I talk too much my mouth hurts

It's too hot. Now it's too cold. There's something banging from inside my forehead, something just above my left eyebrow that wants to get out; I want it to get gone. I can't think. I don't feel too good, not hungry but wanting to eat, but too full, I think I'm going to get sick... 

Oh, oh, not such a fab day today. 

However, it did get better. Thankfully. I finally got my work phone fixed, and then I was listening to a music clip posted up by a friend - clap along if you feel like a room without a roof - then I was having a mini kareoke session all by myself - happy, happy, yea, yea~

For dinner I had a blue cheese tortilla pizza, and Mum made me drink a cup of freshly squeezed lemon tea with a huge dollop of Manuka honey. I am feeling so much better now!

I love all sorts of cheese, except for maybe Roquefort. It's probably the only cheese I have found too strong. It's not that I don't like blue cheese. On the contrary, I love my Gorgonzola pizza drizzled with sweet honey. Yum!! Gruyère, comté, chèvre... I miss France... and my French family who taught me about all these lovely types of cheese...

Hmm, the lovely weather didn't quite follow us into today, but hopefully by tomorrow it will have caught up. 

We went on a morning stroll to the Riccarton House Farmers' market this morning. Almost an hour long, I think; Mum got quite tired but I loved walking through the greens, listening to the unseen birds chirping in the trees above. 

I used to live just around the corner from the Riccarton House. It's a historic place of the Deans family who were one of the main pioneers to the Canterbury plains. Ever since a few years back they have started having a farmers' market here every Saturday morning. It's not the largest affair, but the fairly long stretch of market stalls attract quite the crowd of enthusiasts, both young and old. Musicians entertain from here and there, if they can be heard above the hubbubs of the early risers. There are various types of breads, tea, chocolate, honey, cakes, sausages, fresh produce... I am eyeing to go back on some delicious looking classic Italian biscuits next time :)

The gorgeous weather in Canterbury, NZ, continues, hopefully for as long as I am down here! Mum and Dad decided to take me out to a lovely winery out in Amberley, about 45 minutes out of Christchurch. 

How many entertaining nights must I have to be able to recreate their interior, do you think?

Pegasus Bay Windery is cosy, and under the cloudless sky it was as if a small patch of Italy had been placed in the wop wops of Canterbury.

Out on the backyard there are swarms of giant eels hungry for their lunch feed. Before our lunch was served, a helicopter arrived to park next to the garden, the pilot just casually flying in for a good lunch on a sunny day. Mum wants me to have my wedding reception here, haha. No rush, Mum..

Appetizer: cold Gazpacho, the Spanish tomato soup, in a dainty espresso cup. Yum! Dad was tempted for seconds, haha.

Mum is not much of a drinker, so Dad and I got halfs of the 2007 and 2010 Pinot Noirs. Pegasus Bay wines are even recognised by Robert Parker, earning a 5 Star rating from him a few years back. Robert Parker's stars are a big thing in the Wine community - they are pretty much king and can break or make your wine sales that year. That one man's taste and ticks can have so much power - that is influence for you. 

We got an Angus sirloin steak,

and a Platter for two - very mediterranean, with different kinds of cheese, chickpeas, Italian hams, olives, bruschetta, pita breads, frittata...

Oh, let's not forget the NZ Bluff oysters! These are Kiwi delicacies, from Bluff in the South. Bluff oysters are bigger than the normal ones and meatier too. 

For dessert, an affogato each for Mum and I, and a glass of latte for Dad. Such a filling meal, thank you so much, Mum, Dad!!

Pegasus Bay winery restaurant has won numerous NZ Winery Restaurant of the Year awards, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011... It is rated as one of the Restaurants where Chefs eat. 

Behind the house there are olive groves and further up, flocks of shaven sheep. Lucky the weather is really warm these days, haha. 

I want to live in a place like these: sunny warm temperatures, olive trees (also oranges/mandarins and cherries), a small winery, a small paddock of sheep. I will make my own wine and cheese and live quietly, with many fun evenings in the garden with family and friends... 

Lake Tekapo is my favourite lake in Aotearoa/NZ. It is beautiful all year round and has one of the best night skies in the world.

Starting out at 6am and fighting our way through the thick fog, we greeted the late Sunrise at the lake.

Up Mt Johns, to the observatory near the Lake. The small lake you see in front of the Southern Alps is Lake Alexandrina. 

It was an amazing day!!!

Towards Aoraki/Mt Cook, the national mountain. Aoraki/Mt Cook is the one on the right, with the cloud cap. That's what my Dad says, he's the tour expert.

The start of the Hooker Valley track, at the carpark. It's a 3 hour round trip.

You cross a couple of swing bridges to get to this end point. It's absolutely beautiful. You just gotta be there. 

Best day ever. Love the South Island :)

Lamb and salad for dinner last night. Fairtrade organic coffee, a present from my flattie S. Mmm, the aroma and the taste makes my brain and tummy very very happy these days!

Mum, I love your food. Being so spoilt at home, food prepared and put in front of me at least three times a day, quality stuff, too! Salmon and sashimi and lamb chops and wow. 

Even during meals I cannot get away from my wanderlust, haha.

Favourite pizzeria, a ritual to go whenever I'm in town. It used to be in town, but then had to move several times due to the earthquakes. It was kind of out of the way in Ferrymead for a while, but that did not stop my sister and I going for Winnie's gourmet pizzas, ever. Plus their bread fingers. Yum. Now it's back in town, and it was our first lunch in Christchurch. Half chicken souvlaki, half vegetali, nom, nom.

I need to rewatch all the Before Sunrise and Sunset movies before the new Before Midnight... Travelling, you meet a lot of new people, many of whom will become good friends. But while you may have had a good connection in that short period of time you were together.. 

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have an amazing one evening together, on a spree, in some European city. They had a great connection and yet they both knew it may be their only time together. I guess it's different nowadays when even though you have parted, there are still the many social network portals such as Facebook, Google Chat and the like through which the relationship can still continue. The two characters could have developed a long distance relationship. Would it have lasted for long? Would they soon have tired of the personality differences as well as the time differences? The film sure would not have been so romantic if they had, in that case. 

Online connectedness can be tiring. You don't get a rest from the instant messages and anxiety increase about the lack or the slowness of the other recipient's answers.  I hate text messages because they take up so much time, but without conveying the full emotions of the situation, which would also lapse when dragged out by long pauses between the conversation. That goes for both short and long distance relationships, actually.

I am sad to be leaving my friends in NZ, both the old and the recently made. It's really quite bitter sweet, this transition from short to long distance relationships. With the old, we have endured the distance hardships many a times. Moving cities/countries/continents every six months makes you realise who your true friends are, with whom I can connect to regardless of where I am stationed. The new ones though, perhaps I shouldn't even have started the relationships, but who knows how they will end up? Just short sweet memories that fade with time, becoming all the more sweeter in the hazy outlines of your souvenirs, or ones that actually strengthen even more, even when physically apart, with the aid of those ever present social media portals?

There was a house dinner party this week. With great food and drinks, plates and bottles stacking up as the night got darker. How am I to know how these new connections will end?

Back to caffeine fixes again. I hadn't even really realised I'd been off them, strangely, but guess I had been a tab bit busy these days. The past few weeks have been full of early morning starts with the moonlight still shining the way to work, and late night outings with goodbye dinners and such.

When dinners haven't been possible, there were weekend brunches as well, of course. The Depot does all of breakfast, lunch and tea, though. Just across the Sky Tower next to the Convention centre entrance, I had heard many good reviews of this place. I love the new trending eating places with the open kitchen spaces where the chefs are hard at work and huge communal tables with mix matched chairs, in a modern or industrial but both quite hip atmospheres. 

The Depot is definitely more rustic hip industrial, with shabby high wooden table and stools, white tiles in the open kitchen space, and a huge patchwork styled colourful sliding door to the toilets. The light is always on dim even during the day, in almost a conspiratorial secret meeting kind of way. Or, that could be just me.

The Depot prides itself on dealing only with the best ingredients. For their breakfast menu, between 7 and 10.45am, they only have three choices each morning. We ordered mini French inspired beignets with passion fruit cream cheese on the side, and a bacon and egg doona. Not sure why they are called doonas, I'm so sure I've never heard of this word associated to anything other than duvets and blankets to sleep with, not with foods. Anyhow, I always love the occasional chewy warmness of bacon strips for my brekkie.

I wish I could have spend the whole day here, conspiring secrets with my fellow eatery connoisseur S, but unfortunately we were both tied to other schedules this day. I will have to hold my spending habits on close watch from now on, seriously, I need to start saving to fund my move to Melbourne next month! 

The Depot eatery

Open from 7am

86 Federal St, Auckland

Ph. 09 363 7048

I wish I went to the art gallery more often. The collections, the shop, the tiny library where hardly anyone goes to, the café/restaurant... I love it all. The new exhibition on modern California design just opened up, so R and I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to wander into the collections. The architecture blueprints, houses on which it never ever rains, with huge garages and lawns perfect for sunbathing; furniture with Mexican and Asian influences; futuristic kitchenware and accessories; colourful swimwears and surfboards. We especially liked a poster of the New York city in paint tubes - we would like reproductions each, please!

It was R's virgin visit to the gallery, so of course I had to take her to the café - also because I was hungry for lunch and wanted to check out the complementary menu to the new exhibition. We got a Napa Valley tasting platter to share. A mixture of sweet and salty tastes of biscotti, pitted olives, prosciutto, smoked salmon, a generous cut of semi soft brie cheese, dolmades and chutney was served, with a rich berry blended African dream infused tea for two.. Heavenly!!

My flatmate S is a fan of GrabOne vouchers. Actually, so is my mum. S bought two tickets to a high tea with bubblies session at Stamford hotel on Albert St in Auckland. Us girls thought it would be a fun excuse to dress up for the occasion.

The high tea session began with a Moet champagne cheers.

Don't let the first glance fool you. To be shared between two, I thought we wouldn't have enough, but by the end I got so full that I couldn't even finish my dessert. We worked ourselves bottom up.

Bottom tray: Hereford beef, mustard and mayo / Prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella / Citrus chicken, cranberry relish

Middle tray: Scones, mascarpone and jam / Mini smoked salmon bagel / Stamford signature curry puffs

Top tray: Macaron / Opera / Strawberry and champagne truffle / Marshmallow

From the dessert tray I could only fit in a macaron. They were all very sweet. I really liked the bottom tray the most, especially the club sandwiches in the centre.

Photo fun with the girls :) Thanks S for the bottom two photos.

M picked me up on Saturday morning for breakfast coffee. The weather was a lovely blue with the sun shining, and refreshed from the dancing night before, I was in a pretty good mood.

Queenie's lunchroom unfortunately only had raisin scones, so I went for the sweet berry and chocolate muffin instead. I love my scones but only ever plain or dates if I can help it. They also cannot be too crumbly...

A tiny corner place, the seats inside were all taken. Even though I would have liked to spend time enjoying the interior, with the colour-by-number mural on one side, waving Queen Elizabeth IIs on the shelves on another, we were fine with the outdoor sitting arrangement.

Lot of locals stopped by for takeaway coffees. I must say, I really liked the dry cappuccino, it was smooth and not so bitter in taste. Also the service here was really nice, very friendly and cute. Going to miss M so much!

Queenie's Lunchroom

24A Spring St,

Freemans Bay,

Auckland

Open 7 days, until 3.30pm