Pachinko as a metaphor

"History has failed us, but no matter." ... opening line in Pachinko.

What I love most about Pachinko (and I love many things about this wonderful novel by Min Jin Lee) is that the characters, for all their faults, have integrity and humanity. Set in Japan and Korea over a span of 80 years (1910 to 1989), four generations of an ethnic Korean family navigate wars, poverty, displacement, and discrimination with determination and kindness. There are heartbreaking moments, to be sure, but every element of this book is there for a reason, to tell a story about resilience even as life knocks you down.

I learned a lot about the everyday lives of Koreans and Japanese during this turbulent time. The conversation with Lee at the end of the book provides context that I found extremely interesting. Korea, of course, was occupied by Japan from 1910 to 1945, during which time many Koreans moved to Japan to escape crushing poverty. After WW II ended, the country was torn apart in the Korean War. The stories about loss of home, followed by mistreatment and discrimination are sadly universal, yet the book is not sad or depressing but full of love and hope. These characters will live with me for a long time.

Pachinko is a pinball-like game where the parlor operators reset the pins and bumpers on a regular basis to make sure that players can win, but that the house always wins more. Sound familiar? After WWII, working in a pachinko parlor was one of the few jobs open to Koreans living in Japan, and as a result, pachinko runs through this family saga. But its link to gambling and gangsters adds to the negative stereotypes that the characters endure. And like the pachinko balls, which cannot be removed from one parlor to be used elsewhere, there is seemingly no way out. 

Snorkeling in Grand Cayman

We both love snorkeling, so for our winter trip this year, we chose Grand Cayman for three reasons: non-stop flights from Philly, snorkeling from the beach, and not much damage from this year's terrible hurricanes.

We had a bit of rain, but the few sunny days we had were spectacular, and even the rainy days were a whole lot better than the freezing temps at home.

Our home for the week was the Coco Beach Villas in Bodden Town, on the south side of the island and about half way between Seven Mile Beach and the East End. For us, it was pretty perfect. We had our own private beach, a kitchen, and washer/dryer. Lovely spot for relaxing with a good book:

We ended up eating in many of our meals "at home" -- of course, breakfast and lunch but after a couple of expensive and disappointing restaurant meals, we made a few dinners at our villa as well, making do with a minimum of pots and pans. Then we discovered Big Tree BBQ at the East End and realized that the best food in Grand Cayman is at the simplest places. For fish, Kurt's Korner was also very good and cheap.

The snorkeling was fantastic. Just a few miles down the road was Spotts public beach, which was very nice, with lots of shade for relaxing and reading. A few days later we went to Colliers Beach at the East End, which was fabulous. Clear water, lots of beautiful fish and corals, uncrowded, great facilities. We also went in for some of the touristy things that were great. Really enjoyed the bioluminescence kayak tour, where dipping our paddles in the water produced a beautiful light show. A visit to Stingray City was lots of fun and so interesting to get right in the water with these beautiful fish. Two more snorkeling stops after the stingrays were also quite beautiful. 

Here I am, "piloting" the boat out to Stingray City:

On the way to Colliers we stopped at Blow Hole, where a nice man who called himself Barack Obama (he did bear some resemblance, although much older) gave us a tour of the fossils and told us all about the blow holes, underground, vertical formations in the volcanic rock that fill with water and then shoot water skyward like a geyser when hit by crashing waves.

We loved Grand Cayman. Bodden Town was a good choice but next time we might stay at East End, which is quieter and less touristy.

A Gentleman in Moscow

Count Rostov is one of those wonderful, memorable characters that make reading so enjoyable. Placed under house arrest in 1922 in Moscow's luxurious Metropol Hotel as someone who has "succumbed irrevocably to the corruptions of his class," he spends the next 30 years or so building a life that, while physically restricted, is full of friendship, love, poetry, intrigue, and beauty during a pretty miserable time period in Russian history. Great characters and beautiful writing abound, as would be expected from Amor Towles. 

A connoisseur of art, literature, food, and wine, the Count could be written off as a snob, but he is not: He's a renaissance man who appreciates the finer things in life and is completely open to new ideas. For example, here he listens to a jazz combo playing in the bar:

Admittedly, when the Count had first encountered jazz, he hadn't much of an affinity for it. He had been raised to appreciate music of sentiment and nuance, music that rewarded patience and attention with crescendos and diminuendos, allegros and adagios artfully arranged over four whole movements -- not a fistful of notes crammed higgledy-piggledy into thirty measures.
And yet...
And yet, the art form had grown on him. Like the American correspondents, jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force -- one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidely unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going -- exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe? 

He becomes the foster father of a young girl and, with the help of the hotel's chef, concierge, seamstress, and others, shepherds her through childhood, adolescence, and young womanhood. Of course, there is a villain: the Bishop, who rises from an incompetent waiter to hotel manager, and nemesis to the Count. At one point, in the best Bolshevikian tradition, the Bishop removes the labels from the 100,000 wine bottles in the hotel's excellent cellar, presumably because the hotel's wine list...

...runs counter to the ideals of the Revolution. That it is a monument to the privilege of the nobility, the effeteness of the intelligentsia, and the predatory pricing of speculators. 

The Count, of course, is not to be deterred. Running his thumb over an insignia embossed on the glass, he selects the bottle he wants.

The novel is full of moments like this that make political statements with humor and without being overtly political. It is a perfect antidote to the daily news we have to choke down every day.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

I'm going to try to use this blog to get back to something I haven't kept up with in the past couple of years -- keeping a record of the books I've read and trips we've taken, and maybe a few other things I want to remember. Focus on the good is my new mantra in this time of trouble.

Just finished Louise Erdrich's beautiful novel, The Round House. Here's a passage that epitomizes this book for me:

"There was a moment of intense quiet. Then a low moan of air passed through the cracks in the silvery logs of the round house. I started with emotion. The grieving cry seemed emitted by the structure itself. The sound filled me and flooded me. Finally, it ceased. I decided to go forward. As I climbed the hill, a breeze raised hairs on the back of my neck. But when I reached the round house, the sun fell like a warm hand on my shoulders. The place seemed peaceful."

Fully formed and believable characters, strong sense of place and historical context, compelling story, mysticism, beautiful writing... this book touched me in a way that few others have this past year. The central event around which the novel is built is the rape of a Native American woman by a non-native man (which it turns out is shockingly and disturbingly common) as told by her son, Joe. Erdrich weaves her intricate story around how Geraldine (the victim), Joe, his father and extended family, and community respond to this terrible event within the confines of tribal law and US law. There's tension, love, violence, and even redemption.   

Update:
Shortly after finishing The Round House, I read another fantastic book about American Indians --  David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon and the Birth of the FBI. This extraordinary journalistic work tells a gripping and shocking story about the murders of Osage Indians by white men intent on stealing what hadn't yet been stolen by the US Government. These murderers perpetrated their evil acts without compunction, believing that the superiority of their race justified what they did. Talk about white privilege! If this had been a novel, I would have thought it was too ridiculous to be true. Sadly, it is not.   

Ireland 2015

6/16 – 6/17
Off to a bad start when we couldn’t find Bella and had to leave the back door open with her “who knows where.” Fortunately, Jordan texted us later that she was home and fine. Drive to Newark uneventful other than a few downpours. We got to the airport in plenty of time, then had to wait for hours as our flight was delayed twice… eventually taking off about 2 ½ hours later than expected, which ate up almost all of our dreaded 3 hour layover in Toronto. Fortune smiled upon us, and with the help of the Air Canada staff, considerate fellow travelers, a sprint across the airport, and helpful people at the airport, we took our seats on the airplane to Dublin with only minutes to spare. Luckily (for us) some unfortunate people on our flight had to be left behind, which created a further delay that allowed our baggage to accompany us on our flight.

We arrived in rainy Dublin at about 10:45. Totally relieved to see our suitcases at baggage claim. Taxi to our hotel – The Morgan Hotel in the Temple Bar/downtown area. Too early to check in so we walked around for awhile, had lunch at one of the hundreds of pubs in the area, and then returned to the hotel for a nap. Another walk (poor planning on Lisa’s part…. Needs to learn to read a map), then rested for a while with a cup of tea before venturing out for dinner. Port House Pintxo - chose for tapas style food and it was fantastic. Everything was delicious including the wine, a Tempranillo from Rioja. Favorite plates: foie gras, jamon iberico, spinach/chicken salad with a chorizo crumble that was delicious, albondigas, grilled shrimp with chilies and garlic. … So delicious. Only misstep was the wine, which although excellent, was a bit too warm. Misfit said 3.4 miles of walking today! Ready for a good night’s sleep!!!

Walking around the streets of Dublin

6/18 Beautiful morning in Dublin. Our plan was to walk to the Kilmainham Jail (Gaol) then to Christ Church Cathedral, so we set off shortly after breakfast walking in the general direction of the jail, but not knowing how far it was. An hour or more later, after passing an entire block of Guinness buildings we finally made it to the jail for an interesting tour. Many sad stories about the rebels executed there because of their role in the Easter Rising and other rebellions; as well as children and others jailed during the famine for stealing a loaf of bread. Robert Emmett, who led the uprising in 1798 was also jailed here before his execution (story told in the excellent book, Tread Softly on My Dreams).

Heading back into the city center, we had lunch and a beer, then discovered that the Cathedral was closed in preparation for an event the next day, so we head back to the hotel for a much needed rest. A little later, we walked down Grafton Street and then around the beautiful St. Stephen’s Green; then to The Duke Pub for the Literary Pub Crawl, an interesting performance by two actors as we visited several pubs and Trinity College. Then a quick bite before falling exhausted into bed. According to my misfit, we walked 8.8 miles today!

Famine Memorial at St.Stephen's Green

 6/19 Another beautiful day! Who says Ireland has lousy weather??? Picked up our car and headed south to County Wicklow. First stop: the Powerscourt Estate, where we strolled around the gorgeous gardens. Had a snack, then back into the car and deeper into the Wicklow hills to Glendalough, the valley of two lakes. Walked around the medieval ruins on the site where St. Kevin first founded a monastery in the 600s; then took a lovely walk around the upper lake.

The Round Tower at St. Kevin's Monastery, Glendalough

Checked into the Stirabout B&B in Rathdrum; then headed out to the Bates Restaurant just up the street for a great dinner. Misfit said we walked 4.5 miles today!

6/20 Our plan for the day was to go to Ardmore with a stop in Kilkenny on the way. The Kilkenny Castle proved to be very interesting: it has been almost entirely reconstructed by architects and others intent on preserving the as much of the original buildings from the 13th century, as well as additions and changes made from the 14th through 20th centuries. Then on to Ardmore, a small seaside village with dramatic views of the cliffs surrounding Ardmore harbor. Walked around St. Declan’s Monastery, site of the 30 meter round tower built in the 12th century, ruins of a Romanesque cathedral, and St. Declan’s oratory, which presumably marks Declan’s grave.

Ruins at St. Declan's Monastery

We had hoped to go listen to some good Irish music and headed out to a pub not too far from where we were staying, but by 10:15 the music hadn’t started and we were tired, so we left. But although we haven’t heard music in a pub yet, one of the great things about Ireland is that there is music everywhere. Buskers on the street and on forest paths… even young kids. Both of us were sore from all the walking the previous two days, so we took it easy … only 2 miles!

6/21 Headed to Killarney by way of Cork; hoping to catch up with Beth and Meghann Haney, but it didn’t work out. In Killarney, we had lunch, then headed to the Muckross House in the National Park. Beautiful walk to the Torc Waterfall (another musician – this time a bagpiper – busking on the trail); then around the gardens of the estate.

at the Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park

Checked into our home for the next 2 days: The Old Weir Lodge. It was raining, but we headed down the street to a bistro called Kaynes and had a very nice dinner. Walked 4.2 miles today!

6/22 Ring of Kerry. We made the mistake of using as our guide, Back Roads of Ireland, although we decide to go counter-clockwise, the same direction as is taken by the tour buses, rather than clockwise as the book suggests. The first few stops were great: Ladies View and Molls Gap. The Iveragh peninsula is every bit a beautiful as everyone says.

Ladies View, beautiful despite the smudged lens!

We got into trouble trying to get to the next stop, Ballaghbeama Gap. The roads are extremely narrow, with many blind curves. Fortunately, there were not many cars on that route so we lived to tell about it, but it was without a doubt a harrowing drive. BIG MISTAKE. We took another detour from the Ring that proved much more successful – to Valentia Island and Skelling Ring Drive. Amazing views at Geokaun Mountain. We only made it through about half of the Skelling Ring Drive because by that point Garrett was frazzled with driving, Lisa was terrified, and neither of us were very happy. Next time: hire a driver!

Stopping for a snack on Valentia Island

Dinner at The Cellar Inn, which was very disappointing, but at least we could walk there!

Misfit says we walked 2.7 miles today, not bad for a "driving" day!

6/23 Drove from Killarney to County Clare. First stop at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park for an interesting tour of the castle and stroll around the grounds. Then we drove out to Kilkee and walked along the cliffs, which are said to rival the Cliffs of Moher. We started at the Diamond Rocks, which are really interesting flat limestone rocks; then the cliff walk. The views were stunning and it was cool to be able to walk right up to the cliff’s edge and look over at the interesting rock formations.

Kilkee Cliffs

Then we drove to Ennis and checked into our B&B. Tiny room, but at least close enough to town that we could walk to dinner at a restaurant called Town Hall, which was very good, but as usual, way too much food. Hard to believe that anyone can eat the quantities of food they serve. But it comes down to either leaving half of the food uneaten or getting overstuffed. We heard music coming from next door, the Old Ground Hotel, so stopped in there for a couple of pints. Great traditional Irish music by two guys – one on the accordion and one on banjo or guitar. Fun times! 

Walked 3.9 miles today.

6/24 After a big breakfast (again, too much food!), we headed towards Ballyvaughan, where we intended to see the Burren and Cliffs of Moher. As it was raining, we decided to stop at the Ailwee Cave and Bird of Prey Centre. The cave tour was really interesting; and even though it there was a light rain, the raptor handlers gave us a super interesting and informative flying display with a hawk (Batty), owl, and falcon. Lunch in Ballyvaughan at Monk’s; then we headed to Poulnabrone Domen, a Neolithic portal tomb dating back to somewhere between 3800 and 3600 BC. The surrounding limestone terrain was fascinating, with amazing and diverse flora in what at first seems a desolate area. We spent some time talking to a guy from the Office of Public Works who was basically watching to make sure people didn’t destroy anything, but also giving out information. For example, he told us how archaeologists think the capstone was placed on top of the portal stones. Also interesting is that cattle graze on these rocks and are essential to keeping some of the more invasive plants in check.

Poulnabrone Domen portal tomb

Next we went to Caherconnell, which is an active archaeological site as well as a working sheep farm. Demonstration about the sheep (and cattle) dogs was fun and informative – border collies are so smart! Then we did the self-guided tour of the Caherconnell ringfort. Checked into our B&B – the Cappabhaile House… so much nicer than anywhere else we’ve stayed, although a bit too far from town to walk for dinner. Drove out to the Galway Bay coast – Black Head Rock and beyond, but decided we had had enough driving so we skipped the Cliffs of Moher and Hags Head (recommended by our host), and went back into town for dinner at Logues Lodge (very good). Music at nearby Greene’s Pub wasn’t starting until 10, so we headed back to the B&B instead. Only 2.3 miles walked today.

along the Galway coast

6/25 We drove all the way to County Meath today, checked into our B&B at Lougher Farm in Duleek, and headed straight for the visitor center at Bru na Boinne to see the neotlithic burial mounds at Newgrange and Knowth, which predate the Great Pyramid at Giza and Stonehenge. Knowth was really interesting, in large part because of the fantastic tour guide, Mary. She really brought it to life. At Newgrange, it was cool to be able to walk into the passage tomb and stand in a chamber built to last some 5,000 years ago.).

Burial mound at Knowth, with entrance to passage tomb

After our visit, we returned to the B&B, rested for awhile and then drove to nearby Drogheda for a surprisingly good dinner (and nice bottle of wine). Walked 2.3 miles today.

6/26 On to Belfast this morning. A rainy day, but we drove mostly on the motorway so it wasn’t too bad. Headed into the center of town and parked the car; then got out and explored the downtown area. First stop was St. George’s Market, Belfast’s version of the Reading Terminal Market but with more tchotchkes, clothing, and junk. Then we walked to the Titanic quarter to see the Titanic museum, but the 25 GBP admission price convinced us to just look at the building and surrounding harbor. Then back to the center of town for lunch and a visit to St. Anne’s Cathedral. Among the many beautiful features, my favorites were the mosaics, especially the domed ceiling in the baptistry. The St. Patrick Mosaic was also stunning, as were many of the stained glass windows. Another highlight: the Titanic Pall, a gorgeous tapestry that commemorates the 1517 people who perished when the ship struck an iceberg in 1912. Very beautiful.

Mosaic roof at the Baptistry of St. Anne's

We then drove to our lodgings for the next 2 nights – the Ravenhill Guest House. Beautiful home in a nice section of South Belfast. We walked only a few blocks away for a fantastic dinner at the Shed Bistro. Walked 6.1 miles today.

6/27 After a great breakfast at Ravenhill, Paddy Campbell picked us up for a Black Cab tour of Belfast and Giants Causeway/Antrim. Paddy first drove us around the Protestant and Catholic areas of Belfast that have been the site of so much violence over the past few decades. Very interesting to see the peace wall, which separates the two sides, and the many political murals commemorating the martyrs and innocents who have died fighting for either Irish independence (the republicans, mostly Catholic) or loyalty to the King (the loyalists, mostly Protestant). Paddy did his best to present both sides fairly.

We left our mark on the Peace Wall: #LoveWins

Paddy then drove us north to Antrim. Our first stop, was Ireland's smallest church. Then, on to the Giant’s Causeway, beautiful and interesting but quite different from what we expected and also crowded. We walked across the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge for some stunning views. It was crowded but still enjoyable, and not TOO scary. We stopped to see the Dunlece Castle ruins; and then drove to the Dark Hedges, one of the sites where Game of Thrones is filmed. Although quite beautiful, it was sad to see how the old trees are dying; some diseased trees have been removed.

A view from the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede

Dunlece Castle

Dark Hedges

Walked 4.1 miles today!

 6/28 After another nice breakfast, we left Belfast and headed south towards Dublin, taking the scenic route along the east coast of the Strangford Lough. Stopped at the Mount Stewart House and Gardens for a beautiful walk around the grounds; then back in the car to the southern end of the peninsula where we crossed on the ferry to the mainland, then stopped in Newcastle for lunch. Touristy beach town with lots of kids and families. Reminded me of Atlantic City.

strolling around the lake at Mount Stewart

We then drove down to Kilkeel for views of the Mountains of Mourne, but with a light rain falling and the promise of more narrow winding roads, we decided to forego the drive up the mountain and headed back on the motorway to Dublin instead. Stopped at the hotel and checked in, then went to return the car to Hertz. We (that would be Garrett) drove a total of 1964 km, or 1220 miles total, on the left side of the road. Next time: fewer miles and longer stays at each location!

After dropping off the car, we decided to take a cab to Hemingway’s, a restaurant we had picked out for dinner, which was a very expensive mistake owing to a very long cab ride (driver said he took a long route to avoid traffic from a football game). We had a good dinner, then a much shorter cab ride back to the hotel. Neither of us slept well… too much noise and light. Walked 2.8 miles today.


6/29 A long trip home. Up at about 6:30 (actually earlier since neither of us could sleep), then to the airport for a 9 a.m. flight. Looonnnng lines… remind me again never to take Air Canada! Plus our flights had been changed so rather than going from Dublin  Toronto  Ottawa  Newark, we went Dublin  Toronto  Montreal (with a 4 hour layover)  Newark. Lots of walking around airports: .5 miles today!

Then the long drive home to be greeted by Bella and OC, and collapse in our own bed!

Food coma

Note: I wrote this but didn't post it in October 2013 while we were vacationing in Italy.
It's now getting towards the end of our Italian vacation, and once more, we find ourselves stuffed to the gills with amazing food.

The binge started in Bologna, where every meal was delicious and then topped off by the "Italian Food Experience", which included tours of parmiagiano, balsamico, and prosciutto factories. After all of that (including generous tastings) we had a "light lunch" (Ha!). OMG, it was amazing. We ate and drank far too much, then wedged ourselves into the rental car to being our journey to Tuscany.

A few months ago, I bought an Italian map for my GPS. It was a lifesaver. We set it for "La Befa" and followed it until it told us we had reached our destination. At this point we were on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, but just up ahead we found our home for the next week, "Il Palazzotto".

Maurizio was waiting for us with a delicious dinner, although we were both too full from lunch to really appreciate it. Then we crawled up to bed.

We woke and checked the time in our darkened room: 11:10! Had we never slept so late? Nonetheless, Maurizio and Alexandra served us an Italian breakfast (toast and jam, coffee, juice, yogurt), and we set off our our first day of Tuscan site-seeing:

A few days later we went with our new friends Regula, Patrice, and Claire (from Switzerland) to the Innocenti winery for a lovely wine tasting:

Brunello, Super Tuscan, even some Grappa, which was reminiscent of lighter fluid. Regula acted as our interpreter since our host, Gianna, spoke about as much English as we speak Italian. It was great!

 After re-visiting Montalcino and then the Abbey of Sant'Antimo,we returned to Il Palazzotto. The smells coming from the kitchen were amazing, and we knew we were going to be treated to another fantastic dinner. Tonight we started with pancetta, parmigiano, and arugula. This was followed by a luscious risotto, and then pork loin stuffed with plums and hazelnuts. Oh, and a delicious plum cake.

So the food coma continues. More tomorrow!

First stop: Venice

Note: I wrote this, but didn't post it, while we were on our trip to Italy in October 2013. Better late than never!

We returned to Italy again this year (although didn't write about our trip last year to Puglia, Sorrento, Pompeii, and Rome, which was amazing), starting out in magical Venice. The flight was smooth and pretty painless, a huge surprise since I have a herniated disk and have been barely able to move for the past week. That lumbar pillow I bought at Brookstone was a gift from God, or maybe my back is just getting better (I'm hoping for the latter). Anyway, from the Marco Polo Airport we took a bus to Piazzale Roma and then the vaporetto to Rialto;

then followed detailed and excellent instructions to the flat we rented that is about half-way between Rialto and San Marco.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day and we enjoyed a lunch of pizza (Lisa) and pasta (Garrett) and exploring our new neighborhood. Last time we were in Venice we stayed in Dorsoduro, and now we know why people love that neighborhood so much. In contrast to peaceful Dorsoduro, San Marco teems with crowds of tourists. We did, however, enjoy the dueling musical groups playing at three different restaurants on San Marco Square.

Having not slept much in the past 24 hours, we rested in the afternoon, then set out again to find a place for dinner. I found a place on TripAdvisor that sounded perfect, but found it next to impossible to navigate to any specific location in Venice. GoogleMaps was absolutely no help whatsoever. So we just wandered until we found something that looked good... and it was! Tourist menu (three courses) only 15 euros, a bottle of the house wine (always good), and a couple of extra treats on the house (Campari and soda to start the meal, Limoncello to end it). Ahh...

Wildlife and Wine

After a great dinner at a little place in Port Fairy called Ramella's, we stayed overnight in Port Fairy and then got back in the car to head for the Grampians National Park. We went on a beautiful walk at the Brambuk cultural center where we were able to see mobs of kangaroos, a flock of emus, and a kookaburra in the wild.




After that we drove on another windy and hilly road and then took a short hike to see the Mackenzie Falls.


We stayed overnight at a cool place called the Kookaburra Motel. There were only a few kookaburras hanging out the day we were there, along with a huge flock of cockatoos. From our room, we were treated with the sight of kangaroos bounding across the field.


Dinner at the Kookaburra Bistro was fantastic. We shared a bottle of local shiraz that we liked so much, we went the next day to visit the Montara winery, purchasing a bottle to bring home. We made two other winery stops on our way to the next destination in the Macedon ranges. Although it was sprinkling the next day, we climbed up to the top of Hanging Rock, a volcanic rock formation well known because of the 1975 movie, Picnic at Hanging Rock.



For our last day exploring South Victoria, we took a fantastic wine and wildlife tour of the Yarra Valley, spending the morning at the Healesville Sanctuary where we saw many animals indigenous to Australia (although the Tasmanian Devil and Wombat failed to show their heads).



We followed the wildlife tour with a delicious lunch and tasting at the Yering Station Winery and a second tasting at the DeBortoli vineyards. So much fun with a really nice group of people.

Great Ocean Road, Australia

The trip from New Zealand to Australia was uneventful. We picked up our rental car and drove to Torquay, Victoria's surfing capital. The beaches were beautiful and the water filled with surfers. We just watched, then continued north on the Great Ocean Road.



We stopped at the Split Point Lighthouse for more spectacular views



Then, on to Cape Otway Point and Lighthouse. On the way to the coast, we came across a few koalas high in the eucalyptus trees and stopped for a few pictures. Later on, we saw dozens of koalas in the trees. They are so cute. Anyway, we made it to the lighthouse and the stunning views. It was incredibly windy but I managed to venture out to the top of the lighthouse, gripping tightly to the handrails all the time.



\

Continuing along the Great Ocean Road, we stopped at the 12 Apostles. Beautiful scenery and powerful surf, along with high winds. Really spectacular!




Finally, we arrive in Port Fairy where we would spend the night.But first, a walk at the Griffiths Island Reserve, home to a colony of wallabies.

North to South

Day 4 in New Zealand found us on the road to Wellington, with a short stop in Martinborough for lunch and some great wines. Returned the car in Wellington and spent the rest of our time there exploring this vibrant city on foot. After drinking so much wine over the past few days, and since Wellington claims to be the "Craft Beer Capital", we stopped by Fork and Brewer for a few beers. Loved the pulls on the taps:


We resumed our exploration of Wellington the next day, taking a cable car up to the Botanical Gardens. Beautiful.



Up early the next morning to catch the ferry to the South Island.




Our wonderful hosts at the Okiwa Bay Lodge picked us up from the ferry and drove us over windy and hilly countryside to their beautiful home. The views from their deck are spectacular, as you can see here. The following morning we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise and morning, then set out for a tour of the Marlborough region, including wineries. Great fun and excellent wines!