The Air France flight from SFO was non-stop and for the most part uneventful. Two and one half hours into the flight a crewmember made an announcement asking if there was a doctor on board. One of the passengers became ill but as far as we know she was OK by the time we got to Paris. They seem to enjoy serving alcohol. The menu had champagne as an aperitif. After dinner was served the flight attendant came by asking everyone if they wanted cognac. Arriving at Charles De Gaul airport is where our first adventure began. Since this was our first time at the airport it was all new to us. From the time we arrived at the gate to pick up our baggage took at least an hour. Once we got our baggage it ... read more

Day 25 Monday November 21, 2011 - Auckland Since we had only one full day in Auckland we decided to get up earlier than usual start to take in some of the local sights. We headed for the Skytower, which claims to be the tallest building in the southern hemisphere where we were hoping to have breakfast in one of the two restaurants. Using the term building is a stretch as it is similar to the Seattle space needle as the Skytower is a large spire in the middle of downtown Auckland. We paid the $28 per person fee to get access to two viewing platforms within the tower and took the elevator to the first platform, which is 610 feet high. We are notified that the restaurants are not yet open but there is a ... read more

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Jim wanted to leave Wellington by 9:00 since we have at least 6 hours on the road today. We settle into the car but we aren't going anywhere. The battery is dead. Jim checks in with the office to see if someone can give us a jump. The woman in the office instructs Jim to go to the mechanics shop across the street, ask for Darryl, and let him know he was sent there by the staff from Victoria Lodge and that he needed help. It was raining so Jim quickly navigated traffic to cross the road. Inside the shop Darryl was working on a car and asked how he could help. Without a question he offered a small battery pack to jump the car and Jim was on his way. Within ... read more

Saturday November 12, 2011 - Day 17 Our plan for the day was to drive to the town of Nelson for the day to see the sights and seek out a couple of breweries and the hop fields. As we left Blenheim Lisa calmly reminded Jim that we are supposed to drive on the left. After he exited the right hand lane and returned to the left hand lane, he gave Lisa the official job of reminding him of this information throughout the rest of the trip. The road was fairly straight and we passed about another 1,000 sheep in multiple pastures. Along the way we passed through a few small towns and remembered that one of the locals told us there are no stop lights in Blenheim and through the country side all we came ... read more

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Day 13 Jim checks online to ensure we have everything we need for our flight out tomorrow morning and we arrange for a taxi to pick us up at 5:00 am the next morning. Adelaide has a central market similar to other big cities where local produce, meat, cheese, and other wares are sold . Central Market in Adelaide was no exception as it too had a wonderful selection to choose from, including small cafes to get a bite to eat. We ate our way through the marketplace including fresh baked bread, pastries both savory and sweet. This market also has many stores attached to the facility and we ended up in Chinatown. This was the only place we found cheap eats in Adelaide. Jim has commented that there has been ... read more