Очистить поиск
Vela HuangVela Huang
Изменить маршрут
Vela Huang

Vela Huang

был(а) 16 странах Читать далее
ПодписатьсяСообщениеСтатистика
    • Our OE
      The happy couple!
      It's wedding time!Giving you an idea of the settingNot always serious...Looking cute guys!SpeechesWhat a feast!The sun goes down and things are about to get serious on the dancefloorDance time!Dance time!

      Wedding in Brombachtal

      5–7 июл. 2024, Германия ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      With Hendrik's assistance with the intercity trains, we arrived into Darmstadt main station late afternoon. We were greeted by a very excited Alina and were whisked away to Brombachtal where we would be staying for the next few days. Straight away we headed to the bar to hang out with Alina and Julien and watch Germany vs Spain in the Eurocup. Unfortunately after extra time Spain progressed over Germany - but it was a very good game.

      The following day was the big day for Alina and Julien, and the morning weather looked to be perfection for the wedding. Unfortunately some clouds rolled in and by early afternoon it was a little wet and the ceremony was forced inside. The ceremony was beautiful with lots of stories, including Julien knowing exactly what he wanted when buying an engagement ring for Alina - "a circle one".

      Afterwards there was mingling amongst the guests, drinks, photos, speeches - the usual wedding itinerary - and some of the friends even used AI to generate a song for Alina and Julien, which was played many times throughout the afternoon and evening. Dinner was one of the most amazing buffets we've seen, with woodfired BBQs cooking up a feast of salmon & beef amongst an amazing array of salads and other dishes. Nathan had to have a second plate so he could sample everything...

      After dinner the party lights and DJ came out so we could hit the dancefloor. We eventually left around 2am, once we finally managed to sneak past Alina's sister who kept taking us back to the bar whenever we tried to leave. Many of the guests didn't leave until 4 or even 6am, so we got off pretty lightly!

      We had a great time, and it was a great celebration of Alina and Julien!      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      So good to see Hendrick again!
      Checking out the geese in the parkMore grease doing their thingThe seaweed wallPretty gardensEnjoying the natureEnjoying the natureDelicious quiche for dinnerMade it to the right train, can relax now!

      Essen

      4–5 июл. 2024, Германия ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Leaving Hamburg behind, we made a short overnight stop in Essen to visit Hendrik and his girlfriend Antonia. It was a bit of a flying visit, and with both Antonia and Hendrick being doctors with their hectic work schedules we were very lucky to manage to meet up with them.

      We arrived into Essen around 5.30pm on Thursday night and met up with Antonia while Hendrick was working his 24h shift at the hospital. Antonia took us for a walk around the park in Essen which was really nice, it felt like we'd been missing a bit of nature over the last couple of weeks. One particularly notable area of the park was the seaweed wall. They have a wall where they trickle salt water over seaweed which is growing on the wall and some benches facing the wall. Antonia told us this is so people can get some fresh salt air and its health benefits, which is lacking due to Essen being quite a long way inland. A bit of a foreign concept when you come from New Zealand but very cool to see.

      Antonia then made us a beautiful vegetarian quiche for dinner before bed. The next day Antonia and Hendrick swapped places, with Antonia heading off to her 24h shift while Hendrick arrived home at about 9am. Fortunately Hendrick had a reasonably quiet shift so he was bright and cheerful when we met him. We headed out for coffee and breakfast and spent the full 5 hours we had with Hendrick non-stop chatting and catching up - it's been 10 years since Nathan last saw him. Unfortunately the 5 hours together was far too short, but there are potentially plans for Hendrick and Antonia to visit NZ in the future so hopefully it won't be another 10 years!

      We then headed to the train station, and Hendrick helped us figure out the trains as our original train was delayed nearly an hour which would have caused us to miss all of our connecting trains and resulted in an absolute nightmare. Fortunately if this happens the German system allows you to catch any train you like to get to your final destination - so Hendrick assisted us to not have complete carnage on our way to Darmstadt.      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      Fancy running into this guy
      Currywurst time!German bakery goods & some sandwiches from the butcherThe Hamburg bunker buildingAt the fountain outside Hamburg City HallHamburg City HallHamburg opera houseThe Hamburg docks (UNESCO World heritage site)Small selection of German beerVela's signature noodle dish

      Hamburg

      2–4 июл. 2024, Германия ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      After an overnight stop in Bilbao, we hopped on a couple of planes and wound up in Hamburg, Germany. It was a bit of a grey and rainy afternoon when we arrived, but after 4 short rides on the metro we bumped into our good mate, Daniel. After we made ourselves comfortable on his pull out bed couch, we headed into Hamburg in search of Currywurst, a German Street food made from curried bratwurst sausage - delicious!

      We started the next day the right way with some goods from a German bakery and butchery before we set off to explore Hamburg. We checked out an old bunker building - which is being renovated to have a public garden - and has a night club in the basement. We then made our way into central Hamburg to see the city hall with its very impressive Gothic architecture. Next stop was the Hamburg opera house, which was supposed to be a free visit to check out some of the harbour views, but unfortunately this has recently changed to require a ticket... And finally a walk over the boardwalk to check out the old canals where international goods such as sugar, coffee and spices used to be unloaded.

      We made our way back to Daniels apartment with an assortment of German beer and some ingredients to make Vela's signature tomato & egg noodles dish for dinner. It was awesome to stop in Hamburg and catch up with Daniel in his natural environment, and a big thanks to him for hosting us!      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      Haro main square
      Red wine fountainLittle parade heading through the main squareStanding in the party square - the little white window in the top right was our apartmentWe couldn't even get into the party squareTrying to find a bus to the hillsTractors with trailers taking wine fightersSequence from top left to bottom right over two daysEnjoying the party and the wine!Dude walking around with his mobile bath tub

      Haro - Wine Fight

      28 июн.–1 июл. 2024, Испания ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      We continued our journey by bus from Logrono to Haro. Haro is in the centre of Rioja, Spain's wine producing region. Every year they hold a wine festival to celebrate, and this includes a wine fight up in the hills, using up much of the low-grade wine which would otherwise be sent to be made into vinegar.

      We arrived Friday morning, with the festivities set to start in the afternoon. One of the first things we were greeted with was a fountain which had been dyed red... A sign of things to come. We made our way to our accommodation, which happened to look right out over one of the squares where much of the partying would take place. After sorting some supplies, we headed to the main square for some food and enjoyed a small parade heading through the square.

      Slowly the square outside our apartment window between to fill with people as marching bands made their way through and the local bars tested their sound systems out. By nightfall the square was packed. We attempted to get amongst everything but couldn't get through the wall of people. It was also a touch chilly so we retreated back to our apartment and opened the window to let the music and atmosphere in so we could have our own little private party. We eventually went to bed about 2am, with the party still going full tilt out our window.

      We awoke at 6.30am and had a good look at the carnage outside in the square. Broken glass and spilled drinks everywhere - but the clean up crew was in full swing. We geared up with water guns and wine and headed off in search of the buses to take us to the hills for the wine fight. The temperature was very cold (probably only 15 degrees) and Vela was shivering even though she was dry. With rain in the forecast we decided to give up on the wine fight. This was a bit of a shame as it was the main reason we came to Haro, and had the weather been sunny it would have been awesome, but it was the right call to look after our health at the end of the day.

      We went back to our apartment for a bit more of a nap. Slowly the wine fighters filtered back into the square, their white shirts from the night before decidedly grape coloured now. We headed back down to enjoy the music and atmosphere and made sure to have a couple glasses of red wine while we were at it (only 1.30eur per glass!) There were marching bands, making their way around, and once they headed home there were people with big speakers in trolleys to take their place. It was a great time having a little boogie in the streets with the locals!

      All-in-all, we didn't quite manage to do what we had planned, but we had a great time and would definitely come back again in the future (time and money allowing) for a second attempt!      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      All packed up, heading on to Logrono!
      All packed up, heading on to Logrono!The changing landscape as we made our way NorthFountain in LogronoThe old streets of central LogronoTapas time!Late evening sunsetTinges of pink in the cloudThe main square and cathedralTime for a little treat!

      Logrono

      27 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      A little bit of a rude awakening this morning with construction work being done on the roof right above our heads... A bit disgruntled we brought it up with the hotel and managed to negotiate a late check-out and a couple of extra free drinks for the inconvenience. This suited us perfectly so we could get a bit more planning done before our train left at 3pm.

      We eventually made our way to the train station to leave Barcelona. The first train took us to Zaragoza and was a very comfortable high speed train. With about an hour's wait in Zaragoza, we eventually boarded our train 20 minutes late. There was no air conditioning aboard this time but that was ok because we did manage to grab a couple of seats (no seats were assigned on this service).

      About 30 minutes into this trip the whole train was suddenly swamped with passengers, all in their late teens/early twenties who were all dressed for a party. The aisles were packed and the already unbearable temperature on board doubled. We were a little concerned when the train, which was definitely on the older side, seemed to struggle to accelerate out of stations... About an hour later they all got off and the train grew bearable again. We were quite glad to see they weren't following us to Logrono or Haro.

      The landscape slowly changed over our trip, and we started to see more grape vines and vineyards in the hills - definitely heading in the right direction! We arrived into Logrono at 8.30pm, about an hour late, but the outside temperature was very comfortable for our walk to the hotel. We dropped our bags off and immediately headed for the main streets of town for tapas (or pinchos as it's called in northern Spain). The prices here were very agreeable compared to Valencia and Barcelona, so we ordered ourselves a small feast to recover from our journey.

      Afterwards we wandered the streets, enjoying the late sunset and mellow street lights. We even treated ourselves to some gelato before heading back to the hotel for the evening.      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      Back in our natural habitat
      Lunchtime sangria before we jumped on the boatRainbow cloud? Must be good luck!Heading out of the harbourWe found Nemo!First glimpse of the ItaliansFly by from the FrenchOrient Express (French), INEOS (British) & Prada (Italian)Hard at workAnd a massive tomahawk steak to refuel at the end of the day. Yum!

      AC Hunting

      26 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Well we hinted earlier in the week, but today was our time to go AC hunting. It was a fantastic day with 15 - 18kt of wind and a choppy sea state. We arrived down at the marina early, so Vela parked herself at a restaurant with a sangria and a salad while Nathan wandered around to see whether any AC boats were on the water.

      There were at least 5 boats out. INEOS and Alinghi were close in, and maybe American Magic as well, but the rest were too far away... Maybe Team New Zealand in the distance? It also looked like a number of the AC40s were out training for the youth and women's AC.

      Nathan met back up with Vela at the restaurant, and Vela pointed out a very cool rainbow cloud above the marina - must mean good luck! We finished off the salad and sangria and made our way onto the dock found Nemo! Our ride for the afternoon, a 34ft Beneteau.

      After a short trip out of the harbour we quickly spotted the boats. We were fortunate enough to have some of them come right up close to us and show off some maneuvers (though Nathan failed at getting good video of these...)

      An awesome afternoon watching these high tech machines tear up the Mediterranean, topped off with a steak for dinner.      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      3D rendering of the completed Sagrada Familia
      Passion & Nativity facadesOur first impressionStanding in the middle of the templeAs the light pours in from the WestAnd the light filtering in from the EastThe ceiling is a work of artA magical staircaseNo Photoshop neededMore Gaudi madness

      Sagrada Familia

      25 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      So. There is a building in Barcelona, it's hard to miss, and we've seen it (her?) a few times the last couple of days. From the outside from afar it's one of those "yeah, it looks kinda cool" sorta buildings. You kinda get this feeling that it's pretty unique, the profile on the horizon is definitely a little different. As you get a bit closer, and you start to see the spires sticking out over the tree tops, you start to notice some of the extra little details; the stars on top of the spires, the fruit baskets scattered along one side, and you start to get an inkling that this is something special.

      Then you get your first full glimpse of the cathedral. Ours was of the Passion facade. And your thoughts are suddenly "wow, okay that's really impressive." You have to take a moment to try and take in all the detail, but you might spend all your life staring at this one aspect and never see everything. Eventually you tell yourself to move on and walk around the building. We walked past the holy facade next, the eastern end of the church, not much to see here yet - the church is still under construction after all, and has been for the last 140 years.

      Then you turn the corner and get a good look at the Nativity facade. It's beyond belief. This is one of the oldest parts since the Sagrada Familia's reimagining. The Nativity facade is a completely different style to the Passion facade. Where the Passion facade was blocky and had a "clean" feel, the Nativity facade feels busy, with a Gothic undertone. Again you feel like you could get lost in the detail. We spent a good 20 minutes just standing in what little shade we could find staring at this structure in front of us. So engrossed, we would likely have been easy targets for any pick pockets - fortunately not today! But the incredible nature of the facades didn't even come close to preparing us for what we were about to see...

      We finally made our way through the Nativity facade and into the church knave. We just stood there. We were gobsmacked. Blown away. The stone exterior did not prepare us for what we had just walked into. The initial impact comes from the size of the interior. With massive stone columns reaching up into the rafters, where they split into smaller "branches" and then "twigs" to support the roof. The knave is aptly named "The Forest," and it feels like you're standing amongst ancient, giant trees of stones. And the leaves of those trees? The light.

      And what light! Every colour of the spectrum filters in through the intricate stained glass windows, each window made up of hundreds, if not thousands, of individual panes. The inside of this temple of light is awe inspiring. We lost ourselves taking photos. Every nook, every angle, there was something new. And if you stay long enough, everything changes again as the sun drops lower in the sky. It feels like if we were to return tomorrow in the morning, the whole interior would be brand new.

      It was a truly fantastic experience. Gaudi's vision is beyond belief. And this will most definitely be one of the highlights of our trip.

      (Sorry for getting a little gushy)      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      La Pedrera - Casa Mila
      Checking out the "whalebone" atticSome of the models of La PedreraCrazy = geniusThe rooftop viewWhat a rooftopVela getting artsyThe rooftop guardians (definitely not chimneys)Some of the epic detail at La PedreraThe Butterfly Courtyard

      La Pedrera - Casa Mila

      25 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      Today was all about Gaudi. Too much Gaudi for one post so we've split today into two instalments.

      A bit of an early start for us, having to be out the door by 10am for our entry time into La Pedrera. This was our first taste of Gaudi. To be honest we knew very little about Gaudi before today, but after experiencing some of his work, it's absolutely conclusive that he was 100% a visionary and a genius... but also 100% crazy.

      After arriving at La Pedrera we collected our free audio guides - honestly everywhere needs to have these included - and made our way up to the apartment. The apartment was the least interesting part of La Pedrera with the most interesting part being the use of marble for some of the detailing, and the patterned floor tiles.

      Afterwards we went up into the attic space. One of Gaudi's traits was taking inspiration from nature, so the attic space and the structure for the roof is modelled on the rib cage of a whale. So we made our way through the belly of the beast, admiring the models made for La Pedrera - including a parking garage - there was barely a straight line in the whole place. There was also one of Gaudi's string models, where he would hang strings from the ceiling and, using small bags full of lead shot, he would identify the perfect angles for structural stability. He also used this method when designing Sagrada Familia.

      Next we headed onto the rooftop. This place was a treasure trove, with arches to frame Sagrada Familia, chimneys designed to look like helmeted soldiers and stairwell entrances like seashells. We spent a significant amount of time up here just enjoying the architecture and ambience.

      We finally dragged ourselves off the roof and back down to the ground floor where we walked through the two courtyards built into the apartment building; the butterfly courtyard and the flower courtyard. Again the detail was incredible, with thought given to parking cars (which was quite novel at the beginning of the 20th century), grand stairwells for hosting parties, and detailed ceiling paintings depicting mythological scenes. There was a strong feeling of being underwater in these courtyards, very likely because of the curvature of the building as well as some of the decor.

      We left La Pedrera - Casa Mila apartment block feeling very excited about architecture and looking forward to having a closer look at the Sagrada Familia this afternoon...      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      N - "We're going on an adventure!", V - "Not more hills..."
      Checking out the Barcelona viewClimbed a hillNot long to go now!Barcelona beach - packed!Found a quiet spot on the end of the break waterView from the cable carHey ETNZ, do you need a hand to unwrap your delivery?Sangria time! Cava sangria on the left, traditional on the rightV - "I'm definitely going to figure out how to make sangria at home!"

      A Hill, A Beach, A Cable Car

      24 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Our day started with a quick stop at a barber where Nathan got his mop pruned back to a more presentable state. Next we hiked up a pretty decent hill - though we cheated and took escalators part of the way - to Park Guell. We expected to be able to just walk in and check out the park, but unfortunately you need to buy tickets, and they were all sold out for the day... Oh well.

      We quickly formed a new plan and set off around the park to a hill where we could get a good view out over Barcelona. It was cool to see the Terracotta colours of the Barcelona rooftops with the sparkling blue Mediterranean behind. The Sagrada Familia makes for a striking landmark too.

      After we made our way down from the hill we caught the bus to Barcelona beach. The looming presence of the Americas cup was noticeable here, with an electronic clock counting down to the start of racing. There were a couple of AC75s training off in the distance, but too far for us to see which teams.

      We went for a wander along the beach, keeping our valuables closely guarded as it felt like it could be a hotspot for pick pockets. The beach was absolutely jammed full of people. It was a lovely day and we would have loved to go for a dip, but it just didn't feel safe to leave our stuff with so many people around. So after a short photo shoot on the end of the breakwater we made our way back.

      One last activity to top off the day was the cable car ride over Port Vell. The wait was significantly longer than we expected, but once we were up the tower the view was pretty awesome. We had a bit of a gander down into the AC teams bases as we flew overhead in our little red basket, but there wasn't a lot of action. Nathan also spotted Skorpios, a 137ft carbon fibre offshore racing weapon, sitting up on the hard waiting for her next race. Team NZs Taihoro was still wrapped up in the corner - seriously if they want a hand to unwrap we don't mind!

      We landed safely on the other side, conveniently right next to a bar... So we finished our day with a couple of Sangria's - one traditional and one Cava (traditional is best!). Safe to say we're sangria converts!      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод
    • Our OE
      Vela hanging with Pablo
      Really had to squint at this one...Enjoying the pigeons in the windowDog?On location with the ACOld Te Aihe on display in Alinghi coloursWe asked the seagull for the inside scoop on the cup, but he remained tight-beakedWhat's that in the corner?The only view the challengers will get of TaihoroCouple of professional spies

      Picasso & The Cup Spies

      23 июня 2024 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      We made it to Barcelona! After a travel day yesterday we arrived early afternoon. Vela wasn't feeling too flash so we had an easy evening hanging around the hotel.

      But today we hit the streets. First stop was the Picasso Museum. There was a massive collection of sketches, paintings and other creative works. We particularly liked his collection of pigeon paintings from his time in Nice - all painted within a week of each other. There was a short video as well which really impressed upon us the speed at which he worked. It was also interesting to see how his style developed over time, from realistic paintings, through his blue period, to the distortionate style he is most well known for. Despite all this, I'm not sure he's ever seen what a dog actually looks like...

      After Picasso we took a short stroll down to the Americas cup village. There wasn't much going on today, not sure if any of the teams were on the water. However we did play cup spy and noticed a white shrink-wrapped package tucked away in a corner... A little snooping and it turns out that ETNZ's race boat to defend the cup arrived into Barcelona last night, not long after we had arrived!

      We headed for a closer look, hoping to find someone we could volunteer our unwrapping services to - no luck on that front. We did get around the other side and made a human tower to peek over the fence, we got a good view of the Taihoro's stern, a view we're sure the defenders will get sick of seeing come race time!

      We've booked ourselves onto a boat trip to hopefully watch some of these machines fly around later in the week!      Читать далее

      Посмотреть перевод

    Создайте ваш личный профиль

    Бесплатно

    QR code

    FindPenguins для iOSFindPenguins для Android