Things I Miss

I’ve been traveling for eight weeks now and, while it doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone that long (and it really isn’t *that* long, compared to people I’ve met who’ve been traveling for 3-4 years!) there are definitely things I miss about home. Sure, I miss my friends and cat and routines and the big city and stuff, but it’s the little things that I got so used to that I miss the most.

Green onions, tomatoes, cheap squash, mushrooms, lettuce, avocado, berries, mango… Produce is expensive here. Fucking expensive. Green onions are $2-3 a bunch. For GREEN ONIONS. They’re like the cheapest yummy thing you can get at the grocery store back home! Tomatoes are on average $8/kg, mushrooms are $6 a package, I’ve seen raspberries for anywhere from $6-9 a pint…I mean come ON. How are these people not deficient in vitamins? I guess they’re used to spending this much on produce, but I’m not and I’m cheap and I don’t have a job, so I’m holding back and popping a multi-vitamin instead. I miss salad. I miss dipping veggies in hummus. I miss making warming squash soup (it’s late autumn here and my body is craving soup). I will never take vegetables for granted again.*

(*This said, when I was living in Melbourne I was able to just swing by the Queen Vic market every other day to get heaps of cheap produce. It was fantastic! I missMelbourne.)

Ethiopian food. I discovered Ethiopian food a few years ago and have been eating it about once a month for the past year and a half. I miss the spongy injera, the buttery-sweet beets, the spicy lentils and the strong coffee. I miss the friendly but African-slow service and the tables of big men drinking coffee and laughing. Lalibela Restaurant, you’d better be there when I get home.

My bike. Dear god I miss my bike. She’s beautiful and old and probably falling apart, but I’ve put love and time into her and I miss her. I miss biking around Toronto and popping into shops without taking my helmet off and the easy comfort of riding around potholes on Dupont.

Spicy Vegetarian Maki at New Gen Sushi. Look, you’re either a New Gen girl or a Sushi on Bloor girl. While SoB is great, I’m a NG girl all the way. Spicy Vegetarian Maki has pretty much been a staple of my diet since 2007. No one does anything even close to its perfection here!

Big, old, ex-ex-ex-ex-boyfriends’ sweatshirt. Okay look. I know this is very “What Not to Wear” but I have this huge sweatshirt I love and can’t get rid of. It’s old, stained, torn and the comfiest thing in the world. This sweatshirt is the reason people can’t just swing by my house unexpectedly. This sweatshirt is fantastic and all these cold nights are really making me miss my confy warm comfy old dirty shirt. Harrumph.

My grocery store. It took me a little while to like my grocery store, but it’s completely grown on me. I love the fresh croissants and my bottled organic milk (which sounds snobby but actually works out to be $1/Litre!). I like the cashiers with pierced noses and that kale is a staple in almost everyone’s grocery cart. I love the garden centre! Fiesta Farms, I miss you. And I miss kale.

Sleeping with a cat. Okay, I know I wasn’t supposed to mention friends/cats but…whatever. I love my cat. I’m a single woman who loves her cat. MAKE YOUR JOKES, PEOPLE, I DON’T CARE ONE BIT.

…Okay, so four of the six points here are about food, which…I mean, is anyone surprised? I’m not. I guess that’s something to meditate on, eh? Realtalk: I wrote all the food points one after another and then mixed in the bike one and the cat one to make it seem like the first few things I wrote weren’t totally about food. Ugh. I have a problem.

While I do love traveling and I am liking it here, I’m definitely missing a few things here and there. Not enough to make me run back to Toronto, but enough to give me wistful dreamy sighs now and then.

One great thing about Alexandra that you can’t get in Toronto: fresh thyme grows everywhere here! What up casseroles!!!

I Climbed a Mountain-ish

The other day, I climbed a mountain.

Okay, maybe “mountain” is a big word. Compared to other mountains, this is more of a hill. But WHATEVER. To me, it was a steep climb up rocks and trees and I ended up 1500 feet above the place I started at. So to me, it was a mountain. I think it’s technically called the “Queenstown Hill” or the “Ben Lomon Trail”. Mountain.

Anyways.

The day started with the first best hangover cure* and the climb started with my head saying “what the fuck are you doing, bitch, we are hungover on goon and no sleep and I hate you so fucking much”.  Pushing on, we (Kirsti, my new hostel friend, and I) scrambled up rocks and pine needles and roots. And it was steep! I lost my footing more than once and was worried I was going to fall a few feet into branches and glacial rocks. It was, to me, a tough climb.

The start of the climb. (No, really. It was about 10 minutes after we started. It was steep!)

We pushed on and took our time, though, enjoying the beautiful forest and scenery, the peace and quiet, and all the fit people literally running past us.

The view from the top was worth it, though:

Gorgeous!

Queenstown is waaaaay down there.

Let’s talk about how I look like a total mess, and Kirsti looks fucking flawless. Let’s talk about this, guys. Fuck.

You could see the whole town and the next town over, all the mountains that surround the area, the lake that went on and on…bah it was just lovely.

There was a restaurant at the top which smelt delicious (I purposefully didn’t bring my wallet because I knew I’d be tempted by soup and cake) and you had the option to take the gondola down. I didn’t take it because it was $14 and I’m cheap, but Kirsti did and she said it was nice.  The walk down the mountain was hard. Maybe harder than the walk up? My legs were shaking by the time I got to the bottom, and only half the shaking was from the spot where I almost twisted my ankle a mere 10 metres from the end.

“Climbing down will be easy!” – stupid girl

If you’re in Queenstown and find yourself a sunny day, definitely do the walk up to the Ben Lomon/Skyline lookout. It’s about an hour to the top, but we were probably closer to 2 hours, since we took our sweet time/I’m not in shape. You can also take the gondola up ($25 return trip) to see the views. If you’re going to treat yourself to that, I’d say splurge on dining there too. It was gorgeous and would’ve been lovely to enjoy a meal up there!

Also some really great souvenirs!

 

Eggs, bacon, toast, greasy hashbrowns, coffee

Queenstown is beautiful

Queenstown is beautiful.

Lake Wakatipu and beautiful autumn colours

Everywhere you look you see mountains, trees and snowy peaks poking into the blue sky.  The town is small and the roads are cobbled and lined with restaurants and shops and cafes. The whole town revolves around adventure sports and outdoor activities, so there are adverts for bungy jumps and skydives every few meters, and you’re guaranteed to find a sale on snow boots somewhere in a block. Yes, it’s touristy, and yes, I know most of the population is made up of expats and visitors and you won’t get that ‘true Kiwi’ vibe…but it really is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.

This is real life. REAL LIFE.

After landing and throwing my stuff in my hostel* I ventured out to town and was totally blown away by the sunshine and mountains and cuteness of it all.

Boats. Mountains. REAL LIFE.

So happy!

Since I was hungover (why do I always seem to be hungover on flights?) I got myself a huge Pad Thai and a coke; the second best of all hangover cures** I walked around town, walked along the lake, and was constantly snapping photos. My first night in town was a quiet one, but my second night more than made up for it. Queenstown is as renowned as a party town, as it is the adventure capital ofNew Zealand. There seem to be a hundred bars, each one with drink specials and each one with a steady line of people coming in and out. One place offered us free shots if we took our tops off and mentioned we could win $300 in a bikini contest. I don’t think I was their target audience.

I was originally going to leave today (Friday) but my friend is coming into town to pick me up on our way to Alexandra, and we decided to spend an extra day/night here. I’m not complaining! This place really is something else, and I’m pumped that I’ll be so close to it for four or five months.

what is this i dont even…

Like a postcard. A creepy “I take pictures of strangers” postcard.

Another bonus: everyone is telling me that Canada looks just like this…but I’ve never been out west, so I have nothing to compare it to. Now I can’t wait to get to Canada and road trip it up!!!

Also: FERGBURGER. This famous burger place deserves all the praise it gets. Best burger of my life. So huge I couldn’t finish it. Ohyum.

I can’t believe this is my life.

*I’m staying at The Flaming Kiwi and I would highly recommend it if you aren’t looking for a party hostel. It’s very clean, quiet but friendly, the staff is great and the owner is fabulous, they’re constantly asking if everything is okay/warm enough/any problems, and there’s a hot tub. A hot tub! One of my favourite hostels I’ve stayed in.

**The first being, of course, bacon and eggs or some variation of that sort.

Goodbye Wellington!

So! Here we are, almost two weeks after arriving in New Zealand and I’m finally –finally- feeling happy and excited and comfortable. I decided to move to Queenstown for a few days, and the minute I touched down I lost my breath and found my happiness again. Queenstown is awe-inspiring and beautiful, and it’s like nowhere I’ve ever been before. I absolutely love it.

This isn’t to say Wellingtonisn’t nice. It is! It’s a great city and has a lot to offer people; there’s tons of music, art, theatre, sports…lots of things to do. And it’s beautiful too. But for some reason,Wellington and I just didn’t click. Welly wined me and dined me, and I even let her get to second base…but like so many of the other relationships/dates/special friends in my life, I just didn’t see a future with her. It’s nothing personal, Wellington. It’s not you, it’s me.

Art in Civic Square

View from the top(ish)

Sculptures are all over the city.

Cemetery at the bottom of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

If you find yourself in New Zealand, I’d really recommend heading to Wellington for a few days. It really is a great place and, despite my opinion, many many people love it. It’s a gorgeous city with a lot of things to do and see, including a few great free attractions like the Botanic Gardens (take the cable car up from Lambton Quay), weekend markets, and Te Papa (one of the best museums I’ve been to). Definitely worth a visit!

At the wonderful (free!) Te Papa museum.

Wellington has some fantastic cafes.

Riding the waves to Manly Beach

Another great way to spend a few sunny hours in Sydney is to take the ferry over to Manly beach.

Grab yourself a spot on the roof and get your camera out. The ferry ride is about 40ish minutes and gives you great views of the Opera House, harbour and city from the water. I EVEN SAW THE BIGGEST LOSER HOUSE. NBD.* Once you get to the other side, follow the crowd through the main drag and down to the beach.  The beach itself isn’t as impressive as some, but it’s still quite nice and while I was there, people were learning how to surf. I feel like I picked up enough that I could totally do it.

Lovely!

I should really go inside one day.

Lots of gorgeous views from the ferry.

Try to catch the ferry back at sunset if you can swing it. It wasn’t the most amazing sunset, but I reckon if the day was a little nicer it would’ve been great.

I had a week-long transit pass that got me on to all trains, busses and ferries, but you can buy yourself a single ferry ride for $14 at Circular Quay terminal. Bring yourself a picnic, Frisbee, and a friend and you’re all set for a great day!**

 

*Total BD
**One would assume. I didn’t have a friend with me so…y’know. Lonely.