvXAQq8V7CDrOdjTueL2_E3hJN6ZRW7Vy7oWoO1H4eAJyvk1X3QmLEM_N_ZaoTrDFOuHJbW1H0ex5Q/s320/IMG_1117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We took a lot of pictures of cattle and sheep on our trip - you would think we had never seen any in our lives! We also took many pictures of farm machinery. I think there are more John Deere Dealerships in each of Australia and New Zealand individually than there are in the US.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWU0cHaSetwraPZX8Z0y4ALcm69NowBIsKNqcAuMpn18roo6Qkm7vIDRzixZKiWs8Tx6VGEa7WJJt7d1IV2YmsubkLh1Uc5AoFwlVZ7LE_fl6G_PA4kxRwYo2KJOdunlA09iTpPMwAPgDa/s1600/IMG_1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWU0cHaSetwraPZX8Z0y4ALcm69NowBIsKNqcAuMpn18roo6Qkm7vIDRzixZKiWs8Tx6VGEa7WJJt7d1IV2YmsubkLh1Uc5AoFwlVZ7LE_fl6G_PA4kxRwYo2KJOdunlA09iTpPMwAPgDa/s320/IMG_1107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We thought we had spotted some Kiwi birds in one of the towns on our ride to Picton. On closer inspection of the picture, this is not a kiwi bird, as it has tail feathers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GL_7v7xJ1WcoibZeLZuViceD-4Yvqlv3ssQ3QEMXJuFCYOvAfRLkm9Zox0BhP192eIn6uoShio8YKpzNtFLMwLc4Qu4anZowDiylLo3xMLZMbfm3kTmq3dGoczBqEGIXJeoDyFALP4HJ/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GL_7v7xJ1WcoibZeLZuViceD-4Yvqlv3ssQ3QEMXJuFCYOvAfRLkm9Zox0BhP192eIn6uoShio8YKpzNtFLMwLc4Qu4anZowDiylLo3xMLZMbfm3kTmq3dGoczBqEGIXJeoDyFALP4HJ/s320/IMG_1120.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Picton, NZ</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wB3ebutsEvmcRzg2InCzCCIjrUzH44hqx4wOb6JlwOMKqLAgssHPCC84KbnZDIw9P82BIIV663gzZVF5R5Kq8ohnPmQGM82SGyNIcxRCtmFqAttLILoTIres9KHSeyswO0RkkDv6jWeW/s1600/IMG_1091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wB3ebutsEvmcRzg2InCzCCIjrUzH44hqx4wOb6JlwOMKqLAgssHPCC84KbnZDIw9P82BIIV663gzZVF5R5Kq8ohnPmQGM82SGyNIcxRCtmFqAttLILoTIres9KHSeyswO0RkkDv6jWeW/s320/IMG_1091.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view to show how long the vineyard rows are - this picture does not do justice to how great the expanses of vineyards are, though!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUcZgHiJMKnyo3QgaC4YQRFBpv6PrlH9X1lEPdvkqSn3QIyT7AIjWSmdSIpi0vRKAw8aP9yQ11mxtoh3ALE5H19e0InDPh3mcispSAUOqLna3BxtqeKxLLOq6SoMLRzvTZ6W9bMQXvIud/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUcZgHiJMKnyo3QgaC4YQRFBpv6PrlH9X1lEPdvkqSn3QIyT7AIjWSmdSIpi0vRKAw8aP9yQ11mxtoh3ALE5H19e0InDPh3mcispSAUOqLna3BxtqeKxLLOq6SoMLRzvTZ6W9bMQXvIud/s320/IMG_1122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West of Picton - cattle lined up, walking back to get milked</td></tr>
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Also, in New Zealand and Australia, they drive on the opposite side of the road, just like in Britain, so being a passenger was a bit scary for me, and took a little getting used to - especially with all the windy roads on the sides of mountains. I survived, though!</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-61394855243033934002013-03-01T18:44:00.002-08:002013-03-01T22:22:43.493-08:00Vacations 2013 - Dunedin, NZ - A train ride and Men in Kilts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For our day in Dunedin, we had wanted to take the <a href="http://www.taieri.co.nz/">Taieri Gorge Railway</a>. Booking privately was definitely cheaper than booking through the cruise ship. Unfortunately that was not an option for us based on the times the train departed and the times our ship was there (at least according to the online schedule). Unfortunately, all of the Taieri Gorge Railway shore excursions were booked as well, so we weren't sure we would get to go on the train at all. We put ourselves on the waiting list and hadn't heard anything. About 2 days before we reached Dunedin, they did call and tell us there were some spots available, but only for the train trip and not the shore excursion we had waitlisted ourselves on, which also included a trip to Lanarch Castle. We wanted to do the train, so we signed up for the excursion.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGho3LH7xfiqTP5CH5VnRRl_0OExDCJJ6kDVWbOu_Gv9mHbkRqgRqOlMQ6ULSzo4HFDEmx5pZTiVkp5RuKPWpnNdvI9KdDwDWmVmwZzG5UxSDSFoAwPoD_XW2gpDXKIznbr8EAn-espUZ/s1600/728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGho3LH7xfiqTP5CH5VnRRl_0OExDCJJ6kDVWbOu_Gv9mHbkRqgRqOlMQ6ULSzo4HFDEmx5pZTiVkp5RuKPWpnNdvI9KdDwDWmVmwZzG5UxSDSFoAwPoD_XW2gpDXKIznbr8EAn-espUZ/s320/728.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruise ship at the dock near Dunedin, NZ</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdx-SlhqVCq-FEVSM2pP__8h_gCQaCPScuPGGwI9UKQo3bQiPH0N90o0ti9VFyee9DmiqjNuFilObPYMartvdzi_24leDj2rEzNyoxYygEMXFc51Nd2SOy7XHVSavwhMy9M1b3gjdA9Xo/s1600/782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdx-SlhqVCq-FEVSM2pP__8h_gCQaCPScuPGGwI9UKQo3bQiPH0N90o0ti9VFyee9DmiqjNuFilObPYMartvdzi_24leDj2rEzNyoxYygEMXFc51Nd2SOy7XHVSavwhMy9M1b3gjdA9Xo/s320/782.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the scenery and a view of the engines</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CTMtxh9CwsGS6x-rq5YvXXYCP2qbN6sFcmpZBYsfOGueAm0NDMj0mPoSytqif06V1ri_O6SVFixmFR-XNlCc-coCHn7TDp3jP0n0mjGBX2iBZr3wo1BYrervPEaggdh5jBPwDKSHEfqA/s1600/754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CTMtxh9CwsGS6x-rq5YvXXYCP2qbN6sFcmpZBYsfOGueAm0NDMj0mPoSytqif06V1ri_O6SVFixmFR-XNlCc-coCHn7TDp3jP0n0mjGBX2iBZr3wo1BYrervPEaggdh5jBPwDKSHEfqA/s320/754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They raise thoroughbreds in the Dunedin region</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOm3aBJCRpMzMh7M3Lh7TGGBVQay1Vur4Y5HIczlckZO9F4V2EbzQbBPUV15TaN8Ee957RYwf5WC523a19laH6DhlSmV8mYH_4eKbmHd50aTZRCaVl-0dZTEnrIkEQkMben_mT_ZuqMuJ/s1600/794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOm3aBJCRpMzMh7M3Lh7TGGBVQay1Vur4Y5HIczlckZO9F4V2EbzQbBPUV15TaN8Ee957RYwf5WC523a19laH6DhlSmV8mYH_4eKbmHd50aTZRCaVl-0dZTEnrIkEQkMben_mT_ZuqMuJ/s320/794.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-b5-ah69wGSwmDMYG12BXL6vy9u50UiOA5IRAFyrkCXn8p7JDEgEvrAG2hhk7AKcBpL2lZS6sSqcEy7UAlJTp9Ti4QsaoADJhyphenhyphenCH_uMxS9xJIPGwEnKQMIl_-Kp-bkbpo1UtgY6G6dqvN/s1600/818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-b5-ah69wGSwmDMYG12BXL6vy9u50UiOA5IRAFyrkCXn8p7JDEgEvrAG2hhk7AKcBpL2lZS6sSqcEy7UAlJTp9Ti4QsaoADJhyphenhyphenCH_uMxS9xJIPGwEnKQMIl_-Kp-bkbpo1UtgY6G6dqvN/s320/818.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like the picture of the train on one of the trestles </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHqANr_1wkVlUIb7RFAbOo39c79usbJKeVD1w8mR8zSmSKcTESIJoHMuVW7JB99fTrdhEybSUwtwm9UySuUTqlQ53cu_I-gC24g59ZZ_6hYay3UD_bh5Z7XYA8LmRMTMX8wgBqZbU-tsN/s1600/827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHqANr_1wkVlUIb7RFAbOo39c79usbJKeVD1w8mR8zSmSKcTESIJoHMuVW7JB99fTrdhEybSUwtwm9UySuUTqlQ53cu_I-gC24g59ZZ_6hYay3UD_bh5Z7XYA8LmRMTMX8wgBqZbU-tsN/s320/827.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the scenery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBKFbKlMherpDVqkN9NgmuyF7U1u-xgEEduY3DXszaYX-yt6TlPu5HDjRy2I4hRTqAFbr86Q-FnOOXfBKyIUZlI0_4NH_FYQ8BipZ8gIITZb2sz21fb2-a1YrYdlO13blrZXfcYG-WebG/s1600/849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBKFbKlMherpDVqkN9NgmuyF7U1u-xgEEduY3DXszaYX-yt6TlPu5HDjRy2I4hRTqAFbr86Q-FnOOXfBKyIUZlI0_4NH_FYQ8BipZ8gIITZb2sz21fb2-a1YrYdlO13blrZXfcYG-WebG/s320/849.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the inside of our car. I believe our car was the 1920's. I don't think the flourescent lights are original to the car. Of all the cars I peaked into, I liked ours best, and it was quite comfortable. We were also fed morning tea, beverages, and lunch on the train ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMrMvfRGLaniKRoNePgHHFedBfPoLkijj5By1EzAy4OnaJUYq7IiH17PWJerwL6McEGGMK9R7PZjK80-pmeddvHgfQm2aplobZHzC1OJMa_bSEXWD9WOG3CEulUHijAcOdplPCVYZ22Nl/s1600/840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMrMvfRGLaniKRoNePgHHFedBfPoLkijj5By1EzAy4OnaJUYq7IiH17PWJerwL6McEGGMK9R7PZjK80-pmeddvHgfQm2aplobZHzC1OJMa_bSEXWD9WOG3CEulUHijAcOdplPCVYZ22Nl/s320/840.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of one of the trestles we crossed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hDlBsbIeqHEpsesym9pVQDmFQGS6o5g4_lhu31ET3YfttAoB_azkQFVzx1DGVK8VF_qe2hkwExZbDo9fdanOPQupgzd67AOk4vfUwtnYa-xGgVjmUfrPFqvhqxFCsSZyvFDRXGjWiJw_/s1600/816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hDlBsbIeqHEpsesym9pVQDmFQGS6o5g4_lhu31ET3YfttAoB_azkQFVzx1DGVK8VF_qe2hkwExZbDo9fdanOPQupgzd67AOk4vfUwtnYa-xGgVjmUfrPFqvhqxFCsSZyvFDRXGjWiJw_/s320/816.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the river in this picture.</td></tr>
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The train ride picked us up right at the dock and went through some beautiful country. If you are able to book your own tickets, though, I would recommend the cheaper option. We did get back to town a bit before we had to be back on the ship (although the ship was docked a little ways from town so we had to take a shuttle bus back from the dock). In town, the were having some sort of festival or competition. There were several Pipe and Drum bands around performing at the octagon and practicing around the Octagon. They also had a free wi-fi tent set up near the ship, but we did not get back in enough time to utilize it much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mudxtbqExUnd2sxwevvx4Pn5HaZ03M4djpE1YY5rNFlRcAcpQU22Mjwnv7BNmZjRey_b6nLLBzZXOJzWXZT10Tg7KRzY4Ti3EGLpwxkDwXBpwiN3OhEAnkt1zE4LN6jzsI2RXD7wJyIq/s1600/865.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mudxtbqExUnd2sxwevvx4Pn5HaZ03M4djpE1YY5rNFlRcAcpQU22Mjwnv7BNmZjRey_b6nLLBzZXOJzWXZT10Tg7KRzY4Ti3EGLpwxkDwXBpwiN3OhEAnkt1zE4LN6jzsI2RXD7wJyIq/s320/865.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The train station</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubU9WptKU3Tv3WSvjfm4P9OXd0Lf159lJMUfYGHX7R-p_U7qMVFSfMJuKEy5dwFn6sBnTubxvL50PU3fCs_kpPp1SIam8Jgmr0shrjLjKdAkzByovyCZBTvKM7qweFnWuasmmH2zviF65/s1600/869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubU9WptKU3Tv3WSvjfm4P9OXd0Lf159lJMUfYGHX7R-p_U7qMVFSfMJuKEy5dwFn6sBnTubxvL50PU3fCs_kpPp1SIam8Jgmr0shrjLjKdAkzByovyCZBTvKM7qweFnWuasmmH2zviF65/s320/869.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pipe and drum band performing at the octagon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXUq4oYmcTIIkHHJvBYDrqPhsCmOGMNZoK8Y13bW0SuG4yPAygBEGN9r9wGyAVkJ1vT0W-iFh_6UsOGJvb8s2uUKEoIREt_SIP7uXQSahSjYCQtIEUUF-Pyc_3qDThcsJsNkHjXAL44T1/s1600/880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXUq4oYmcTIIkHHJvBYDrqPhsCmOGMNZoK8Y13bW0SuG4yPAygBEGN9r9wGyAVkJ1vT0W-iFh_6UsOGJvb8s2uUKEoIREt_SIP7uXQSahSjYCQtIEUUF-Pyc_3qDThcsJsNkHjXAL44T1/s320/880.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another pipe and drum band</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SS2kjvMW5rhWMgjfeLjUlIVDt_hJ-JhSSn6bI_1ln7Xxdky9sqJwnDtLte24DbSJi3BnwXZChyphenhyphen8K2ep_fbtuTQTTu93LrWXbCRgEn1u_7B_4ccBVOcNXWhsVu1KalTZsxhNxtRzpSJ8z/s1600/872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SS2kjvMW5rhWMgjfeLjUlIVDt_hJ-JhSSn6bI_1ln7Xxdky9sqJwnDtLte24DbSJi3BnwXZChyphenhyphen8K2ep_fbtuTQTTu93LrWXbCRgEn1u_7B_4ccBVOcNXWhsVu1KalTZsxhNxtRzpSJ8z/s320/872.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A couple more pipe and drum bands practicing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: purple;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;">Interesting Fact: Dunedin is home to the steepest street in the world - Baldwin street.</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span> We did not get a chance to visit it.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-17162257802238082082013-03-01T18:00:00.001-08:002013-03-01T18:00:43.306-08:00Vacation 2013 - Fiordlands National Park, New Zealand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After 2 days at sea, we visited Fiordlands National Park. Technically,
we were still on the boat all day long, but we were cruising the the
National Park. We cruised through Milford Sound (the most well known or
most popular one), Thompson Sound, Dusky Sound, Breakaway Sound, and
Doubtful sound (not necessarily in that order). The day was a bit misty
at times, and it did rain some, but overall the weather wasn't too bad,
and it gave the pictures a mysterious feel. I don't really have much
to say about the day, so most of this post will be pictures. </div>
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PS - I did not necessarily choose the best pictures, as I was trying to decide which ones to post from thumbnails. The pictures may be updated later. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYwl12yISiokn2epjJecDUrSdkpPON56xQ3v4_bkaorSoqgrKD0w4XWw5Cjz1jU3YiFxghUhuNzeeQNRJXPXxrEXKeNK9bP_QYlPltIIxwL_0mE7iNiB4GYhu19UBo37Eec30ECftRkE-/s1600/680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYwl12yISiokn2epjJecDUrSdkpPON56xQ3v4_bkaorSoqgrKD0w4XWw5Cjz1jU3YiFxghUhuNzeeQNRJXPXxrEXKeNK9bP_QYlPltIIxwL_0mE7iNiB4GYhu19UBo37Eec30ECftRkE-/s320/680.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures from Fiordlands National Park, NZ</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-61604009892841533582013-02-26T20:39:00.003-08:002013-02-26T20:47:17.184-08:00Vacation 2013 - Tasmania, Australia - more animals, old trees, and sheep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We arrived at the port in Hobart, Tasmania after a day spent at sea (sea days will be addressed in their own post). We were off on another day long shore excursion. We started with another Animal Park/Sanctuary - Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, where we saw, petted, and fed some more:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG5p29bYSr9mCUeL_d9yykpHbcngh0A9rijrZvFFA705LJK_nmiqMNaYyiO3cJOrwsZqxKNkQDK7fIVkUC-PwgRhslT5KKzVGxxAQXtkYijcAIqDtx0zNr3lgKYadpdEuB2RFCEls7CCU/s1600/397.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG5p29bYSr9mCUeL_d9yykpHbcngh0A9rijrZvFFA705LJK_nmiqMNaYyiO3cJOrwsZqxKNkQDK7fIVkUC-PwgRhslT5KKzVGxxAQXtkYijcAIqDtx0zNr3lgKYadpdEuB2RFCEls7CCU/s320/397.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kangaroos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also saw some kangaroos with Joeys in their pouches,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszICBAjD_HiOojOFp-k7ACRCAbLTsOW1kLoezJlX7MUPa1GlGLVvYdI0nFn-i3ymptMtbC0UBihqrLvAUhkjjusrtNZfAigph8ks6sv7y1RcrBAXvI_k2mZD7dIijRjdMZe5VZomz4JY7/s1600/399.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszICBAjD_HiOojOFp-k7ACRCAbLTsOW1kLoezJlX7MUPa1GlGLVvYdI0nFn-i3ymptMtbC0UBihqrLvAUhkjjusrtNZfAigph8ks6sv7y1RcrBAXvI_k2mZD7dIijRjdMZe5VZomz4JY7/s320/399.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the legs and tail dangling from the pouch</td></tr>
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more koalas (we didn't get to pet them this time, though),<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1Og-wXQ_o9s-KTw6qnIAvxCM69R6SqWLrqWntisr_IDEFzi32Uvbz7huKyMbytlfdSV0fDGMOS11iHEj5kHcwCUa-8hb1a9DWyfAVl6LVPq3IVwB0X15giDc0ORC7yfQdi0bsr6qGNxL/s320/424.JPG" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koalas</td></tr>
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<br />
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more tasmanian devils (Bonorong had quite a few more than Ballarat),<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45MZyhEnY89hqZEcVMlfp9Onv2B39e-Muxl5LCOL4lRuSzNnQhXfMA4IusME428tt6Y9QPDC7uj4pbV2XB0eznJMVYhXJ0VJqYJIklBpSFzhXCYTbyscpYJmjxOwJnSxXHtB7oIFx3Qhq/s320/412.JPG" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasmanian Devils enjoying running in circles</td></tr>
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more Wombats (when they are born, they are about the size of a jellybean),<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9_mXyJLHxVmJln289swUn0BEW-UlQAfRQCqadWiWL3P4pSZPl59YObI8flO4sowk9TOxyqxIhsW6XYnFiPhfWe4CxL7HOvHJz-BOQQqV6yMbrnomHb9XBZGQLoVVZFluEyU6Q48uFlvG/s1600/442.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9_mXyJLHxVmJln289swUn0BEW-UlQAfRQCqadWiWL3P4pSZPl59YObI8flO4sowk9TOxyqxIhsW6XYnFiPhfWe4CxL7HOvHJz-BOQQqV6yMbrnomHb9XBZGQLoVVZFluEyU6Q48uFlvG/s320/442.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A baby wombat (Ballarat also had a fairly young Wombat)</td></tr>
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and a few other animals (including birds) as well.<br />
<br />
After Bonorong we headed to Mt. Field National Park, where we were able to see some of the tallest trees in the world (Swamp Gums)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HxCv0Ki9Wr3IpKBhxOWI4FEepCaAaeRE7vZxlfgVe1iENRqXc0rCgonKfY_DK2A8bNFMNX5UNWGXTocFf7EUOTIof48dK1fPg4MTG5EcalC6EmXVJx-GOFdpvOVFxfKO9kCUsiELSts8/s1600/474.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HxCv0Ki9Wr3IpKBhxOWI4FEepCaAaeRE7vZxlfgVe1iENRqXc0rCgonKfY_DK2A8bNFMNX5UNWGXTocFf7EUOTIof48dK1fPg4MTG5EcalC6EmXVJx-GOFdpvOVFxfKO9kCUsiELSts8/s320/474.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fallen swamp gum tree, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia</td></tr>
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Russell Falls,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRztxdZUBXkNPQbnEljyZUEbEF3Kp5NyxJShtxyucRDHGF8DcUjYm8MKLcZJm2ggxba_eHpEDU9Pujv7_rwJ1xugy2emqfX4HWZ-XRRc_arYZm8UHmJesAOTxkj8JifQDAyZkxi1vAoaRJ/s1600/484.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRztxdZUBXkNPQbnEljyZUEbEF3Kp5NyxJShtxyucRDHGF8DcUjYm8MKLcZJm2ggxba_eHpEDU9Pujv7_rwJ1xugy2emqfX4HWZ-XRRc_arYZm8UHmJesAOTxkj8JifQDAyZkxi1vAoaRJ/s320/484.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russell Falls, Mt. Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia</td></tr>
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and some Wallabies in their natural habitat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh650WBW2dJAsKH06mcDQlyVdovMaLzDSvSvv_ELvzsudUCGt1XCQ0yQt3xNwzZtLtq1xQqrAihMqTv0ru1lYG0IoAP-XsZClf3sPr0dnf39ggJ7J1Y9hMMJLfn1ZzZolctEK1rfP1BkP4d/s1600/490.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh650WBW2dJAsKH06mcDQlyVdovMaLzDSvSvv_ELvzsudUCGt1XCQ0yQt3xNwzZtLtq1xQqrAihMqTv0ru1lYG0IoAP-XsZClf3sPr0dnf39ggJ7J1Y9hMMJLfn1ZzZolctEK1rfP1BkP4d/s320/490.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallabys and Mt. Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">Interesting tidbit: A cross between a kangaroo and a wallaby is a Wallaroo</span>.<br />
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We left Mt. Field National Park, traveled through areas affected by the recent fires,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aguI8rATHTiZT1xthAv8zxYPX69Rfd7vWpqojZTmQbB9OeKQzJbzypT7nNgSp0JJ9GMNc4hv9huJKkvtjREMQ1aZ9sM_Qs-MsRs_e94gfYwVL7Gg1bVHA084fmSTUP72LdNRc4FepqtM/s320/503.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasmania bush fire aftermath</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
and stopped off at a sheep station/farm to enjoy a barbecue, a sheep shearing demonstration,<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaDZn3mWvu-3eIWl5PRlp1DegLW8TTcQ77HGQd3F6Tmr752Uk82vLM0rQ_H-5IKcOecmZm8_NsEbpoVfU5wTc7VtG4WohmxELAWGyHv9AhsZey_wirLJT-RhjrEJY8Mn5E3L55vPz6n8x/s1600/525.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaDZn3mWvu-3eIWl5PRlp1DegLW8TTcQ77HGQd3F6Tmr752Uk82vLM0rQ_H-5IKcOecmZm8_NsEbpoVfU5wTc7VtG4WohmxELAWGyHv9AhsZey_wirLJT-RhjrEJY8Mn5E3L55vPz6n8x/s320/525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bah, bah white sheep have you any wool?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
a sheep dog demonstration<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vb6WGPgP8ffcjipP1ZOVec5lvnmeW3PG2irYjYWnJCkTzkKSyJyB_R3hBOdZ5j7HUbQbKf0Ikyc0hLs7C04HWw2ogBhFc-JuDgP_B1weUyGoSilEYQc_xofsnmHknDh0BKQ5vXm1RnFu/s1600/537.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vb6WGPgP8ffcjipP1ZOVec5lvnmeW3PG2irYjYWnJCkTzkKSyJyB_R3hBOdZ5j7HUbQbKf0Ikyc0hLs7C04HWw2ogBhFc-JuDgP_B1weUyGoSilEYQc_xofsnmHknDh0BKQ5vXm1RnFu/s320/537.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the demonstration the dogs took a swim in the pond</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and a tour of the farm.<br />
<br />
Our tour guide was good at talking up all of the many wonderful aspects of Tasmania, including how it has the purest water and air in the world, how it produces ~50% of the poppies used to manufacture narcotics, and more (as you can tell, I didn't remember most of it).<br />
<br />
After Tasmania, we spend two more days crossing the Tasman sea before we spent a day cruising around Fiordlands National Park in New Zealand. I'll write more about that and other vacation adventures in the coming days.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah, one more thing. Can anyone recognize the denomination of this church we passed on our bus ride?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhct32Dwa397_wcTXOnyI5fXczAGt_62t44Q3DFtuf2bz58xRt45ngD3cGcHo7W5PCy4Ln8x1BqhZozFGsSwC2dCqCvm9TebNODuhfLQevxSlnyQbWb1t-5veNBG7kBP6U015WdfI4JXEs-/s320/371.JPG" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">??</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-19996446143775976612013-02-26T19:49:00.002-08:002013-02-26T19:51:12.153-08:00Vacation 2013 - Ballarat, Victoria, Australia - There's gold in them there hills.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our first cruise ship port was Melbourne, Australia. We decided to go and strike it rich. We had booked a shore excursion to go to Ballarat Wildlife Park and Sovereign Hill. We boarded a bus soon after docking, and we were off!<br />
<br />
Ballarat is a bit of a drive from Melbourne. We arrived first at the Wildlife park where we saw, petted, and fed:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5JdZQmnarMFWa3908x9n1F1wlXoBC3fXqY_5djgv2Z4saf-ii2dB8VEOeCH9XOPmafKyha0vtK-1Yn84me1LV8rFVvFoNKJudpZIQBxrvfNS7yl4bjhd-VDEtcbVgaJ2ovmj1dBE908w/s1600/274.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5JdZQmnarMFWa3908x9n1F1wlXoBC3fXqY_5djgv2Z4saf-ii2dB8VEOeCH9XOPmafKyha0vtK-1Yn84me1LV8rFVvFoNKJudpZIQBxrvfNS7yl4bjhd-VDEtcbVgaJ2ovmj1dBE908w/s320/274.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kangaroos</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Saw and petted: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVB1tpzfUfxqt5UKaoIJNDgCK_5AefnTENzeYyvgKe5-jsvZJntW0THKAEPomKHqZ-F_wlrbaDGYqFQiEQ61nB-sNs7Dywmt_UdAx5FiLekIGt0xiuyZzhBUxUJjtuMm4lc468J8s3Rwr/s1600/269.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVB1tpzfUfxqt5UKaoIJNDgCK_5AefnTENzeYyvgKe5-jsvZJntW0THKAEPomKHqZ-F_wlrbaDGYqFQiEQ61nB-sNs7Dywmt_UdAx5FiLekIGt0xiuyZzhBUxUJjtuMm4lc468J8s3Rwr/s320/269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koalas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6TjWdp2db4kc5xLNNfcuzis_Qc4sKW6VysNZnWOQB-cBj_2gklt6nDrBURYL_3jx42JI6Mr0mw4XecUFI51BIhbYOS8RfdpaHSomjkOzc_ZvmB0XlbP22eua-DM7eJFN73J1-7S89pkK/s1600/304.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6TjWdp2db4kc5xLNNfcuzis_Qc4sKW6VysNZnWOQB-cBj_2gklt6nDrBURYL_3jx42JI6Mr0mw4XecUFI51BIhbYOS8RfdpaHSomjkOzc_ZvmB0XlbP22eua-DM7eJFN73J1-7S89pkK/s320/304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOAmwPqCyFRwhnNfJLy6lhfLFpeidKizs_nRH_vEeoS-s9oFGav_iZwky9ZH1FvTFb3Njd6BwJEGFzTg5rXKhw0sH-eNsXfI2nI6-HUSdUbQSgDuVh7uxasbi3hhyphenhyphen5g2FTe5HfW3U0Z2m/s1600/290.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOAmwPqCyFRwhnNfJLy6lhfLFpeidKizs_nRH_vEeoS-s9oFGav_iZwky9ZH1FvTFb3Njd6BwJEGFzTg5rXKhw0sH-eNsXfI2nI6-HUSdUbQSgDuVh7uxasbi3hhyphenhyphen5g2FTe5HfW3U0Z2m/s320/290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wombats - Aren't they cute?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We saw, but did not pet (due to their bone-crushing jaw strength)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvXB0bjtwKNYzv-KtSVotS6HoRTeTeLDdzmKgOTs0EBoUG_zRVhYXM54cOLgMGWoGqnHcsdp33SHX77Voc3IIDZV9AwFEaHk45r_rU0MJXvtfGJ-VHiSvnmGShyphenhyphenr9scCgxfnZ5hyoH9Si/s1600/279.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvXB0bjtwKNYzv-KtSVotS6HoRTeTeLDdzmKgOTs0EBoUG_zRVhYXM54cOLgMGWoGqnHcsdp33SHX77Voc3IIDZV9AwFEaHk45r_rU0MJXvtfGJ-VHiSvnmGShyphenhyphenr9scCgxfnZ5hyoH9Si/s320/279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasmanian Devils</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also did not pet:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsSqAejXv-MPMEIlXiZvBtvQ9ZPAsXC2Fk7hkNaOlhBQDQY_djuB6rmp1088UDG-wK7RXpoVekBsYas1y_EsDotBmAoSguk75idSAAciu1zxo54ucYM30h0gGYQk3hfprY6p9iu392eOd/s1600/297.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsSqAejXv-MPMEIlXiZvBtvQ9ZPAsXC2Fk7hkNaOlhBQDQY_djuB6rmp1088UDG-wK7RXpoVekBsYas1y_EsDotBmAoSguk75idSAAciu1zxo54ucYM30h0gGYQk3hfprY6p9iu392eOd/s320/297.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crocodiles</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My dad also saw snakes. I chose not to go to the reptile house and see all of the poisonous snakes, however my dad did go. I am not including those pictures at this time.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">Sign Gem</span> - This was also a picture taken at Ballarat Wildlife Park. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFPpxAmsiYi_tSiwdo37Z_k1J19_VhQG3UTw0nVzBBjMa2ik-CfoY-T2bmE8MVU2KqSPOoFmaR1pKvunODyB-f4BpqIb9xKFmUfDwuVykYazh9UTvcdpdScoXl_gA-cpH50jqIUIsI1ij/s1600/388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFPpxAmsiYi_tSiwdo37Z_k1J19_VhQG3UTw0nVzBBjMa2ik-CfoY-T2bmE8MVU2KqSPOoFmaR1pKvunODyB-f4BpqIb9xKFmUfDwuVykYazh9UTvcdpdScoXl_gA-cpH50jqIUIsI1ij/s320/388.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We re-boarded the bus and were off to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/gold-nugget-australia-ballarat-found_n_2496663.html">find gold</a> at Sovereign Hill.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7PVoG5hphW7Y_FdYFzUkc7qF3j_WOO51Scio-Uzx5O-0Kp_99_atH_HRCCgGVEkaVnld7DB0rKWsrOD5mKkKWWqsuNY9TflaR_TwI4FhJAIEDiAeIcyQV3x3t-nvFKbuFL0aBY672LXn/s1600/331.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7PVoG5hphW7Y_FdYFzUkc7qF3j_WOO51Scio-Uzx5O-0Kp_99_atH_HRCCgGVEkaVnld7DB0rKWsrOD5mKkKWWqsuNY9TflaR_TwI4FhJAIEDiAeIcyQV3x3t-nvFKbuFL0aBY672LXn/s320/331.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I
panned for gold, but apparently it is not one of my talents, as I didn't
find any.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UqMVj8DU4d-51oODEgVd5u_hqzNhvEpwNw1omvAezN0Js8ZOIp4Ag6JmLiJLrPLtJQOFAlBkixqQMEjJ4N3sU8oTV1Q66LRssTtDo-SmIJ5ovawUOEa58O0FWuksqZlC8UHpwttoYYs2/s1600/323.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UqMVj8DU4d-51oODEgVd5u_hqzNhvEpwNw1omvAezN0Js8ZOIp4Ag6JmLiJLrPLtJQOFAlBkixqQMEjJ4N3sU8oTV1Q66LRssTtDo-SmIJ5ovawUOEa58O0FWuksqZlC8UHpwttoYYs2/s320/323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panning for Gold at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also took an opportunity to bowl,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NR1UZHnO0ag3Wl_8VGDlkDfED3G5qSxj2EYCFqDBCY6TpEXcqzn7vi_xtkU11OusDkCP5Cu1ekOSaCOnfpy2_WpCFqaiiG9rSDzGgNNlcThrMja-i83ik1XkE5hPF3-znTJQMm8LYyAH/s1600/330.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NR1UZHnO0ag3Wl_8VGDlkDfED3G5qSxj2EYCFqDBCY6TpEXcqzn7vi_xtkU11OusDkCP5Cu1ekOSaCOnfpy2_WpCFqaiiG9rSDzGgNNlcThrMja-i83ik1XkE5hPF3-znTJQMm8LYyAH/s320/330.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bowling at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
watch a gold brick being poured (the same brick has been reheated and
poured over and over and over again for the demonstration - so the brick
is very pure),<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwpSsfSPvOPBSdesbhGqGWDOnYjYcJAF7DZmKFUtWgVij0AMlmeejhLBVqEUtPgJt7y_57dg05IcWftltpM7k3jfcibJiqQz95Z7of3qEA5oEMB80upRApQrQM3At03wisR9nHBFmTvYn/s1600/338.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwpSsfSPvOPBSdesbhGqGWDOnYjYcJAF7DZmKFUtWgVij0AMlmeejhLBVqEUtPgJt7y_57dg05IcWftltpM7k3jfcibJiqQz95Z7of3qEA5oEMB80upRApQrQM3At03wisR9nHBFmTvYn/s320/338.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold brick pouring at Sovereign Hill</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tour a Gold Mine, <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMPrfZJ0TlHdwYNXY-FiaQHHbbnz42TgKmw5rBZx_0HTUpe2Rsk9j2QZ-wVNmCZf1EsOoQ8dB0XX-aD0wHQyaluDDbPCtcr7jNC22Y_4tVmN4XIdm3bl-AykXuaHG3IEeuEfwZmbhbzUa/s1600/349.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMPrfZJ0TlHdwYNXY-FiaQHHbbnz42TgKmw5rBZx_0HTUpe2Rsk9j2QZ-wVNmCZf1EsOoQ8dB0XX-aD0wHQyaluDDbPCtcr7jNC22Y_4tVmN4XIdm3bl-AykXuaHG3IEeuEfwZmbhbzUa/s320/349.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crib Room of the Gold Mine (where eating, not sleeping, occurred)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and visit some other old fashioned shops, brass works, etc. <br />
<br />
We then headed back to the ship and wished Melbourne "Gidday" as our ship headed onto the high seas towards Tasmania.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XV2CxCXHrmcdI_OFRAFVChZLLp1ImUj0BQg0OA7cVnlkUVrK3fkpADQm4a5PsjYX0TTII1P0epAn2jfypi5EqyqU1bjBz1yM2dAokpim1D3FxjdntlRkqkrBpGJAhySJl3m3xwEJH6AC/s1600/362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XV2CxCXHrmcdI_OFRAFVChZLLp1ImUj0BQg0OA7cVnlkUVrK3fkpADQm4a5PsjYX0TTII1P0epAn2jfypi5EqyqU1bjBz1yM2dAokpim1D3FxjdntlRkqkrBpGJAhySJl3m3xwEJH6AC/s320/362.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melbourne from the Diamond Princess - February 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-71487935416108169862013-02-26T19:07:00.002-08:002013-02-26T19:07:17.869-08:00Vacation 2013 - Day 3 - Taxis and phone numbers, Boarding the Cruise Ship, Where's the iPad?, Bon Voyage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's the day to board the ship! But we still have plenty of time to see more of Sydney. We pack up and call the taxi. Unfortunately, since we don't have a local number, apparently they can't help us out. Although they didn't make this quite clear and we waited about 20 minutes waiting for a taxi that never came. We finally asked the owner of the house if we could use his cell number (we actually spent quite a bit of time that morning talking with him about various topics). He was going to call the cab company, but when he learned we were just planning on taking the taxi to the train station rather than clear to Circular Quay (pronounced Circular Key) he offered to give us a ride. We took him up on this and we loaded our bags in the van.<br />
<br />
There were several steps at the train station, so it required multiple steps and since we timed it to get their after rush hour due to all of our luggage, we had to wait a bit for the train. We did make it down to Circular Quay, and when we went to turn in our luggage, we learned that they would let us check-in early. Wonderful! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHPTpyDAw0NHZcCPZdHsJB0hBiwrW08YvyunSlKUaawIe3casYkHGqZ4Wv36qarWuk-jzoFBazDHoyffO7S2LscK7Oxy7-0-mAPF2aXMVxdJaKg7IjTljYLqvpu-SesBYS81XRJec6dJs/s1600/246.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHPTpyDAw0NHZcCPZdHsJB0hBiwrW08YvyunSlKUaawIe3casYkHGqZ4Wv36qarWuk-jzoFBazDHoyffO7S2LscK7Oxy7-0-mAPF2aXMVxdJaKg7IjTljYLqvpu-SesBYS81XRJec6dJs/s320/246.JPG" width="320" /> </a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Diamond Princess in Sydney Harbour</td></tr>
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We got on the boat, grabbed a bit of lunch, went back to our cabin to grab the camera and iPad for the rest of our Sydney sight-seeing and...oh, no! Where was the iPad?? We racked our brains about the last place we had it? Did we set it down when we carried the luggage up the stairs at the train stop? Did we leave it in the train or at the train stop (we didn't think so. Dad thought it was in his electronics bag. He had purposefully not taken it out of the bag)? We had cell phones but didn't get cell service (even expensive cell service) in Australia or on the cruise ship. We couldn't call the place we had stayed using Skype, as we didn't have the iPad. So, we had to go back. Luckily we discovered it missing when we still had time to go back and check for it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aborigine playing the didgeridoo<strong><i> </i></strong>at Sydney Harbour<br /> </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2xFjm7KlF1aWiIiq49-B3vNkLBpxzqIqumS8T8mX-Pvxho3hxFqg058Gi1BINwJaZZrmDFt9UaqRuQHVJ8uaPwRqac1WZzRalvBVmd1W7OJ6Z83vtUI1gJcJBG4iVc8QsYk7OssWSKPu/s1600/195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJze5K1aw4WRNSgr8b2Ncg3tPYTdxKRBX9KlNhUfI0f2LFwwrxhj5FPs-5L-IGxUqvEHbz6BTvjTYaRVVliPDuV22usZoh9yhMMTG7qcDQVXB4oaCsX8MjjIi-df_ot5wgR6fQw5zZypT/s1600/252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
We took the train back to Tempe station, and took the long walk up the
hill at the hottest part of the day, back to where we stayed. Luckily
the owner was home when we arrived, and the iPad had been discovered
sitting outside where we had been waiting for the cab that didn't come.
The owner was also very nice and allowed us to drink a few glasses of
cold water and offered us another ride to the train station (which we
gladly accepted). This side trip took a bit of time out of our day, but
we did still have some time to visit the botanical gardens and enjoy
the nice weather.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sydney Hospital on the way to the Royal Botanic Gardens</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvQ61OpAqpJefHTv2KkUCEAij-UDpaQ4h2T4jF1p554wqQw1Gm2VbZQpnKH1IG1GAay-wOgizOhsQSze1diDU1KF5Xu_bqDkO2s-G9PK-9csHXovOQUhyphenhypheniz_SnDFVGxh5_K03KdUw7WA8/s1600/223.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvQ61OpAqpJefHTv2KkUCEAij-UDpaQ4h2T4jF1p554wqQw1Gm2VbZQpnKH1IG1GAay-wOgizOhsQSze1diDU1KF5Xu_bqDkO2s-G9PK-9csHXovOQUhyphenhypheniz_SnDFVGxh5_K03KdUw7WA8/s320/223.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Royal Botanic Gardens - Sydney, Australia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpKWQH4Jz8J7oWxYPqYCKb7t3Bm2pU4I7YgnCuOYbJG78ByoBl0g1O76ZTCTO9B6FMmKgpItqBcfWEB7OSRd4GNVLlkaJ99CQe0e4c40z0FShLULPAxrNd9Kc0uV9MfmviFZfsYGHYHMB/s1600/202.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpKWQH4Jz8J7oWxYPqYCKb7t3Bm2pU4I7YgnCuOYbJG78ByoBl0g1O76ZTCTO9B6FMmKgpItqBcfWEB7OSRd4GNVLlkaJ99CQe0e4c40z0FShLULPAxrNd9Kc0uV9MfmviFZfsYGHYHMB/s320/202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Royal Botanic Gardens - Sydney, Australia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2-r4Iw6DPdT_QccBtP7mSaxwzQNk2JgEcEQTXvrPg2rWmG8_KGwc2vefs3R1FZS1iqV4_xehggRrOBYpTcR_4U4lqNfFcklAzPf-wW-rCgdlbHxXoxCDyxPMMlNgqocbFU8GMkfYyJCb/s1600/209.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2-r4Iw6DPdT_QccBtP7mSaxwzQNk2JgEcEQTXvrPg2rWmG8_KGwc2vefs3R1FZS1iqV4_xehggRrOBYpTcR_4U4lqNfFcklAzPf-wW-rCgdlbHxXoxCDyxPMMlNgqocbFU8GMkfYyJCb/s320/209.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Royal Botanic Gardens - Sydney, Australia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View From the Royal Botanic Gardens - Sydney, Australia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sydney Opera House</td></tr>
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-45766611293907619532013-02-26T18:23:00.001-08:002013-02-26T18:23:39.303-08:00Vacation 2013 - Day 2 - Manly, The Rocks, and the Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We pretty much visited the Blue Mountains on Day 1 because he had been offered a ride to the train station and that is pretty much all we had planned to do for sure in the Sydney area before we had arrived. On day 2 we decided we wanted to take a Ferry Ride and had read that the Manly Ferry was not a ride to be missed. So we took it.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Cool Fact: The Manly Ferry offers free wifi</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sydney from the Manly Ferry</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">We arrived in Manly, and there was a very small little beach with only a few people on in. Could this be the famous Manly Beach of the two famous Sydney area Manly and Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye) beaches? It turns out the answer to that question was no. The real Manly Beach was a short walk away. Along the way were several decently priced souvenir shops (as opposed to the rather expensive food)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: purple;">Travel Tip 1: When buying liquid refreshment on vacation, grocery stores and/or drug stores are usually the cheapest place to obtain these. The first day we payed an arm and a leg for water as we were thirsty and the convenient nearby water was expensive. At Manly, we found a grocery store and bought some liquid refreshment and chips and enjoyed them at the fake Manly Beach.</span> </span> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Real Manly Beach</td></tr>
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We made it over to the real beach, took a few pictures and spent some time enjoying it (although we had not brought our swimming suits). We then headed back to the wharf, and my dad got some massages at a booth near the wharf and grocery store we had utilized earlier, had lunch, and headed back on the ferry.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbor Bridge (sometimes called the Coat Hanger) From the Manly Ferry </td></tr>
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When we arrived back in Sydney, we took an audio tour of The Rocks that my dad had downloaded on my iPad. It was very informative and interesting. The Rocks was the area of Sydney that was settled first. One of my favorite parts was learning about the wood block streets. Along the way, we stopped at the cruise terminal to see if we could drop off our bags early and learned that we could - hooray! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">replica of wood block roads</td></tr>
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A short time later, we realized that we had forgotten to print our boarding passes and our luggage tags. We didn't have a printer, and we hadn't really seen any internet cafes - but we had seen a library. After our Rocks tour, we headed off to the library (which has free wifi, by the way - but no printing options from the wifi) where I obtained a library card and we added money to it for internet use and printing and printed out our boarding passes and luggage tags.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Customs House, where one of Sydney's Libraries is located</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZonWKngqJB4GO7Lh-aV-5vxMfTXkzHv3DxwmOkVOuaCCuDVod3Wp8TM3V_tjCz3j0a7t7ktuaecVedby9b9_HwOjJfM5lkEWQSk8o6VXXySlPSTWYowUcENVHD1hZ_f5SADQRlOTcauc/s1600/153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZonWKngqJB4GO7Lh-aV-5vxMfTXkzHv3DxwmOkVOuaCCuDVod3Wp8TM3V_tjCz3j0a7t7ktuaecVedby9b9_HwOjJfM5lkEWQSk8o6VXXySlPSTWYowUcENVHD1hZ_f5SADQRlOTcauc/s320/153.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quantas Ad sand sculpture in front of the Customs House</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04a8jPeXseckmlQOjWPUT1NadiECLfafFV-mQCo_Qd-tlko7wGVi_1r80J4dKPpjDa2UUFFH2QBeermIjryS6nWl632Dg5p5DSlpdzXCqg_rLcSVytrAnfZdvvVfxXMLUFWxBBqZtou-j/s1600/154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04a8jPeXseckmlQOjWPUT1NadiECLfafFV-mQCo_Qd-tlko7wGVi_1r80J4dKPpjDa2UUFFH2QBeermIjryS6nWl632Dg5p5DSlpdzXCqg_rLcSVytrAnfZdvvVfxXMLUFWxBBqZtou-j/s320/154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the Quantas Ad sand Sculpture</td></tr>
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<span style="color: red;">Lesson Learned: The cruise ship did have luggage tags available on site that could be filled in by hand so we did not have to print those. It is probably a good thing we printed our boarding passes, though.</span><br />
<br />
After that, we grabbed a bit to eat and headed back to where we were staying. This time we decided to take the bus, because it looked like it dropped us off a little closer to where we were staying, and I was hoping to avoid the hill climb. Unfortunately, the stop was still at the bottom of the hill, but we did having the opportunity of taking the not-so-famous Perry Steps, and it was closer to our accommodations. </div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-64369368499110992332013-02-26T17:34:00.001-08:002013-02-26T17:35:40.699-08:00Vacation - Day 1 (not including travel) - The Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1j6z4njkLqwJDh8r0y4zw47Dy-0pCdRoE4Vb6mXjjZifqRILrXfIpi1nDtXVoKmt7YEOFOjmE1GNsph7aESfSd5DAR3uCDiyIo7J4Z68HffHLKpH7NtNSAsL0y5g5X9zHenQeeK-Vjyu/s1600/360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>We arrived at the Sydney Airport on February 6th. We Skyped home, got some cash from the cash machine (in case the cab didn't take credit cards) and then headed to the place we were staying (which we acquired through airbnb.com). Our taxi driver was kind of like one of those frustrating taxi drivers on Amazing Race if you are trying to win the race. He did not understand English well. He did have a pen and a card, though, so I could write down the address and he could put it in his GPS. Unfortunately his GPS did not have our exact street, but he was able to find the neighborhood. I kept an eye out once we were in the right neighborhood and told him where to turn. He dropped us off, we went to the door, and some Asian College students opened the door. We were at the wrong place!<br />
<br />
We double checked the address, learned that we were a few houses off, and went to the correct house...or was it. Dad stayed back a little and I went and rang the door. It took a few minutes for the person to respond, and the person that opened the door looked nothing like the guy whose place this supposedly was. I wasn't really sure what to say after showing up at the wrong place a few minutes before, but the guy said, "Are you looking for Max (names changed)". Relief swept over me - yes, we are. Come in, he's in the shower right now but will be down in a few minutes. We put our luggage in a corner and sat down (we could leave our luggage here, but not check in so early). The roommate came back and asked if we had any questions and we said, "Yes. how is the best way to get to the train station from here?" He responded that he was actually leaving in five minutes for it, and could give us a ride if we wanted. We hurriedly looked through our bags for things (a brush, deodorant, some different clothes) but weren't amazingly successful. He was back quickly saying, "okay. Let's go." He introduced us to the salesperson at the station who was very helpful. We made it to the central station and then stopped for the bathrooms (and I changed my shirt - the shirt I had warn on the long train dirty, had not only been on for almost 2 days straight, but had also been spilled on). Unfortuately I hadn't been successful at finding my brush or different pants in the time I had.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2TwJ9ANEGSWvjERyKmRkx4YDS903mRIBao2qcjHSbvKZBaEPgm_GqhF3Ykuyna3Cj0ZP7CrvfO5CWvrVL7TDH4xOm2ojoZ-0pAarzgzG68vO-E9vAB3B9K_xKFZvuQYnaYTVnaDFJcIG/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2TwJ9ANEGSWvjERyKmRkx4YDS903mRIBao2qcjHSbvKZBaEPgm_GqhF3Ykuyna3Cj0ZP7CrvfO5CWvrVL7TDH4xOm2ojoZ-0pAarzgzG68vO-E9vAB3B9K_xKFZvuQYnaYTVnaDFJcIG/s320/028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking lovely after 2 days of travel and no time to change!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FJGSnvS3HKj22isn_d9vdFz-w9zdvFUNwVxAlwuTTHj0oGv2BtKxvtjP0uvLogcyGDXEkqp86GMs1pBdADekouwXS6jAoyYlx47BCV_V3a97fyZ3MG9QozgSlyDG5wmacdwa1aQGEQfG/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzB-krlWWg59_zB1UEKcnzfh9I8m-uvnnkmj6PjsXSH6nNR1_7CdRwGt3vvXg9D3K1RmzelJtc2l6jVsJSNnee3oS3VjxQjCctjI7W_L7wZ7UCSXOeze1fRtSIOH1WuzHHbc72V6bqzS1/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
We headed to the Blue Mountains which are an hour or two from Sydney, bought a ticket for the hop-on, hop-off trolley, and also took several trails at the different stops. It is a beautiful area. We saw the 3 sisters,<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzB-krlWWg59_zB1UEKcnzfh9I8m-uvnnkmj6PjsXSH6nNR1_7CdRwGt3vvXg9D3K1RmzelJtc2l6jVsJSNnee3oS3VjxQjCctjI7W_L7wZ7UCSXOeze1fRtSIOH1WuzHHbc72V6bqzS1/s320/040.JPG" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, Australia (near Leura and Katoomba)</td></tr>
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<br />
some cascades and falls,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGubkonjOIGp1PngGHYCVoZW6QZovrKvT4qXONkfyIO_W2maT28x9niPUIly2LmDF-L1QvIrS2YOwv8yLzIyCnAHRf6jsC18JBgmjzEoz3sNXhyphenhyphen4dDT2ry6l8pPa4R_4_eP0KdY4DaH2M/s1600/098.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGubkonjOIGp1PngGHYCVoZW6QZovrKvT4qXONkfyIO_W2maT28x9niPUIly2LmDF-L1QvIrS2YOwv8yLzIyCnAHRf6jsC18JBgmjzEoz3sNXhyphenhyphen4dDT2ry6l8pPa4R_4_eP0KdY4DaH2M/s320/098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leura Cascades, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia</td></tr>
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and the mountains themselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FJGSnvS3HKj22isn_d9vdFz-w9zdvFUNwVxAlwuTTHj0oGv2BtKxvtjP0uvLogcyGDXEkqp86GMs1pBdADekouwXS6jAoyYlx47BCV_V3a97fyZ3MG9QozgSlyDG5wmacdwa1aQGEQfG/s1600/083.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FJGSnvS3HKj22isn_d9vdFz-w9zdvFUNwVxAlwuTTHj0oGv2BtKxvtjP0uvLogcyGDXEkqp86GMs1pBdADekouwXS6jAoyYlx47BCV_V3a97fyZ3MG9QozgSlyDG5wmacdwa1aQGEQfG/s320/083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia</td></tr>
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<br />
We ate at Subway for lunch, and at a place that serves breakfast all day at supper. We also had some shakes there. I had a strawberry shake, and my dad had a chocolate shake. They were more like a strawberry milk and a chocolate milk. <br />
<br />
When our train arrived back at the station, we trudged up a hill back to our accommodations. We still had not met Max, due to some of his friends being in town, and the roommate showed us the room. I was beginning to wonder if Max really existed :). There were several other people there that night. It was a bit weird, in my opinion, but when we finally did meet Max, he was very nice, and even drove us to the train station a couple of times on our last day there.<br />
<br />
Lessons Learned:<br />
<br />
1. The cabs do take credit cards<br />
2. Most of the train seats are pretty cool - they can switch directions (see illustration below) <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1j6z4njkLqwJDh8r0y4zw47Dy-0pCdRoE4Vb6mXjjZifqRILrXfIpi1nDtXVoKmt7YEOFOjmE1GNsph7aESfSd5DAR3uCDiyIo7J4Z68HffHLKpH7NtNSAsL0y5g5X9zHenQeeK-Vjyu/s1600/360.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1j6z4njkLqwJDh8r0y4zw47Dy-0pCdRoE4Vb6mXjjZifqRILrXfIpi1nDtXVoKmt7YEOFOjmE1GNsph7aESfSd5DAR3uCDiyIo7J4Z68HffHLKpH7NtNSAsL0y5g5X9zHenQeeK-Vjyu/s320/360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right-facing seat</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-Hr_ajFxmrkDO3lLaA_NXyfExyXFb5COvNzrYR6iz5SjMpn7rb90EmjnvzpWOnWD3vN2VlRnOJgqjK-NsRr0gbiFrJ1e95ulqAIYUax925BMQ2HFUJTXMcybT4-ohd3NP_taiLiFEFtw/s1600/359.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-Hr_ajFxmrkDO3lLaA_NXyfExyXFb5COvNzrYR6iz5SjMpn7rb90EmjnvzpWOnWD3vN2VlRnOJgqjK-NsRr0gbiFrJ1e95ulqAIYUax925BMQ2HFUJTXMcybT4-ohd3NP_taiLiFEFtw/s320/359.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transition</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nePDNV3LRdjsLwtxM9JPkrBjXjWzIsHe9YVnRXC4X82lWniq-7jD3XyrCA24X_zCV7q_9KfrXduJqO2EfllBhkg5fUFlrUlgGJH-MYxTdFd0tGwPFevdknfsIRkApr-N9K68VdBaPmTx/s1600/358.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nePDNV3LRdjsLwtxM9JPkrBjXjWzIsHe9YVnRXC4X82lWniq-7jD3XyrCA24X_zCV7q_9KfrXduJqO2EfllBhkg5fUFlrUlgGJH-MYxTdFd0tGwPFevdknfsIRkApr-N9K68VdBaPmTx/s320/358.JPG" width="240" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same seat facing left (isn't that cool?)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-64422098722519327822013-01-29T20:13:00.000-08:002013-01-29T20:13:39.813-08:00When one door doesn't close, another door doesn't open<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, the past little bit, I have not had the greatest luck with doors. A few examples:<br />
<br />
1. In my last post, I already mentioned that the door going into the basement bedroom was too large and a different door had to be special ordered.<br />
<br />
2. A couple weeks ago, my seat belt ecame caught in the door. I was trying to jerk the door open, and I pulled too hard on the handle, so my door driver's side door no longer opens from the outside. I was going to get someone to fix it, but decided to wait until after my vacation. In the meantime I was using the passenger side door to open the driver's side door from the inside.<br />
<br />
3. When I went to open my passenger side door this morning, everything went fine. When I went to close it, it decided it didn't want to close. After a call to my brother and some time with a screwdriver, I was finally able to get it to close and catch BUT when I left work this evening, when I went to close the door - no luck. Several coworkers tried to help, and in the end they just rigged something up that would keep the door from flying open on my drive home. (Maybe the catch just needs a little WD40? Being that is snowed today and it is forecasted to snow tomorrow, I decided I would park in the garage, in case the passenger door decided to come open...<br />
<br />
4. As I was leaving the garage, I pulled the garage door closed. Apparently I pulled it closed tightly. I realized I had forgotten something in my car, and tried to get back in the garage and... no luck - it is frozen or swollen or something. This happened a few weeks ago, and a few days or weeks later when I tried to open it, I was able to do so, but I tried a few times in between with no luck. (Maybe some WD40 would help in this situation too?? Maybe I should just get a new door?) <br />
<br />
So, I am leaving on vacation in a few days. I need the car door to close before that. Due to the garage door not opening, I can't get to my car to take it to the shop. (On top of that I may have to walk to and from work in the cold).<br />
<br />
Better luck tomorrow, hopefully.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-51834083959556403232013-01-27T21:10:00.001-08:002013-01-27T21:20:00.481-08:00Robert Burns Take 3, and other things<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I went to the Robert Burns annual dinner again this year. I think it was my favorite year so far. There were pipe bands from both Miles City and Billings (too be honest, I feel the numbers by the Billings band went a bit long) and dance performances from primarily girls in kilts, but there was one boy who participated in the dancing this year. Some reasons this year was my favorite:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAl7JJ0vVv1tFm6BjjgdlssUceCfYWabrEd-p5jKvM3tEgE5_VqJkEsEcIg6btsnAy6soSY1qPnPcUdmTT1UhFSAxbKavy1LS31Ap7WuOX5JkratpNsPTH_TIhb_8KbPthOmuKw3h7QF8/s1600/Robert+Burns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAl7JJ0vVv1tFm6BjjgdlssUceCfYWabrEd-p5jKvM3tEgE5_VqJkEsEcIg6btsnAy6soSY1qPnPcUdmTT1UhFSAxbKavy1LS31Ap7WuOX5JkratpNsPTH_TIhb_8KbPthOmuKw3h7QF8/s1600/Robert+Burns.jpg" /> </a></div>
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(Image From: PoetryFoundation.org( </div>
<br />
The ten-year dances were outstanding. One of the ten-year girls did the dance with her father and he kept up with her step-for-step - AMAZING. I didn't think this could be beat, but the other girl's dance was just as good.<br />
<br />
The first-year dancers - particularly one of the girls. She had the biggest smile on her face, but she did not dance the steps very well. She was pretty much just hopping up and down with a big grin on her face, while all of the girls around her were dancing the dance just a little differently from her. It was wonderful to seeing her have so much fun. <br />
<br />
I felt there was more involvement by the pipe bands this year.<br />
<br />
The one thing I didn't like: The amount of time they gave us for dinner - it was too long! I feel like they usually start the second half of the program once everyone has gotten their food. This year I think they tried to wait until every single person had finished eating their food.<br />
<br />
<b>The Other Things</b><br />
<br />
1. I am completing some minor renovations on my house. One of the downstairs bedrooms did not have a door, only a doorway. The problem with putting in a door was a duct that was in the way. So, I had two short walls put up at right angles to each other. It creates a small hallway, and allows for a door to be put in the wall that the duct does not run through. The walls are up but the door and finishing work is yet to come. I am also going to put in a kitchen/kitchenette downstairs, but I am undecided about some of the details right now.<br />
<br />
2. <a href="http://www.onemilenorth.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-future-life-down-under.html">I'm going to Australia!</a> Alas, not to live. But - I will be able to check it out to see if I would really enjoy living there at some point in my life. The cities I am visiting are Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart. So, from <a href="http://onemilenorth.blogspot.com/2012/03/vienna-wien-prater-sisi-franz-joseph.html">Austria last year</a> - <a href="http://onemilenorth.blogspot.com/2012/03/no-kangaroos-in-austria.html">where there are no kangaroos</a>, to Australia this year - where there are kangaroos and platypuses and wallabies and, unfortunately, poisonous snakes and pythons.<br />
<br />
3. I am also going to New Zealand! I am technically going on a cruise that hits both countries, although there are more stops in New Zealand. Don't worry, I'll have my dad take pictures, and then have him give me a copy. I'm not the best at taking my own pictures (as you will see the pictures from my vacation last year were taken by my brother). And, just to make my brother, Earl, jealous, we'll probably do some LOTR tours.<br />
<br />
4. If anyone has any recommendations of things to do or see, I will take them, but I am leaving in a week so there is not much time. The biggest disappointment is that it looks like we will not be able to go on the <a href="http://www.taieri.co.nz/">Taieri Gorge Railway</a> in Dunedin as it is all booked up.<b> </b> Other Disappointments were that the <a href="http://www.akaroafarmtours.com/">Paua Bay Farm</a> trip was booked, and that we wouldn't be able to go on the <a href="http://www.akaroa.com/tours/akaroas-eastern-bays-scenic-mail-run">Eastern Bays Scenic mail run </a>out of Akaroa as we would be there on a Sunday. On the other hand, Melbourne had too many good sounding options to choose from, and as a friend from New Zealand told me, no matter what we do or see in New Zealand, we will probably enjoy it.<br />
<br />
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-39676388157262878132012-09-25T17:18:00.002-07:002012-09-25T17:18:34.432-07:00Hooray!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, we had a staff meeting today, and it looks like my supervisor is going to on site to manage things until we finally have a new manager hired. I think this will be wonderful! Well, the first option was for him to try to get backing for me to be acting manager. Thankfully, he came up with a second option. It doesn't start right away, but I am burnt out trying to do several different roles, and not feeling successful at any of them. Feeling fragmented and like I start several tasks and don't get hardly any of them finished. I think this will also be helpful to the Activities Director who has been helping to fill in the gap in so many areas that we are lacking without having a manager on site. Seriously, she and the social worker have been wonderful. I think the staff have had some of the manager responsibilities fall to them as well, which really isn't fair. They were great for so long, but it really is wearing on everybody (myself definitely included). I'm hoping it will definitely take some pressure off me and that I will be able to be successful at what I was hired to do (which, incidentally, is not to attend every committee meeting that exists just because no one wants to and I am the one with the consistent schedule that they can count on being at every meeting). I think I'm on at least 10 committees. Maybe things at work will improve after all. Only time will tell.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-58870702625423519542012-05-20T21:21:00.001-07:002012-05-20T21:32:51.313-07:00Random Thoughts and Happenings from this weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This weekend was the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7372142n&tag=contentMain;contentBody">Bucking Horse Sale</a> (BHS) in Miles City. I did not attend the actual sale this year. Not enough rain for my tastes :). I did attend some of the events surrounding the sale, however. I started the morning out by watching the parade. Many of the vets went and watched it as well, so I found them and sat with them. It was as enjoyable as a parade can be, I guess (I'm not a huge parade fan). I was a bit chilly, however.<br />
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When the parade finished I headed down to the food vendors and bought myself an "Indian tace" (what we call a "Navajo taco" at home. Then I meandered my way down to the fair grounds and took in the sheep shearing contest. My sister asked me if I saw any good looking cowboys at the BHS this weekend, and my answer was that I really wasn't paying too much attention. The sheep-shearers in my opinion, were not very good looking, though. Now that I come to think of it, though, there was a pretty good-looking audience member at the sheep shearing competition. It's interesting to watch the sheep-shearing technique. I did learn some random facts, as well. There are six professional level sheep shearing contests in the United States: the one at the BHS in Miles City, the nationals in Rapid City South Dakota, and 4 others (I forgot where they were at).<br />
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I have included a link of a video/picture montage of the Bucking Horse sale festivities <a href="http://www.tfmmonitors.com/bhs/bhs/">here</a>. No, I am not responsible for any part of the presentation nor do I know who did create it, but I thought it was good enough to link to. As I watched the video myself, I still think the best part is the wild horse races. I wish a person could buy a ticket to just that portion of the sale. You can see portions of the wild horse races at 0:36, 1:11 - 1:21, 2:42 - 2:53. And Liza B, the background music is from a Bon Jovi song, so I know you'll want to watch it. Hopefully no one is disappointed that I chose to forgo the street dancing both Friday and Saturday night. As you can see from the pictures, though, there is a lot of drinking that goes on at those events.<br />
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I will also include a link back to my post from last year <a href="http://onemilenorth.blogspot.com/2011/05/bucking-horse-sale.html">here</a>. It gives a bit more information about what a wild horse race is. Also, if you click on the Bucking Horse Sale link at the beginning of the post, you will get a link to a story CBS did on the Bucking Horse Sale.<br />
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At a break in the sheep shearing contest I did go and buy fried Oreos. After the sheep-shearing contest I went home. I then went and took a look at a couch and loveseat and bought it for my place. The people I bought it from were nice enough to deliver it, and my neighbor was nice enough to help the male half of the delivery crew carry it into the house...and it was a bit of a process. The neighbor was just outside and saw them struggling to carry the loveseat, and asked if they needed help (now, I would have helped, but a minute before the woman had handed me all the legs to the furniture and my brain wasn't working too fast (I could have run them into the house and come back). Also, for those of you wondering, no the neighbor is not single. <br />
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In the end, the furniture barely squeezed through the doorway (after the door was removed from the hinges). During the process I learned something new - it is so much easier to remove doors with old-fashioned hinges. It's wonderful! I only wonder - who decided to change door hinges and why?<br />
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I did take a picture of the furniture to download for your viewing pleasure, however I can't seem to find the cord that connect the camera to the computer at the moment. <br />
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On top of the BHS, this weekend was also the Preakness. I did not watch it. When I saw online, however, that "I'll Have Another" won, I instantly thought of calling my cousin. Funnily, she called me about it. It was great talking to her. Are we going to have a Triple Crown winner. I don't know, but I'll have another triple crown winner :). </div>Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-70037771680571599242012-03-03T23:36:00.001-08:002012-03-11T21:41:59.622-07:00The architecture of Prague(Praha) makes me think of Dragons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVCbLcGl0OTMM-zmeTScmi9NJntuJjp5zVKlvx_El5CLqM7teA0UqJpRL4lA1VfLQrMK-jcdKJokAln96qScSVSb8djZX1j54gr1ca64u0rukxJFYpe6tmju8YsoYNwG7wpZM8eSK4K-E/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>So, of the three cities we visited, Prague was probably my favorite, although I think all three cities had their Pros and Cons. Prague actually had the most tourists of the three (which surprised me). I also felt like it was the most expensive (for some reason I expected Vienna to be the most expensive). It was also the coldest, in my opinion. I don't know if the weather reports would support my conclusion or not, however. Also, when I saw the architecture in Prague, the movie title "How to Slay a Dragon" came to mind. I've never seen the movie. Don't know if it's even about slaying dragons. The point is basically it made me think of Dragons. I also told my brother that the architecture was very Bohemian. He agreed, and pointed out that Prague is a part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemia">Bohemia</a>, which may account for the architecture looking Bohemian. Prague is also the city where I probably tried the most ethnic food (of the country itself). In Austria I did have a Kebab Box and a Falafel Box. Those are technically ethnic foods, but I wouldn't really consider them to be Austrian foods. In Prague I tried Beef Goulash, Goulash Soup in a bread bowl, and Sirloin Steak in a cream sauce. I forget what the sides were. Something that I should note, however, about restaurants in Europe that is different from the restaurants I've been to in the US - If they put potato chips or a basket of bread and spread for the bread on the table, don't eat it unless you are prepared to pay for it. The sirloin steak was a pork sirloin, but it tasted great. Probably my favorite of the meals. I will admit this is the only city where I did get some American fast food as well. We ate at KFC the first night. Not my favorite of the meals. Enough Dialogue - onto the vacation info.</div>
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<b>Day 8 (continued) - </b>When we arrived in Prague, we of course started by catching the Metro and then walking to our hotel. Since it was a Sunday, the metro ride with the luggage was not bad at all. Our hotel had a great location, It was only a few steps away from The Charles Bridge (Karlov Most) - a very famous pedestrian bridge in Praha. We didn't waste much time before utilizing the Bridge. We headed across it and wandered through the souvenir shop-lined streets of Prague and along the way we happened upon the Astronomical Clock and the town square. We then went back to the hotel, and later we headed across the bridge again to find something to eat (and we ended up eating at KFC). I think that pretty much sums up Day 8.</div>
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<b>Day 9 - Castle Hill and Petrin Hill</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceiling - St. Vitus - Praha</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exterior - St. Vitus - Praha</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bookcase in the Old Castle</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span id="goog_2027895869"></span><span id="goog_2027895870"></span>So, in Prague, Castle Hill was more easily identifiable as a castle. We bought the ticket for the long tour, and went to every single one of the exhibits to which we were entitled with the ticket. I really loved some of the architecture, particularly the ceiling architecture, and St. Vitus Cathedral (our first stop) was very nice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained Glass Window - St. Vitus - Praha</td></tr>
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After eating lunch on Castle Hill, we visited Petrin Hill. On Petrin Hill, we went to the Mirror Maze, saw the funicular (which looks more like a tram going up and down a hill), and went to the tower. I did not climb the tower, but my brother did. In the basement of the tower was an exhibit about an inventor. We meandered our way down the hill, and stopped by the riverside on our way back. At the riverside we saw either some lighted penguin statues or some penguin lights.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mirror Maze</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Penguins at the river side</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Day 10 - Josefov, The Market, The Astronomical Clock again</b></div>
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On Day 10 we went to Josefov and saw a synagogue. There were a few options. We could either visit Old New Synagogue or we could visit a number of synagogues and the cemetery. I decided on Old New Synagogue, thinking we could visit the cemetery as well. It is the one of the largest Jewish Cemeteries in Europe. Unfortunately, we could not buy a separate ticket for this, but were able to catch a few glimpses anyway. The Old New synagogue was where legends say the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem">Golem</a>'s body was stored. Initially, I was very disappointed with the synagogue. We were given a little pamphlet and were able to see one room (where the men sat) and the gallery where the ladies sat. We went back out and asked if that was all, and an old woman was just arriving. She took us back into the main room, and she started explaining many things about the room, the culture, and the Golem legend to us. This made it much more worth my money. I also learned that she was 90 years old, and had lived through World War 2. I wanted to ask her about that, but I was to chicken to ask her. I didn't want to stir up unpleasant memories for her.</div>
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After the synagogue, we wandered through some more of Josefov, and then back across the river at another location so that we could visit the market. The streets on the other side were a big difficult to navigate as a pedestrian, as sometimes it was hard to find places and opportunities to cross the road. In the end, the market was a bit disappointing. It was mostly Asian people selling cheap clothes and bags. Not things I was interested in. We were going to take the metro back across the river as we had already done quite a bit of walking, but in the end there was a misunderstanding on my part, so we ended up walking back to the astronomical clock area. While we were there this time, we were able to see it go off a couple of times (it goes off on the hour). When it goes off, there is a parade of figures through a couple of windows in the clock and a skeleton rings a bell. After it finishes, a trumpeter at the top of the tower plays a little fanfare. Most of the rest of the day was spent searching for souvenirs for family whom we had not found souvenirs for yet (and for ourselves).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnBdPt85enkRgvSmBIOefNDiLT2D6IQ1CADDgs-js1Ni8fmswofxIw3y8o1stjQ0N3_Lz3EoG7PAWreQhzgK5W7du3ePPpgnttc2l7gWRItooUdClhuZwlxDoafi3PtjjGRP07YM9F49B/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+416.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnBdPt85enkRgvSmBIOefNDiLT2D6IQ1CADDgs-js1Ni8fmswofxIw3y8o1stjQ0N3_Lz3EoG7PAWreQhzgK5W7du3ePPpgnttc2l7gWRItooUdClhuZwlxDoafi3PtjjGRP07YM9F49B/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+416.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Astronomical Clock</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trumpeter atop the tower at the astronomical clock</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh, we did also go to the shop at the Franz Kafka museum. I'm not a fan of Mr. Kafka, as I find Metamorphosis very disturbing, so I didn't want to go to the museum itself. A minute or two after we arrived, I did hear one of the shopkeepers telling someone else who wanted to go to the museum that it was too late as they would only have 30 minutes to go through if they bought a ticket at that time, and they really needed at least 45 minutes. So, he probably wouldn't have let us go in if we would have wanted to. Mostly I wanted to see it because it had been on The Amazing Race. I do have to say that despite writing disturbing stories, Franz was a nice looking young man, and based on the pictures of him, he did not look like a disturbed person. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBqXN0d3RS5JDaonnXhNYmnqCRW4mtWjTjQDIdTg7ltqVYZt7cKhCjQAb8cO6GzCV-HynLpB_I-_wWJC0EJxJk1O9_HSRouSyHecb0eC2_-l9tZ3dQo7wBUHqt0OqHtXDC0IwJ_mJzRXY/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBqXN0d3RS5JDaonnXhNYmnqCRW4mtWjTjQDIdTg7ltqVYZt7cKhCjQAb8cO6GzCV-HynLpB_I-_wWJC0EJxJk1O9_HSRouSyHecb0eC2_-l9tZ3dQo7wBUHqt0OqHtXDC0IwJ_mJzRXY/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Day 11 - Leap Day</b><br />
This year, my leap day was 32 hours long. I started it off in Prague and ended it in Billings. The day started early as we woke up at 4 a.m. so that we could catch our 4:40 a.m. airport transfer. I do have to say, the driver knew the streets of Prague well, and maneuvered through them very deftly. As many of the streets seemed to be for pedestrians and cars, I think I would be afraid to drive the streets of Prague. The flight home involved going through airport security 3 times. The first security check was in Prague; the second, Paris as we had to change terminals, and the security in the CDG airport it at each terminal; The third, Salt Lake City, as I had to go through customs there and security was located after customs. The layovers were also pretty short and we spent most of our layover in Paris getting from one terminal of the airport to the other. <br />
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After arriving in Billings, I called a cab to take me back to my car that I was able to keep in the hotel parking lot. It took the cab 45 minutes to an hour to arrive. The cab was also picking up a couple at the airport, and they wanted to be dropped off first. I was fine with that because I wasn't in any hurry. When I arrived back at my car, however, I discovered that the battery was dead because I had left the dome light on the night before I flew out. I went into the hotel to see if there was anyone who could help me jump my car. There was a man who worked in the kitchen who could help, but he didn't have cables with him, and neither did I. I went in search of cables at the nearby Home Depot, and when they didn't have any, I bought some at Walmart. He attempted to jump my car, but I do have to say that I really don't think he knew what he was doing. As I popped the hood, I saw the battery terminals and commented that my battery was really corroded. He told me there wasn't much corrosion. He hooked the battery up; and, after a few minutes, my car still wouldn't start, but was making the dinging noise it makes when the key is in the ignition and the door is open. After a few more minutes, it still wasn't starting, so he decided the battery was not the problem. I was tired, so I wasn't thinking and I didn't dispute him, but as I went to my car later and the power door locks didn't work I thought to myself, "It has to be the battery."<br />
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In the end I ended up calling a garage to come jump my car the next morning. I felt bad asking someone at the hotel to jump my car again, and I felt awkward about the idea of hanging out in the parking lot stalking people who were staying at the hotel and asking them if they would help me jump my car. The garage had one of those handy little chargers(I had considered buying one of those myself) that can jump a car in a few seconds. The guy who came did tell me that the battery terminals were pretty corroded and that they probably should be cleaned, and he did say that without the charger it probably would have taken awhile to get it charged enough to start. I felt validated. He told me to be on the safe side I should probably drive my car for 45 minutes before stopping, so instead of staying in Billings and stopping by a few stores, I decided I should probably just drive back home. <b> </b><br />
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That concludes the report on my vacation. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section if you have any. Also, I hope you enjoy the pictures that my brother took. There were so many other good ones that I did not include in the post.</div>
Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-965099523517667212012-03-03T20:40:00.001-08:002012-03-11T21:37:58.920-07:00Vienna (Wien) - The Prater, Sisi, Franz Joseph, and the Rest of the City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Day 5 (Continued)</b> - We arrived in Austria; and, after all the walking we did in Budapest, we decided to get the 72-hour metro pass. We considered the Vienna Card, but the person selling the various passes told us that if we didn't have children, then it wasn't worth it to get the card. I must say that the 72 hour passes are very convenient as we only had to buy one for the whole trip, and we only had to validate it with our first use. After arriving, we headed off to <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/151737">our apartment</a> (once again obtained through <a href="http://airbnb.com/">airbnb.com</a>). I liked this apartment very much, and it looked exactly like it did in the pictures, right down to the chocolate on the towels at the foot of the bed. I especially loved the water pressure in the shower. After the owner's dad showed us around the place, we settled in and then we headed off to the Prater to take a ride on the <a href="http://www.riesenrad.co.at/vienna-ferries-wheel.html">Giant Ferris Wheel</a>, which was featured on the Amazing Race (sometime in the past few seasons). Just before we entered our Ferris Wheel "waggon", we saw them setting up one of the other waggons for a special event, and just before we exited, we saws the people who had reserved that waggon get in (and there were a lot of them - I didn't realize how many people could fit in one waggon. Needless to say, I am not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of falling from heights. While the waggon was fully enclosed, it was very windy while we were in Vienna, and being higher up, it was even more windy. Let's just say the I enjoyed the ride down much more than I enjoyed the ride up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNM9HuuF8Ncfnl_Yh39xSeMBd3Tf1RLUB371unpriGajGDCD0nEqgdKK1kk65wCrakDZrFNsIMLBF3lokKqOKJzoAWC8pvWH2ZVCnwwJIs94KtdOF9uxDr5aVYgHZ-yxGJmc6_Is3U4g1/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNM9HuuF8Ncfnl_Yh39xSeMBd3Tf1RLUB371unpriGajGDCD0nEqgdKK1kk65wCrakDZrFNsIMLBF3lokKqOKJzoAWC8pvWH2ZVCnwwJIs94KtdOF9uxDr5aVYgHZ-yxGJmc6_Is3U4g1/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Catered Car on the Giant Ferris Wheel</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After experiencing the Giant Ferris Wheel, we headed downtown to check out the sights at night. We started at city hall, where they had a huge area set up outside that included and ice skating rink, and ice skating track (for lack of a better word), and a curling rink. We were excited when we saw posted on the curling rink that children and beginners could practice on the rink daily, for free, from 9-4. As we had never curled before, we thought this would be fun, and put it on our list of things to do over the next few days if we had fine. Unfortunately, when we did return a day or two later, we were greeted with the site of children and beginning <i>skaters</i> (not curlers). It made me a little sad as I thought it would be fun to try curling, and the fact that we could try for free had been even more exciting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOxekEgcexjYaKGwigO4TUDgAB3_xF2eQwLzmdmvvnga8vze-HgqdzjV4FQDuLzVxkFDKq7oS51aDa_P-4tCuXZ2KrV_NfAXcFOIoXCUi6pAYc5vx6Mpg-V2t1L8Z1uGL93zf0ih9Aa1z/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+037.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOxekEgcexjYaKGwigO4TUDgAB3_xF2eQwLzmdmvvnga8vze-HgqdzjV4FQDuLzVxkFDKq7oS51aDa_P-4tCuXZ2KrV_NfAXcFOIoXCUi6pAYc5vx6Mpg-V2t1L8Z1uGL93zf0ih9Aa1z/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+037.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wien City Hall</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of the skating track in front of city hall</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After City Hall, we walked around some more and saw The Hofburg and several museums. We took some pictures, but didn't go in anything (most of them were closed anyway). Afterwards, we decided to head back to the apartment and pick up something from the supermarket across the street for dinner. Unfortunately, we learned that it closed a little sooner than we thought, so we ended up eating Poptarts for dinner.<br />
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<b>Day 6 - The main part of Vienna</b><br />
The next day, we headed back downtown again. We started out by finding an information center, and getting a better map. Then we went to the market, which was an outdoor market. It primarily had meat, produce, and bakeries on one side, and restaurants on the other side. There were a few food vendors on the meat and produce side - selling the cheaper items. In the end, we did end up buying a pastry that was topped with fruit. It was very yummy. After we hit the market, it was time to see the tourist sites. We saw Stephensdom. I call this the "tie-dye" church. You'll see why based on the picture I'm posting below. The effect is from the stained glass windows. My brother was not a huge fan of this church.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwATYPTOYhIoBGOGokwlbAPVcjOkUUkJW5NbjAL3syQIswFxWm2MhW8MdyfFkFG1DidsXK4_owV2aWkcQDjkvSV5EkAa0rBLu0B7wU8-b2iLF7OHjW7CI2AHm67dQcQcLwP-14Rdpmqzm8/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwATYPTOYhIoBGOGokwlbAPVcjOkUUkJW5NbjAL3syQIswFxWm2MhW8MdyfFkFG1DidsXK4_owV2aWkcQDjkvSV5EkAa0rBLu0B7wU8-b2iLF7OHjW7CI2AHm67dQcQcLwP-14Rdpmqzm8/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+078.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Inside of Stephensdom - Wien, Austria</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We then hit a few souvenir shops on the way from Stephensdom to the Church of St. Peter. My favorite was a little shop that had Cuckoo clocks. The ones that I liked ran in the $400+ range, however, so I decided against getting one for now. It did have some other fun stuff too, though, and we ended up buying a cowbell for my dad at the shop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1RhDYsV9ozrUBPfApfc9c0Wwu24aUDmMhUdjWP4pjJedj_MqD-xGBhEsZQFH-WaRQmcheWR7GdfmO57t_HhKXz5Fq7UuTa_z9hn5dJZ_oZzRQT5dVZ_CF17_fmnuyFWzuXIARySUzyag/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1RhDYsV9ozrUBPfApfc9c0Wwu24aUDmMhUdjWP4pjJedj_MqD-xGBhEsZQFH-WaRQmcheWR7GdfmO57t_HhKXz5Fq7UuTa_z9hn5dJZ_oZzRQT5dVZ_CF17_fmnuyFWzuXIARySUzyag/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+090.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Churh of St. Peter in Wien, Austria</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Things get a bit foggy after this, but generally, after we went to this Church, we checked things out at the Hofburg. We did not go and see the Lipizzan Stallions, but we did go to the shop and saw some video clips of them. He then bought the Sisi Ticket which included entrance to the Silver Collection at the Hofburg, the Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg, and exhibit on Sisi, and also entrance to Schonbrunn Palace. It also included entrance to other exhibits which we did not decide to see. These exhibits all included free audioguides, which I thought was great. The silver collection (which included more than just the silver) was fine, but I'm not really super excited about looking at table settings. The Sisi exhibit was very informative (as I had never heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria">Sisi</a>, and it was interesting to here her story, however overall she seemed like a very depressed person. I think the only reason she became such and icon in Austria after her death was because of her beauty. The Imperial Apartments was fine, but much of the same information was presented at Schonbrunn, but I don't think you really need to go to both. Having gone to both, I would definitely recommend the Schonbrunn Palace over the Hofburg. The grounds at both places are large and beautiful, however.<br />
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I'm sure we did more this day, but I forget what, so I'll leave it at that.<br />
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<b>Day 7 - Schonbrunn Palace, The Belvedere, Kunst Haus Wien, The Hundertwasser House, and the Johann Strauss Museum</b><br />
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As I mentioned before, Schonbrunn and the Imperial apartment tours had a lot of the same information, but I feel like Schonbrunn had more information on the Habsburgs besides Sisi and Franz Joseph. The grounds were also beautiful, but unfortunately the maze was closed for the winter. <b> </b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gloriette at Schonbrunn Palace</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schonbrunn Palace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb08r_RmKjkRnPkhjAHCatYBbMpUTX2h7nHDJ0uosT3JNtwdl-BI3jwlqRsik_JzEJgiJerjrilg4kOH53nOAo_x9UT-EoH9puCBXzeM4_MMoPzZ2pYf4wHZDdRDFnzBZQQ4s8MzZMGihg/s1600/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb08r_RmKjkRnPkhjAHCatYBbMpUTX2h7nHDJ0uosT3JNtwdl-BI3jwlqRsik_JzEJgiJerjrilg4kOH53nOAo_x9UT-EoH9puCBXzeM4_MMoPzZ2pYf4wHZDdRDFnzBZQQ4s8MzZMGihg/s320/Vienna+and+Prague+Feb+23-28+2012+118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fountain at Schonbrunn</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After the Schonbrunn, we went to the Belvedere. We took "the scenic route" there (meaning we may have took a few wrong turns on our way to the site. There are actually two building at the Belvedere - the Upper Belvedere and the Lower Belvedere. They both now house the museums. We did not go in the museums, but we did enjoy the exterior and grounds of the building.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Upper Belvedere</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lower Belvedere (with the Vienna skyline in the background). How many cranes can you count in this picture?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After all the Classic Architecture, we decided to visit some more modern architecture in the city. We went to Kunst Haus Wien and <a href="http://www.hundertwasser-haus.info/en/blog/category/hundertwasser-on-the-house/">Hundertwasser House</a>. Vienna being a city with an impressive musical background, we also decided to visit the Johann Strauss House where he and his wife lived and where he composed the Blue Danube Waltz. I randomly chose this museum. I would not really recommend it. Even though I didn't go to the Mozart museum or the Haus der Musik, I would probably recommend spending a few dollars more and going to one of these museums if you are into musik. What I did like about the museum was that the method of the displays was unique, and I enjoyed being able to put on the headphones and listen to various song selections by Strauss (although I would have expected at least a portion of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SZN8Ds7a2g">Blue Danube Waltz</a> to be one of the selection choices - which it wasn't).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kunst Haus Wien</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hundertwasser Haus</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Day 8 - Train Ride to Prague</b> <br />
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We headed out pretty early the next morning to catch our train to Prague. On our train ride we enjoyed the company of an importer/exporter from New York who primarily buys and sells expensive Italian goods. Okay, so mostly my brother talked to him, but I eavesdropped as I played a game on my Kindle, and I added a comment here and there. I also periodically looked out the window. Let me tell you, I much prefer train rides over planes. Well, European train rides. Honestly, that is probably my preferred mode of transportation, although the slight rocking a cruise ships also makes for a very calming ride for me as well. Day 8 will be continued on the next blog post, as it starts out our adventures in a new city.<br />
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<br /></div>Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-71938275333396913552012-03-03T18:03:00.001-08:002012-03-11T21:46:47.581-07:00No Kangaroos in Austria<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, remember the post I wrote last year. <a href="http://www.onemilenorth.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-future-life-down-under.html">The one about moving to Australia</a>? Well, I must have gotten confused, because instead of moving to Australia for 6 months to a year, I ended up taking a vacation to Austria (and Hungary and the Czech Republic). While in Austria, I saw the following on shirts, hats, keychains, and post cards. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBez-RKpD_G8nf8A4yX31Fxj-EZzmfDlSSsrQJdhAbyJwQ3RNVF2PslNqoaJQog7yjEJYkXXHTlHg8ZWAsEVwlsd_rgvYKdR6mQGSaoEiVu3TPSDvtjBxTJcs-DhLEKy7wT94cbqilD6p/s1600/No+Kangaroos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBez-RKpD_G8nf8A4yX31Fxj-EZzmfDlSSsrQJdhAbyJwQ3RNVF2PslNqoaJQog7yjEJYkXXHTlHg8ZWAsEVwlsd_rgvYKdR6mQGSaoEiVu3TPSDvtjBxTJcs-DhLEKy7wT94cbqilD6p/s1600/No+Kangaroos.jpg" /> </a></div>
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While I do not know if this is true (I think there may be one at a zoo somewhere), you get the idea.</div>
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Instead of hearing about kangaroos and Austria and Australia, you probably want to hear about the vacation. Here it goes:</div>
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<b>Day 1:</b> Flight - not much to say about that, except that flying is still not my favorite mode of transportation. Sure, its faster than many other modes, but I feel like there is no circulating air on planes, and Delta is definitely not the airline to fly if you have long international flights. Also, my ears and planes don't get along too well (although my ears are okay when we land at high altitudes).</div>
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<b>Day 2:</b> Arrival in Budapest, Hungary. Upon arrival, we (my brother and I) take an airport transfer to the apartment we are staying at (booked through airbnb.com). The owner meets us there and gives us the keys, a little tour of the apartment, and advice on places to see in Budapest. By this time I think its about 5 p.m. (okay, maybe after a short nap it's 5 p.m.). The lateness of the hour does not deter us. We exchange money, check out the local supermarket, and then climb the many steps to castle hill on the Buda side of Budapest. We take several pictures from the hill and of sites on the hill, and search for a while for the castle, but to no avail. Eventually we discover that the whole hill is the castle. Oops, our mistake...but we didn't discover where the Palace was on the hill until a day later. After that we wandered around trying to find a place to eat and we ate - I had some chicken covered with sliced apples and melted cheese.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKY_wPzQHKw2YLTtUgzx5atMLdOd-nps1GzuAwoX6pSpi-P3-uchKmVhbGXPioMJddFFxpdj7eh3uB-QYTd9_wdflBzHcgC_7al6GybL783FHXdX5qneyRfaRyK8voafGYa6JUzT7TgXC/s1600/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKY_wPzQHKw2YLTtUgzx5atMLdOd-nps1GzuAwoX6pSpi-P3-uchKmVhbGXPioMJddFFxpdj7eh3uB-QYTd9_wdflBzHcgC_7al6GybL783FHXdX5qneyRfaRyK8voafGYa6JUzT7TgXC/s320/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+012.JPG" width="240" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Picture of Matthias Church (Mátyás templom) on castle hill - taken by my brother)</span></div>
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<b>Day 3:</b> The Pest side of Budapest. Yes, we crossed the chain bridge and journeyed over to Pest. This was our big walking day. I think we easily walked over 10 miles. We started out by crossing over the river and going to see "The Shoes" memorial along the side of the Danube. It was a tribute "to the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by arrow cross militiamen" in 1944 and 1945.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo courtesy of my brother)</span></div>
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After visiting the memorial, we headed over to Magrite Island. It's a nice outdoor park type area. We enjoyed a stroll there and saw some old ruins, and some busts of famous Hungarians, and an outdoor theatre, and a few other things. Below is a picture of some of the ruins - once again taken by my brother.</div>
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After the island, it was time to head back towards Parliament, as we had a reservation to tour the building @ 1200. Unfortunately, we were unable to watch a session. Apparently, unlike in England, only citizens are allowed to sit in the gallery in the Hungarian Parliament. Due to Hungary's government adopting a unicameral legislature in place of it's previous bicameral legislature at some point after the Parliament building was built, we were still able to see what the chambers looked like. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photos Courtesy of my brother)</span></div>
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After Parliament, we took a quick jaunt over to the Museum of Ethnology, looked around the shop there and then headed over to the market down by the Freedom Bridge. Our landlord told us that the upper level of the market is where many working Hungarians went for lunch. The Market was full of little stalls selling fresh meats or produce or bakery items or souvenirs, as well as a few stalls selling cooked dishes. I had some sort of potato dish. The next day we returned there to eat and I had a sausage and fries, and I bought a little souvenir of Paprika, despite the fact that I did not try any goulash while in Hungary.</div>
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After the market we walked down to city park, on the way there we visited the Dohany Street Synagogue (I did not want to go inside, so we didn't). I believe my brother told me that it is the largest synagogue in Europe. </div>
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At City Park, we saw Heroes' Square, several museums (but we did not go inside) including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajdahunyad_Castle">Vajdahunyad Castle</a> (the agricultural museum), and people ice skating. We also decided we would try to walk by and see the famous <span class="st">Széchenyi Baths, which are kind of like geothermal swimming pools. They are outside, but they were surrounded by a building, and we did not attempt to go in. We also walked by the Grand Circus and the Amusement Park, but did not go in either of them.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQ5fxO0bmdEu8-F_BB5E8QG2Yvle9y4PqQefTui0yYjkeT38zUdKrt1UBD9ZqZgh0YkIBOELzNXrJn85lmuBq20p9RMQvnsL0rMCH2_hRSMw2eOvJhBYMFLtWt-zYdMavXKyUtzITxZqu/s1600/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQ5fxO0bmdEu8-F_BB5E8QG2Yvle9y4PqQefTui0yYjkeT38zUdKrt1UBD9ZqZgh0YkIBOELzNXrJn85lmuBq20p9RMQvnsL0rMCH2_hRSMw2eOvJhBYMFLtWt-zYdMavXKyUtzITxZqu/s320/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+214.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Heroes' Square (courtesy of my brother) </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlOY7lM9FBX9t6FPpNcZRTau5fd9d7JIwZubmWWav-d2bAE3khLXaIrO9upDf5Z8CW9RC1Bq4V4B4AMZ3zxm8wRoFvxXyq4ETv5zJFksGw_FTdMgcZLtvWjlTyDbB3RAWHnyn6KafU6xB/s1600/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlOY7lM9FBX9t6FPpNcZRTau5fd9d7JIwZubmWWav-d2bAE3khLXaIrO9upDf5Z8CW9RC1Bq4V4B4AMZ3zxm8wRoFvxXyq4ETv5zJFksGw_FTdMgcZLtvWjlTyDbB3RAWHnyn6KafU6xB/s320/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+213.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Agricultural Museum (courtesy of my brother) </span></div>
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On our may back to the apartment, we stopped by the Opera House to take a few shots from the outside, and by St. Stephen's Basilica. We did not go inside the Basilica that night, but did drop by again the next day to check out the inside. After a long day of walking, we didn't feel like eating much, so we stopped by Grannie's Pancakes and had a couple of fruit filled crepes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXEjNYmlWeOJoDhWx1PGflfmdpGS16Td6xdfWoKb0Q6KmUVI_l8wQLJJpaXbQxuXZNhVuVXauV23alh4NC35LYGxXjBk7m_u0xFkTaWrFS8Wrtyz_A_zf509R38Zw87iud9D-YZe08mFf/s1600/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXEjNYmlWeOJoDhWx1PGflfmdpGS16Td6xdfWoKb0Q6KmUVI_l8wQLJJpaXbQxuXZNhVuVXauV23alh4NC35LYGxXjBk7m_u0xFkTaWrFS8Wrtyz_A_zf509R38Zw87iud9D-YZe08mFf/s320/Budapest+Feb+20-21,+2012+231.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(St. Stephen's Basilica taken by my brother)</span></div>
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<b>Day 4 - </b>We decided to make this day a combination Buda and Pest day. We started out by hitting Castle Hill in Buda again. We were going to go to the Bunker Hospital, which was halfway down the other side of the hill. After seeing the price, we decided we didn't want to see it that much. We wandered around for a bit, and then decided to check out the Labirintus, but after walking down in and seeing what it actually was, we decided we weren't as interested as we thought. So, we went over to the Palace. We decided that the President was probably going somewhere that day, as the guards seemed to be readying for something. We didn't wait to see. As the Palace these days is comprised mostly of Museums, we decided to go inside one of the Museums so we could check out the inside. We were sorely disappointed, as the inside was very modern and looked like pretty much any other art gallery. For others, I would suggest just taking in the outside of the building, which is pretty grand itself. After the Palace, we took a ride down the funicular and walked back to Pest. <i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8RQzXBQ6cKN2p1g6sHtj63GCpNqynTLSyfb59K1xf_G4tqFpr11tqkwCfTPhUXM4dOm_kt6XLQJ0fDMOTph5Pcl8usot6AvlteU6p8ReYZu3WnN3a-8PWKah7znYo7RhVwFviwl_NyGo/s1600/Budapest+Feb+22,+2012+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8RQzXBQ6cKN2p1g6sHtj63GCpNqynTLSyfb59K1xf_G4tqFpr11tqkwCfTPhUXM4dOm_kt6XLQJ0fDMOTph5Pcl8usot6AvlteU6p8ReYZu3WnN3a-8PWKah7znYo7RhVwFviwl_NyGo/s320/Budapest+Feb+22,+2012+023.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A statue at the Palace - I like it because it's more of an action shot of a man sitting on a horse, not just your usual, garden-variety man-sitting-on-a-horse-regally type of statue </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This was not my brother's best shot from/of the funicular, but I love the fact that it looks like the two people on the bridge are posing for the shot. </span></div>
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On the Pest side of the Danube that day, we took in the interior of St. Stephen's Basilica, returned to the market for lunch and souvenirs, and then went to the train station to scope it out, pick up our tickets, and see where the metro stops were in relation to the train station and our apartment in preparation for the next day. We then went to the supermarket to get some food for supper and headed back to the apartment early.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(The Dome of St. Stephen's Basilica) </span></div>
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<b>Day 5</b> - As we'd already seen pretty much all we'd planned to see, we slept in a bit and hung out at the apartment. We did spend the night before and that morning re-packing our bags, so that we had less bags to take on the metro. We made it to the train station safely, (and quite a bit early, as we were tired of sitting at the apartment and we were also planning on putting our bags in a locker and exploring the area around the train station some more). We had a hard time finding where the lockers were, however, and by the time we finally did ask someone, he told us our train would be there in less than half an hour so there was no point in getting lockers. So, we didn't get lockers and he showed us to the waiting room. We did get something to eat for lunch at the station, however. Our train arrived, we got on, and we took off for Austria. As this posting is already quite long, I will continue with the Austria (where there are no kangaroos) portion of the trip in the next posting. </div>
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But first, a few tips for travel in Budapest:</div>
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1. If you are going to exchange money, exchange it on the Pest side of Budapest. </div>
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2. If you are going to buy souvenirs or food, the market usually has cheaper prices than the souvenir shops (although the market doesn't always have everything the souvenir shops have and vice versa; As for the food, the food at the market is Hungarian. There is a Burger King Across the street from the Market, however, if you prefer eating at American chains when abroad, however).</div>
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3. I think Budapest is a very walkable city, and you get to see more if you walk; but, for those who prefer not to get blisters, can't or don't want to spend their whole vacation walking, or who only have a limited time in the city, the metro is a very convenient mode of transportation.</div>
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Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523637194554530062.post-35498308039883566362011-11-27T12:40:00.000-08:002011-11-27T12:40:32.825-08:00The joys of being a primary teacher<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So, being a primary teacher has it's ups and downs. Some days the children are reverent, and other days they just aren't, and other days, half of the children are reverent and the other half aren't. Today was one of the latter. I will admit, that when I first started teaching, we had a problem with reverence for the whole class, but over time it has improved quite a bit as everybody got used to the new teacher. Now, however, there are two new children in class. They haven't grown up going to primary, and actually the sister should be going to the older class, but she comes to mine. I have the hardest time keeping her reverent. Her not being reverent can rub off on at least some of the others in class. I'm hoping that over time, she'll get used to things as well. Class itself was not the greatest, but not the worst. <br />
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But then, during sharing and and singing time, the two siblings were a handful. The little boy just would not stay in his seat, and proceeded to inch himself across the primary room floor as the children heard a sharing time lesson about <i>reverence</i>. Then, during singing time, the older sister kept talking and kept saying "I want to sing the vampire song. vampire song. vampire song..." over and over and over. Someone told her we don't have a vampire song in the book. Then she said, "How about the princess song?" We told her there wasn't one of those either (although maybe we should have told her that "I am a Child of God" is a princess song). Then, as we sang every single other song, she would sing "vampire song. vampire song. vampire song." <br />
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I'm hoping that as they continue to come to church, that the others will rub off on them, and they will learn how and why we are reverent from these other kids (rather than vice versa). For some reason I tend to blame myself for their lack of reverence, but I probably shouldn't. Any suggestions???</div>Mandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066172217721584507noreply@blogger.com1