GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT, A CIRCUS AND SOME BREAD..

Julius Caesar 63 B.C. "Give the people what they want, a circus and some free bread, "  or, something like that.  Some of it still rings true today.  I am going to leave the review of |Rome over to Nanci.  We share the same opinion in this matter and I think she can collect our thoughts and put them in better light.  The Italians take their fashion seriously !

Who can resist roasted chestnuts on an open fire...Not Nanci!!!  Not me. 

Something happened on the  way to the forum!

The most beautiful fountain in the world!!!!!

I'm so happy- so very happy!

I love this car...



Now where is Nanci now?  She ducks into gelato stores on every street



The sky colors change from one minute to the next





Kiwi's are more then just great fruits! We love you New Zealand- We're moving here!

Just arrived!

 Dragon Diary back again:  Just one week ago we were in Sydney, posing gorgeously in front of the Sydney Opera House.   The days since then have brought us yet more new experiences and all of the visual delights of New Zealand’s stunning natural endowments.

Upon arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand, we hooked up with our car and headed to the Wilderness Lodge, a high country sheep farm near Arthur’s Pass on the main road between Christchurch and the West Coast of NZ.  The 100 or so mile drive was scenic and to Sheila’s distress, I pushed her out into the mountain air a few times in order to get some snapshots.  She’s still shivering.


Early morning brisk walk

 Loving the unknown and unexpected, we arrived just before 5 pm to discover that we shared our farm with 5000 sheep, the merino kind that gives us those oh-so-toasty sweaters.  Our general orientation to the farm and the delights of the high country consisted of taking several hikes on our own, a couple of walks with the lodge owner who has a PhD in Botany and shared some of his insights on the native flora.  Muy interessante!!  Then, off to watch the Border Collie, Sheila’s new best friend, round up the sheepies for some shearing.  We never knew that the object of shearing was to remove the entire coat in one piece.  Neither did we know that the lambsies liked getting 20 pounds of wool off of them…a full coat truly does become that heavy when it gets wet.  As for me and the farm animals, I preferred to just cuddle the littlest ones.

The welcome reception at wilderness lodge!

The view from our room was right out of the movies…flat river valley bordered by snow-capped mountains.  Beautiful weather topped off a very cozy stay at the Wilderness.



Several observations…who would believe rain forest flora in NZ?  Is it possible that we could be overwhelmed with excitement at a supermarket sighting??  Two buttons for every toilet, what for?  One for half a flush, and one for a full one.  Not a bad idea, America and Mexico. 

OK- The coats don't work, but they will look fab in Rome!



Our last morning in those mountains, we took a 6:30 AM kayaking jaunt on a most-tranquil high country lake.  Very nippy, but a midway shoreside campfire toasted our tootsies and bolstered our courage for the paddle back to the far shore.  We sometimes amaze ourselves…camper girls!!!



6:30 am kayak and cold and wonderful and memorable!























Nothing like 3 miles before a country breakfast!

Nanci and her cuddly companion



Everyone likes a haircut...and these guys are no different



Hmmm, I feel good, and look so pretty!

 

I am bringing him home Allison!!!




Then, in the car for the 100+ miles drive to the West Coast and down the Coast to Fox Township and the Fox Glacier area.  There, the focus was on heli-hiking, and heli-hike we did.  Heavy boots, crampons, hiking sticks, and a guide…good to go!  For three hours we tramped on the glacier…up, down, across…peering down aqua-blue holes of water fed by sub-ice streamlets, and looking through ice passages.  Sheila braved going through the ice tunnels…I passed on the opportunity, content to watch as she emerged victorious on the other side.

Each of us was exhilarated by both the experience of hiking on a glacier and by the knowledge that we just plain did it.  Love those “firsts” in life.

Sheila here writing:  What you are about to see is a little bit of an exercise for me.  I like to embrace the fear that wells up within me, grab my footing and move through it. I know exactly where I get that urge from. 

This ice cave trekking was NOT easy for me, if anyone thinks it was,  then they don't know me! 

Easy for me would have been sitting outside the cave and meeting the others at the other opening. Once inside, I felt I needed more strength.  I  felt my knees shaking and my pants getting wet from the melting ice around me.

I knew as I felt my pant legs drench, that I better I move faster. If the water was melting on the inside, then for sure it was melting on the outside .....above my head. 

I am not going to write much more, instead I will  just use some pictures to convey what I was feeling and how proud I am of Nanci, who at 70 still nurtures her curiosity most days.



Here we go!




Another Adventure!!!!




Looks Easy Enough, don't you think?

If I live, I promise...isn't that how it goes????



"A little perspective--that would be us"



 

Head towards the light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Going Home




More memories as we travel around New Zealand.



From Sheila

This, this NZ  is not to be compared.  This is big, bold and broad. These Kiwis’s as they love to call themselves, they are New Zealanders. They make mouth watering wine wonderful wool sweaters and wake up early in the morning.  They are hearty men and women.  Nanci eats lamb every day, while I eat the freshest of fish with wonderful Chardonnay’s.

1000's of people leave notes on a beach

We left our beach note

Note from Sheila to Sheila so I remember this moment:

Big Bold Broad Land

This is for you Brother Bill, 100 plus years and still sailing



Now that is one big tree!

Talk about a fork in the road!!!!

Albatross or Seagull???????

Albatross's having fun!

Big Vistas on our hunt to find the Royal Albatross



Opera Night ..........RIGOLETTO

A few common questions we were asked over and over were:
1.  How do you pack for a trip like this?
2.  How do you plan for trip like this?

In our case, we purchased the open around the world tickets and did not fill in the destinations until months later when we bought tickets to see Rigoletto at the Sydney Opera house for November 4th.  Everything fell into place after that.

For the record, I am sick of my clothes and I think they are starting to smell.    There I said it!  They are clean, but they strike me as kinda strange....having attended catholic school for many years, I for one can wear the same thing over and over and over, but this is too much.  The cute skirts I packed...I hate now.  The lovely scarf...I left in the last hotel with a note.."left intentionally, please don't forward!"

Hence, you can imagine my relief when I was told, Sydney Opera go'ers are casual, because casual was all I could muster.

RIGOLETTO performed at the  SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE.....a dream come true for me.  Third row center seats, another moment in this journey where we both sat in disbelief.

Neither Nanci, nor I are opera aficionado’s, we both simply find the human voice can heal us, inspire us and rouse memories that are often restrained.  The performance was stupendous and in the end, we were the first on feet for the standing ovation that never came.  We kept standing and clapping but we felt so alone thinking surely, surely we are not ignorant, surely they felt that was a great performance too….then we realized, the Aussies don’t stand when they are happy with the performance, they stomp their feet….hence the thundering stomping.  The audience loved the performance too!

What a memorable night!

Back Roads to Sydney!!!

At first we thought it was funny when we saw Kangaroo crossing signs.  Then we saw our first road kill roo.  We were not going to mention it, until it became apparent that roo's were frequently not making it across. 

Then we started to worry about wombats, dingos, and koalas.

Another thought which I hestitate to mention is how many times thought of Meryl Streep's famous performance when she hollered Dingo's got my baby!

The wild life is very interesting here and seems to run around unbothered by people.  However, when a Kangaroo came over to my picnic table and wanted to share my sandwhich, I thought that was a bit over the top. 



Three Sisters behind us



These strange birds are everywhere.  They are not props, inhabit areas looking for food and good wine....sound familiar.