Tuesday – Christchurch

We started our day with a trip downtown to Cathedral Square. We boarded the tram and set off to visit the city sites. Our first stop was the Avon River for a beautiful tranquil punt along the river with lovely fauna and weeping willows.5939 5950

Similar to San Antonio, Christchurch has a river running through the center of town. The river guide was most informative on the socio-economic policies of the New Zealand government, the mass migration of Kiwis to Australia, the mass migration of wealthy Asians into New Zealand and the general state of the country. He also let us know that he would be relocateing to the UK in four weeks. Our second stop was the Art Centre, various shops inside the centre sell just about everything; we had the good fortune of encountering a shop that offered to ship all our purchases back to the US so we loaded up on various items unique to New Zealand; hopefully they’ll be there when we get back. After the Art Centre, we walked over to the Botanical Gardens – this place was absolutely marvelous and included a play area for the kids. There is a school nearby the gardens and we stopped by to check out the school and see the ongoing rugby games. Very interesting. Our next tram stop was Regent street. This Spanish deco street had many shops and cafes and we had the most delicious Chai Coffee, (Green Tea mixed with coffee), apple danish, and cookies. After browsing various shops, we headed back on the tram back to Cathedral Square. There are various entertainers that amuse the public as well as a large life-size chess board in the plaza. Bart insisted on playing chess with the chess masters but we pryed him away from the scene.

After the public performer finished his show, we headed out for a scenic drive into the mountains. From above, you can see the Christchurch city nestled in the valley below and locked in by the pacific ocean to the east. Spectacular photos to be posted some time.6171

After our sunset drive, we headed for dinner at a place called Palazzo’s. This restaurant specializes in Italian/New Zealand cuisine. I had lobster and Marge had salmon while the kids refused to eat so dinner only cost $150 NZD. I must make mention of a sexy little wine that kept undressing me the whole evening at the restaurant. She was a Chardonnay from StoneLeigh vineyard in the Marlbourough region and she seduced me with her unique aroma and spicy flavor; she accompanied our delightful seafood very well. Of course, we then had to take the kids to eat some KFC because that’s just about the only thing they like eating these days. Finsihed the long day with dessert nearby the plaza.