With my work trip coming to an end soon, I’m very much looking forward to getting back to Atlanta. My family, my house, my bed, chicken tenders, etc…However, I will miss some things about New Zealand. The traffic (or lack thereof), the pineapple lumps, and the coffee. “But Kyle, isn’t the coffee in New Zealand the same as in the States?” Well, yes and no.
In New Zealand, they don’t have the concept of drip coffee like we do in the States, as everything is espresso based. When I ordered a coffee for the first time, the server asked if I meant a “long black.” I said “Sure!”, having no idea what a long black was. Well, after a little research on YouTube, I figured out what a long black is. Check out this video so that if you ever find yourself in New Zealand you’ll know what a long black is right away!
thursday morning honestly arrived a little too early for my liking. although brian’s bed is extremely comfortable, a few more hours of shuteye really would have done wonders. well, there’s no room for whiners on this vacation, so we were up and at it by 7:30 a.m. an early day indeed!
brian was going to take the later bus to work so that we’d have a little morning time together. our first destination of the day was cafe st. jorge for a little caffeine and munchies. this place was all kinds of adorable, and i’m sure i embarrassed brian with all my question asking and picture taking. hey, there comes a time when one must be a shameless blogger, and that time for me is now. this type of coffee shop is right up my alley, and if i lived here, i bet it’s where i would go to write and read.
brian went for a large black coffee and i had a small cafe au lait. it was a solid au lait, a good thing since it is my favorite coffee beverage.
my cousin is such a stud!
for eats i had the banana bread. i didn’t want anything too filling since i was planning to eat practically all day long. i wish it had been a little more moist, but the flavors and density you come to expect from banana bread were definitely there.
‘naner bread.
brian went with his usual in the small granola bowl. it was the cutest and most homey bowl i’d ever seen in my life, and i’m lucky he let me have a couple bites. the yogurt wasn’t overly sweet, and the homemade granola was stupid good. the fruit was fresh, and everything together in a single spoonful made for a very tasty breakfast.
we grabbed lids for our coffees and began our morning hike. brian had warned me about the hills, but, yeah, i quickly felt out of shape, and i run half-marathons for goodness’ sakes! slowly my layers were stripped as we continued upward towards the heavens. all that was running through my head was miley cyrus’ hit “the climb.” remember folks, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
brian promised me the effort would be worthwhile, and after we were atop the city, i realized he was absolutely right. the view from this high up is just gorgeous, a sweeping scene of san francisco and all its neighborhoods. the breeze was cooling, and the ultimate feeling of relaxation set in as we took in everything. ah, thank goodness for vacation days!
kelsey v 