No Boxes for Hungary

Someone corrected me stating Hungary does not celebrate Boxing Day, but rather it is called St. Stephen's Day.

Well not according to this website or this one either. Apparently, not everyone received the memo!

The point is, regardless of what it is officially named, the reality is it is a celebrated holiday.

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No Boxes for You

Unlike most of Europe, they have not heard of Boxing Day here, so everything is open for business today. Though almost all businesses were engaged in commercial ventures, all cultural places of interest were closed.

Therefore, for the day after Christmas, my true love gave to me two entrance tickets to Casa Del Alabado, which is itself a historic space as a seventeenth-century colonial house located in downtown of Quito, between the San Francisco church and Santa Clara convent. In 2002, it was converted to a luscious museum with archeologically excavated pieces from Ecuador. What a treasure this museum is as are the treasures within. Approximately 5,000 pieces are on display from all cultures that dwelled in the Ecuadorian lands, in the past. Located in Old Town it was not difficult to reach. The layout is easy to navigate and there is sufficient English in each area, one does not feel left out. However, if you are craving more, you can rent an audio tour in English as well as Spanish.

Feeling a bit culturally deprived since leaving Otavalo, we continued on to Museo Ciudad Funcación Museos. The City Museum is part of a cultural service of the Metropolitan District of Quito. Occupying the oldest civil building in Quito, originally called the Mercy Hospital of Our Lord Jesus Christ, it was renamed San Juan de Dios Hospital from 1565-1974 served the community with in-patient as home health services. During the 16th and 17th centuries, it was run by the Brotherhood of the Brotherhood of Charity and Mercy. During the 18th century, the Betlemitas Friars took over expanding the services to hospitality and spiritual comfort but continuing the medical services. Lastly, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Sisters of Charity. As the sign says, “Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, bleeders, gardeners, cooks and laundresses have woven and continue to weave stories and myths that are part of our collective memory.”

We hunted down a vegetarian restaurant called Ari Comida Sana days ago, but they close by 3pm. We returned there today for lunch. It was packed; a good sign. We grabbed the last table. The food was delicious. One woman served the entire place, making the superior service even more impressive.

There is an area that is famous for all of the poets, writers and musicians who were either born or lived on a particular street called La Ronda Calle. Now it has reclaimed the fame as an area where artisans have created spaces for selling their wares. This very steep hilled street has innumerable little stores and workshops running down it, intersperse with restaurants. Disappointingly, most of the shops were closed. We did however find a fine restaurant, Negra Tentacion for an excellent dinner.

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Boxing Day - Round 1

I never really understood Boxing Day and after living in Europe for over 9 Boxing Days, everyone  I have questioned has no idea what the significance of the holiday is. So why is it that countries so far away from Europe still celebrate it as a holiday? The British invasion is the answer. It is another excuse to have a day off, close the stores, unwind after a lackluster (by American standards) Christmas day. Did that South African or Australian Christmas picnic really take it all out of you that you needed an extra day to recuperate? 

Well, with the few options left to us, we had to source out the things that were open. Our bus leaves for Napier today at 4pm, so we have the day to play. Our bags are secured at the hostel. We ventured back to Government Gardens where reportedly the Rotorua Museum was open today. T'was, so we opted for the free tour provided by volunteer docents. Today, Anne was the docent of the day and she gave us a comprehensive tour of this incredible museum. It was designed by a Balentologist, though I am not sure of the spelling, it is a specialist who determines bodily cures based on the mineral composition of thermal waters. The one who designed this thermal bath was from Germany. Unfortunately, his design could not be fully carried out due to money, but the main structure was built and functional. Ahh, but the great earthquake that ruined so much, did this building for a time also. For thirty years, it was leased as a nightclub, but then the lease ran out the city took it over once again. 

There were a number of impressive parts to this thermal that stood out for me. One of the 'treatments' was to put electricity into the tubs when people were bathing to reduce stress. There was 'vibration' therapy for ladies to reduce hysteria. We know what that means, don't we? The baths were taken in private tubs, nothing communal, yet the men and women were still segregated. Mud baths were commonly used, covering a person's body with hot mud. This is something that is in vogue in California as well as other places too. 


There were two movies, which we watched. One was the role of the Maoris in the World War serving in their own battalion. Not only was this eye-opening, it reminded me of the African Americans who fought segregated from the other soldiers. The other was the history of the earthquake. This was in a different room with pew like seating. About half-way into the movie as they start showing the earthquake, the seats start to shake, rattle, roll to the point of having to hold on to the seat. It was quite a surprise, but impressive at the same time. We wandered to the rooftop where the view was spectacular and finally into the basement. It was a splendid 2 1/2 hours. 

We did a final walk around the city, before going to the Pig and Whistle for a late lunch. They had spare ribs, my favorite, which I pigged out on. 


Our bus was at 4:30, so we had time to return to the hostel, relax, read, and write for some time before going to the tourism office. The bus was almost empty; there were only about 7 people on it, so we had our pick of seats. The ride was 3 1/2 hours to Napier, our next stop. 


The scenery was awe-inspiring. For over an hour, it looked like the Jolly Green Giant planted miles upon miles of broccoli. The tops of trees looked like the tops of broccoli spears. The green was never ending. Then miles later, there were pastures that seemed to go on forever. Because of the hills and mountains, it looked like some giant throw out a large green carpet, but never bothered to flatten the wrinkles and bubbles. Can one go green blind, like snow blindness? Awesome! Just totally awesome. I really tried to break my vision from the window to my book, but was only successful for minutes at a time. 


Napier is on the ocean. Our driver let us off at the tourism office on the ocean front. He shared with us that the best gelato place was directly across the street and if he did not have 3 passengers on the bus, he would indulge himself. He reminded me of a hairier version of Jack Black. 


Our hostel, another YHA, is down the street. The facility is not as wonderful as the last one, but it is clean and the people are friendly. Once we dumped our things, we headed for the grocery store, but it had closed at 8pm. With no hope of groceries, the next best thing was a pub, and then bed.

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Boxing Day - Melbourne

The day after Christmas is Boxing Day throughout much of Europe, though stories differ as to where the tradition started. Australia being a British domain, it is not unusual for them to observe the custom as well. All government buildings are closed including museums on this day. Here in Melbourne, all but the most commercially oriented stores are closed. Those that are open, are doing a brisk business from customers who must have received cash in their stockings. There seem to be more people with shopping bags now than before Christmas.

With few choices of things to do, this was a low key down by demand, not desire. The one place we would wander was the Royal Botanical Gardens. With ninety-nine acres and 12,000 plant species from around the world, this could surely maintain our attention for a few hours. This is considered one of the best botanical gardens in Australia. Admission is free, so the place was swarming with visitors. Though there are numerous signs stating why ball playing of any type, could be harmful to the plants and foliage, there were a number of families with their cricket balls and bats, mallets, clubs, whatever they call the stick used in that game.

Nearby in King's Domain, we came across La Trobe's cottage, which was a prefabricated house brought over from England for the first government house of Victoria. Brick by brick, it was shipped over to be reassembled. This is not its original spot, but was moved here years later. It was not open for touring when we were there, but normally, it is on Sundays from 1-4 pm.

The rest of the day was spent down by the waterfront, but first we made a side trip to Federation Square, where the Christmas décor was already removed, but the tourism office was open. We were looking for something to occupy our time, thus maximizing the time we had left. One thing that we had spotted on previous jaunts down to this center was a small brochure for an animal sanctuary that is only held at night. Called Moonlit Sanctuary, we booked a tour for $110.00 each. We arranged for the driver to pick us up in front of St. Paul's Cathedral, because we wanted to stay in town.

At 7:00 pm, Jefferey pulls up to collect us in his private car. He explained that he collects tourists coming out to the sanctuary when they need transport. An hour ride, Jefferey made it interesting with his world views and his interpretation of life in Melbourne. He was quite a character and waited for us to complete the tour in order to drive us back again. We thought we were a tour of two, but some others arrived with their own transportation. All together, there were only nine of us.

The tour is at night since most of the animals are nocturnal, so are more active in the nighttime. After receiving a handful of pellets we set out to feed the kangaroos and wallabies that knew we has something of interest. It did not take long to get one or the other eating out of our hand. All of this took place in the open backyard behind the sanctuary. From here, we walked through the woods where Michael, has created protective cages for many of the other species. A number of them are on the verge of extinction and he is attempting a breeding program to raise their populace.

We visited gliders, possums, owls, dingoes, wombats, quolls, padermelons, pobblebonks, some of these names sound like they are straight from Harry Potter, but they are truly animals. We also walked amongst to feed bettongs, miniature kangaroos that are not much higher than my ankle. It is fun and surprising to see this mini-kangaroos hopping all over, but without any inhibitions if you have food in your hands.

The final animal we met was the piece de resistance, the koala. One solitary koala named Gumbah, sitting up in his tree, eating his breakfast or dinner, whichever it is koalas eat when they first awaken. We were not allowed to touch him, but we could take as many photos as we wanted. Seeing a koala up close and personal was all I had wanted. I felt complete.

After the tour, we were invited into the sanctuary building for tea and cookies. Michael, who started the sanctuary on his own, has been trying to get funding for some time to increase the number of animals, but has not been too successful. The tours supplement the costs of care and feeding, plus he has some volunteer programs running also, getting people to assist him with the upkeep. All-in-all, we felt this was a good value for the cost and would certainly recommend it to others. www.moonlit-sanctuary.com or call at (030) 5978-7935.

Jeffrey drove us home afterward. He seems to be good friends with Michael, so it is most likely a symbiotic relationship. He was quiet on the drive back, which was a good thing since I had hopes of taking a nap on the way, but did not get the opportunity because of the conversation, but now I was on the downward slope.

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