I attempted to start this blog about our wonderful adventure to New Zealand since our returned a few weeks ago.  Some how between personal responsibilities, grandchildren, Thanksgiving and the flu, I managed to put it off.

Ok, now that is over, and I am ready to begin at the “end”.  Yes, that is exactly what I said, “the end of our trip”!  It seems appropriate that in order to give you a bit of the taste of our entire trip, I must start at the end.  

We started out in Auckland and ended our trip in Napier.  After two weeks of golf, sightseeing, great food, meeting great people and oh yes, lots and lots of New Zealand wine, we decided to spend our last day shopping.  Something we found little time to do between the games of golf and wine tasting.  

Our flight out of Napier was not until 8:00 PM so, we had lots of time to find a few New Zealand treasures.  And, did we find a “real” New Zealand treasure!  We started our treasure hunt in the downtown area of Napier with all its quaint Art Deco shops and galleries.  Napier is known as the "Art Deco Capital of the World".  Every year in February, (their summer) they celebrate Art Deco Weekend Summer Festival.  They have three days of parades, dinner dances, outdoor concerts, great Gatsby picnics and everyone dresses in the Deco style.  

I have attached a link for you to review just in case you have a desire to fly 13 hours from Los Angeles.  Believe me, I would do it in a heartbeat.

http://www.artdeconapier.com/

Now back to our shopping adventure.  As you can expect, we were in and out of every shop while the guys waited patiently on the sidewalk.  As we were busy in one shop, one of my friends Paula, stepped outside for a few minutes when a local man stop to tell her that the Prime Minister of New Zealand was shopping in the store across the street.  Needless to say, the three of us left our husbands in blink of an eye and headed for the store.  After a bit of searching with only a brief description of a man in a blue shirt, we finally found him surrounded by security.  

We tried to play it cool and pretended to shop as we moved closer.  Finally, I decided to  approach one member of his security to verify that the man in the blue shirt was John Key, the New Zealand Prime Minister.  When he said yes, it was John Key, I told him that we were American tourists and could we take a picture.  He told us to go out of the store through a side door, and the Prime Minister would stop for a chat.  And, he did exactly that...he stopped and asked us questions about our visit in New Zealand and agreed to a picture.  After which, we walked with him out of the mall and onto the sidewalk where our husbands were standing with a rather surprised look on their faces.  John Key did not hesitate for a minute and walked directly toward our husbands with out stretched hand.  The three husbands and John Key talked for five minutes about the various golf courses they played during our two weeks in New Zealand.  And, received suggestions of great courses to play when next we visited New Zealand.

John Key was every bit the gentleman, very approachable, comfortable to talk with and the unexpected and delightful end to a marvelous vacation in New Zealand.  I have attached just a few pictures of the three ladies, Paula, Debbie and myself with John Key and of course a few pictures with our husbands.

FYI, John Key just won reelection as Prime Minister.  He also just happens to be the Minister of Tourism.

Prime Minister John Key with the ladies!

My last post was on October 31 and here it is November 20.  When last I wrote, we were headed for Auckland, and yes, we did land in Auckland.  The rest, we can say is history, but I will cover most if not all of our ventures.  

But first, I must share a valuable lesson learned.  Do not make the mistake of traveling, especially internationally, with just an IPad.  I don’t know what I was thinking!  I was able to use my IPad in hotels that offered Wi-Fi, but the service was often slow or not at all and very expensive. Some hotels required a USB connection, which of course, is not going to happen with an IPad.  Occasionally, I was able to read my emails, but attempting to write a column for my blog was so frustrating that I finally gave up.  

So, bottom line, take a laptop, or if you are only want to view your emails or share on Facebook, just use your smartphone.

We are leaving this evening on a 13 hour flight to New Zealand. We are a golf group..or at least some of us are golfers. I have everything plan for a two week adventure. But you cannot plan for the unexpected. So far, one person in our group has a father who is ill, another maybe stranded in Australia due to a Quantas Airline strike and believe it not, my 92 year old mother is in the hospital. These are the unexpected things which you never expect and never part of your plan.

The question is .... Do you have take out travel insurance? Travel insurance is always recommended by your travel consultant but most often ignored. I strongly suggest that regardless your age, the unexpected can happen to everyone. Illness or death of a family member, accident involving yourself, spouse or a child or simply lost luggage. No one is immune. So, take it from one who has experienced it all...always take out travel insurance.

Sent from my iPad

Cooking is my hobby and my passion, and, I must confess that I am a bit addicted to cooking shows. I am so obsessed that while I am cooking dinner I imagine myself in front of a television camera demonstrating every step in my dinner preparation. Ok, I tend to be a bit over dramatic. I even love “Iron Chef” but question the fact that the challenger never wins! So maybe I missed a few shows, but it appears that the defending Chef always has the advantage. Don’t shoot me...it is just my opinion.

With that said, I am always searching and researching any opportunity to put a group together for a unique culinary adventure. My favorite type of culinary adventure is on a cruise. Several years ago, I had a culinary group cruise on Royal Caribbean to the Greek Islands. It took months of preparation, but it was well worth every moment. Of course, having a Chef with the group who just happens to be my son in-law and owns a restaurant, was the perfect draw.

By arranging with the onboard chef, Chef Andrew was able to conduct a private cooking classes for our group on sea days. Royal Caribbean could not have been for accommodating, and provided all the equipment, ingredients needed and a waiter to assist. It came off perfectly. In addition to the onboard cooking classes, I also arranged for a complete “culinary day” in Corfu. It was a day we will always remember, from the early morning tour of a local market, running over with locals buying their daily provisions, to a small wine shop with large barrels of Greek wine to fill your own personal wine jug. 

But, it did not end there ...the best part of the day was boarding a small boat and cruising to a cove so everyone could enjoy a swim. Then docking at a small island with a lovely beach and one restaurant. This was strictly an out of the way island that few tourists have ever seen or been seen. And to the delight of our group. the chef at this beach side restaurant, walked us through the preparation of our Greek lunch. And, just when we thought we could not eat one more thing...the chef disappeared in the kitchen and returned carrying a 40 pound swordfish above his head. While we were digesting our food and the fact there was more to come...he filleted the swordfish and barbecued it in minutes. 

It proved to be such an event filled day that we were a little late returning to the ship. Fortunately, they held the ship for us while all the other passengers were toasting us from their balconies. 

Food and Wine excursions are very popular both on land and at sea. Holland America, Azamara Cruise, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Oceania Cruises are just a few of the cruise lines devoted to culinary excursions. I would love to hear about your culinary experience on land or a sea.

One more thing about New York City and then I promise to move on.  If you are headed to New York City this year or next, I highly recommend the following web site.  It is a site you will need to visit a few days prior to your trip for a little preplanning and every morning before you head out for the day.  The site changes daily with new and often unique offers.

Recently I had to change my blog host which did not allow me to move over my archived blogs.  So, by popular demand, I am republishing a few blogs relating to a trip to New York City.

Day four, our last day in New York City and we had a lot of ground (so to speak) to cover. With spns from the Michael, the Surrey Hotel concierge, and the guiding force behind our daily activities, we headed for us the Flatiron District and EATALY.

If you love to cook, addicted to Food Network and subscribe to online sites with daily  recipes, then you know about Chef Bario Batali’s, Eataly. It is located at 200 Fifth Ave, between 23rd and 24th street.

My impression when we entered Eataly is how much it reminded me of the food and wine shop in Harrods Department in London. Except Eataly is all about Italian cooking and eating in a 50,000 square foot structure. It has everything you can imagine and then some...pizza, pasta (fresh and dried) bakery, wine, lots of prosciutto, multiple restaurants, and a cooking school. (view the pictures above with many different types of pasta). The food can be eaten on site, cooked to take home, or with instructions, you can cook it in your own home. The question is, how do you decide!

After a full morning and lunch at Eataly, we moved on to our next adventure. This time to the High Line. The High Line is part of New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and is basically an elevated walk way through neighborhoods and ending at the Meatpacking District. The newest section of the High Line had just opened so we decided to start at West 34th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. It is a fascinating walk at times level with the third and four floors of nearby buildings. There are plants growing along the quite wide path, benches to sit for a moment and art work decorating the way.

I forgot to mention that the High Line walk drops you off in the Meatpacking District. This is a new and still upcoming district with fun little boutique shops and fabulous restaurants. We had dinner at Spice Market, which is an Asian Fusion restaurant. Spice Market has an outdoor patio, a bar and dining room on the street level and a bar and dining room downstairs. If you want a bit of “spice”, you will love their menu. 

If you plan ahead and have a little time before dinner, I suggest that you also take in Chelsea’s Market. It is not as large as Eataly but worth the visit. It also has restaurants, shops and markets. The fish market got my attention. Of course, so did the Bar Suzette Creperie with large jars of Nutella.

My husband and I just returned from his high school class reunion in a small town, in Southern Illinois.  I would tell you how many years but then I would have to “kill you”!  It is safe to say that “name badges” were crucial.

We were only going to be gone a few days so I decided to try to pack with only carry-on luggage.  The challenge of course, is how to bottle up all my lotions, creams, liquids, etc. in one quart size bag.  These are items that I cannot leave home without and nobody else wants me to be without.

So, I poured and mixed and finally got the following in my little plastic bag. My only saving grace was that I purchased facial cleansing pads and eliminated one bottle in my collection.

5 (2 oz) bottles of hair products (humidity is not my friend)

1 (1oz) bottle of day moisturizer

1 (1oz) bottle of night moisturizer

1 (1oz) bottle of liquid makeup

1 (2oz) bottle of cologne

1 (2oz) bottle of hand wash

1 (1oz) bottle of sunscreen

1 (1oz) tube of concealer

1 tube of toothpaste

1 (2oz) bottle of eye drops

1 (1oz) disinfectant spray

1 (2oz) bottle of contact solution

and, two lip colors

I was not sure that I was up to watching the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, but found myself glued to the TV.  I remembered the overwhelming feeling of sadness when I visited the site of the Twin Towers from a platform several years ago. Yesterday's televised view of the reflecting pools and the names inscribed made me remember that, it is not about the loss of lives but the remembrance of their lives.

In the Asian culture, they believe in celebrating the life of those who have passed away by remembering just how lucky they were to have known them.  I think that even if you did not lose a friend or relative during the 9/11 attack, visiting the memorial will give all of us a sense of belonging to all the families who did.

I love going to a matinee performance in New York City.  You still have the whole evening to enjoy a leisurely dinner at a favorite restaurant or try a new one.

We left the performance of Jersey Boys and headed back to the hotel to change for dinner. However, we got a little side tracked, and decided to have a cocktail on the Surrey Hotel’s observation deck and watch the sunset. The observation deck was extremely busy, so we offered to share a table with another couple. As it turned out, they were from Santa Monica, California. They were in New York City for a few days visiting relatives and to pick up their children in a camp in upper state New York.

During the conversation, the man mentioned that they live in California because he is a screen writer. After a bit of probing (one of my many talents), we found out that he was dominated for an Academy Award for “Toy Story”. Not to be outdone, his wife is an art photographer had has her work displayed in galleries on the East and West Coast.

Now tell me that is not exactly the experience you would expect when visiting New York City!

Oh, and not to be forgotten...we had a wonderful dinner at an Italian (image that!) restaurant not far from the hotel.  The Sant Ambroeus at 1000 Madison Avenue.  This Italian restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has an irresistible bakery.  www.santambroeus.com I love going to a matinee performance in New York City.  You still have the whole evening to enjoy a leisurely dinner at a favorite restaurant or try a new one.

We left the performance of Jersey Boys and headed back to the hotel to change for dinner. However, we got a little side tracked, and decided to have a cocktail on the Surrey Hotel’s observation deck and watch the sunset. The observation deck was extremely busy, so we offered to share a table with another couple. As it turned out, they were from Santa Monica, California. They were in New York City for a few days visiting relatives and to pick up their children in a camp in upper state New York.

During the conversation, the man mentioned that they live in California because he is a screen writer. After a bit of probing (one of my many talents), we found out that he was dominated for an Academy Award for “Toy Story”. Not to be outdone, his wife is an art photographer had has her work displayed in galleries on the East and West Coast.

Now tell me that is not exactly the experience you would expect when visiting New York City!

Oh, and not to be forgotten...we had a wonderful dinner at an Italian (image that!) restaurant not far from the hotel.  The Sant Ambroeus at 1000 Madison Avenue.  This Italian restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has an irresistible bakery.  www.santambroeus.com