criplomats

We had a good week with friends. Barb and Edward are about to head out, so we enjoyed a really nice going away dinner with them, Rick, and Sarah, hosted by Peter and Lizanne – who are fabulous hosts. We had a great dinner and good conversation with lots of toasting going on. We were also celebrating Peter’s great new assignment in Bolivia!

Friday was going-away lunch for them at the French Club. In addition to the usual suspects (sans Brad, who is on R&R), several of the ELOs from the NIV section joined in – lots of fun. Friday was admin day; the local staff also hosted a section-wide breakfast in Barb’s honor. The afternoon was Community Day, where many of the local staff brought their kids to the Embassy – where John made balloon animals for them. They all had a big time.

Friday night, John and I made a long-delayed return visit to the Polo Lounge, this time with Scott and Merlin. It was a beautiful night to sit outside and visit with a nice glass of wine.

I had a school board meeting on Wednesday, which I actually enjoy because the other folks on the board are so nice.

This afternoon I went to Charlie’s house. He hosted a very interesting gentleman, Richard Garstang, who gave a presentation on biodiversity in Pakistan. He’s from South Africa and worked as the conservation director for Kruger National Park at one time, so he also talked some about Africa. A really fascinating man. I didn’t get much of a chance to visit with his wife, but she is a Pakistani mountaineer and interesting in her own right. I was very happy that Charlie included me. Who knew that Pakistan used to have rhinos? Not me!

After eeking out every bit of vacation time, it was back to work for us Monday. The week was fine, just a little busy trying to work through all the emails and remember all my passwords! The weather here is great, so we’ve been sitting outside for lunch every day, although we can tell that the hot weather is inching our way.

Thursday night after work, one of the entry level officers in my section hosted a going-away party for Barb. We had loads of fun! I sure will be sorry to see her go, though.

We went to the French Club twice this week for lunch – once on Thursday to celebrate Brad’s last day before R&R and again on Friday just because Barb has decreed “French Friday.” It is nice to get off the compound for a change, even if it is just aa five minute walk away.

We’ve also had fun this week in the evenings catching up on some television shows – “House of Cards,” “Justified,” and “The Americans.” All mindless but we enjoy the break.

This week marked the one-year anniversary of Cousin Dail’s death. We sure do miss him.

New Zealand Shed #2

 

I’m in denial that this fabulous R&R is coming to an end and we’ll have to go back to work tomorrow. This vacation has been a milestone for me: I have not even once turned on my Blackberry. It’s an amazing feeling and the first time in years that I have not spent vacations checking email or doing some work. For the first time in ages, I feel relaxed! Part of that is due to knowing that my wonderful friend and co-worker Barbara can take  over for me in the office and I just don’t have to worry about it – thanks, Barb!

 

Our last day in Bangkok, we went to a cooking school, Bai Pai, about 30 minutes outside of town. It was a lovely setting – big open kitchen with multiple cooking stations next to a lovely garden. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do and never made the time. We had a lot of fun and learned to cook stir-fried cashew chicken (that Saleem re-created beautifully for us at home this week), Thai beef salad, a dessert, and Phad Thai. There were seven of us in the class – in the small world category, one young man knew three of our co-workers here in Islamabad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to see all of our New Zealand photos.

Click here to see all of our Bangkok photos.

We returned to Islamabad late Monday night and spent the rest of the week at home on a staycation – more fun! I was happy to see Flavia again, and like always when we return, she wants to sit in my lap constantly. I was also glad to get back into my exercise routine. We watched Season Two of “House of Cards” and just generally relaxed even more, if that’s possible.

Yesterday was the spring vendor bazaar at the Embassy, so I went to that for a while. It was fun to have lunch with Brad and Mike and get caught up on work news. And of course I found a few trinkets to buy.

This was our last R&R, so it puts us in the home stretch of our time here. Hard to believe that this time next year, we’ll be living in Guadalajara!

We loved this artwork at the cabin in New Zealand – it pretty well sums up how we felt about vacation!

 

Unfortunately, we had to leave New Zealand on Friday. Wow – what a great relaxing vacation – it was just wonderful! From there, we flew to Bangkok for a few days. It’s 180 degrees different from New Zealand – hot and busy, but also fun!

Our last few days in Blenheim were great. On Wednesday, we made the beautiful 1.5 hour drive down the east coast to Kaikoura, a lovely little seaside town. The big attraction there are the seal colonies – it was so fun to pull over on the side of the road to watch the pups! We also took a walk off the highway up to a waterfall; in the winter, the seal pups play there, but alas, we were too early in the season to see them so we had to be content with watching them play on the rocks on the beach instead. The waterfall and short walk to it was also nice – it reminded me of the rainforest in Costa Rica. After a nice lunch, we headed home in time for grilled pork chops and a nice bottle of wine for dinner.

The rest of our time in Marlborough we just spent relaxing – reading, a little shopping, watched a couple of movies – and I finished my jigsaw puzzle.

Friday was spent traveling all day from Bleinheim to Auckland, then our 11 hour trip to Bangkok. Here we are staying at the lovely Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the river – such a beautiful place. I love having breakfast at the cafe overlooking the river and watching the boats go up and down. We’ve also found a couple of neat little restaurants nearby that we have enjoyed. I really like this part of town – I feel like there is more to see and do within walking distance of the hotel. And I found a nice little affordable spa a few blocks away that I have visited a couple of times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday morning we rented a longboat for a two hour trip around the canals – fascinating. Lots of crazy places and small temples along the way. I felt a bit like a peeping tom, as we drove past the little river houses and watched the people go about their daily routine of washing clothes, sweeping, bathing the dog, brushing their teeth, shopping at the little floating markets going by their homes. A different life. And it’s interesting to see a fancy hotel and then next to it a little shanty of a house. So much wealth and then so much poverty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has been a fabulous vacation and it’s not completely over yet!

This has got to be the most relaxing vacation ever! We’ve spent the last week just visiting wineries, grilling great steaks, reading, watching movies, and enjoying the sights. I also have a jigsaw puzzle out on the table.

 

Yesterday was a real treat. We drove to Picton (about 25 minutes away) and took a tour through the Queen Charlotte Sound. It was gorgeous. We saw seals, little blue penguins swimming, cool birds, and Hector dolphins – including a mother and her calf! We docked for an hour on one of the islands where we hiked to the very top for fabulous views – it was such a clear day we could even see the North Island. The islands are filled with beautiful bird calls – we pulled into one bay just to listen to them. The Department of Conservancy has made several of the islands pest-free and are trying to revive or reintroduce native species to them. A lovely day with nature and fresh air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday we drove to nearby Havelock, famous for its green-lipped mussels. Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday was a big day here at Brookby Ridge – harvest day for the pinot noir grapes. We moseyed through the small vineyard and watched the pickers hand-pick the purple grapes. I talked with some of them, mostly young girls from Taiwan or Malaysia who come to work. They pile the grapes into green plastic flats, which are then loaded onto a tractor and taken down the hill where an 18-wheeler waits for them. It’s quite a production. Brookby, the resident black Lab, was beside himself, while Totty, the 16 year-old Terrier mix was content to ride alongside Mary Jo on a mule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After watching for a bit, we went to the Sunday farmers’ market in town – fun to see all the organic produce and it’s good people-watching, too.

After that, we went to the aviation museum, a neat collection of WWI-era planes and memorabilia owned by Peter Jackson of “Lord of the Rings” fame. We both really enjoyed it more than we expected to!

We’ve enjoyed several of the wineries here. Some of our favorites have been Gibson Bridge, Huia, Rock Ferry, Highland, and Fromm. There are hundreds in the area, so it’s a bit hard to choose! We had a wonderful lunch at the much-touted Herzog Vineyard – a lovely garden setting.

We’ve been so lucky with the weather – knock on wood. When we arrived, it was rainy and chilly but the sun came out the next day and it’s just been perfect every day.

You may remember that John had a crown fall off while we were in Koi Samui on our last R&R. Well, guess what? This time, I pulled one off while eating a piece of bread (darn carbs). So – no R&R is complete without a trip to see a local dentist!

Here’s a parting shot of John playing with Brookby in the olive grove behind the cabin.