Some kind soul pointed out that my last post was a little disappointing on the grammar and plural/singular. However they omitted to sign their name, so I guess I will not be able to publicly flame them!
My only excuse is that it was late, I was tired, and I was trying to talk to Sonia at the same time. When I re-read the entry today, it was pretty poor!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Altura
About time that I wrote a story about the visit to Altura in Auckland. Actually, technically speaking it is in Albany. Altura has been a long-time favorite for coffee and breakfast. They roast their own coffee, so the place usually smells good.
Anyway, we went there with Sharon, Sandra, Jayna, plus Mum & Dad. The Eggs Benedict was always one of my two favorites, the second being Sweetcorn Fritters. In keeping with tradition I went with the Eggs Benedict, thinking ahead to this blog entry.
Altura-style Eggs Benedict is delivered on an English muffin, with a hash brown in the middle, plus smoked salmon and the usual eggs. My memory told me that this was a treat to be looked forward to, however in the end it was a little bit of a let-down.
The hash-brown was a bit too light on the "brown" side. A few more seconds in the deep fryer would have made a world of difference. And the hollandaise sauce was a little thin on the ground. Other than that it was fine, but as I said it did not really live up to the memory.
So in summary, it was good but not as good as I recalled.
Anyway, we went there with Sharon, Sandra, Jayna, plus Mum & Dad. The Eggs Benedict was always one of my two favorites, the second being Sweetcorn Fritters. In keeping with tradition I went with the Eggs Benedict, thinking ahead to this blog entry.
Altura-style Eggs Benedict is delivered on an English muffin, with a hash brown in the middle, plus smoked salmon and the usual eggs. My memory told me that this was a treat to be looked forward to, however in the end it was a little bit of a let-down.
The hash-brown was a bit too light on the "brown" side. A few more seconds in the deep fryer would have made a world of difference. And the hollandaise sauce was a little thin on the ground. Other than that it was fine, but as I said it did not really live up to the memory.
So, the scores:
- Eggs - 9/10 - nicely runny but the whites were done just right
- Bread - 9/10 - nice English muffin
- Hollandaise - 7/10 - was fine but it needed some more
- Coffee - 8/10 - the coffee was ok
- Ambience - 7/10 - on the hot side with not enough ventilation and a bit noisy/echo-y
- Total - 40/50
So in summary, it was good but not as good as I recalled.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The dream is over
Well, the holiday is, anyway.
Both of us are back at work now. We flew out of Melbourne, Sonia leaving on Tuesday afternoon, and Andrew on Wednesday morning. Sonia flew back to Bangkok, without the excitement of the trip to NZ. I flew to Tokyo and today was back at work. Both of us managed to get upgrades using points, so the flights were easier this time. I managed to watch four movies on the way.
Arriving back last night I walked from the bus dropoff point to the apartment, passing a side street. Normally the side street is fairly barren, however this time it was covered in cherry blossoms. The trees that line both sides of the street turned out to be cherry trees! This weekend I will endeavour to get out with the camera and get some nice shots.
Back to the routine tonight, with a dinner of chicken and salad followed by a visit to the gym. Luckily, I managed to only gain about 1/2 kg over the holiday, so the visits to the gyms in the different cities paid off! Daryl - you need to catch up!
Both of us are back at work now. We flew out of Melbourne, Sonia leaving on Tuesday afternoon, and Andrew on Wednesday morning. Sonia flew back to Bangkok, without the excitement of the trip to NZ. I flew to Tokyo and today was back at work. Both of us managed to get upgrades using points, so the flights were easier this time. I managed to watch four movies on the way.
Arriving back last night I walked from the bus dropoff point to the apartment, passing a side street. Normally the side street is fairly barren, however this time it was covered in cherry blossoms. The trees that line both sides of the street turned out to be cherry trees! This weekend I will endeavour to get out with the camera and get some nice shots.
Back to the routine tonight, with a dinner of chicken and salad followed by a visit to the gym. Luckily, I managed to only gain about 1/2 kg over the holiday, so the visits to the gyms in the different cities paid off! Daryl - you need to catch up!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sisters!
Who needs them?! Well in the end I was lucky enough to get three seats to myself - the 747 was far from full. So I managed to sleep a reasonable amount between Tokyo and Brisbane (skipped breakfast). Then a shower at the first-class Qantas lounge before catching the 2.5 hour flight to Auckland. M&D were there to meet me, and waited while I waited for Hertz to get themselves sorted out. After getting the car, we then took 1.5 hours to get to their place. Auckland traffic is terrible.
Writing this quick update from the hotel in Queenstown where we arrived on Saturday around midday. Saturday afternoon was off to Cromwell for lunch and a quick look around. Including a stop at the dried fruit stall. Dinner last night at Wai, which was not bad. Interesting to eat NZ-style food again after so long in Asia and particularly in Japan.
Today started with breakfast at a local cafe, then off to Arrowtown. Dinner at home in the hotel room (kitchenette included) after a workout at the gym. Well I worked out, Sonia just mucked around and giggled a lot. Amazing how someone that old can still giggle...
Writing this quick update from the hotel in Queenstown where we arrived on Saturday around midday. Saturday afternoon was off to Cromwell for lunch and a quick look around. Including a stop at the dried fruit stall. Dinner last night at Wai, which was not bad. Interesting to eat NZ-style food again after so long in Asia and particularly in Japan.
Today started with breakfast at a local cafe, then off to Arrowtown. Dinner at home in the hotel room (kitchenette included) after a workout at the gym. Well I worked out, Sonia just mucked around and giggled a lot. Amazing how someone that old can still giggle...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tokyo: Narita Airport
Well, this comes to you from the Qantas lounge at Narita airport in Tokyo. Last update before I get on a plane to Brisbane and then on to Auckland. Dirtbags that they are, the Qantas flight is operating by JALways, which means that I was unable to use airpoints to upgrade. And that means that I expect to arrive into Auckland late tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon, grumpy, smelly, and generally unimpressed with Qantas. The only non-Qantas flight and I end up on it!
GRRRRRRRR
Oh, well. See how it goes. Sonia says the planes are nothing flash. The Qantas lounge is not full, so hopefully this means I might be lucky and have an empty seat (or two) next to me. In that case I stand a small chance of getting some sleep between here and Brisbane. Then I have about an hour to transfer to the flight from Brisbane to Auckland, hoping all the while that my bag manages to make it onto the same flight. Then, on arrival in Auckland, negotiating the travails of the Hertz counter (has anyone ever had a good experience with car rental companies at the tail end of a long-haul flight?) before a 1-hour (or more) drive out to Kumeu.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
By this point in the narrative, astute readers will have worked out that this part of the holiday is not working out right!
Small consolation that Sonia's flight from Bangkok to Sydney is delayed (but not enough to preventing her making the connection to Auckland).
More once we get to the end of this trip....
GRRRRRRRR
Oh, well. See how it goes. Sonia says the planes are nothing flash. The Qantas lounge is not full, so hopefully this means I might be lucky and have an empty seat (or two) next to me. In that case I stand a small chance of getting some sleep between here and Brisbane. Then I have about an hour to transfer to the flight from Brisbane to Auckland, hoping all the while that my bag manages to make it onto the same flight. Then, on arrival in Auckland, negotiating the travails of the Hertz counter (has anyone ever had a good experience with car rental companies at the tail end of a long-haul flight?) before a 1-hour (or more) drive out to Kumeu.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
By this point in the narrative, astute readers will have worked out that this part of the holiday is not working out right!
Small consolation that Sonia's flight from Bangkok to Sydney is delayed (but not enough to preventing her making the connection to Auckland).
More once we get to the end of this trip....
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Saturday
Well Saturday involved a very long walk. Initially I figured on walking to Tokyo Midtown to find a birthday present for day. According to his postal order, I was to find a small brass object representing something traditionally Japanese. In the end I walked a very long way. I made a map of it:
If you have trouble seeing this online, Click Here to see the full-size map. It also shows the names of the places I stopped or walked past.
If you have trouble seeing this online, Click Here to see the full-size map. It also shows the names of the places I stopped or walked past.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Hong Kong
Well we were back in HK on the weekend - Sonia needed to sort out her Bangkok work permit.
I took the opportunity to take eight pairs of suit trousers and three suit jackets in to the tailor to get them altered. Too big for me now! Unfortunately the trousers and jackets are all still in HK, as it was a bit tight to get it all done between Friday morning and Sunday midday. However, they have been delivered to Sonia's hotel room, so I guess I'll have them back soon. In the meantime I'm down to one suit and one jacket. The joys of shedding weight!
HK itself was smoggy on Friday - a horrible reminder of the high levels of pollution compared to Tokyo. It was good to get back here with clear air and cooler weather. Sonia leaves HK tomorrow, having flown in on Saturday and needing two business days to get her visa sorted out.
Right - off to the gym again...
I took the opportunity to take eight pairs of suit trousers and three suit jackets in to the tailor to get them altered. Too big for me now! Unfortunately the trousers and jackets are all still in HK, as it was a bit tight to get it all done between Friday morning and Sunday midday. However, they have been delivered to Sonia's hotel room, so I guess I'll have them back soon. In the meantime I'm down to one suit and one jacket. The joys of shedding weight!
HK itself was smoggy on Friday - a horrible reminder of the high levels of pollution compared to Tokyo. It was good to get back here with clear air and cooler weather. Sonia leaves HK tomorrow, having flown in on Saturday and needing two business days to get her visa sorted out.
Right - off to the gym again...
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