CHRISTCHURCH

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We arrived in Christchurch after mostly uneventful flights. I didn't think the flight was all that bad. I was able to get some sleep. John on the other hand didn't sleep very well. We were met by Deb and Greg who we learned had missed their flight from Melbourne but were able to catch the next one out and arrived in Christchurch very early in the morning so went to the beach and had a little cat nap.

Our hotel for the night was Meridale Manor which was very comfortable and roomy. On our way to our rooms, the proprieter pointed out the cracks in the walls from the earthquake 2 years ago. After dropping off our bags, we set off to see the city. Nothing could have prepared us for the devastation we saw. There were whole city blocks that would never be rebuilt. There are still thousands of afershocksss a month. Streets are blocked off with chain link fences. GPS sysems don't know quite what to make of it taking us around in circles most of the time. There was a monument set up where a radio station was destroyed and everyone perished. Across the streeet was another monument of 185 white chairs indicating everyone who had lost their life that day. It was very sad. We encountered a woman who was taking a surrvey. She was from San Franciso and gathering information about disaster relief. She explained that rebuilding was a process and that 25 years after the earthquake in San Francisco, the bridge was finally going to reopen.

A few blocks away we came upon an area that was in sharp contrast to what we had just seen. There were families out enjoying the day, vendors, musicians. We grabbed a quick lunch and then went back to our room for a quick nap before dinner.

We decided on a place recommended to us, an Italian restaurant. After circling the place several times, we finally found a parking space. We finally realized that there was a Chinese Lantern Festival. We decided to take a stroll. All the lanterns were beautiful and as we walked a little further we noticed thousands of people. It was nice to see all these people out enjoying themselves during a difficult time for their city. There were all sorts of booths set up with different themes. The one thing that was absent were food booths. I did see one coffee shop, but that was all.

We headed back to our hotel to catch up on some much needed sleep and planned to sleep in and leave at 10:00 a.m. for our next stop.

About 3:00 a.m. I woke up not feeling so well with heartburn and by morning, I was sure that I had some sort of stomach flu. I beckoned Deb, who had just what I needed and we left on time.

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Comments

[Sharyn]

Christchurch
Hi George & John George, I am glad you are feeling better!! I enjoyed reading your blog about Christchurch. It is hard to imagine the devastation of this city, and how the people have been able to recover. Happy travels!! I will look forward to your next blog. Sharyn

[Sharyn]

New Zealand
Hi George and John George sorry that you have been sick. I