Day 99: Christchurch Botanical Gardens, World Buskers Festival, Art Gallery, Sunset Drive
I met a nice man on the plane, flying into Christchurch. He bragged about his daughter's athletic abilities; she was in a mini circus with her boyfriend and his brother, performing at the World Buskers Festival later in the afternoon. Our plane landed, on its second attempt (apparently the runway suddenly wasn't clear), and I decided to go see this man's daughter's act, since she sounded extremely talented.
A family friend lives in Christchurch and snuck away from work to pick me up from the bus terminal. He dropped me off and stored my bag while I explored the city and he returned to work. After a brief late lunch at a cafe, I sought out the festival. It was held in Hagley Park, which is quite large, so it took me a bit of looking to find the L&P stage where the Biggest Little Circus would perform.
I'm so glad I went. They are an extremely talented trio, but this man's daughter truly shines.
Afterwards, I wandered through the Botanical Gardens and greenhouse and napped under a tree, contemplating once more where my life may be headed.
I woke up 40 minutes later and decided to check out the local Art Gallery, which had just reopened since the earthquakes in 2011.
My friend got off work and we caught up back at his flat with his girlfriend and her brother for most of the evening. He is a big skier and two of his friends competed in a ski run that aired live that night. I snuck away for and couple of hours to meet up with and friend from Ubud to watch the sun set over the city.
Day 100: Happy Birthday to Me! Taylor's Mistakes Walk and Beach
One of the biggest cravings I've had on this trip has been for cheese. So for my birthday, my friend took me to a local cheese shop, Canterbury Cheese Mongers, to spoil me with delicious New Zealand cheeses.
After making our selections and bringing back fresh baked bread to accompany it, saving it for later in the evening, the three of us along with his girlfriend's brother drove out to Taylor's Mistake. Named after a sailor who thought he'd arrived elsewhere, the point provides a nice, long ealk with stunning views. We stopped to look at some of the bunkers remaining from WWII before looping around towards the beach.
I'm such around wimp, due to being spoiled by war tropical waters, so getting me into the cold New Zealand waves proved to be around challenge. Finally, I caved and dove head first into the oncoming waves. Following some moments drying in the sun, we stopped for lunch and birthday drinks on the way home.
Back at the flat that evening, we devoured the cheeses, bread, and salami. My family friend prepared me a Pavlova birthday cake, decorated with kiwi fruit and 24 long candles. (I'm now 27, but didn't mind having three short). A couple more friends arrived and after they sang 'Happy Birthday,' it's tradition for the birthday person to cut the first piece of cake and make a wish.
Beer pong and tequila shots ensued. My partner and I won twice - great skills I bring from University days, nailing the game winning cup both games. On Wisconsin!
Day 101: Recovery and watching 'When a City Falls'
I was pretty worthless today and slept on the couch for most of it. My friend was kind enough to make me a beautiful breakfast.
I did watch a documentary about the earthquakes in Christchurch, 'When a City Falls.' I had no idea about the extent of devastation here, nor how long it lasted. Yesterday, my friend's girlfriend pointed out to me me a piece of the Twin Towers from NYC, a symbol of the partnership between the US and New Zealand. New Zealand had sent help after the attacks in New York, while we sent help to Christchurch following the earthquakes.
There are almost no tall buildings in Christchurch, anymore. Their downtown is finally reopening and rebuilding, so it's unlike other cities in that you don't really feel like you are "downtown."
That afternoon and evening, we watched a marathon of Netflix tv and ate scrumptious burgers.
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