NZ...B&B...Interior

I want to share the interior of the accomodation we stayed in Christchurch in NZ, Lilac Rose, today.
It was a wonderful B&B, I feld as if I were in a movie!

 

We, lodgers, can enjoy free access to this gorgeous living room.

 

 

We were provided with tea and a snack on arrival in this room:)

 

 

 

 

 

The stained glasses in the entrance door  were lovely!

 

The room was superb with an excellent bathroom.

I was happy to have such a gorgeous claw foot bathtub. Soaking myself in it at the end of each day made me relax.

Love those kind of wall decoration! Looks cool!!

 However, it was a shame we were only there for three nights.

Pam and Dennis, the hosts were very friendly and helpful, offering us like a homely stay. Will sure be back to see the adorable dog, Maddie, again!

This is the last post in 2013. The first post in 2014 will be the trip to NZ, again:)

 Wishing you a  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

NZ...Lovely B&B...Garden

"Maddy", a friendly Labrador Retriever, is one of the owners here:)

We stayed at this B&B accommodation in Christchurch, called "The Lilac Rose."

 

 

  

Firstly, I would like to share its beautiful garden!

 

 

 

 

Of course, it's an early summer in NZ, which means that a lot of flowers are in bloom.
Although the digitalises were beyond their peak as you can see in the photo below,

 

roses were still in bloom!!

 

 

Pam, an owner, didn't remember each rose's name, but I guess the one in the above photo must be   "Graham Thomas", David Austin Rose.

 

 

 

  

And I think the one in the above shot is  "Ballerina",the Climbing Rose...

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't figure out all of the rose's names, but didn't care...

One foot out the door in the morning, and you'll be surrounded by the smell of roses...

 

 

 

And Maddy's gonna guid you!

 

 

We were really happy with our stay at Lilac Rose, what a beautiful start to our holiday!

 

In my next post, I'll share photos of its interior:)

 

 

 

 

 

NZ...Lakes with Lupin Flowers...

Enjoying flock of sheep from a car window..., magnificent landscape in NZ...

 

 

We were almost reaching the destination...

 

 

The color of the water was unbelievably...

 

TURQUOISE GREEN!!!

It's not a sea but a lake, called "Lake Tekapo." Can you believe such beautiful turquoise green water in a lake exists?

At the edge of the lake, an old little chuch was  nestled.

 "Church of the Good Sheppard."

 

 

 

From its inside, you can see the tiny cross sitting on the windowsill with a serene turquoise green lake in the background, which was picture-perfect scenery...

 

Craig, a local guide, took me here. Actually, I happened to know him via the Internet before this trip.  I confirmed him lots of time on which date we should visit here to see the carpet of  "THE FLOWER."

The scenery I'd been dreaming to see was...

A sea of LUPIN FLOWERS!!!!

 

 

 

 

  

WOOOOOOOW!!!

 

 

 

On that day, I had another unbelievable scene when we returned  Craig's home. A KOTATSU was there!!!  KOTATSU is a Japanese traditional heater, a low table with a heater on the back of the panel. We use it with cover on it.

It's a summer in NZ, but  the diffrence between day and night temperatures was significant.

 

We were welcomed by Craig's family:)  So, when I put my legs in KOTATSU, sat down and relax... I felt like as if I were in my parent's home in Japan...
I was happy to have a pleasant journey with him and received hospitably. Thank you, Craig!!!

My trip to NZ continues...:)

Lunch at Ruth's Home

I've just returned from a trip to New Zealand, and had a great time to visit Ruth!  She has a gorgeous garden, as I shared in the previous post.

Ruth invited us into her livingroom!
She incorporates harvested plants into life, like hanging the bunches of lavenders in her back porch.

 

She'll fill little organza bags, and put them under her pillow!

And she always picks flowers from her garden and decorates a room with them:)

 Ruth treated us to lunch!

She used many veggies and fruits from her garden to cook!
Oh... I should have taken a picture before we ate...


Ruth has a gorgeous lemon tree!

Using the freshly-harvested lemons, she made some original lemon juice for us... and ...

Honey Lemon Cream Puddings!

 

I was astonished to know the fact that she made it in a microwave! It was creamy and fresh taste, yummy!!!!
Besides, the teacup is from her vintage teacup collection. It's lovely, isn't it?
The fresh raspberries were, of course, from her own garden!

 

 

All dishes she served for us were very delicious!  She is a good cooker, I can tell you that!!!

In addition, what struck me by surprise was...

* From my expression in the photo below, you will see how excited I was...:)

the GIFT!!!

Which was....

 

a little house made of CARDBOARD, and a stone covered with lovely LACE! Can't  believe that she made both ! YES, they are HANDCRAFTED!!! 

 I can't even imagine how to make it.  After knitting lace, then put it on a stone? Oh...maybe not...  then put it while knitting???  Ummm...complicating.....I have no idea....

Anyway, she must have known that I took a photo below, being excited to see those lovely little houses, decorated  on the wall.

And I was also surprised to know that Ruth is a beautiful lady:)

Almost two years have passed since I started this blog.  I'd never expected that I could visit a blogging friend living in a foreign country!

If any of my blogging friends have a chance to come to Japan, please let me know:) 
I’d love to have a visit.

Thank you for welcoming us, Ruth and Jon!!! 

 

Ruth's Garden

I still can't believe that I could be in this amazingly beautiful garden....

Believe it or not, I visited   Ruth's garden!

If you are a big fan of Ruth's blog,  the house-shaped ornaments she made in the above photo must be familiar to you:)
The roof' parts are made of frames! And she painted them!! They are awesome, aren't they?

Roses are now in full bloom in the Southern Hemisphere.

Of course, not only roses but all flowers are!

Basically, I like those little flowers, so when I found Ruth's blog, I was sooo excited!
In addition, love those color combination of purple... pink... and white....in her garden:)

Soft pink gypsophila.... lovely....

Ruth showed me around  and explained a lot! It was a great time!!

 

She told me that the lily in the above shot was called "Christmas Lily."  "It'll produce flowers around Christmas time." she said. When it flowers, please post it, Ruth!

Look at the photo below, she also has a lovely potager garden!

It has a lot kind of vegetables, like garlics, corns, rosemarys, potatos.....

and cauliflowers:)

 

 

 After looking around her garden, she treated us to lunch which was amazingly delicious, using freshly-harvested vegitables and fruits from her owin garden!!

 

 

I'll post it , soon!