Vegetable prices here in New Zealand are absolutely ridiculous this summer. If mortgaging your house to keep up a steady supply of the green gold aka, avocados is not your jam, then you’ll be looking to purchase in-season produce whose price point reflects the fact …
Lord have mercy bullet trains are freaking amazing. Pure Japanese innovation and technology designed to increase the efficiency of people moving between Japan’s two biggest cities. Of course, the Shinkansen trains now run the full length of the country and with the amazing Japan Rail …
After declaring it an anime-shopping-free day, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather in Tokyo so headed for Ueno Park. In Cherry Blossom season, this is one of the spots to be in Tokyo, however, as we are visiting in winter I was willing to take a gamble and have a wander. Home to many museums and Ueno Zoo, 3 temples and one shrine, Ueno Park is a beautiful place to wile away the hours.
I was actually really stressed out on Tuesday when we visited. Nix has been really, really hard work so far on this trip and he’s sucking the life out of me, so it was with great delight that I saw a freaking peony garden, IN FULL BLOOM no less, entry fee ¥600 ($7.40NZD). Dave saw that and was like, go ahead babe, I’ll hang with the boys.
Hallelujah.
One thing to remember about travelling with kids is that it can be quite tricky to steal a little quiet time. Dave and I find that we are so tired each night, we usually go to bed right after the boys so there’s not a lot of alone time to regroup. Ergo, a wander through some Japanese peony gardens was exactly what the doctor ordered.
We took our time exploring the park grounds, finally heading down a hill to Shinobazu Pond and the Bentendo Temple. This was such a great spot to wile away the sunny winter afternoon. The temple stands in the middle of the pond so there was lots for the boys to explore and look at, delicious food vendors (we enjoyed chicken katsu and crab skewers), as well as a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a cold Asahi.
As it was our last night in Tokyo we couldn’t resist the urge to head back to Shibuya and see the crossing in all of its after work, neon glory. I seriously LOVE this place, the energy is amazing but at the same time mellow and fun. Such a strange juxtaposition. We wandered and found the statue of Hachiko, the gorgeously loyal dog who would wait at the train station every day for his master Ueno to return, even after his passing, #heartmelt! We also saw a full Mario Cart tour stopped at the lights at Shibuya Crossing. This was something Dave and I really wanted to do but you need to hold an international drivers license so make sure you grab one of those in New Zealand before you leave home.
For only the second time (gasp), I popped into a shop I wanted to look in – Zara was having a huge sale so naturally I had a quick browse and nabbed four t shirts for $28 NZD! Everything in a size L is always on sale here, it’s the one time I’ve genuinely been stoked about my size lol.
One thing we are definitely missing is fruit and vegetables. The meat, seafood and carb situation is plentiful and awesome but we love our fresh produce so we stopped to pick up some dinner from the mind-blowing Tokyu Food Show at Shibuya Station. I don’t even know where to start here. Think, every type of uber-fresh seafood and meat in a small format market, complete with butchers, fishmongers preparing your purchase, but, in a fancy metropolitan supermarket. It was crazy packed, frenetic but so, so amazing. There was a whole ‘restaurant’ section in the market where you could find anything under the sun so Ethan picked out some sushi and gyoza while Nix wanted (more) chicken katzu and some potato wedges. Dave and I ate some crazy omelette-y meat/rice combo from a teeny restaurant around the corner from our house. Full tummies = happy Jacks.
So, a different kind of day here, and one just as enjoyable. The parks here are beautiful and so worth exploring. It’s super easy when travelling to get in the trap of ‘paying’ for your experiences in a country, but you just don’t have to at all. Let yourself wander unscheduled and you may start to finally find that ‘I’m on holiday feeling’.
In my fast and loose ‘Mind Itinerary’, I had pencilled in Monday for a trip to Sea Disney in Tokyo. However, after one day on the ground, what we really wanted to do was simply see and experience more of Tokyo. So, we ditched Disney …
Lord. Japan is far, far away from Auckland, New Zealand. And I mean far. But that is what makes it so amazing. After two great Jetstar Flights (thanks Jason for the attention you gave the boys on the long Gold Coast – Narita leg!), …
January marks the second, ‘official’ month of New Zealand summer. We Kiwi’s are comfortably settled into the annual, seasonal slow-down we look forward to every year. The kids have chilled out after the excitement of Santa’s visit, Mum’s everywhere have celebrated ‘un-decking the halls’ and returning Christmas to the boxes in the garage and everyone sadly mourned the last slice of festive ham and wedge of Pavlova.
If you missed the mania of the Boxing Day sales, tragic New Year’s Eve jandal blow-outs were easily rectified by those crazy enough to brave the malls and give the beach a miss for at least a couple of hours, joining those shoppers equipping themselves with everything they need to smash their NY resolutions once and for all.
The Summer of 2018 is definitely shaping up as one to remember. In true NZ style, the weather has given us highs and lows (!! lol !!). The gaudy, golden sunshine and blistering temps of the week before New Years gave many campers revelling in #ThatTentLife a false sense of security, as evidenced by the appearance of many quintessential Kiwi behaviours, only exhibited when the mercury begins to rise;
Like most parents, Dave and I are becoming more and more aware of how the food we feed the boys affects their health, mood and wellbeing. Nixies shortened GI tract following Hirschsprung’s surgery means food moves through his little system super fast and adverse effects on his mood and behaviour become apparent really quickly. Avoiding those dreaded artificial food additives can seem daunting but is made infinitely easier when you know that one company has eliminated all the baddies from their entire range of yummy products!
Who? Tip Top that’s who.
The commitment to only using natural flavours and colours is a big deal, especially when you do a tiny bit of research about the alternatives. You can’t really talk ice cream without thinking about chocolate right? Tip Top has replaced dodgy additive E155 – Brown HT (made from coal tar, a suspected carcinogen and mutagen that is banned in the US, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Belgium) and is now using simple, caramelized sugar to achieve that rich chocolate brown colour we all expect in our fave Trumpets. There are super-cool, and surprising, alternatives in place throughout the Tip Top range that sees beetroot, spirulina, gardenia and turmeric extracts replace the synthetic dyes and coal or petroleum derived additives that other companies are still using today.
We Kiwis are the best at just about everything we do, so we want our awesome, NZ made products to reflect that. Gone are the days of ‘numbers = colours and flavours’, we are discerning consumers with a growing consciousness towards what we put in our bodies. As we make better choices we are expecting the producers of our favourite foods to do the same. It’s pretty awesome to see Tip Top, a name synonymous with New Zealand, take the lead and make our summer treats #GoodtoShare for everyone.
This post was made possible by the good peeps at Tip Top!
