Whangarei

Today Anthony and I drove to Whangarei, the northermost city in New Zealand. It's about 2 hours north of Auckland. It is still maybe a 3 hour drive from the top of NZ, but it most only be towns and villages north of Whangarei. Anyways, we went up there today to get out of the city. On the way up we picked up a hitch hiker, Casey, a young man from Australia. He was likely about our age but we didn't ask. He was really nice and headed to the top of the North Island. He rode with us for maybe 100 kms. I probably wouldn't have picked him up if I was on my own but since Anthony was with me I felt fine. Casey was really nice and Anthony and I both enjoyed the experience. After all of the free rides the I had gotten from others (and Anthony as well), it's about time we start giving back.

We drove up to Whangarei to see a beautiful waterfall they have there and escape Auckland for a few hours. The weather did not end up being great today, but it's only going to get worse the next 3-4 days with a storm coming into town (and then winter) so we probably did okay in the end. We had lunch on the water in Whangarei - nothing amazing. The view wasn't that great since it was cloudy and misty all during out meal but you could tell it would look really pretty if the sun was out. We then went on a small hike and then went to the water fall. Here's some photos:

The Marina where were had lunch.

Nice view, if not for the large water/waste pipe on the right side of the stream....

Anthony. It was quite chilly yesterday. Well, it actually got warmer/more humid as the day went on but at this point it was a chilly.

Trying to hold up the Kauri tree.

A fern lear/the NZ flag.

Looking down onto Whangarei Falls.

I spy a duck...

There he is!

Looking up at Whangarei Falls.

Anthony and me.

Stunning, isn't it?!

Wow!

On our drive back to Auckland we considered stopping at a cave to check it out but the caves are apparently prone to flooding and it was a pretty strong downpour when we were in the area so we decided next time - in which case there likely won't be a next time but than god there are more caves in NZ!

We  went out for dinner last night at the Blue Breeze Inn - a great restaurant in Ponsonby. It was our "first date" except Anthony is gay and therefore our chances of this relationship going anywhere are not that great. I'm sure I'll get another date with Anthony - actually I know I will - but it won't lead anywhere. :( Haha!

Next week on our days off (Tuesday and Wednesday) I think we are going to go away for two days. I'm going to look into buying an air mattress for the back of my truck so we can sleep there and not spend any money on hotels/motels. We will probably leave the city on Tuesday and come back Thursday morning. All dependent on our work schedule but you'll obviously see what happens.

That's all for now. Chat soon!

Best!

And here's a few videos:

Canopy Kauri Walk

Whangarei Falls

Record Night!

Tonight we set a sales record for Ortolana - the highest sales night ever at the restaurant. It was crazy busy starting around 5:30pm and not ending until after 11. We had about 3 dinner rushes and were packed all night. It was super fun, went super fast, and everyone had a blast. We celebrated after we all signed off by having 3 bottles of bubbles - Bollinger - together as a team. The owner even came back into the city to celebrate with us! Great night, but I'm super tired so that's all for today.

Oh, and I discovered a great beach on the North Shore that looks south towards the city with a wonderful view of the harbor bridge. Maybe I'll go back tmr (later today) and take some photos to share with everyone.

Best!

Hipgroup Farm Photos

It only took what felt like a century to upload the following photos, and it's getting past my bedtime for this evening so I'm going to do quick captions for each. 

My lunch from Provenence - a beef pie. It tasted just as wonderful as it looks!

A couple of the pigs that are raised/owned by Hipgroup. I learned today that we did raise one "batch" of pigs once. We are currently using a supplier for most of our pork but plan to start raising more pigs again in the future.

Some cows. I don't know if these are Hipgroup's or not. They were in a paddock next to the pigs that we had to walk through. Cuties :)

Hipgroup pear orchard. 

A quince fruit. I had never seen one of these before coming to NZ. In the US I typically saw quince in marmalades, jams, pastes, etc. They use them pretty much the same here, but they also grow here. They can, apparently, but eaten whole but are not that great. They have been described to me as a cross between an apple and a pear. 

Pecan tress. These feel to me like something out of Dr. Seuss.

Our citrus orchard. Tangelo trees.

Montepulciano grape vines. We grow many varieties of grapes on the farm which we use for sodas and wines.

Autumn is here. A leaf from the Montepulciano vine.

A beautiful Oxheart tomato.

  

Looking north over Muriwai beach.

Stairs leading out of the sea. At low tide you can walk across the sand to this staircase but at high tides it's too dangerous. 

The misty, cloudy day at Muriwai beach.

There's the overdue photos from Tuesday's daytime adventure.

For the last few days:

Thursday - I worked. Nothing too exciting there. My tables were a bit strange - people weren't ordering much and we hanging out for a long time. The restaurant was very busy but since my tables didn't want much I wasn't all the busy.

Friday - Worked again. The tables I had tonight were amazing. Everyone was super friendly and really into being out and having a good time. The night felt like about 3 days long - not in a bad way but when I think back to tables I had at the beginning of the night it doesn't feel like could possibly have been today. All was good though. Made some good tips - nothing exceptional, but good. That's it. 

I'm so tired I just don't have much else to say.

I'm glad to hear the weather is improving in MN. It's not getting bad here yet, but you can tell winter is one the way. The nights are cool, the air smells different, and since we just had DST, the nights are getting darker much earlier. I guess it's time to prepare for some cold(er) rainy months. I'm saying colder and not cold because winter here is still above freezing all the time - no frosts, no snow, no ice.

Okay, good night.

Best!

Way too much fun on my Saturday night!

Yesterday I had way too much fun, thus my lack of a blog post yesterday or this morning. I have spent pretty much all day recovering, and I'm not feeling all better yet. Now, where do I even start?!

Yesterday during the day Anthony (my co-worker) and Jonathan (one of the managers at Ortolana) and I went out for lunch at one of Hipgroup's other locations. After lunch we went to see the Hipgroup's farm where we grow lots of the produce that we use to prepare our dishes. I took lots of photos but I'll post another day - not feeling like waiting today. After the farm, we went out to Muriwai beach to see the Gannet Colony. Jonathan and I had been there before but Anthony hadn't. It was cool to see again. We hung out at the beach for a bit and then headed back into the city to check out a chocolate shop in Parnell, a cute neighborhood between where I live and the CBD. Amazing chocolate and a fun time! By the time we'd finished with all this we headed our own ways to shower and nap before going out for dinner. And that's where the real fun began.

We met in the CBD at 7:30 to go for dinner at Ostro, a new hip, up-market restaurant near where we all work. We didn't have a booking so we went next door for a drink at a Japanese cocktail bar before dinner. We then went back to the restaurant and ordered a bottle of wine to drink while we waited for our table. It took about 90 minutes to get a table in the end but since it was our Saturday night we had no where to be. We sat down to eat around 9:00pm and had an amazing meal! The food was just fantastic! Another bottle of wine with dinner as well so we had plenty to drink. After dinner we went to a house party one of our work mates was throwing. House party might not be the correct term, more of a get together, but for a Tuesday night it was pretty crazy! Everyone at the party was french so I had to keep reminding them to speak in English. We left the party maybe around 12:30 or 1 and went to a bar on the viaduct. Spent a few hours there drinking and laughing and dancing. One of the guys that came with us from the house party, Alex, was an amazing dancer with some pretty fancy moves. I tried dancing with him for one song but I had on 4 inch heels on a stone floor so I couldn't move that well. We're going to go out dancing some other time I think when I can wear more sensible shoes and we can go somewhere with a better floor.

At the bar I met an American guy, Kelvin, from Virginia Beach. Always fun to meet Americans! When the bar closed around 3 am Kelvin and I went to the casino and I played roulette. I'd never played roulette in my life and I can't believe how much money is lost on each round (or whatever you call them). I placed two bets on 23 and lost both. I quit after that. I lost a total of $5. Then I took a cab home about 4:00am maybe. Anyways, I will probably elaborate tomorrow but it's not about 8:30 pm and I still have a headache. I've been watching House all day on Netflix. Seems somewhat like a waste of a day but I guess that's what Sundays are all about. My work week starts again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some good rest tonight.

Oh, today I always tried out the Bun Hut in Balmoral with Tom. I thought these were probably the best steamed buns we've tried yet. They were much smaller than the ones at the Jiale Bun Shop in Northcote. The one today were probably about the size of a clementine. The ones at the Jiale Shop were about the size of a grapefruit. Different, both VERY good, but I think I prefer the ones from today.

Anyways, headache getting worse from thinking and typing. Back to House. Back to trying to rehydrate and relax.

Best!

Fun and Random fact I learned today: The term "slider" is rumored to come from the US Navy where the greasy burgers "slid" across the galley grill when the ships pitched and rolled.

Wonderful Customers

Worked again yesterday and I had my own section again, this time with 7 tables! And I'm doing better every night! I had lots of wonderful tables, all of my customers were just a delight! They were so friendly and nice and having such a good time! I just had such a good time at work last night. One of my table even told me I do I very good job explaining the menu which made me very happy. In the few days I've been serving I've been perfecting my little menu spiel. Here's a link to the menu. If you take a look, I'm sure you will so lots of words on there you don't know. I have now started going over all of them with my tables ahead of time so they know what everything is. Although it does take a few minutes, they seem to appreciate it because otherwise they don't know what everything is, I doubt they want to ask about every word they don't know, and who (besides very adventurous people) wants to order something they don't know what it is. Anyways, I had a great night at work! More work today and then Tuesday and Wednesday off. Tuesday I might be going for a day trip with some co-workers somewhere and then Wednesday I think I'm doing some rock climbing and steamed bun eating with Tom. That's all for now.

Best!

Boston or NYC?

I had a guest tonight who wanted to guess where I was from. I always enjoy this, as no one ever guesses MN (because no one knows where MN is, they know it's in America but no clue where), so I thought perfect, let him guess! He started out by saying I think east coast... "Am I right?" to which I replied, "I'm not giving you any clues, you wanted to guess." He kept thinking and said "Either Boston or  NY.... I'm not sure.... Boston. You're from Boston." Of course I'm not and I told him so to which he replied, "You're so much different from my MN friends." Of course this was a lie because he doesn't have any friends from MN but I apparently am quite different from his other friends from the Midwest, who are real, and it doesn't surprise me that that's true, especially after the comments from Will, Gregory, and Filipe from last night. I guess I'm just not your typical Midwestern girl.

I had a great table tonight, John and David, who were sitting at the same table as Will, Gregory, and Filipe from last night, table 61. If these past two evening have been any sort of prediction of the future, I'm going to love table 61. Nice, fun people who tip well. John and David gave me a $20 tip this evening for my travel fund. They know that we split tips at the restaurant but told me to keep it for myself. I didn't, but I didn't tell them that. I may provide great service and get on well with my tables, but at a restaurant that's as busy as Ortolana you really realize that you can't do anything without your coworkers. My service wouldn't be what it is if everyone wasn't' always helping me out. I wouldn't have the time to devote to making sure my tables are happy if I didn't have other people running food and helping clear plates and helping refill waters. And I always try to repay them when I can, by helping whenever possible and sharing all my tips. I guess it's really only fair. They do with me as well!

Overall, tonight went much better than last night. I got a pretty good system down for explaining all the unknowns on the menu, I'm learning more about the menu, and not forgetting so many of the particular things about how we do table service at Ortolana. I felt like I did a better job, I think I did a better job, and I wasn't so stressed this evening as I was last night. I made a few tips that I know of but I don't always take payment for my tables so it's possible I made more. Of course this all goes into the communal pot but I enjoy knowing that I'm at least providing service good enough to warrant a tip in a country that doesn't typically tip.

Nothing else too exciting for today. Lounged around this morning, watched some TV, read my book, Skyped my father. That's about it.

Work tomorrow, maybe the gym in the morning. It's Daylight Savings tonight and we're falling back (since it's autumn here) so an extra hour of sleep. Yay! Before you had DST in MN we were 5 hours apart, the last few weeks we've been 6 hours apart, and after tonight we'll be 7. Crazy, isn't it?!

Okay, that's all.

Night! Kisses!

Best!

Being Blunt

Since I've been traveling, many people have described me as being blunt. I have been told that this isn't a bad thing, but I'm surprised how many times people have used this word to describe me. When I went out with some co-workers last weekend they told me that I am "blunt" and "authentic" and the many people at Ortolana like me for that reason. I wouldn't say that I'm not these things but I've met people who are more blunt than me and I find that it strange how many time this has been pointed out to me. I don't mind being this way, I would prefer this to being too passive-aggressive of inauthentic, but I also know this is something I have to watch. I do not fake things well and my emotions show very readily on my face which I need to be aware of and try to control when necessary.

Case in point, last night I had a table of guests - three men, George, Will, and Filipe - who used both "blunt" and "authentic" to describe me. They found it very refreshing and enjoyed having me as their server, I even made a $50 tip (huge for NZ), but they called me out a few times when I said things they could tell I didn't mean or had a weird expression on my face. I guess I'm not going to sit around faking niceness to people all night, I do truly enjoy people so me not faking it isn't going to mean people will get bad service, but I also need to start being a bit more conscious of what my face looks like and putting more authenticity behind some of the things I say - or change what I'm saying to be more authentic. I think that my tables tend to enjoy having me as their server, I'm friendly, outgoing, eager to make their experience exceptional, but I just need to watch myself a bit I think. Nothing bad has come of this yet, but I guess in the wrong situation it definitely could.

About last night, so I had my own section at work, a full section. I had the outside R consisting of 4 tables. I would say I did not get off to a good start. When I came to work at 3 I was happy and ready to be there but it was crazy and I'm never quite sure what to do right when I arrive. Being friday, it was rather busy and I quickly found that I was a bit flustered. I worked on a couple of tasks before taking over my section, one of these tasks being polishing wine glasses. This is not something I am good at and not something I enjoy. I do not know how to do this properly, I always seem to do a bad job, and yesterday was no exception. This really through me for a loop and I guess if I am asked to do this again I am going to ask for a lesson on how to do this properly. Anyways, when I do something I'm not good at it really gets me all in my head, thinking about how bad I am at the task, how everyone else is probably thinking about how bad I am at it, etc... I then transitioned from this task straight into my section and this transition didn't go well. I now know to ask for a proper hand-off but I kept asking tables things they'd already been asked or failing to ask them things I should. I didn't know where any of them were in their dinner process and this also made me flustered. Once I eventually got all new tables, however, things went much better. I learned each table, knew where they were in the meal process, what they were eating, what they were drinking, etc... and things went well, I believe.

I know there are many places for me to improve, however. As I've said, the expectations are high at Ortolana and I feel like I'm still training myself on what these are. They are very particular about how things are done, which provides a consistent level of quality service for all guests, which is great, but makes a bit of a steep learning curve for me. I feel like I have finally figured out how to do the pass (food running) which I did my first 5-6 shifts but now I am almost re-learning everything as a server. I forget to re-fill wine glasses, I forget to remove the salt and pepper after people are finished eating, I forget to call away their main courses after they've eaten their entrees (what we refer to as appetizers). I'm sure that after a few more serving shifts this will all come easier but yesterday I stumbled through most of it. And, I was answering most menu questions for the first time, also lots of stumbling. By the end of the night I had gotten my little menu introduction down much better, I started to figure out what regular questions people have about the menu, and I wasn't so terribly awkward with my replies. I have also learned what I need to start studying about the menu since I know what people are going to ask. This, I would say, is something I've always struggled with. It's hard for me to just memorize the menu and be ready to go. I need to have people ask me questions, and stumble through them, to realize what I really don't know and how I can best explain it to someone in a way that makes sense.

Anyways, I'm hopeful about the job and how it will go, I just need to watch my blunt-ness, be a good authentic, and keep studying the menu and learning about the food and wine!

That's all for now. Going to work in about 1.5 hours for another day. Wish me luck, send me positive thoughts, and I am sending warm thoughts home to you all.

Best!

Rangitoto Continued

Okay, so to describe my day on Rangitoto in more detail....

As you all know, Rangitoto is an island/volcano that sits in the Hauraki Gulf just outside of Auckland. From most anywhere in Auckland you can see the volcano. Yesterday I decided to take the ferry out to the uninhabited island to hike to the summit and around the island. I left the city at 10:30 on the ferry and arrived shortly before 11. I hiked immediately up the summit. It is advertised as taking about 1 hour at an easy pace - I think I did it in about 40 minutes. Although the path is well groomed it is a bit of a tough hike, mostly because it's all up hill. It's about 1.5 miles up to the top. You get to walk though lots of areas where the lava is still exposed which is quite cool. There are also lots of signs along the way teaching you about volcanos, geology, etc... Here's a few photos from the hike up:

The city

Volcanic Rock

The city

When you get to the top there is a nice lookout as well as a pathway that winds around the summit. I did some looking out from the top. Here's what you can see:

Looking into the Hauraki Gulf

The Sky Tower

The Harbor Bridge

Selfie attempt. You can't see the city but it's there.

Looking over to the neighboring island, Motutapu. Look how different the vegetation is between the two islands. Crazy, isn't it?

Waiheke island in the background. Waiheke island is the large island in the Hauraki gulf. There are about 8.700 people who live on the island permanently but way more people are there in the summer for vacation. 

After hiking to the top I hiked down to McKenzie Bay and went for a short swim. There's a lighthouse out in McKenzie Bay:

Looking at the lighthouse. The norther beaches are in the background.

On my walk back I came across this beautiful water:

A nice path, isn't it?

Rangitoto Island used to be inhabited and the people who lived there all had baches (the NZ equivalent of a cabin). Here are some photos of the ones that are still standing:

That's all from Rangitoto.

In work news, I had my own tables at work tonight, I wasn't just running food. It went pretty well. I had one customer who asked tons of questions on the menu, a few too many for me to be able to answer, but I did my best. It was good to get more face time with the customers, but it's going to take a bit of time for me to get used to it all.

Rainy day in Auckland today as well. On and off all day, but lots of times of very heavy ran. I guess this is what I can expect for winter. Not as bad as -45!

Best!

Rangitoto Volcano

Yesterday I went and hiked Rangitoto Volcano which sits in the Hauraki Gulf. The island is a 25 minute ferry ride from Auckland. You can see Rangitoto from pretty much any elevated area in Auckland. It's pretty cool. The island was formed about 600 years ago when the volcano erupted. They do not know how long it took for the island to form or when the last time was that it erupted but they do know it has been a while. There are trees on the island that are 225 years old and it takes a while for trees to grow on a completely volcanic island so they think maybe the last time it erupted was approximately 500 years ago. They do know that Maori people were on the island at some point because there are footprints in the volcanic ash. Anyways, I made a few videos yesterday, finally, so here they are:

Me on the Pier in Auckland City waiting to leave. 

Me on the top of volcano looking out over the Hauraki Gulf.

Looking out over Auckland City.

I have photos as well but I don't have time to upload right now.

Yesterday I also got my hair cut, well actually trimmed. Julie, one of my co-workers at Ortolana, has a flatmate that cuts hair so I got a good haircut for $20 NZD. Nice!

What else? Not much - I went to my NZ family's house yesterday for dinner. They are all coming to Mpls in 3 weeks and very exciting. After they leave Mpls, their daughter, Rosie, will be taking a 3 week tour of the Southern US. She will be going to pretty much every big city in the south between LA and DC and then up to NYC. It sounds like a totally AMAZING trip! So jealous!

Okay, that's all for now. I need to do a few errands before work. I'll post more photos from Rangitoto tonight in my post as well as fill you in on what a Feijoa is.

Best!

I'm Coming Home to MN

So I've decided to cut my trip short and return to the US. The weather is going to start getting colder here, it's starting to get warm in MN and I just feel like I'm missing out on so much at home. Just kidding, Happy April Fools Day! There's no way I'm coming home any time soon, although the weather is going to start getting cold here and I heard it was really nice yesterday in Mpls. It's still really nice here, maybe about 80* during the day but winter is coming, yuck! It's not gonna be MN cold, not even below freezing, but apparently it's cloudy and rainy all winter - almost worse than snow.

It was my day off today. I finished my current book this morning, another Patricia Cornwall novel and then went to the park for a bit. After that I met Brooke and Sarah for lunch out in Titirangi, a western suburb of Auckland. A super cute little town and cute cafe. Sarah is leaving on Monday for the UK for 2 years to teach. Too bad since she's such a fun girl but I'm sure she's gonna have a great time. I think she's hoping to fall in love with an English guy and never come home. Best of luck, Sarah!

This afternoon I had to go buy more road miles for my car. So in NZ you pay taxes on petrol at the pump but not on diesel fuel since diesel is used for things like boats that don't use the roads. To make up for not paying diesel taxes at the pump you have to buy road miles at the DMV so that you can drive your diesel car on the road. My diesel miles ran out at 248,813 and when I pulled into the DMV to buy more diesel miles my car was at 248,812. I really cut that one close. If you get caught driving without valid diesel miles I think the fines can be pretty steep! I bought 2,000 road miles (well it's actually kilometers but I think they still call them "road miles") for $115. It's kind of expensive but since I'm not driving my vehicle so much any more it should last me a while.

Tonight I went out for dinner by myself to an Italian place in Parnell. I had gnocchi for dinner with a glass of wine and then a cappuccino and a molten chocolate cake for dessert. I was so full when I left my stomach hurt, but man was it delicious!

In good news, I got my IRD number today so I can finally start getting paid at my new job. I emailed the number to them today. We get paid on Wednesday but I'm not sure if they're going to be able to get my money to me by then. I know my boss is trying but we'll see what happens. Either way, I'm just happy I got it! Yay! When I called to get it over the phone, however, he wanted me to record myself saying some different phrases like my birthdate and IRD number so they can use voice recognition software next time I call to identify me. I told him I wouldn't do it because it was creepy. The guy I was talking to didn't seem to pleased with that but I'm not sure how I feel about the NZ government using voice recognition software on me. I guess it's probably not as bad as the US government having that but I wouldn't be surprised if they have all sorts of stuff on me without my knowledge.

Tomorrow I've got a big day. I'm going to go out to Rangitoto Island during the day to hike the volcano. At 5:30 I'm getting my hair cut. Then I'm going to my NZ family's house for dinner. My NZ family is coming to MN in a few weeks and I'm trying to put together a list of places for them to go, things to do, where to eat, etc... I know this used to be my job, when I was concierge at the St. Paul Hotel, but they're going to be in MN for 3 weeks and I'm having trouble coming up with a ton of things to do. If you have any ideas I can share with them, please let me know.

Nice chatting to you all tonight.

Best!

And have a happy April Fools Day!