Miscellaneous
Ticked a few things off my list today. I went to the Japanese Tourist office to get my voucher for the train ticket trough Japan from a super lovely agent. She was sooo polite…! I’ll be in for a treat in Japan. I also got a number of brochures and maps… I seriously have to […] Read More
Pasifika
This weekend Auckland was all about the Pacific Islands. Pasifika, a two-day festival was held in the Western Springs Park. Creating a parcours throughout the green and around the lake, the Pacific Islands presented themselves with numerous stands, stages, entertainment, food, information, arts and crafts… Held since 1993 it has become the biggest festival of its […] Read More
Cooking lessons
More food. I got a private cooking class from Clinty, we did one of my favorites, raw Vietnamese Spring rolls. We went to an Asian market on K-road, and got provisions. I love those supermarkets. We had a couple of smaller ones in Brussels, but in Auckland with its huge Asian population, this is wonderland! […] Read More
New friends (and food)
I recently met up with Clint and his friend Nina in Grand Central in Ponsonby for an after-work beer. Ginger fusion, actually, something they had on the table and I joined in, not tasting the alcohol in it until it was too late…. Clint is a Pacific Islander through and through, coming from the biggest […] Read More
Beach day
Another day at the beach… Waiheke left me knackered, so I scrapped my plans to go visit and hike around Rangitoto today. I needed something more mellow… On to the ferry to Devonport again and over to Cheltenham beach to be lazy in the shade and a bit in the sun. It was windy, not […] Read More
Waiheke
When I first heard about Waiheke Island I thought they were talking about Hawaii. Many names here, taken over from Māori, have a hawaiian ring to me. I only recently found out that they are indeed all related. Funnily, all those polynesian micro-islands in the pacific have been discovered and settled way before the two main […] Read More
5 months
Today, five months ago, I arrived in Rio de Janeiro. It seems like an eternity. Then again: it also seems like just a few days ago that I thought: wow, four months! Time is really relative, and it’s playing its tricks on me. It seems to go faster and faster, the longer I travel, after […] Read More
Volatile
The weather is so volatile right now, it’s hard to plan anything. You wake up, it’s grey as can be… turn around, wake up again, blue skies… jump in the shower, ready to go out, it’s raining. Do some surfing, blue skies, out for coffee… walking home, back in the rain… I want to do […] Read More
Harbor walk
The weekend was really quiet… I first wanted to go out and party a bit, but in the end… Friday it seems I was too early, all the places I went to were still empty… And I ended up watching Modern Family and eating chips. Bad! Saturday I went up on the tower, and I […] Read More
Sky Tower (Night)
For only 2$ more, you can get another ride up the tower, at night. Cool thing, had to do it. It’s great to see the city underneath slowly light up. It’s a bit tough with the pictures though, as the glass reflects the ceiling lights, emergency exit signs and people…. On top of it, the […] Read More