We Take Ourselves With Us

One thing we had learned on our Switzerland trip was the benefit of staying near the airport the night before the flight, so our travels on our last full day would take us from Galway back to Switzerland by train, then to an airport hotel, and then--whatever. Three of us grabbed breakfast again at Esquires, where our server--the older gentleman from our first breakfast--remembered us and was happy to share that they were fully staffed that morning! Breakfast was again delicious. Ned went back to the hotel to ensure we'd all be packed and ready to go, while Harper and I ran off in search of Hazel Mountain Chocolates in the Latin Quarter. It was right next to the kinf_olk store (of course, how did we not see it?). We were plied with chocolates by the gracious HMC staff, learned that everything was gf, and bought a bunch. Another big up for Galway, the staff in every shop we visited were super nice, welcoming, and helpful--plus they had gorgeous accents! After chocolating-up, we grabb...

After a lovely New Year's Eve sleep, we started packing to make the flight from Queenstown to Auckland.  Our AirBnB host was super nice about letting us leave our bags in the apartment until we left, so we were free to search out breakfast along the lake.  We had heard good things about the Public Kitchen and Bar , and the idea of starting the new year off basking in the sun was ideal.  The service was superb and brekkie was wonderful: chicken and waffles, pancakes, thai curry (for our non-breakfast breakfaster), several Americanos, yum! Note Penn's new hat.  Somehow, somewhere, he lost his much-beloved Mammoth Caves hat, so we found this one for about $11 US.  Same color and theme (parks).  To whomever found the MC hat, I hope you enjoy it as much as he did. Fluffy Queenstown clouds. We had made great use of the NZ Super Shuttle service while traveling around the islands.  It's basically a passenger van with a hitc...