The 29th & 30th

(I'm so far behind with my writing, as today is Feb 3. However, it's so much fun spending time with people, but it is cutting into my computer time. Oh well - priorities.)

Finally settled the phone situation. Now I feel secure again, having contact when we need it or want it. I find when I'm in the States and have left my cell at home, I feel vulnerable. I first got a cell years ago because my car had broken down; I was right near an exit so I went to the gas station there and phoned AAA, and then went back to my car, which had been broken into and things taken. Hence, the vulnerability. We've named our GPS Maude, who quite yells at us to turn around each time we discover a spot we want to stop at, and there have been many.

Before leaving the Auckland area and heading south to Pirongia, we went looking for a health food store with organic produce. Found one; it was small but had nice produce - we bought a salad mix, rocket (arugula), cucumbers, red peppers, and delicious juicy  cherry tomatoes. I also found a rice pasta brand I didn't know about, plus some brown rice crackers I could have.

Off to our next stop, which was just south of Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens. They're best known for the Paradise Garden Collection, which features six different style gardens:
Chinese Scholar's Garden
English Flower Garden
Japanese Garden of Contemplation
American Modernist Garden
Italian Renaissance Garden
Indian Char Bagh Garden

Hard to say which was my favorite, as I was typing and thinking that this one was my favorite, then I'd type the next name, and think that that one was my favorite. I think my favorites were a mix of the Japanese, Italian, and Indian. Art didn't care for the English garden as it was a confusion of flowers, but I like it. The house we're at right now, on the nights of the 2nd and 3rd, has a front garden similar to the large one we saw, and it's bright with all different flowers, overflowing with warmth and color.

We only had time to visit the Paradise Garden Collection, but there were other collections as well, such as the Productive, Cultivar, and Landscape Garden Collections. On to Pirongia and our first Servas hosts; this is an organization which was first formed after WWII and we've been members of since the early 90s. Jim and Jill Hammonds were warm with their welcome. They live in a 3 bedroom house with one bath, but the bath is divided into 3 rooms - the toilet, the sinks and bathtub, and the shower room. Apparently, this is quite common in NZ. They have a lot of land, about 13 acres, and grow some of their own food and have 12 cows for selling beef. She is with the school system and Jim is retired and a househusband and quite a good cook. It turns out that their American daughter-in-law went to Centre College in KY, and so did Art! I love the coincidences of life.

We had booked a tour of Waitomo Caves for 11:00am. There are several caves in the system and we booked with Spellbound Tours. It was a 3 1/2 hour tour, part of the time driving 1/2 hour in each direction to get there and back. There was a max of 12 people on each tour, so it wasn't not very large, which was exactly what had been recommended to us. There are closer caves, but each tour has a lot of people on it. We saw two caves, the first being with loads of Glowworms. It was incredible. Still waiting for Art to download some photos to include. Our tour included a rubber raft ride to view the glowworms in total darkness; actually, it's amazing how it becomes once your eyes adjust to the light they put out. After that cave, we had a stop and those who wanted hot chocolate, hot coffee, or hot tea had some with biscuits (cookies). I had brought a salad to eat at this point in the tour while they, including Art, had the cookies and drinks. We then walked about 5 minutes to another cave, where it was a walking tour. It was interesting, and not terribly enhanced, as were the caves we had seen during our AZ/NM trip.

Back near the tour office, there was a gift show and restaurant. The shop had wonderful crafts and I was tempted to buy a felted handbag. However, I decided I didn't really need one, so I passed, but they were wonderfully colorful. I like a bag which closes completely at the top, and these didn't. The artist was really creative, as she also made scarves, rings, small pouches, and eyeglass cases. I hope I see her work again.

On our way back to Jim and Jill's, we had decided to see the Kiwi House Park, but it was getting late and I was tired, so we skipped that with the idea of seeing it on our way further south the next day. The best laid plans......

I cooked dinner on the 30th, a delicious onion pasta, an herb butter with a bread Jim had baked that day, and a huge salad. The onion pasta is one of Art's favorites, and it's so easy; it will be in my cookbook, but here's the recipe now:

Onion Pasta
3 large onions
6 Tablespoons Olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1/ 2 cup organic vegetable broth
parsley
Rice pasta (or any type you like)
Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Thinly slice the onions and put them with the 6 T of olive oil into a deep fry pan. Turn the temperature to very low and cover the pan. Cook for 45 min., stirring once midway through.
2. Take off the cover and stir them well. Add a generous amount of salt, as the onions will be very sweet, and some pepper, Stir again. Turn up the temperature to med-high and let the onions turn golden.
3. Add the broth and keep the temperature up as the broth evaporates a bit. Add the parsley and turn off the heat.
4. While the onions are cooking, heat the water for cooking the pasta. The rice pasta usually takes a long time, so start to cook it when the onions are on the med-high heat.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the finished sauce.
6. Serve the parmesan cheese on the side if you desire it.
7. Serve and enjoy. If you're not gluten free, it's wonderful with a warm crusty bread and herb butter.

I'll write again soon.