Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Around and about Wanaka
Good morning from New Zealand, May 31, 9am
We can’t believe we have been here five days already but the good news is that we have 86 still to go. We are enjoying ourselves so so much. To be able to hug and hold the grandkids is very, very special.
As most of you know it is late fall here and is quite cold, somewhere between 45 and 55 degrees each day. The good news is each day here is a day away from the blistering heat of Arizona. Lots of rain last night but just partly cloudy today. We plan to walk to town a little later to check out the library where we have already received our library cards, go to a bicycle store to see the cost of renting some electric bikes, and what will probably become a daily ritual stop at the Patagonia Ice Cream store for a delicious ice cream cone. You’ll all like to know that eating in New Zealand is unique given there are NO calories in any of the food, especially the ice cream, bread, butter, candy, pasta, muffins, scones, etc. A true miracle! I’m a little concerned about losing too much weight but we all need to make sacrifices.
I finally worked up the nerve yesterday to drive Dan’s car. It definitely takes concentration to drive on the left side of the roads, especially the roundabouts. I told Dan if he allowed us to drive his car Joan and I would make it a team effort shouting out directions to each other to stay in the correct lane. Although we only went to the grocery store we did quite well. A little nerve racking but I’m sure it will get easier as we get more miles (kilometers) under our belt. The problem is that you can’t even make one mistake. No texting while driving and not even the radio on. Total concentration. Also while walking you MUST look right when crossing the street. Wanaka is a small town so there really isn’t a lot of traffic. In London for example you could easily get killed while here probably just severely injured!
One last note for this writing: as you readers know in the US we are one day ahead of you time wise and thus know the results of the stock market for the day. Please don’t ask me to tell you the results of the day before the opening of the markets. That’s called inside trading and I don’t want to be found guilty of that. Yes, I will take advantage of it and probably quintuple my holdings but it is legal for those of us who have relatives in NZ. The only exception to the rule is made for politicians in the States.
Gene
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Good morning or good afternoon from Wanaka, New Zealand!
Joan and I left Scottsdale on Tuesday May 24 and arrived May 26 in Queensland where Dan was waiting for us to drive us to Wanaka where we will be staying for the next three months. Dan and Annie rented a home just two miles from theirs. Very very convenient. We got settled in, went to his house for lunch and then drove to the kids school and for the first time in more than two years were able to hug and kiss our three beautiful grandkids. What a delight.
We were very fortunate that our three flights all left on time. Joan had built in enough time between each flight so there was very little stress between flights. All was well until we arrived in Auckland where the machine that is used to removed the luggage from the plane broke down and we waited about 40 minutes to finally retrieve our bags. Then the fun began as we needed to clear customs and place our baggage on the final plane. This procedure involved putting the bags through security twice, being delayed by a scanner that didn’t want to work, taking a long bus ride to another terminal, and finally finding our gate with just a few minutes to spare. The final fight was stunningly beautiful from Auckland to Queenstown. There had been a recent snow storm, the first of the year, and the continuous mountain ranges were magnificent! I will post some photos taken from the plane. The view was only a prequel of the many views in Wanaka. The views out our windows are stunning. So far it has been very sunny but cold. Rain is arriving the coming week with more snow in the mountains.
At this time of the year it is getting dark at 5PM and light at 8AM. For those who have forgotten their geography it’s winter in the far south while summer in the US. We will have temperatures in the 30’s and 40’s for our entire stay. A big change for us but a pleasant change, I hope.
Joan and I are a real mess on our sleep but hope to be normalized soon. Since we are 19 hours ahead of Mountain Stand Time this is going to take a while. Example: I was asleep on the couch at 5:30 last evening. Slept about 12 hours and I’m still tired.
That’s it for now but more tomorrow, I hope. I’m too tired to be my usual corny self but I will be back on form soon.
Gene
Hello from Wanaka, New Zealand!
Gene and I arrived in Wanaka 2 days ago and while we are still jet lagged we are functioning somewhat normally. We are staying in a rental home at 45 Kings Drive across the street from the children's school. There are views from every window. In Wanaka there seem to be views no matter where you are.
We will be here for 3 months and will be posting often.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Relating to food
Last night's dinner at Louis Richard apartment 
Upside down nectarine cake from the 2nd dinner
Bruce in our kitchen ready to serve salads (chèvre chaud with apples and pears)
Hors d'oeurves before the meal
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Chenonceau and the last days
No rain yesterday. Clouds only. We drove the 60k to Chenonceau, the fanciest and probably the most beautiful of the Loire valley chateaux. You can see Tiarra's photos on Gene's and my Facebook accounts and I will post some of Gene's shortly. We had dinner here at the Louis Richard apartment which is across from our house. Steven suggested he could serve dinner there for a change of pace. We had a great dinner as usual and lively conversation especially when Steven and Bruce joined us. Steven has been taking a lot of photos for us and when he sends them to me I will post them. Penny and I are here at the house while Gene and Tiarra drive to a golf course 30k away to check it out. Penny and I couldn't face another hour in the car so chose to stay here and do laundry and other tasks which had been neglected. After lunch when the others return we will head back to Saumur for some last minute French bargain shopping. Tiarra discovered that Caudalie cosmetics, a high end French brand, is about half price here, so we are going to get a bit. Tiarra and Penny leave tomorrow for Paris and Gene and I leave Saturday morning to head to Paris to overnight at the airport befor heading home early Sunday morning. Today the weather is sunny and beautiful. Too bad most days weren't. Although we have had a wonderful time here and have enjoyed our many visitors, Italy and Lake Como remain our favorite place ever.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Le Mans.
On Monday we all drove to the town of Le Mans. We first stopped by the racetrack museum and then went into the city for lunch and then took a quick tour of a local church.
2013 24 Hour of Le Mans winner.
The first car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
One of the first helmets that was used.
Porsche GT1.
964 RSR.
Porsche 917.
Ford GT.
Tiarra and Gene.
St. Julien. 
Porsche 935.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
The Last Week
Today is October 3rd and I will be picking up Tiarra and her friend Penny at 1:30 at the train station in Saumur, about eight miles from our chateau, Champfreau. It will be good to have them here. Tiarra has made many trips to see us while we were in Italy at Lake Como and this will be her first trip to France. It will be Penny's first to Europe ever. Joan and I have saved some major Chateaux to visit and we're all looking forward to seeing Chateau de Chenonceau. It is the largest and most well known in the region. It spans a complete river! We will post some pictures after our visit. Another special trip will be up to LeMans where we will visit the world famous race track and then tour the Musee Automobile, showcasing many of the past winners of the 24 Hours of LeMans!
Here is the final story on the coin fiasco. (Please refer to my earlier post on coins from Michael). I took our last bag of coins into the grocery store that has the coin machine. This time we had about 30 euros. Easy enough.
A far cry from the first visit which after gobbling up piles of coins it spit out a receipt for 157 euros, perhaps a world record. I'll check with the Guiness people at a later date. At that point Joan and I proceeded to buy groceries amounting to 87euros. One would think, at least I thought, that we would just receive credit for the remaining 70 euros. We thought wrong. This transaction threw the clerk for a complete loop. She had no idea how to handle the fact that we turned in far more coins than the purchases we made. She, of course, started to discuss this dilemma with us in perfect French. We responded in perfect English that we didn't have a clue of what she was saying. Considering us as the village idiots she abruptly got up (cashiers sit in France) and made her way to the head cashiers office. After a laborious discussion it was decided to give up a gift card for the remaining 70 euros. Of course the gift card was only for that supermarket. So an easy solution that took ten minutes to resolve. Of course the next visit to the store resulted in the same scenario. We turned in another huge bags of coins and got a receipt for second place in the Guiness book This time the clerk was very adamant that there was no way we were going to pay for the groceries with a receipt from the coin machine that was larger than the purchase. I raised my voice an octave or so and indicated the easy solution, in perfect English again. She stood her ground and was going to resolve this without interference or help from the head cashier. I glared at her, she glared at me. She pointed to the long line of customers behind us. I finally broke the impasse by leaning over her and grabbed another gift card and laid it down in front of her and said " I want to buy a gift card for the difference". In perfect French she said to me, Aha, that is an intelligent solution, I'm happy to serve you." At least I think that is what she said. However it could have been something slightly different like, "Aha, you are a perfect American ass...." Who knows but the transaction was completed as we wanted it!! I love the French people!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Dinner at the Manoir
Bruce and Steven prepared an excellent dinner for us this evening. Anna leaves in the morning heading back to Milano. The menu included hors d'oeurves by the fire and at the table a salad with apples,pears and chèvre chaud. The main course was roast lamb with a reduced peppercorn sauce and au gratin potatoes. Vegetables were carrots and red cabbage prepared in a delicious way. Dessert was an upside down peach cake with mascarpone cream. Magnifique!!
Hors d'oeurves by the fire
Enjoying dinner
Steven and Bruce with Gene and Joan
Around Varennes-sur-Loire
Anna, Gene and I took a walk late this morning around the village. Gene snapped a few random photos. The last three photos are of Champfreau. The cross at the start of the road, the gate house, and the back of the barn and apartment.
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