Sticking with the “quality is more the norm than the exception” theme from my Savvie posting, Sue asked me to blog about the coffee in New Zealand.

Shortly after arriving in Auckland, I let AJ and our newly introduced sister-in-law Jules know that I was partial to good coffee. Turns out they are too. This gave AJ and Jules every opportunity to show off their local stomping grounds, starting with the coffee shop in their local Warehouse outlet.

AJ cringed with embarrassment. His sister and brother-in-law arrive from the US — home of Starbucks, Peets and Seattle’s Best — and the first coffee shop we frequent in Auckland is at the Warehouse! Later that afternoon AJ demonstrated his own perfected latte-making skills. Their coffee of choice is Gravity because, as the ad goes …

 
Tiny Mairangi Bay Village, where AJ and Jules live, has about 30 shops ranging from a FoodTown to a yoga studio to upscale dress shops and everything in between. Coffee can be ordered in at least six restaurants and cafes in the village, such is the love affair locals have with their Joe. Much as in the US/Canada Pacific Northwest, coffee is intricately woven into the Kiwi lifestyle. Coffee shops are filled with folks reading the paper or magazines, working on laptops, coffee-moms meeting girlfriends for a morning latte after walking the kids to school, toddler and dog in tow, business folks brokering deals in suits and the occasional tourist contentedly taking it all, trying desperately to learn the local coffee lingo:

• Skinny latte = Latte made with skim milk
• Long black = What we call an Americano, served without milk or cream
• Long black with milk on the side = Americano with milk on the side (the closest to what we drink here in the US)
• Short black = Espresso

Some shops we visited, like The Red Beret in Motueka and Zest in Nelson, are so busy that customers find themselves cleaning their own tables in order to be seated. Once seated, the patron can then sit back with their long-black-with-milk-on-the-side and pastry, only to politely have to stand a few seconds later to let a new mom pass with her pram. An aside: the prams in NZ are generally larger than most Kiwi cars, which makes for a tight squeeze in coffee shops.

We found the Kiwi roast of choice to be medium-dark and espresso shots were always extremely flavourful. None of the “this espresso’s so weak I can see my mother-in-law through it” shots that our friends at Starbucks have become really famous for. The kind where the espresso shots are no longer “pulled” by hand but triggered into action by the cash register/computer and then shot off by an automated espresso machine.

Sign at Mariposa Palms Nursery and Cafe

Two really unique coffee destinations that AJ and Jules took us to were Morris and James Pottery & Tileworks & Mariposa Palms — both in Matakana, an hour north of Auckland. The Morris and James cafe sits in the courtyard outside the sales center for their very unique and beautiful pottery. And Mariposa Palms cafe is nestled under the palms sold at their plant nursery. In addition to pairing a serene setting with superb coffee, Mariposa also offers free puppies and espresso to unruly children.

Even though we were fortunate enough to frequent some very memorable coffee shops throughout our time in NZ, it is this story that I like to tell to highlight just how good Kiwi coffee is. When we were staying up in Paihia, Sue, Tau and I drove out to Matauri Bay for a morning on the beach. After leaving the main road, the rural drive passes more livestock than homes and finally makes it way up and past the Matauri General Store before the steep road down into the bay.

Being low on supplies, we decided to stop and pick up something for lunch. We then realized that while one half of the very humble looking general store was exactly that, the other half was the local bar. On the counter of the bar sat a very high-end espresso maker. I was floored. Beer, wine and coffee - the Kiwis know a thing or two. After ordering lunch at the bar, we sat out back in the sunshine and drank our long-black-with-milk-on-the-side and ate our meat pies (Kiwi meat pies really ought to be the subject of an entirely separate post). Here in the middle of very rural New Zealand, miles from the nearest town, the owner knocked out a couple coffees so smooth and rich that they rivalled any other cup we tasted in urban NZ or the US for that matter.

Aerial View of Matauri Bay

Oh my. I’ve been trying to tell you all about our lovely week away in Santa Barbara for two weeks. And every time I do, we end up having to take our kid to the emergency clinic and so I tell you about that instead.

So, the short version, lest we be interrupted again. And to be honest, it’s Sunday evening and I’d like an early night but I really want to tell you about the fabulous time we had away.

We love Santa Barbara. Love it more every time we go there.

This time, Dave booked four nights in a snazzy little condo he found on the Internet. A property belonging to a couple that have clearly traveled extensively, as evidenced by the eclectic decor and shelves and shelves of travel books. I should mention the gourmet kitchen and the comfy couch that was big enough for all three of us to sit on to watch Clifford the Big Red Dog and the toddler-proof, easy-clean hardwood floors. No carpet to stain. But instead, I’ll suggest you go and take a look at our Santa Barbara set on Flickr. It really felt like home without, you know, feeling like home. (more…)

Album Cover for Angelique Kidjo’s Djin Djin

We are not that big on lavish birthday gifts and such. Tend to buy what we need as we need it. And we both hate getting gifts that are not quite right or, worse yet, downright awful. Money and gift certificates are our best thing.

So a week or two ago I said to Dave, “Haven’t got anything for your birthday yet. Is there something you’re crying on your pillow over?”

My ever-so-subtle way of digging for suggestions.

“Not really. Let me think about it.”

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We won’t say who but here’s a hint …

I love the resemblance between this picture and this naughty one of Tau at about 10 months.

And here is the life-sized birthday card we made for him — note the outline of the little guy’s bod! Tau and his buddies at daycare decorated it with Crayola markers and a whole lot of frenetic toddler glee.

What did the birthday boy do on his day? He took the day off to do some chilling and cycling, and then last night we all went over to friends Gerhard and Evi’s for a wonderful dinner!

(Posted by Dave)

When we started planning our trip to Oregon some months back, Stu and I spent a considerable amount of time researching places we would like to visit in Portland, the Willamette valley and at the coast. (Sue and Kristi, in unison: “No kidding!”)

Arriving in Portland in mid-morning, Sue, Tau and I headed off to Trader Joe’s for groceries and Hollywood Espresso for lunch.

This seemed as good a jumping off place as any to our overnight stay in Portland. Hollywood Espresso serves up Portland Roasting coffee, wine by the glass and terrific Panini sandwiches served up by efficient and friendly staff. Not a bad start to our week away.

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When you marry a man, you’re not thinking this far ahead.

And when you birth a screaming, slippery boy you can’t imagine a time when he will sit this still, this intent on his favorite cartoon character, while his father clips his nails.

I am so fortunate.

Happy Father’s Day!

Mark and I at the start of Tour de Julian 2006

Sue has asked me to write a couple entries of our latest meanderings around the sunshine state.  The first was trip was to the “mountains” near San Diego for some cycling, and the second was a trip to the Californian Central Coast for some R&R.

So my workmate, Mark, roped me into a weekend of road and mountain biking on Nov 11/12 in the small town of Julian (http://www.julianactive.com/tour%20de%20julian.htm & http://www.julianca.com), which is a scenic hour drive inland from San Diego.  Off we went, wives and kids in tow.  Unfortunately Sue & Tau had come down with a case of the winter cold/flu, yet were willing to go along with the flow - mostly for my sake. 

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As a kid, I was a voracious reader of Look ‘n Learn comics. My Granny Sylvia used to hide them in her bedroom cupboard for us to “find.” These, along with packets of Jelly Tots hidden behind a flap cut in the cardboard box under the budgie’s cage, were one of many delights for us to discover when we visited Granny’s house. My brother Andy and I were in on the secret – we knew exactly where to look!

My favorite Look ‘n Learn characters were Nurse Susan and Doctor David, a little brother and sister who wore mini uniforms and spent their days nursing dolls and teddy bears back to health. Their very chic (then retro-fifties) mother hovered like a veritable June Cleaver in the back of the strip, dispensing steaming bowls of soup and cotton bandages. But it was little David and Susan who did the real doctoring and nursing. Who knew I’d end up marrying the good doctor?!

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See Dave’s 40th in our Yahoo! photo albums!

We had a great time celebrating Dave’s birthday in the Okanagan Valley. On July 20th, we flew up to Kelowna, British Columbia, then drove an hour or so south to Naramata, a small town at the end of the road on the quiet side of Okanagan Lake.

The Okanagan Valley has flourished so much in the twelve or so years we have been vacationing there. The region, which boasted 15 wineries a decade ago, now has over 150, many producing top-notch, yummy wines! Naramata (population 2000) consists mainly of small vineyards and orchards set up right on the lake. The town has one pizza joint, one pub, a small grocery store and a great coffee shop — what more could a birthday boy ask for? Naramata is super-secluded compared to close-by Penticton, which gets pretty ugly in the summer heat what with tourists, traffic, loud powerboats, etc.

Most of Dave’s family (around 20 people all together) made the drive to the interior from Victoria — we suspect this had to do with many of them not having met Tau yet, and joked that Dave and I could have slipped away for the weekend sans kid, and no one would have noticed we were missing! Dave’s Aunty Mary was visiting from England. It was a special treat to see her, and we thoroughly enjoyed the delish fruit cake she made for Dave’s birthday.

We ended up staying with Stu, Kristi and Kai at a small private flat (with shaded BBQ patio) just off the main drag, with the rest of the family at the local motel just a block away.

We started most days with coffee and a breakfast bagel at the cafe, then slowly wandered down to spend the morning and lunch time at the lake, then did a bit of wine tasting in the afternoons, and usually wound up barbecuing and sampling more of what we’d bought at the wineries in the evenings. BC was experiencing the same heat wave we’d left behind in California, with temps hitting 38 degrees C, making the lake temperatures perfect for swimming … and the AC in our flat an absolute necessity at night! Tau and cousin Kai spent their days and nights in diapers only, and had a great time in the water!

On the Saturday night, we had a very casual outdoor potluck. The family had collaborated to make a scrapbook for Dave’s birthday (thanks to Trish for organizing), and it was fun to look over the pages of Dave’s past and reminisce. On the Monday, Dave and I visited Glenda, a friend from Victoria, who is now growing grapes on her property for one of the local vineyards — it was interesting to get the inside scoop on the industry. And on Tuesday we said our goodbyes to the last of the family and made our way home.

Sigh — why do vacations have to come to an end? We had a wonderful time visiting with all the family, and look forward to many more holidays at Naramata.