Season 03, Ep. 03

HaNmer Springs, not HaMner Springs

This is pretty much our only mini mid-year holiday. Four days away, once again at the beautiful South Island. But let's all remember that everything is about quality, not quantity.
This time a week ago we were dealing with our post-wedding blues, which always go according to the weather and let's just say the weather was not helping. But I'll start at the beginning.

A few months ago we got invited to a wedding in Hanmer Springs. Hanmer is a couple of hours drive from Christchurch. We had driven past the turn off during our last visit on the South Island in January. Remember? If you have no clue what I'm talking about, visit my last Season of The Moo Point. Beautiful road trip. Anyway, we couldn't really wait to go back down there. All I kept hearing for months was how gorgeous Hanmer Springs is, people go there during winter, book batches and visit the thermal pools. Thermal pools! How flash. I could NOT wait. It is winter here now afterall. Well, when I say winter, don't really allow yourselves to think of scarves, gloves and Ugg boots everyday, at least up here, but down there, they usually do get freezing cold winters and snow so the idea of visiting a resort with thermal pools while everything around you is white is heaven. Even though the seasons seem to be moving at a much slower pace in this day and age, and it still feels like autumn. So no snow. But yes pools.

We flew down there first thing Friday last. We rented our car and decided to treat ourselves with a townie experience in Westfield. A little taste of London felt superb. After spending two hours at Westfield, we embarked upon our road trip to Hanmer. Arriving we were greeted by the family in the house we rented for the weekend, oh dear, who owned this house, it was soooo cute. Comfortable as well. Fire was on and the party mode as well. ON. First night, was what we call the ''meet and greet'' night, even though we all knew each other, but even the ones we didn't really know we wouldn't bother meeting anyway, we were too busy catching up with the loved ones we know but live far from. We walked to the pub, since everything was walking distance. Hanmer Springs is a beautiful small town/resort/village, call it what suits you best, but very well taken care of. They know they rely on their tourism therefore they look their best. All of them. The shops, the cafes, the restaurants, even the kebab/souvlaki shop. The pathway across the shops which is also a mini-park with a couple of benches and on its other side there is the entrance to the hot pools, is lit with 'Christmas-like' lights on the trees and it looks FAB. Loved the feeling walking along.

The next day we decided to honour the mini put right at the heart of the village with the family, for two reasons. The weddings here start early as, for us Greeks at least, they start after 2-3 pm so you only get a chance to do something in the morning and take it easy since you know you have a long day ahead, full of drinking and dancing, before you go start getting ready. Also, partner loves golf. Any type of golf. So mini-put it was. I loved it though. I sucked, but I loved it. Sucking means I got one or two amazing shots only to make me feel cocky before my next sucky one. Meh, it was my first time. Next time let's  go do some karaoke, see how you'll do. LOL.

Wedding is lush. The sun was shining, it wasn't even that cold so they did their ceremony outside in the garden before we proceeded inside the fancy hotel for the reception. Flash hotel be-tee-dubs. The Heritage, check it out. It looks like a typical hotel until you walk around it and see that there is a lake at the back and a bunch of super cute houses that spread all across, and yes they are all part of the hotel too. So you don't have to book a room at the hotel, you can book a batch. And still receive the room service. Lush.

The party went on, after the yummy food but the DJ was so crap, we decided to make the best out of a PRETTY bad musical situation. Dude could not read his audience. I mean come on. Our requests were not even helping him sense the tone and taste. Anywhoo, if you can't beat them, join them, I guess so we made the most out of any song he would play and had a pretty good darn laugh.

The next day was very poor. Weatherwise especially, very cold, damp, rainy. The initial plan was to go for a bike ride and then to the pools. That flopped. We drove around instead having a good old fashioned nosy at the houses around, some of them, most of them really fancy. We treated ourselves with lunches and dinner out and then home and fire. And cards. Why not, it was great. However, we didn't get to really do the one thing everyone raves about, the pools. Pools were pricey though and apparently word has it not all that great though unless it is all white around ya. So no, winged it.

Out last day was back to our beloved Christchurch. Back to Sumner Village for lunch and a walk by the seaside as the weather was definitely in our favour more than ever on our last day. Any information on Christchurch is on this very blog, Season 2. Look it up. Worth it.

At the airport I got to enjoy my cuppa at the cutest pub after purchasing a copy of the best selling book soon to be movie 'Me Before You', by Jojo Moyes. I am almost half way through, next episode shall definitely be a review on the book. Easy read, very sweet story. And our beloved queen of Dragons is the main character in the movie. Double win. Not that I watch Game Of Thrones, don't hate, but I like her anyway. Now as far as a clearer description of Hanmer Springs goes, pictures speak way louder than my words. All I can say is that so far we have a winner. Take a look and follow the entire journey on my Instagram. Toodles. Be well! 

Season 2, Ep. 09

Christchurch Art Gallery

Okay. So this post shall be brief and to the point. Nothing deeper than the title which is pretty self explanatory. The posts about the holiday at the South Island are wrapping up today with a post about the Art Gallery I visited while in Canterbury. 

I hadn't visited a proper Art Gallery since forever I feel. So it was much to my disappointment when I heard that the Christchurch Gallery may be shut and under construction since the earthquakes. That was an assumption anyway and that's what it looked like as I was walking up to the building from the side and that side was covered in scaffolding. But no, all good, false alarm, wide open to the public and quite an impressive building may I say. 

I first started at the top floor with my partner who after the first room decided to walk back downstairs, give me my time to view and wait. Lol, hash tag not for everybody. The range of art was just enough I reckon, not too tiny, you know, one room, 10 paintings and you're out, neither was it endless floors of art that you can't even remember the last one you viewed after.

The first room that really impressed me was The Golden Age. It was engravings on wood from the 20th Century. So impressive. The details on each piece were so carefully done that I almost started believing they're fake, no way someone could do this on wood. Indeed my friends, indeed. 

I looked through rooms that focused on New Zealand's history in paintings but the next room that caught my eye was post-modern art. These rooms always catch my eye and not always for the right reasons. Here I am looking through amazingly detailed paintings and engraved pieces of art from the 20th Century and then I walk into a room with a LARGE yellow painting, excuse me, 'painting', and... I'm supposed to read between the lines? I mean, that's just one woman's opinion but I never understood that kind of art. There's the artist that sheds blood, sweat and tears over an oil painting of a meadow for example, with excruciating detail you can almost see the little bird on the tree about to poop, and then there's the lazy 'post-modern' artist who prints a yellow canvas aaaand suddenly it's the hottest thing in the gallery. Come on...

Again, one woman's opinion, everyone is entitled to their own. Happy to hear yours. 

Anyhoos, yellow, shmellow, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing and finally I should mention the room named 'Pip & Pop'. It was a massive installation in a small room made from sugar, tiny objects, glitter, paint and portrayed the landscape allude to the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi*. So beautiful, so colourful, so yummy, so happy, it caused all the happy feelings I tell ya. 

Loved it. Hope you can love it as much as I did if you get a chance to travel down here or even through my photos. Now, this week is for art lovers, next week is for lovers. V-day.

www.instagram.com/katerinageorgiou

*Kintsugi

Season 2, Ep. 08

Wrapping Up

Previously on The Moo Point...

So we are at Christchurch at the moment, after a day of travelling down to the city with one stop-over in Kaikoura, and a quick visit in few towns on the way including Waipara Hills,and then Lincoln University and Akaroa once we got there. 

Today...

Christchurch is a struggling beauty. The ruins from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes are more than visible, YET, the first flash buildings have already emerged and boy do they look cool. I give it 4-5 more years and I reckon the city will look cooler than ever, futuristic, modern, fresh out the box. But for now, all you hear is the sound of drilling and scaffolding all around which takes away pretty much all of the fun walking around the city, but hey, what can you do.

The problem is, there's still some buildings of sentimental and historical value that have gotten completely ruined during the earthquake but it's still undecided whether they should tear them down completely and start from scratch or try to keep them up and 'fix' what's left of them. Pretty dangerous though I reckon, evcen if they do this, they can only be for show. Noone will be able to walk in them let alone live in them. Sounds like a joke to me that they are even considering fixing the ruins but I get it, there's buildings like the Christchurch Cathedral at Cathedral Square, right at the heart of the city,which is a true landmark but is still barely hanging, but also, how do you completely demolish such a landmark. And this is coming from a super non-religious person, but it ain't about that. 

Anyhoo, my day exploring the city was super hot and sunny so I loved every little bit of it. Prior to our walk-about in the city though, we made a little trip to Sumner Village, 20 minutes out. It's an area right by the ocean, obviously super busy at this time of the year with surfies, kids swimming, boogie-boarding etc. Then you come across a big playground and a line of cafes and restaurants around. The road leads to a massive hill which is full of flash-ish houses but boy what a view they must have up there, right above the ocean. 

Overall, I noticed that apart from the old ruins getting rebuilt etc, there's a massive line of new homes getting built further from the centre of the city. I'm not sure if people have now decided to migrate towards the suburbs after what happened, or if the population is growing, but there were new blocks of houses EVERYWHERE.

On our way back to Picton to catch our ferry back to the North Island, we made another stop at Cheviot, remember from the previous episode? Cheviot, lattes, try it. Our ferry back was smooth as, we spent all 3 hours at the 'Quiet' room, reading, napping, and we booked our final accommodation literally 3 hours before arriving in Martinborough. This time we stayed at a camp ground but in a cabin. Beautiful little batch, and the camp had new facilities, such as showers, kitchen etc,so it felt pretty flash. Check it out, TOP 10 Holiday Park. Now, I LOVED Martinborogh, stayed for like a day before we finally made it back to the Naki, and for a small town,it is so nicely maintained, CUTEST little pubs and bars. I appreciated that, it don't matter how small the town is to me, it was so nicely taken care of and remodelled. We visited a winery as this is what Martinborough is famous for BUT our main day trip was to Castle Point a famous surf beach. Beautiful indeed. Endless hot, smooth sand, beautiful waters. The partner had to go for a surf. Of course. 

The next day meant the road trip wrapped as we drove back to Taranaki. A much worth mentioning town on the way up is Greytown, we only drove past but it was enough to mention how preeeetty it is. Masterton, mmm not so much. 

Sad to see the end of our trip but was definitely stoked to see my little teapot puppy again who probably had a better holiday than us with the pup mate she stayed with. Hashtag it's a dog's life.

Alright, now back to reality. See you next week when things turn artistic. So yeah, get ready to get in touch with your artistic side.Hashtag  Christchurch Art Gallery. Woop.

Christchurch

Castle Point

Martinborough

Season 2, Ep. 07

The One With Kaikoura

Previously on The Moo Point...

The South Island, Nelson, Golden Bay, hipster coffee houses and The Revenant. 

You with me? Excellent.
We said bye-bye to Nelson in order to drive down to Canterbury with a small stop over in Kaikoura. Kaikoura is a small town between Picton and Christchurch and it is famous for its fresh fish and seafood to locals. Me being from Europe, New Zealand is awesome when it comes to its fresh seafood over all, but locals are bound to get pickier and Kaikoura tops the list I guess. And boy is it true. I am a little fussy personally with fish, I have a strong feeling it ain't just me, but yeah, if the fish ain't fresh, nah, sorry, just get me more fries. 

Unfortunately the weather had started to get sad. And it kept getting sadder and sadder until it started raining and not only that it kept getting colder and colder believe it or not, until we went to an Irish pub, beautiful one, make sure you check it out, it's called The Strawberry Tree, wow that is a huge parenthesis I am making in order to get to my point, anyway the pub had a fire on. Yes. It was beautiful, beautiful scenery I tell you but hello, middle of summer here. Hashtag global warming.

Next day we couldn't wait to get back on the road and get out of the motel we stayed in and make our move down to Christchurch. The motel was called Dusky Lodge and Backpackers,and even though it had amazing facilities, spa, pool, kitchen, internet, pool table and a TV in the room,however my oh my, that toilet in our room smelled like a cow's fart. Hashtag it was moo. So yeah, outta there.

The trip to Christchurch was smooth, with a couple of small stops, one at Cheviot town where I HAD THE BEST LATTE EVER ALRIGHT, I mean for a small town they sure have a couple of super cute, modern coffee houses, so if you're driving down there stop at Cheviot. I repeat, stop over at Cheviot town. Ta. Later we stopped quickly at Waipara Hills, a very flash winery. Like, very flash. We had our coffee watching a bunch of men taking down a massive stage where UB40 had just performed on the night before there, Waipara Hills is a famous venue for concerts etc. Hashtag red red wine. It was still a little rainy but at least we weren't roasting in the car. Arriving in Canterbury, our first stopover was at Lincoln University in Lincoln. Why? That was the university my better half attended, thanks for asking. I had a good nosy around the campus and after we discussed what had changed we made a move to Lincoln town which reportedly did not use to look like the way it does now. Some locals claimed "we're important now, we have our massive chain supermarket and heaps of flash new cafes, library and brewery-pub". Overall, a very nice upgrade then. 

We arrived in Riccarton in Christchurch around 4pm and checked into our room. It was such a wonderful, tidy, clean room, with heaps of facilities including a mini kitchen. Hashtag bargain. If you're interested, check out Academy Motor Lodge. Best stay that far. For the rest of our day we drove to Westfield, yes we have a Westfield too, and had dinner locally. We had a long day awaiting the day after.

The weather was still pretty crappy but hey, can't win them all. The next morning we took off to Akaroa in the Banks Peninsula. A super cute former French colony, therefore it has kept all its French names, even the streets are named in French. "Rue Oxford" par example. Cute. Akaroa is surrounded by the beautiful Lake Forsyth and once again you'll have a chance to explore heaps of shops, coffee shops and restaurants. If you feel adventurous and up for a splurge, you can have the opportunity to pay for a trip to swim with dolphins, IF you're lucky to spot any that is. Up to you. 
Right, so I shall leave you with the above information for now to digest for a week and get back to you asap. 

Next on The Moo Point: Christchurch and the way back on the North Island  that marks the end of the road trip. Look after yourselves!

Katerina

Making friends in Kaikoura

Waipara Hills

Akaroa

Lake Forsyth/Akaroa

Season 2, Ep 06

The One With The South Island.

And here I thought things can't get any more "down under". Worldly this title belongs to Australia, but then there's us, right here, a little further down. I have been residing on the North Island of New Zealand and right now I do realise I owe you an episode on this, since I have visited a few locations up here too, but this one is all about the South Island. My latest trip. 

First, a smooth trip down to Wellington to catch the ferry and a few hours later we had arrived in Picton. Funny how Picton belongs on the South Island yet if you look at the map you'll see that it is higher than Wellington. Hashtag LOL. Anyways, Picton's main town, where all the cute cafes and shops are, looks so much like Monte Carlo. I know random, but just looking out at the harbour, with a bunch of palm trees all around that's the image I got. Very cute indeed. Make sure you check out "The Paper Rain Project", a cute shop that sells from artwork to T-shirts all uniquely made using mostly leather and wood materials.

We started our journey by driving to Nelson which was our first stopover. The journey there was pretty, very very green, we made a tiny stop at a river, which name slips my mind, and people where swimming, oh it just looked so picturesque. Yeah, I know, I suck for not remembering the name, but if you're driving from Picton to Nelson, you cannot miss it.

Nelson, is a small city, but beautiful. Just the right size. Heaps of cafes, cool restaurants to check out, most notably 'The Affair' which topped my list after I had that lamb salad. MM. Activities in Nelson would include, cycling, walking and coffees coffees coffees. It's a pretty relaxed city, one night we actually decided to go see 'The Revenant'. But it's what's around Nelson that's worth driving to and seeing. We spent a whole day driving to Golden Bay in the hopes of making it to the beach but the wind was unbelievable. However, it was the drive there that made our day. We stopped at two little towns on our way, Motueka and Takaka, both so lovely, so scenic, beautiful cafes, local shops, packed with tourists obviously at this time of the year. Footnote, it is summer here, remember? So yeah, Motueka, Takaka, remember those two little Maori named places. Worth it.

Next week, Kaikoura. Our second stopover before the big city of Christchurch. MWAH

On the ferry...entering the South Island

Picton

By the river...

The river on the way to Nelson

Nelson Park

Season 1, Ep. 06

Post Holiday Blues

Let's talk about that. Only because I have spent the last 30 hours on planes coming back to base, not so ready for action, but I guess it has to be done, which is also the reason this post was a wee-bit delayed. And so, there isn't much inspiration this week, but more the need to talk about that feeling we get after a massive highlight in our lives comes to an end. Quote Friends, "an end of an era". Ok maybe not so dramatic.
Greece was magical. You can follow the entire journey from here to there and back, including wedding buzz and beach galore on Instagram. Also make sure you have checked out last week's post about the wedding. Some may have sent me the feedback that they felt like they were there while reading it. Some. Hashtag brag.
Family catch up, best friends catch up, watched sister walk down the isle, tanned, tanned, ate like there's no tomorrow, tanned. No wonder, you get the blues after. And then I sit down and feel guilty because I feel unappreciative of my everyday normal life. Why do we live for those holiday moments, why do we hate going back to work? Shouldn't we be leading a life where we all do what we love so we don't feel like we have to have those holiday moments to hang on to? Mmmm, I'm the romantic who always said yes about it, we do have to lead lives where we do what we love for a living, and boy do I serve this preaching, but a holiday is a holiday. As someone very close to me says, on holiday, you eat when you're hungry, you sleep when you're tired.
There's no schedule, there's no dress code, there's no does or don'ts and there is absolutely no stress over spending money, over paying bills, what to eat aka what to cook. Come to think of it this maybe define some people's lives 365 days a year but for the rest of us mortals, we know that all the of above are indeed situations we go through every day when NOT on holiday.
Now I am back having the rudest awakening as it's still winter over here. We got the rainiest, windiest welcome. Oh yeah NZ made sure it reminded us well that our holiday is more than over. But hey, here I am at least rejuvenated, rested, sun-kissed and writing my next post while watching the MTV Video Music Awards, finding out that Kanye West is running for president in 2020 and picturing Kim Kay becoming a First Lady. And it makes me realise that everyday life is not so bad after all. Hashtag preach it. Till next week...

       

Season 1, Ep. 03

   Keep Calm, Greek Summer Not In Crisis

   I am SO not used to spending August in the middle the friggin' winter and I am certainly not ready to spend Christmas in the heat. Dear Californians and everyone on the south hemisphere, how do you do it. Christmas is supposed to be white, I can't even wear my fat granddad jersey this year. But then again remembering the last 9 'summers' in London that I spent, minus the previous two which somehow turned to be the biggest heatwaves-careful what you wish for-, I certainly recall holding on tight to an umbrella in the middle of July and cracking on that leather jacket. Uh, first world problems. So how are you today?
   Hey, HEY, I am turning 27 in almost a week. No turning back now, one way ticket till the 30s. Yay. 27 years ago today, mom was heavily pregnant during a standard hot summer in Greece. I'll take this opportunity to talk about my time in Greece for all you travellers out there who are keen on visiting. So I was born in Thessaloniki. The co-capital. Funny how Greece is the only country in the world with a co-capital. You don't hear New Yorkers complaining about not being the capital of the  USA. Thessaloniki is awesome. Honestly awesome. Minus the recession effect, where heaps of stores have shut down, and minus the dicks out there who pay no respect and vandalise anything with spray paint. No, not graffiti, not the good, talented graffiti artists, I'm talking about the idiots who will buy a black can and spray their last girlfriend's name, who dumped them because they are idiots, on brand new buildings. Other than that, awesome. No really, the theatres, the cafes, the brand new seaside walkway, the White Tower, the OTE Tower, the Old Castle, the Panorama Hill, the statue of Alexander The Great. But most importantly everything is by the sea. Follow your nose around the city and you'll find the seaside. Mmmm. I grew up in a flat by the seaside. Pas mal. Obviously my 17 year stay in Thessaloniki was my school years so basically all I did was school-homework-ballet-drama club and repeat. And a few teenager flings. Just a few. Our usual Saturday night for us teenagers would turn out to be the cheapest nights ever because somehow all we did was meeting outside this massive church 'Metropolis', which is right at the heart of the city and socialise. That's it. From 8pm to 10.30pm. Curfew. Pretty sure, teenagers are rolling a little different these days.
    But summers for us from Thessaloniki, were just meant to be in Halkidiki. This magical place, that heaps of Europeans know of, especially my fellow Brits. We have to thank our Brits for their love for Greece. Halkidiki is famous for its beaches, that green-blue sea water and the sexy resorts all around. But you probably know more than I do, or for more details just ask an English person. LOL. My summers start at a beautiful place called Siviri and end up at the super beautiful Sani Resort area. Google Map them, I'm not gonna spoonfeed you everything. My early summers involved innocent bicycle rides, swimming lessons, paddle boarding and A LOT of playing Hide and Seek at night with the local kids. Like a lot.Honestly, I'm an expert. Later summers, closer to my teenage years switched from those bicycle rides and Hide and seek games, to laying at the beach bar aaaaaall day, and going to the local disco at nights, dancing to The Pussycat Dolls and mingling with the British tourists. What can I say, Sani was flooded by Brits back then. Probably still is. So yeah, at summers I had more of a life.
    Then, there's Athens. I lived in Greece for 17 years and I visited Athens 17 times as part of my family lives there. Athens being the capital, means Athens is where the stress is. Athens is where the craze with the stress is. Thessaloniki is known for being the city where the craze without the stress is. Maybe not anymore, but that was our notorious nature for years. But I love Athens. I could visit again and again. Amazing streets, artistic cafes and restaurants, the most amazing area of Plaka where they have thankfully kept everything the way it looked 65 years ago, and the sight of the Acropolis and Lycabetus never fail to give you the chills. Now trust me on that. And if you need to look at the sea again, just take a drive down to Glyfada, which has become such a hot area for the same reasons.
     Last but not least, the islands. Can't chose one, can't chose two, every single island is different and equally awesome. AWESOME. From the fancy, Kardashian visiting ones, like Santorini and Myconos to the more alternative and natural beauties like Folegandros, Thasos, and Koufonisia they are all amazing. They all have that hot golden sand and the green-blue water surrounding them. And right now they are buzzing. And for you my loves, yes you Aussies and Kiwis, visiting Lemnos island will give you a chance to see where the brave ANZAC used to rest during their Gallipoli battles. So whether you want a party holiday or a quiet one they have it all. Just stay away from Kavos in Corfu, it's the Magaluf of Corfu. Unless that's what you're after. No judgement. And remember, whatever happens in Kavos, stays in Kavos. Ta.

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