The smell of fires no more :(

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Alright, quick update as the wonderful woman at the bed and breakfast has allowed me to sneak on the internet and of course, keeping our friends and families updated is the most important thing to do 😊 Title explanation: Very few people in NZ have central heating, therefore as it is winter (or fall, actually, meaning the leaves are gorgeous, as they change colors and falling and it smells fantastic), everyone lights fires to keep their houses warm. That means there is a continuous smell of fireplaces, it is scrumptious...as we're heading to OZ tomorrow, we are very much anticipating HOT weather (fingers crossed) and while we are excited to get a suntan, we are going to miss the lovely smell.

Okay, so since we last "talked..."

Sunday night, we found a nice Italian restaurant and had a nice meal, while missing our moms, as it was mother's day at home. Monday morning, the weather was still a bit "dodgy", so we decided to tackle a bunch of indoor activities. But first, the bed and breakfast we are staying at offers a wide variety of hot breakfasts that we are entitled to. To satisfy his curiousity, Ben ordered the crumpets and spent the entire night and morning of using every opportunity to say the word crumpet...it was adorable (that is not sarcastic either!). But after tasting them, he decided they were basically, smaller, fatter pancakes. But still yummy. We headed to the Art Museum where we wandered around for a few hours, absorbing all the art we could possibly stand. There was an interesting exhibit on Jeffery Harris, that probably was the most interesting that we saw. After a picnic lunch, we headed to the Cantubury Museum where there were a bunch of random, but interesting exhibits on a number of topics such as the Maori, old means of transportation, Antarctica, Asian Culture and the native birds of NZ, just to name a few. That night, we dared to be different and sampled Indian food at a restaurant called Two Fat Indians...We've been talking about wanting to try it and finally had the opportunity. Super yummy (and spicy 😞 )

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful, but a bit chilly, so we ended up taking a quick, but expensive, gondala ride up a big mountain where there were wonderful views of Lyttleton Harbor. The guidebook mentioned there were some wonderful hikes, but it was a bit dangerous so we didn't go for as long as we had planned. It was awesome though. The path was called the Crater Rim Walkway and it basically was a really narrow walking path that went alongside the mountain. It was pretty steep and muddy at times, but for a good chunk of the hike, there was the most incredible rainbow we had ever seen in the sky so it made the experience well worth it. After, we headed back into town where we popped into the aquarium to see some interesting sharks and fish and even got to see two kiwis!! They really do look like drumsticks that walk. But hell, when in NZ, see a kiwi and we did. We stopped by the museum of contemporary art but both agreed that what we saw, wasn't really art. We finished the day with an American twist with Mission Impossible Three and Subway sandwiches, haha...a taste from home (oh yeah, and Tuesday nights offer cheap movie tickets so, ya know).

Today, again, a beautiful day. A quick workout then a lovely walk in the famous Botanic Gardens that were filled with beautiful flowers and wildly entertaining ducks. We are very sad that it is our last night in NZ but we are getting really excited for Australia. I know a lot of you have spent some time there, so please send any suggestions, information, ANYTHING that you think will help.

We miss you and are thinking of you.
Ben and Erica

OH YEAH whoever it was of you that just added a message about going to Zurich, please identify yourself as we can't figure it out...(SORRRRRRY!)

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Comments

[Emily Tex]

hehe..sorry
I realized that I never put my name on it! It was me...EMILY! I miss ya both!