Ramon Crater, Israel + Christchurch, NZ
Lulu has an announcement — she fell into the ocean in Bermuda, and as self-identified hydrophobes, she and Alison count that as a definite win. Alison’s update sounds worrying — she has a slight injury in her arm — but she says she’s fine. Let’s hope that dancing in Pippin is going well…!
We also just released our drink challenge on YouTube — have you seen it yet? Thank you to all of our listeners who contributed drink ideas! Next time, we promise to bring in a bartender.
Because of Alison’s injury, she has found a new obsession — Deep Blue Rub by doTerra (not to be confused with the sci-fi horror movie Deep Blue Sea). Lulu’s obsession is NYC laundry wash-and-fold. A small luxury. She’s also crazy about Rodan + Fields microdermabrasion paste. Another (not-so-small) luxury.
Surprise, Gordon Ramsey has a new line of Masterchef wines, and surprise, Alison wants it! She wants them ALL. Lulu’s wishlist is for her immediate family to get matching tattoos. She doesn’t know what it should be, and she hasn’t convinced any of her family to do it with her, but it’s officially on the wishlist.
Alison heads to the Ramon Crater in Israel, but first she has to outfit herself completely in linen. She shops at Poetry Fashion and gives herself a true desert chic look!
Dressed for success, Alison waltzes into the lobby of the Beresheet Hotel, which is set on the cliffs of the Roman Crater. She snags the exclusive presidential villa (it has a private gym!), and it takes up most of her budget.
Next in her luxury day: a desert and wine tour featuring local Israeli wines. She hires a private guide and lives it up. After she’s good and tipsy, she needs to find a free activity (how often do you hear that on this podcast?), so she decides to hike the crater, which some call the Grand Canyon of Israel. Here’s an article that tells you a little more about the gorgeous part of the world.
Since she’s worked up an appetite, she rounds out her day with dinner at Hahavit for some local delicacies. Then she’s done. What are the chances she’ll hit up that private gym?
Lulu is super excited about Christchurch, and she decides to stay in the verandah suite at the Otahuna Lodge — which has a fireplace in the bathrooms! That’s luxe, people. She rents a 1999 Saab convertible to tool around in — so far, she’s off to a pretty perfect start.
Breakfast is already pretty exotic. Lulu dines with the penguins at the International Antarctic Centre. She decides this requires specific attire — so she gets a Tom Ford satin-lapel tux jacket (you know, to make the penguins feel like she’s one of them). After brekkie with the penguins, she decides she needs even more wildlife in her day, so she takes a swimming excursion with the miniature dolphins around Christchurch. She buys out the entire boat excursion and asks the whole crew to watch her in the water (hydrophobe, remember?) Always one to watch for a costume change opportunity, she swims in a cute Cynthia Rowley colorblock wetsuit.
Lunch, Christchurch-style, is at Pedro’s House of Lamb, which only serves one dish — lamb and potatoes. And then, she takes a helicopter lesson. Alison is doubtful that you can learn that much in half an hour, but Lulu is looking forward to it anyway.
Now that she’s got all those skillz, she attends the KoTane Maori experience, which includes a four-course meal (note: she’ll taste everything, but she has another dinner after this, so just enough to be polite). She even brings her own high-tech poi balls, although she admits that if this is a cultural misstep, she’ll keep them hidden in her purse. Her actual dinner is on the Christchurch tramway restaurant, which is in an old trolley that moves around the city. What a way to end a great (and exhausting) day!
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue
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