Category Things I love
Amy’s here!
My doorbell rang at noon and who should be outside? None other than my dear Amy who has flown all the way from Seattle for a little vacation avec moi: a few days in London, followed by a few days in Paris, before a long weekend in Iceland (where we’re hoping to see some northern […]
The pink lady, or the one that almost got away
Remember the Pink Lady at the art fair? You know, that stunning work by Dutch artist Isabelle van Zeijl which caught my eye and imagination but was out of my comfort zone in both subject matter (no architecture!) and price (gulp) and therefore was not among my purchases that weekend? Well, I couldn’t stop thinking […]
My sense of scale
It would seem my sense of scale could use a little fine-tuning. When I saw this piece hanging at the art fair yesterday (in a cavernous former agricultural hall), I would have described it as medium-sized, perhaps even on the smaller side of medium. But now that it’s in the flat, that doesn’t seem quite […]
Visit to the London Art Fair
The London Art Fair happened this week literally across the street from where I live. That, plus the free tickets that the gallerist around the corner sent me, seemed like a sign that universe wanted me to go. Held inside a massive Victorian agricultural hall, the venue was enormous and, on preview night on Tuesday, […]
Back together again
Remember how I broke my 250-year-old Chinese dish when I (inadvertently) tapped it on a granite countertop while using it to eat a burrito bowl? Well, the Japanese Kintsugi lady has plied her craft and now all is well with the world.
One last adventure!
We had to be out of the house in Rotorua by 10:30am (though, because of priorities (kiwis!) and a mix-up in Kevin’s notes, it ended up being closer to 11am) but we didn’t need to be in Auckland for flights and cruise ships until early evening. None of us wanted to waste the extra hours, […]
Tongariro Alpine Crossing (or tramping past Mount Doom)
Aside from hanging out with the Hettingers and Kallmeyers, my only agenda item for New Zealand was to go “tramping” (as the locals call hiking) through the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Touted as one of the best day hikes in New Zealand, the 12-mile trail takes you through a nest of volcanic cones — including the […]
Hobbits!
New Zealand was the Middle Earth of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, and Hobbiton is one of the Things To See when you’re here. On top of that, it was also my rendez-vous point to meet up with Heather and Taryn, two friends of mine from high school, and their spouses and, in […]
Hamilton Gardens
Legend has it that everything south and inland of Auckland is just not that cool. A lot of ranch land and unremarkable small towns. Most of that proved true on the drive from Auckland to Hamilton, but there’s a gem of a garden on the outskirts of Hamilton that was a complete delight. Built on […]
Beach, brunch, and a breakdown on Waiheke
This was supposed to be the highlight of my stay in the Auckland area: a day trip to the island paradise of Waiheke for brunch at Mudbrick vineyard, an afternoon of beaches and hiking, and then dinner at Cable Bay vineyard before a sunset ferry ride home. Let’s just say that’s not exactly how things […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 