Roadside Picnic: Nelson

After buying summer fruits and avocados, and laughing at the Illicit Venom, at the grocery, we headed out into the real world.

We didn't head into Nelson proper, we just passed by, through the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand.  It was so pretty, and as it was well past lunch, we stopped and picnicked right off the highway.

This is a perfectly fine activity in New Zealand, as the highway is one lane going in either direction (narrowing to one lane total for most bridge crossings).  We picnicked for at least 40 minutes and only about four cars passed by us.

Man Yogurt

Like the smart travelers on a budget that we were, and because they summarize the Character of a Nation, we (Rachel and I) made sure to hit up the New Zealand grocery stores for supplies!  Our goal was to acquire suitable breakfast materials.  Neither of us favor large breakfasts on a daily basis, and the price wasn't it worth it for us to eat toast and tea (the breakfast of champions!) of the hotel buffet in the mornings.

Both of us bee-lined for this yogurt because of it's yummy flavor combinations and the promise of fruit, seeds, grains, and barley together.  Look closer.  

"This is men's yoghurt and you are a man.  Now find a spoon, fork, or spade and dig in."

The man theme continues.

Tips.

"A man must not own more than one aftershave at any one time."

"It is acceptable to eat yoghurt - when it's Mammoth yoghurt and it's thick and chunky and it's made for men."

Turns out that all of the other American conservators, most of whom are ladies, hit up the New Zealand grocery stores as well.  All were attracted to the Man Yogurt as well, based upon the promise of fruit, seeds, grains, and barley, only realizing that it was for men much later.

We figured, hey, the American Woman is a tough broad.  If she wants to eat the Man Yogurt, she's gonna eat the Man Yogurt.  Nobody can stop her.

An Update and a Promise

Where have I been?  Mostly in my apartment, baking madeleines, hosting my own single-viewer Jane Austen film adaptation movie marathon, the usual.

But more importantly, I was getting ready for a paper that my co-workers and I were going to present at a major conference in Wellington, New Zealand!  

I have well over 600 photographs from this trip, so stay tuned, and sooner or later I'll post an extensive blow-by-blow on my excursion to Middle Earth.  Promise.

Jell-os

My friend and coworker Lauren was getting married in early October, so Our Mutual Workplace threw her a wedding shower!  Party Planner Stephanie declared that, due to Lauren's appreciation for and skillful appropriate of its fashions, the theme would be Mad Men.  Excellent - as I had long-ago (right after she got engaged) promised Lauren to make some epic jell-o molds for her wedding shower.

To aid in this endeavor, I had my trusty Jell-O cookbook, procured from the Jell-O Museum!

Even though it would have been period-accurate, I decided to avoid the more sinister savory, mysteriously opaque Jell-os.  I wanted to make things that people would willingly eat, without fear or the necessity of a Triple Dog Dare.

All these Jell-O Molds have fancy names, but I can't remember them.  It's December now, I made these suckers in early December, my head is full of other random things now.

Black cherry jell-o, maraschino cherries, pineapple.  

Interesting fact: you have to use canned pineapple in jell-o.  The fresh stuff has an enzyme or something present that prevents the gelatin from setting.

Orange jell-o, orange juice, melted vanilla ice cream.  

This one was declared the best by all present.  It tasted like a creamsicle.

Raspberry jell-o, raspberries, champagne, chambord liqueur.  

It's a Mad Men party, you've got to have at least one boozy jell-o...

In the foreground, raspberry jell-o, raspberries, canned peaches, Greek yogurt.

This is the same lovely jell-o that I made for Marion's going away party.

Not pictured is a huge boozy jell-o that was actually so boozy that it didn't properly retain it's shape.  In the photograph above, it's the sad orange-ish mound in the upper right.  Peach and champagne.

Interesting fact: three cups of champagne in a six cup jell-o mold means that your jell-o will not set properly, no matter how much you try to convince it to...

Mammoth Hot Springs

This was the first picture I took at the Mammoth Hot Springs.  Even now, I am amazed that I was the only person laughing (like a ten-year old) and taking a picture.  Mammoth Restroom. Ha!

Apparently the hot springs change on an unpredictable basis, and springs which were active for some time will suddenly stop flowing, and new ones will begin.  The rusty yellow/orange is a functioning spring: the grey is nonfunctioning.

Very ashy looking.

This boardwalk (of course, another boardwalk) was fabulous and took you way up from the valley.  The view kept getting better and better.

At one point, probably after the first time it started sort-of-raining, when I reached what was pretty much the highest points of the boardwalk, the photos started to turn fabulously and epically sinister.

C'est moi!

West Yellowstone, Montana

I was (and generally am still) not prepared for camping, let alone winter camping.  And I'm a bit of a miser sometimes.  So I headed out of Yellowstone Park and into West Yellowstone, Montana, to spend the night in a little hotel.  Pictured below, one of the main streets of West Yellowstone.

While in Montana, I took the opportunity to send a postcard to Paris (yes, in France) to a certain Mlle. Hye-Sung.  She had popped by Philly for a quick visit earlier in the summer when she was in the US, and when I told her I was actually going to Montana she was shocked!  When she and I had our original Montana conversation, I certainly never imagined that I would go there within the relatively near future.  But that's pretty much the story regarding most of my traveling...

This is the next morning, once I've passed into Yellowstone proper once again.  All the geothermal activity makes things start to look sinister right away.

Italian Market Festival

It turns out that the weekend that Mum and Auntie Rita were in town was the same weekend as the Italian Market Festival.  With a Sunday morning Parade of Saints!  What a happy coincidence.

The parade starts out like a normal parade, though with an added Flag of the Vatican.  After a happy little marching band, statues of the saints are wheeled up Ninth Street through the Market on what looked like bakery wheely-racks.  You can run up and pin a dollar to the ribbons decorating your favorite(s), and in return you get a holy card.  At moments, it seemed like Mum and Auntie Rita were determined to collect the whole set.

I think that the saints involved were actually those from the local parishes.  Apparently they used to have little children dressed up as the saints marching in front of each individual saint.  This parade only had a few, one of which was a cute little Saint Ant'ny in a big brown robe and sandals.  

Actual Mary.

Saint Anne.

Saint Joseph (was a just man).

Saint Theresa.

Saint Jude.  Always good in a pinch.

Saint Ant'ny.

Longwood: Gardens

The conservatories are only a small part of the whole Longwood Garden Experience.  There are loads of outdoor gardens as well.

This massive fountain garden is directly across and down from the conservatories.  Longwood has weekend summertime fireworks and fountains shows, and I assume that they must happen here.

Walking down alongside the large fountain garden.  I'm a shade-walker, and will gladly walk extra in order to remain in the shade.

Peering out at the sunny fountains.

A bell tower, with a carillon (bells).  It plays every so often throughout the day, and occasionally carillonneurs will come and give concerts.

Up the stairs to the bells, looking down.

Rose garden.  Where my camera decided to die (batteries), and I kept commandeering Mum's.

Topiaries.

Me and Auntie Rita.

Out towards the Italian water gardens.  There are very interesting light-installations that an artist has put in, as part of a summertime installation, all within this area.  Unfortunately, it was not dark when we were there, and the installation was not finished.  But it should be really cool when it's up.

For instance, those 'lily pads' are actually giant reflectors floating on the pond.

I really like these.  Blue poppies or whatever they are.

Tree house self-portrait!  I want to live in a tree house always!

The Italian water gardens are sunken, and access is limited.  Understandably, since all of the fountains are timed and you don't want children (or others) running in them and wreaking everything.

From another angle.