Good On Ya

I have spent the last 2 weeks traveling. First to Sydney, Australia and then New Zealand. It was an amazing trip which I could probably spend pages and pages writing about. Actually I did. I was really good and kept a journal while we were traveling. I have attempted this every trip, but have failed after the first 2 days. This time I succeeded. But pictures say a thousand words so stay tuned because I will probably do this over a few posts.
To get started here are a few of my favorite things from the trip.

#1 Banana Bread
Yes I know it seems weird to say one of my favorite things was bread, but it was really good bread and I ate a lot of it. Food in Sydney was not cheap, but when you ordered toast you got toast. They had thick slices of bread at all the cafes. I am pretty sure I ate my weight in banana bread. Breakfast of choice!

#2 "Good On Ya" & "Sweet As"
Everyone in New Zealand says "Good on ya" and "Sweet as." I mean when a 70 year old grandma and grandpa says "good on ya," you know that it is good stuff. To immortalize these phrases I bought a sweatshirt, it reads "Sweet As translation: I confirm that what you are proposing is good by me".



#3 Rugby
Because of our super awesome friend Doug we were able to attend the All Blacks vs South Africa rugby game. If you don't know rugby, South Africa is currently #1 and All Blacks #2 and it is hardcore sport. Rough like football, but no helmets or pads.
The game is played over 2, 40 minute halves and like soccer the clock doesn't stop. You can score 1 of 2 ways either a try which is grounding the ball (no spiking) in the opponents goal area or kicking the ball over the goal posts (similar to football). Kicking awards you 3 points and Trys are 5 with 2 extra points for a kick after opportunity.
The final score was 29 to 32 for South Africa. We were disappointed, but it was an exciting game and I think we are now big rugby fans.

At the game with all my All Blacks gear

#4 Aboriginal Art and Maori Carvings
I love art. Especially art I find while traveling. We were really lucky to be traveling in areas that have interesting native cultures and the expressions of their culture in art forms were amazing.
The Australian Aboriginal art was some of my favorite. I loved how simple patterns and shapes held so much meaning.
Maori carvings were beautiful and shocking. I say shocking because one type of carving is their body. Today's Maori tribes tattoo their bodies and sometimes their faces using ink and tattoo guns you would find in any tattoo parlor. But they used to cut (carve) the skin several times and then added ink to the exposed tissue.
Both cultures were interesting and I loved being able to learn about them through their art.

Tallest Maori Carving in the World

One of the men in our Maori show, example of the tattoos

#5 Fried Mars Bars
My sister Kelly served her mission in Wellington, NZ and one of her favorite treats was fried mars bars. In honor of her and out of curiosity for all things sweet and delicious we found a fish and chips shop that served fried mars bars. Coated in a donut like batter these candy bars were the most fattening and therefore the most delicious food (if you can call it food) we ate in New Zealand.