We awoke this morning to the patter of rain and dull, gray skies. This put us
into a glum mood because we had planned on kicking around Christchurch on foot.
Our moods and stomachs were warmed by the scrumptious breakfast laid out before
us - strawberry-kiwi crepes, warm muffins and strong hot coffee.
We caught the city bus into town and hit the information center. We decided
to try and wait out the rain by taking the bus out to the airport for a visit to
the nearby International Antarctic Centre. Although this was a nice attraction,
I have to admit we were a little disappointed especially considering the NZ$
16.00/person entrance fee. The popular display seems to be the cold room where
you can don boots and parkas and frolic in a room with artificial snow. Since we
are from Colorado, this did not have the same effect on us as it did on some of
those visitors from warmers climes. There was interesting history on Antarctic
exploration and some good geological displays, but this is nothing compared to
Te Papa. After returning to the center of town (still raining - darn), we warmed
up with French onion soup and a sandwich at the Barcelona Bistro-Bar while we
wrote some postcards to friends and family back home. Then we took off for some souvenir
shopping before visiting the Anglican Cathedral, climbing the tower for great
views of Christchurch (in the rain). There are many historical buildings in
Christchurch and we saw many of them as we were wandering around with our hoods
up to keep our heads dry. We ended up in Azure for happy hour and then moved on
to the Pic and Whale for another drink or two, enjoying the cities nightlife and
local denizens. We emerged from the Pic and Whale to discover that it had
stopped raining and the sun had gone down. We enjoyed the clearing weather so
much that we found ourselves walking back towards the B&B and along the way
we stopped for a late dinner.
We awoke this morning to the patter of rain and dull, gray skies. This put us
into a glum mood because we had planned on kicking around Christchurch on foot.
Our moods and stomachs were warmed by the scrumptious breakfast laid out before
us - strawberry-kiwi crepes, warm muffins and strong hot coffee.
We caught the city bus into town and hit the information center. We decided
to try and wait out the rain by taking the bus out to the airport for a visit to
the nearby International Antarctic Centre. Although this was a nice attraction,
I have to admit we were a little disappointed especially considering the NZ$
16.00/person entrance fee. The popular display seems to be the cold room where
you can don boots and parkas and frolic in a room with artificial snow. Since we
are from Colorado, this did not have the same effect on us as it did on some of
those visitors from warmers climes. There was interesting history on Antarctic
exploration and some good geological displays, but this is nothing compared to
Te Papa. After returning to the center of town (still raining - darn), we warmed
up with French onion soup and a sandwich at the Barcelona Bistro-Bar while we
wrote some postcards to friends and family back home. Then we took off for some souvenir
shopping before visiting the Anglican Cathedral, climbing the tower for great
views of Christchurch (in the rain). There are many historical buildings in
Christchurch and we saw many of them as we were wandering around with our hoods
up to keep our heads dry. We ended up in Azure for happy hour and then moved on
to the Pic and Whale for another drink or two, enjoying the cities nightlife and
local denizens. We emerged from the Pic and Whale to discover that it had
stopped raining and the sun had gone down. We enjoyed the clearing weather so
much that we found ourselves walking back towards the B&B and along the way
we stopped for a late dinner.
