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The GrandMaster
http://the-grandmaster.blogspot.com/2010/10/sashimi-wagyu-wasp-larvae-as-always-our.html
Friday, October 08, 2010. Sashimi, Wagyu and Wasp Larvae. As always, our trips are as much about food as they are about the travel. And Japan was a veritable feast of great cuisine. In many of the cases below, the pictures do most of the talking. However, equally amazing as this simple ramen were our numerous Kaiseki. However, we had the first of many amazing Kaiseki experiences at our accommodation in Takayama. This very unassumingly looking inn presented us with one of the more memorable dining exp...
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The GrandMaster: February 2009
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Friday, February 06, 2009. Kai Iwi Lakes (Northland). Ever since Brad and Shaz mentioned stumbling upon this awesome lakes when they tripped around Northland last year, I've been wanting make my way up to the Kai Iwi Lakes. With a long weekend on offer because of Waitangi Day, Anna and I headed up with Rae and Tom to check them out. Friday, February 06, 2009. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). View my complete profile. Kai Iwi Lakes (Northland) Photos here Ever since. 1 Crazy Joe Davola's Ravings.
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The GrandMaster: September 2009
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Friday, September 18, 2009. The Night of Two Halves. This week we could have had two more different consecutive nights out. On Thursday night we went to the opening night of the opera Eugene Onegin. The first time either us had ever been to an opera, which to be honest, was only because we won tickets through a competition in the Listener (which we subsequently found out were worth $150 each! So how was three and a half hours of Opera? It was a lot of Opera! Friday, September 18, 2009. Pubs and beer stuff.
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The GrandMaster
http://the-grandmaster.blogspot.com/2010/10/japan-observations-fascinating-part-of.html
Friday, October 08, 2010. Japan - the observations. The fascinating part of visiting Japan where all the cultural observations to be had - from the impressive to the comical, and sometimes both at the same time. I thought I would just list them:. This place is impressively clean. In our two weeks I can not remember seeing a piece of litter anyway. No rubbish, no food scraps, no graffiti. Why? But they also have a lot of old men everywhere cleaning up the streets. But apart from being clean and safe there...
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The GrandMaster
http://the-grandmaster.blogspot.com/2010/04/fjords-mountains-meatloaf-even-though.html
Sunday, April 18, 2010. Fjords, Mountains and Meatloaf. Even though Anna and I had made a big trip around the South Island 15 years ago (yip - it was pretty early days), it was literally "around" the outside. Neither of us had really been through the Mainland, and along with wanting to do one of the Great Walks (in this case the Routeburn), this provided the motivation for this trip. Arriving in Te Anau, we headed into what we had feared all week – the approaching inclement weather. A great big...We ende...
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The GrandMaster: October 2008
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Saturday, October 18, 2008. Auckland-to-Hamilton: The Hard Way. Http:/ www.mapmyride.com/ride/new-zealand/ponsonby/237143783170. And by "hard", am I referring to the fact that I biked it the long way - 170km in all - in preparation of the Lake Taupo Enduro (2 laps = 320km)? Is it the fact that I left at 5am to get some nighttime riding practice in? Am I referring to several showers I got caught in on the way down? Was it my aching shoulders and back? No, it was none of those. Not only is it physically ti...
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The GrandMaster: March 2009
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Saturday, March 28, 2009. The competitive spirit was warmed up for the second time this (in)famous tournament was to be played on NZ shores with the great linguistic. Debate. The o. S won it, for no more reason than it rolls off the tongue better.and it's printed on the scoreboard. Friday was accompanied by the usual bemoaning of the Wellingtonians about the drive up - you all choose to live in that hemmed in backwater ;-). But still another great Taupombledon weekend. Saturday, March 28, 2009. The event...
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The GrandMaster: November 2009
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Monday, November 09, 2009. This gun's for hire. Not so much dancing in the dark, as dining in the dark. In the ongoing run of tin-arse proportions, Anna and I recently won a table for four at the ' Dining in the Dark. Evening to be held at one of Auckland's best restaurants Clooney. And selling on TradeMe for over $600. Our tickets arrived as the blindfolds we were due to wear for the dinner and we invited Tom and Rae to join us for what was an awesome night. We were then briefed that the lights we about...
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The GrandMaster: October 2010
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Friday, October 08, 2010. Japan - the Biru. The beer tourist is much like a scuba diver. For most people, they only know the top of the ocean and are more than happy with playing on the surface. They get excited when a dolphin or other life breaks the surface, but that is as far as their interest goes. However, a scuba diver knows that there is a whole other wonder beneath the surface, a variety of life and experiences those on the surface will never know. It was interesting to note the number of Kolsch ...
