The City of Churches.
13 September 2019 | Christchurch, NZ
Maggie
This morning we had breakfast at the "Happy Sunday Cafe" in Christchurch. It is quaint and possibly in an old refectory.
Christchurch is known as the Garden City of New Zealand and rightly so. The gardens we passed by as we drove in were spectacular as spring wakens the dormant flowers and the city is full of color.
We visited the Botanical Gardens for a short walk and loved the diversity of plants and trees and flowers we saw there too.
However, I would call Christchurch the City of Churches.
There are beautiful old church buildings on every third or fourth corner (an exaggeration?), reminding us of the history of this place.
Our hotel is a block away from the gorgeous cathedral all but destroyed by the earthquake.
It is still surrounded by cautionary fencing and scaffolding as the building is stabilized before restorations can begin, a gentle reminder of the more than 140 lives lost, and life interrupted.
Our visit to Christchurch was brief, knowing we would be back in February next year to ship JURNEE from here on to her next destination. We did get to meet our shipping agent, Julie, for info and advice and to help us start making arrangements. she’s a sweetie pie and
I'm really glad we came.
The city has a population of just over 400K and is the largest settlement on this island of 1.2 million residents.
Everywhere we look is beautiful!
We had a cocktail at " The Last Word" last night and loved watching the world that is life in Christchurch go by, everyone celebrating the temporary break in the chilly weather we've been experiencing...
us too!