Yay, clothes and shoes.
Then, we took a 35 minute ferry ride over to Waiheke Island for a tour of 4 wineries and lunch. It was an overcast day, but otherwise perfect weather.
As you can tell, I was ready for a "War Eagle" moment (which didn't happen today).
Once we got to the island, we saw our tour guide, Chris, holding a sign with Dave's name on it, like we were important or something.
This made us more excited than it should have, for sure. He looked pissed, but he was very friendly. And, we were the only two people on the tour today, which meant we got a very personalized winery tour!
Chris took us around the island in a van, but we first visited a lookout point over "Palm Beach." I was super jealous of the two swimmers we spotted, open water swimming in such a beautiful place.
Our first vinery stop was at Kennedy Point Vineyards, an award-winning but very small boutique winery. We tried 3 different wines, all of which were tasty. We ended up coming home with a bottle of Savignon Blanc and a bottle of avocado oil. I can't wait to put it on just about everything I grill this summer! We were amazed at the beautiful views and the many olive trees that lined the gravel driveway to get up to the vineyard.
Next stop was Obsidian Winery, which Dave wasn't as impressed with as I was. But it was very rustic and charming, and the wine-tasting-leader fed us cheese and crackers. Considering she fed me, I was happy.
It was after this winery (and, subsequently, what totaled several glasses of wine in about an hour, I'm sure), I realized that it was quite possibly one of the best days of my life.
I know, you're *supposed* to swish wine around and then spit it out at these tastings. As a certified rule-breaker, I ignored this piece of advice and drank every sip of wine that was poured to me, except for the very last glass at our last winery. At that point, I was borderline "hammered," and my good judgement got the best of me. Just so you know, I fully enjoyed my day by violating the rule of wine tasting. And by the time we finished at winery #2, I was swapping recipes with our tour guide (who of course wasn't imbibing with us), and I think I convinced him to make bacon-wrapped walnut and blue cheese stuffed figs for his next party.
Back to our winery tour: we then stopped at Jurassic Ridge, which was an even smaller winery run by one man who was a former neurologist. I then decided that when I win the lottery, one of the first orders of business is to purchase a winery on Waiheke Island. I'm not sure what kind of wine I'll make, but the bottles will have the absolute, most irresistible labels with some sort of vintage, kitschy pattern. Anyway. Here's what Jurassic Ridge looked like:
Coincidentally, it's called Jurassic Ridge because it's on some sort of geologic fault line? The wine owner explained it all in full detail, but again, being several glasses in at this point, I couldn't tell you exactly what he said. I do remember that the rocks underneath the dirt are what makes the difference in one grape's taste versus another's.
And then... we discovered heaven on earth, also known as Mudbrick.
Isn't it cute? This is for Christy: it was the kind of place that you expect a little boy, wearing knickers and suspenders, to come running out with an accordion, prepared to follow you everywhere you go and serenade you with the kind of music you'd hear on the streets of Paris, like they do on House Hunters International to let you know what country you're in?
It was here that we had what we both agreed was one of the best, if not THE best, meal of our lives. We took pictures of all the food. And of all the scenery that surrounded us!
We decided to stick to non-alcoholic beverages with our lunch. Hydration = good!
Our first course was an appetizer of bread, olives, olive oil and dried herbs.
I asked our friendly waiter if it was focaccia, and his response? "Um, I don't know, but I do know that our chefs make it fresh every day..." That was all I needed to hear. It was amazing. The olives were better than olives should be. The herbs were right out of the gardens that surrounded the restaurant. Ahhhhh. I really can't put into words how delicious this was, especially when I decided to sprinkle some of the fresh sea salt right on top of the bread (there were no salt shakers at this place - just little pinch bowls of salt! Joy!!).
Then, the chef sent out a bonus appetizer of seafood brulee.
I loved the seafood part underneath - kind of like a chowder - but neither of us was a fan of the "burnt" on top. It didn't really work for either of us. But still - a bonus appetizer? Yay.
Next was some chilled cucumber soup served with a fried crustacean of some sort.
The soup was served in a glass and layered like this: curry ice cream, cucumber soup, foamy stuff. On the plate was a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, roasted red peppers, and fried bits, because a fried crustacean just wasn't enough fried for the plate. The thought of cucumber soup with curry ice cream might sound disgusting, but it wasn't. In fact, it was amazing. At this point, we kinda felt like we were on Top Chef as guest judges, and were very happy that this is where we happened to eat lunch.
As if one bonus dish wasn't enough, we also got served an apple and ginger sorbet to cleanse our palate.
Fancy!
Our main course was a snapper with some sort of pork dumpling, saurkraut (NOT the horrible kind of sauerkraut you can buy in a plastic bag in the grocery store) and fried basil leaves. All I can say is: perfect.
Dessert was some sort of peanut and chocolate cake with a salted caramel ice cream.
How could we go somewhere like this and not get dessert?!After lunch was over, we were sad; we could've sat there and eaten all day. But, we had a few minutes to walk around before it was time to head back for the afternoon ferry back to Auckland. I am not exaggerating when I say I fell completely in LOVE with this place. I wish I could've captured the smell for you, as it was a mix of lavender, rosemary, fresh air, sea water, and sheer happiness. I'll quit writing and let the pictures do the rest of the work.
If, at the end of my life, I get to heaven and it doesn't look, smell and feel like this place, then there's really no reason for me to stay there. Today, we experienced a true paradise. I felt honored and humbled, but at the same time not worthy to be there. It was so beautiful I wanted to cry a couple of times. And I'm *not* a crier.
I also must say, the people of New Zealand are super nice. We've made friends everywhere we've been. Today on the return ferry, we bonded with an elderly couple who decided to retire on Waiheke. They both got jobs as gardeners on that beautiful island. This is now my new retirement plan.
On our way home, we also happened to pass by two of the sailboats racing in the Louis Vuitton sponsored event? I'm not too keen on racing terminology. Basically it's a big deal in the sailing world though.
Lastly, to top off the night, we went out to a Japanese restaurant with Mike, Elaine, their friends Yoko and Bill, their daughter Jenny, and her boyfriend, James. Obligatory group photos followed, segregated by which end of the table we sat at:
Yep. Perfect day. Time to hit the sack and hopefully do something equally as fun tomorrow!
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