Come with me to New Zealand!

Winter weather getting you down? Come take a trip with me to exotic New Zealand.

Since my sister moved there 12 years ago, I have been fortunate enough to go three times, but don't envy me that. I miss my sister who has lived out of the US since 1986. No, not a fugitive from the law....she met and married some English dude and he swept her away to England first and now NZ, the rat! Really, her hubbie is adorable, looks just like a Viking, tall with red hair and beard…and he cooks! How I wish, sometimes, she lived in my same town like lots of sisters do!

When I go there we work in her garden, weeding! I love to sit in the sun and talk while we just do ordinary things. Simple pleasures! This trip, though, they planned a trip to Abel Tasman National Park, a remote beach area surrounded by rainforest, so I came along. So, come see this beautiful country with me now, and if you ever get the chance to go there, do!

Start here -> http://bit.ly/gTwRvh

Sue
Sierra Foothill garden

Got a new computer sue, and need to nag my kid to show me how to see the link. Came up really small, and I couldn't see much.
I am glad you got to meet bootsnall(sp?) on your trip.
Just found out DH and are going to Malaysia, and would welcome advice on what to take. Promise to share photos too.
Can't wait to see yours clearly. Where are those kids when you need 'em? : - )
WIB~
SW

Whenever you need help with a computer, ask a thirteen year old, but don't expect to understand what they're doing...

So many times I've said " Wait....wait, kid, ....how?...wait....dammit!"

Oh my, Sue, I have gone to your blog and love it. It has also drawn me into the labyrinth of the other blogs you watch and after one, in particular, I am now ready to move to Italy! Well, I can have dreams, right? Actually NZ sounds great too, but I think it is harder to get into.

Regardless, thanks for your entries!

I love that Italian one! her photos are fabulous. That's one of the first I saw when I started exploring the 'labyrinth'! lol!
Don't you love that movie, 'Under the Tuscan Sun'?

Oh yes, that came to mind and there was another one, newer but not current, and I cannot think of the name of it. Something like Juliet's letters where a woman pursued a long lost love in the Tuscany area with her grandson and a young lady visiting Italy from NY. Such beautiful countryside, going through areas of vineyards. The Wine Country areas in CA (Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Temecula, et al), are pretty areas, but just not the depth as those in Italy.

I don't know the movie you're trying to remember, but if you do, let me know.

We don't have anything as old as in Italy, do we? That's what I like about the Vita Lenta nel Bel Paese (Slow life in the Bel Paese) blog. Wikipedia says 'Bel Paese' is the classical poetical appellative for Italy, meaning the "Beautiful Country" in Italian. It's like a little trip to the Mediterranean.

Everything has that aged patina, the stone walls, weathered wood and ancient buildings... So many more places are growing vineyards now in CA, Paso Robles, now, and even our Madera County has a 'wine trail'.

When I was in NZ, they were experiencing a crisis in the local economy, where there is too much wine for how many buyers there are. Can you imagine...too much wine? Well, they are tearing out the vines and planting fruit trees.
Here's a photo I took a year ago in Napa.

Sue