Accents on the Park - Take II ... Stoke/Bays ... and yet Another Move??

WEEK 1

The week started off for us how most weeks did back in the states…WORK. Funny how when you don’t have it, you want it…and when you have it, you wish you were back to the freedom of not having it anymore - or as much. I guess that’s just a part of life that translates worldwide. The hostel job is…interesting. We could make a list full of pro’s and con’s, but at the end of the day, it all comes back to I’m thankful to be employed and excited for a new challenge – one that we never would have had back home. One of the best things about the job is meeting people from around the world. It’s incredible to hear their stories, where they’ve come from, what they’re doing here and where they’re planning on going. I’ve met people from the UK, Japan, China, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Scotland and Sweden to name a few, and of course – Yanks from all over the States. We showed you all a few photos of our new home on the last posting, but realized we failed to give you all of the proper stats…our new house has a total of 18 rooms, 7 bathrooms, 4 lounges, 3 kitchens, 2 balconies, 1 ground floor patio and last but not least – 1 bar. Plenty of space, but it gives a whole new meaning to “working from home”.  Especially when on any given night, there can be 70+ guests staying here.

John’s job is in the midst of changing from one brewery to the next. The first brewery, Stoke, was a gateway to the brewing community and will offer much insight to the Brewery News and Update section of the blog in the future. The new brewery is Nelson Bays Brewery in Nelson or just Bays. There are a wide range of beers at Bays and like all breweries, some are better than others. Bays has a Doppelbock and a Pilsener that do not exactly stack up to the ones at Bayern, but at least they’re on the right track toward German Lagers. This job will be similar to what I experienced back in the US, where I’ll be doing a lot of the Marketing, Sales, Events/Promo’s, Social Networking and so on. It is hard to translate exactly what you have done in the brewing/bar community when it comes to international barriers I guess. There are many differences and similarities just like any other industry when you cross cultural barriers. This opportunity allows me to work from home, on the road and in and out of pubs/bars, which will be a great way to know and understand a lot of the inner workings of the New Zealand craft beer community. There is a great deal of waiting for the plunge in the beer industry right now. Everyone is trying to cover their bases and play catch up for the summer months ahead. A lot of bars/pubs on the outskirts are closing down for the winter, a concept that is quite different to that of the US. It is a little weird that pubs would be shutting down but that is the market. There will be more to come on Bays Brewery and breweries in NZ in general.

Our last day in June happened to be our day off, so we took advantage of the freedom and headed out with the Adventureship. Many firsts on this day – which I suppose is bound to happen every time we venture out – but all worth noting of course. We headed to Mapua where John had been for work the previous day and started out with lunch at the Smokehouse. Our first complete fish and chip experience, New Zealand style, and worth every greazy bite! They send out the fish and chips in parchment paper which upon unwrapping feels as exciting as Christmas time…or maybe we were just starving. Either way, we immediately both commented on how our families (especially Lorin, Paul and Mary Barz) are going to LOVE eating here when they come to visit! 

Two huge pieces of fresh fish and a scoop of chips later, (with tomato sauce, extra $$ of course, it’s New Zealand after all) we were ready to continue exploring. We went into all of the small shops (Mary Sanden and Megan you will love these) and took in all of the amazing craftsmanship of the local artists. By the time we hit the last shop John was ready to be done…thankfully our final stop in Mapua was the Golden Bear brewery. Convenient eh?!

Quite convenient because not only was it a brewery, it was an American brewery, owned by a guy from Los Angeles. Now, everyone knows that the only thing that comes out of LA that’s any good is the Dodgers and Disneyland, but this brewery actually had two American style IPA’s. This in not common in NZ and is very exciting for someone that misses the taste of choice beyond the common malty lager. Nothing against NZ beer, it just seems like a lot of the beers are very similar styles. Regardless, the brewery is only 2 years old and it is put together nicely with a lot of very clean stainless steel. The owner and assistant pump out batches 2 or 3 times a week and enjoy some quality Mexican food from the owners’ wife during their lunch breaks, believably the only good Mexican place in the greater Nelson/Tasman area.

On our way back toward Nelson we stopped in at Rabbit Island, a coastal park that had been mentioned to us a couple of times previously. The beach was incredible. It was low tide and you could walk out toward the water line for what seemed like forever. 

A peaceful place that seemed almost abandoned except for us and a few oystercatchers (Shannon’s favorite bird if you haven’t noticed). We walked the beach and both of us always being in search of something came across the most beautiful, perfect looking seashells you’ve ever seen. You know, the ones that aren’t cracked, beautifully colored, unique…we found so many, John finally looked at me and I realized that maybe we had enough. Of course you know I had some wild craft idea brewing in my head for what I can do with them - and sure enough almost two weeks later, they’re outside on the balcony in a large Tupperware container because I can’t get the sea smell out of them…Oh well.

Saturday we headed down to the farmers market, which even though we’ve been 5 or 6 times now, it never seems to get old. The crafts are amazing, the produce is amazing and the food venders all smell so good! After wandering around in town we decided to do the Centre of New Zealand walk. A quick 10 minute walk through town brings you to the Botanical Reserve Park. The place where the first game of Rugby was ever played on New Zealand soil. This is a very important part of history to people who live in Nelson and you will hear about it ALL THE TIME. At the back of the park there’s a trail that takes you up to the top of Botanical hill, where back in the day, surveyors marked the Centre of New Zealand – exactly half way between the North and South Islands. The view is insane…you can see for miles and on a clear day – which this was – you can see all the way up the coast into Abel Tasman. It really is incredible. They also have an information board naming all of the peaks on the surrounding mountain ranges. It was a nice walk and one that we’re sure to do many more times before we leave here.

 

We ended the week with our old flatmates and our new tradition…SUSHI SUNDAY. Kat and Jeff had a new flatmate move in from Japan…Ettie, a perfect addition! As we began to pair our many ingredients into various rolls of individual preferences, I made my favorite - smoked mussel with veggies and mandarin orange. You may think it sounds horrible, and that’s okay, Ettie thought it was so off the wall she had to take a photo (probably to show her family back home what a Yank thinks should go into a sushi roll). But at the end of the meal – a very amazing meal – Ettie confessed that my role was her favorite…and John and I headed home with our heads high and a sushi approval from the new flatmate from Japan.

WEEK 2

Monday, July 4^th 2011. What else are two yanks supposed to do on the 4^th of July but get back to our roots…sparklers, bonfire, live band, chili dogs, pecan pie and beer! We made our way back out to Mapua to celebrate with the only local Yank we know, the owner of Golden Bear Brewer y. The food was great, the beer was good and the vibe was awesome. The strangest part of the whole day was getting dressed to head to the party and putting on layers of clothing as opposed to shorts and a tank top…this will be remembered as the day we finally had to face the fact that while all of you are back at home enjoying sunshine and warm weather we are dressing for winter in July.

Tuesday started like any other day at the hostel, opening up in the morning, getting people sorted and preparing for the next wave of travelers to come through. Everything was trucking along like normal until the phone rang. Shannon got a call from a local temp agency that she had been meeting with prior to starting the hostel job. “An opportunity has come along for an individual to join the Nelson City Council Rugby World Cup Project Management Team” (what a mouthful). After talking to my recruitment rep about the job I politely told her I needed a day to think about it so John and I could get our heads around what this would mean for us…the least of which was ANOTHER move. I went about my shift and 30 minutes later was back in front of John telling him I think I should take it. That was that and an hour later I accepted the position, contingent on a brief interview with the lead PM for the City Council. I met with him the next day and finalized my start day on the spot.

Very exciting news for us…not only will it be great to be involved in the biggest sporting event in New Zealand ever, but this will give us the opportunity to take advantage of weekend travel and the ability to work a normal 8-5 structured job with much better pay until October. (There you go Jami and Kelsey – that’s the big surprise xoxo) The job starts on July 18^th and after a couple days of working both the hostel job and my new job, we will be moving out of the hostel next Wednesday…location TBD.

The rest of the week was spent doing what-else…house hunting, something that seems to be a monthly activity for us. Where the thought of moving again makes both of us cringe a bit, the idea of having a normal schedule and more space to call our home for awhile makes it all worth it. It also helps that all of our belongings fit into a couple bags and nicely into the Adventureship.

Next 2 weeks will bring Rugby World Cup tickets from Shannon...hopefully, beer news from John, Shannon’s Birthday, and all sorts of other wonderful surprises.


Oh, and in case you were wondering...we're still eating well. Homemade pizza this week and Falafel Gourmet - Carlie, you will love the tabouli salad!