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Published: November 14th 2007
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I am back again. This is the last of the free internet for a while I think so I don't know how consistently I will be posting, but I I'll try to make it happen.
So, yesterday was sweet....literally, ohhhh. We ate lots of chocolate and drank beer. MMMM. Our first stop was the Dunedin museum where we saw more of the same old exhibits. There was a cool traveling art exhibit though, where the artist used old kimonos, I think that's how you spell it, to make large tapestry's of natural landscapes. If that wasn't enough, she also made them for each season. I would describe them as impressionistic Monet style, but with fabric, so it was something different than I have normally seen in museums.
After that we went to the Cadbury factory to eat chocolate, hooray! We got a brief history on chocolate, where we learned that the ancient Mayan civilization was the first to make chocolate. The Europeans then got a hold of it and deemed cocoa beans so valuable, that they were used for currency. The factory has been in Dunedin for around 100 years and has been run with a focus first
and foremost on the quality of the chocolate that it produced, but also on the worker. Cadbury made sure that his workers knew how to read and write, requiring a class of their choice each week.
After the history lesson we were guided through the factory by a short woman in purple overalls. It seems obvious now, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had to have been influenced by the Cadbury factories that exist around the world. Even Nestle and other chocolate companies in the US are owned by Cadbury. A delicious monopoly.
We got to see the worlds only chocolate waterfall, that serves no other purpose, but to entertain, and it did. And last but not least we were given about 5 or 6 different kinds of Cadbury bars. So far they are amazing!
After the chocolate tour we did the local brewery tour of Speights beer. Again we got a history of the brewery and beer in general. Apparently the ancient Egyptians were the first to make a form of beer and the process was passed down through the ages. We learned that there was a law passed in 1917 in New Zealand that outlawed
Speight's tap
Yes, I had the privilege of using this. drinking alcohol anywhere other than a bar, from the hours of 11-6. There was a saying called the 6 o'clock swill, which meant that once the workers were done at 5 they would drink as much as possible till 6. This law was probably not good for health, and was finally overturned in 1967.
We got an in depth explanation on the process of making beer. Basically they take malt seeds which there are dozens of different kinds, and they are mixed together to get the different lightness or darkness of a beer. These seeds are ground up and mixed with water, sugar, and yeast which is boiled and then stored for about a month or more where it is then flushed with compressed carbon dioxide to give carbonation. The process is a little bit more complex than what I have written, but that is the gist of it. Also sometimes, hops is added, which interestingly enough, is a sister plant of Cannabis. Apparently in Humboldt county, which is in northern California, some people use Cannabis to make beer. However, the seeds are what is used from the plant and considering the THC is in the leaf and flower
of the plant, there is no psychoactive effect on the individual, other than the alcoholic affect.
At the end of the tour we got a bit of time to taste the beer. I enjoyed this immensely 😊 Not just because we had free reign over how much beer we could drink, but because we got six different types of Speight's, all varying in darkness. I enjoy the medium dark beers more, so I was very pleased with the selection. There was also a strongly apricot flavored beer that was different. It was like the apricot ale I have had in the states, but a little strong on the apricot flavor. Plus we had some awesome Japanese food afterwards. All in all it was a great day for my taste buds.
Today we drove around the Otago peninsula which is home to many different animals, from sea lions, to penguins to albatross. We first stopped at an royal albatross colony where we learned that the bird has an impressive 9 ft wing span and spends 80% of its life flying. We didn't really get to see any because it cost money to check out the colony, but there was
a number of bird droppings on our windshield when we left. We drove around the peninsula a little more, noticing lots of marsh land, lots of sheep and lots of wind. It was incredibly windy today. It might have been the number one windiest day I have ever experienced actually.
While walking on the beach I had to cover my eyes as I walked, with my head down to avoid being blinded by sand whizzing at my face. But we were rewarded with about six sea lions. Again though, like the seals, they didn't do much more than lie in the sand the whole time.
Tonight we are going to watch Monty Python's Meaning of Life. I've always wanted to know 😊 Oh yeah and yesterday we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Hilarious, in the vein of Get Shorty.
And after thinking about Blood Diamond a little more I don't blame the editor, just the writer and the studio. They are dead to me.
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Lisa
non-member comment
Hi
hey you looks like things are going great!!! I am a bit envious of your Chocolate and Beer tasting adventure!!!! lol that mix sounds awesome! Your pictures are beautiful, I like the one with green hills to the ocean with sheep!!!! Never seen terrain like that before! it is amazing :) Oh on a side note based on some eailier posted comments: I think it is awesome and do encourage more topless photographs of you!! ;P''' lol Hope the wind dies down for you guys.... Have a good day*** Talk to you later ^_^~* ~lisa