Hobbiton

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit 

I booked a tour with Auckland Scenic Tours (through Expedia) to see Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves. After heading out of the city, we caught the sunrise over the Hauraki Plains.

 In 1998, director Peter Jackson was scouting for locations to film the Lord of the Rings. He saw this tree from a helicopter and thought it would be the perfect spot for Bilbo Baggins to give a speech at his eleventy-first birthday party. Upon closer examination, he decided that the area surrounding the tree, part of a working cattle and sheep farm, would be the perfect backdrop for the Shire. 

The structures for Lord of the Rings were intended to be temporary and fell into disrepair after filming was complete. Ten years later when The Hobbit was to be filmed, the farm's owner made a deal with the director to erect more permanent structures and open Hobbiton to the public. 

Over 400,000 people visit the set every year and 40% of them have never seen the movies or read the books. The attention to detail is astounding. The gardens on the grounds are real, laundry hangs on clotheslines, smoke rises from chimneys, and props remain in front of the Hobbit holes. 

The doors in front of the Hobbit holes used forced perspective to make Hobbits look smaller and Gandalf appear taller. The maximum allowable height for a Hobbit was 5'4" and doorways were scaled at 90% to be the right size. 

To make Gandalf appear so much taller, he stood in front of doors scaled to 60%

Of course, the highlight of Hobbiton is Bag's End, the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

The tour ends with drinks at The Green Dragon.

  The attraction of the Waitomo Caves are the thousands of glow worms that light up the cave ceiling. No photos are allowed in the caves, but each visitor is photographed in front of a green screen and the images may be purchased at the end of the tour. Of course, I purchased mine.

Devonport village

“Pass the time?” said the Queen. “Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.”
~ Will Schwalbe, The End of Your Life Book Club

I took the SkyBus from the airport to the hotel, thinking it would give me a good view of the city--unfortunately, the bus windows were comparatively high up so I didn't get a very good view of anything but heavy traffic and rain. I took some time after I checked in to recharge my devices and devise a plan. It was overcast and raining. By noon, I decided to head down to the wharf to either visit the Maritime Museum or take a ferry to the village of Devonport.

I opted for the ferry to Devonport.

By this time, I was starving--having eaten on the plane somewhere about 5:00 a.m. I decide to eat lunch at Devon on the Wharf because it was convenient and had a nice view. It's a Mediterranean style restaurant and my Jordanian lamb and zigana-tini (an espresso martini) were tasty. 

I took advantage of the wi-fi to plan my trip around the village.

It's currently winter in New Zealand. With the rain and breeze today, it was cool, but perhaps not as cool as some New Zealanders would have you believe. (Today's temperature was 14 C / 58 F.)

I made hiking up this hill my goal. The Moari name is Takarunga, the English name is Mt. Victoria.

 It was steep and I'm not a fan of climbing. Besides, I needed to stop to take pictures, right?

This house was originally built for the area's signalman, the guy responsible for sending naval signals from the hill. It now houses the Michael King Writers Centre. 

 This old bunker is now the home of the Devonport Folk Music Club.

The "mountain" was important defensively dating back to ancient Maori times. When it housed Fort Victoria, a "disappearing gun" was installed in 1899. These defensive weapons used by the British in New Zealand and Australia from 1885-1925 retracted below ground between shots so it could be loaded out of sight of any attacking ships. It did this using the power generated by the recoil of the gun as it fired.

The hill was tall enough to provide great views of the city

and the surrounding islands.

The rain stopped and the sun came out at 3:00 p.m.  That gave me an opportunity to spend some time on the beach.

Flying in Style

“He didn't like to fly--the noise and vibration gave him a headache--but, as with anything new, he was excited by the strangeness of it. The disjuncture intrigued him: stepping through a door in one place, sitting still for a few hours, then stepping out a thousand miles away.
~― Stewart O'Nan,  West of Sunset

I think eight hours might be my tolerance threshold for flying economy class so if I had to fly long distances on a tighter budget, I'd want to break up the trip. I'm fortunate my employer allows international trips in business class, which allows me to arrive in the shortest time possible. A lot of airlines have eliminated what used to be called first class on long flights and improved business class. Is that because only people who travel for business can afford it? Maybe.

On overseas flights, business class passengers get a meal after take-off and another prior to landing. I tend to skip the first meal in favor of eating before I board and settling in for sleep soon after. Drinks, including alcohol, are complimentary. The seats are adjustable to lie flat. Some airlines provide pajamas. They all provide a toiletry bag. My flight was 16 hours from Chicago O'Hare to Auckland. The lie flat configuration for this flight was the best I've seen and I slept that way for about four hours and then about another four hours in an upright reclined position.

Even if you don't get to fly business class, there are some things you can do to make your overseas trip more comfortable. Business class and some frequent flyer levels offer complimentary access to the airline lounge while waiting for your flight or during layovers. Day passes for airline lounges are often available for purchase. Lounge access may also extend to one guest. The lounge is typically a quieter place to wait for your flight with unlimited wi-fi, snacks (sometimes full meals), and drinks. The quality and amenities of the lounge vary by airline and airport. I used the SAS lounge at O'Hare for this flight.

After flying sixteen hours in the same clothes I'd worn all day, I felt pretty gross. I carry a change of clothes and my toiletries (contact solution, etc.) in my carryon bag and try to shower as soon as I can. If the flight arrival time is late enough, a shower can wait until hotel check-in. I seem to arrive often very early in the morning--too early even for early check-in. When I know this is going to be the case, I research the availability of shower facilities at the airport. I feel like I can deal with jet lag much better if I've had the chance to clean up. The Auckland airport has free showers and will rent you a towel and sell you toiletries if you need them. It was a tight fit but was so worth it.

The approach into Auckland at sunrise this morning was breathtaking.

Passport Card for US Citizens

“I love Canada...It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos.” 

~ Yann Martel, Life of Pi

I'm considering a trip to Canada for an event and want to encourage others to attend. I realized that I'm part of the elite group of Americans (now at 42%) that hold a valid US Passport and I would be negligent to invite friends from the US to buy tickets without mentioning they need proper documentation.

For US residents, you need either a valid US passport or US passport card to travel by car to Canada. Really it's only required by the US to get back into the country, but the Canadians won't let you cross the border if you don't have the documentation to get back home. The passport card has limited uses but is also much cheaper. International air travel (including Americans traveling to Canada or Mexico) requires a valid passport.  Both passports and passport cards are Real ID compliant.

Should I get a passport book or card?

The event is Romancing The Falls Author/Reader Event

Dublin with the Moning Maniacs, Day 5

  "...Fecking-A, it's good to be me! Wind in my hair! Mega on the move! Leaps tall buildings in a single bound!
  Well, maybe that last part's a little exaggeration, but still...
  Zoooooooom! I freeze-frame through the streets of Dublin."
~Karen Marie Moning, Iced

Dublin on a Monday, post-storm and all is back to normal. My last day, time to work in all my sight-seeing! I mapped out my walking route and headed out.

First stop: The General Post Office (GPO), the headquarters of the Irish Post Office.

Because the GPO served as the headquarters of the rebellion during the 1916 rising, it houses the GPO Witness History Museum which depicts the events of the rising and the struggle for Irish independence.

The museum takes about an hour for the full experience and I hadn't yet had my Irish breakfast this visit. Next stop: Eddie Rocket's Diner. This kind of breakfast is heavy on protein and sticks with you for hours. The breakfast consists of sausage, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, black and white pudding (actually a sausage-like food), mushrooms, and bacon. Usually baked beans are included as well.

I walked along the River Liffey and headed to the Docklands area of the city.

The palm tree was a little funny to see in front of the Custom House, especially after the snow storm. 

This is where I started to get emotional. The Famine Memorial provided a stark reminder of the impact of the Irish Potato Famine. From 1845-1849, the population of Ireland fell by 20–25% due to mortality and emigration (1 million people died and another 1 million emigrated).

Near the Famine Memorial, a stone commemorates the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (Oct. 17).

"Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty."
~Joseph Wresinski

A replica of the Jeanie Johnston, a ship which carried Irish emigrants to North America during the famine, is docked nearby. I didn't tour the ship, but did take a few photos.

I spent the bulk of my afternoon at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. The displays begin with phrase "We all come from somewhere."

The museum chronicles the reasons people have left Ireland, where they have gone, and the impact they've had in the world--good and bad.

The thing I have found most impressive on each visit to Dublin is the willingness of the Irish to "own up" to the negative events in their history, just as much as they celebrate the good. By admitting to policies that perpetuated inequality or poverty, they make a case for trying to do better. We could all learn a lesson from this attitude and atone for our own mistakes and missteps.

Moving along my path....
My hostel roommate Jillian had told me about Sweny's, a pharmacy featured in Ulysses by James Joyce. The pharmacy is now a second-hand book store and hosts daily readings of Joyce's works.

  








Apparently Sweny's wasn't the only pharmacy in the neighborhood.
















I was determined to see the inside of an old church! I picked Christ Church Cathedral because of its age and history. The church has been around for nearly a thousand years--first a wooden building was built in that location by Christian Vikings in 1030. After the Norman capture of Dublin, lead by Richard de Clare "Strongbow", the present stone cathedral was begun (1172) and continued for many years.

Strongbow himself is interred in the cathedral.

Over the centuries, parts of the cathedral became damaged. An extensive reconstruction began during the Victorian era, and many parts of the original cathedral were moved. The crypt contains a number of these pieces, as well as other historic items--like these statues of Charles I and II.

The crypt also contains a display of Tudor costumes.

These mummified remains of a cat and a rat were found in a organ pipe in the 1850's.

At various places along my journey I saw stones of Viking artifacts embedded in the sidewalk. I also took some time for shopping, with the goal of purchasing Irish wool sweaters.

By the end of my tour, I had run out of time to go through Dublin Castle, but I did walk around the outside.

A quick stop back at the hostel to unload my goodies and I headed out to meet up with some Maniacs at The Brazen Head for an evening of food, folklore and fairies.

A great way to end my visit!