Christchurch again

Tiredness is catching up with us. Tarun decided that a day when he didn't even get into the car would be a good idea, so I left him watching movies on tv and ventured into Christchurch city .... by bus!!

Although I don't know Christchurch really well, over the years I've been here a few times, but not since the 2011 earthquake. The television pictures haven't really given a good picture of what it's really like. It was very hard to get my bearings as all of the usual landmarks were gone and it was hard to know where you were. There were many open spaces where damaged buildings had been cleared and the skyline was dominated by cranes. The noise from construction was everywhere.

I stopped for coffee in the pop up mall where temporary shops had been set up in shipping containers. The creativeness was impressive.

Being so much colder than Auckland, Christchurch has a much better selection of winter clothes so I took a bit of time to add to my winter wardrobe before heading down to look at the transitional cardboard cathedral and the 185 white chairs commemorating the lives lost.

Cathedral Square was different to how I remembered it and it was sad to see the damage to the cathedral which had been such an icon.

Before heading back to the motel I met another friend from my past in the museum for coffee. We both walked back along the park to her car and my motel where I caught up with Tarun again. He had spent the day watching TV and walking in Hagley Park where he learnt a considerable amount about dog breeds from a random dog walker.

Taruns meatless period was over!. 😛Good chicken pasta for dinner!!