The Day in Christchurch
Oh, I think found heaven in the form of a Crown
Plaza hotel. Unfortunately I now have backpacker's guilt.
Oh, I think found heaven in the form of a Crown
Plaza hotel. Unfortunately I now have backpacker's guilt. When you stay at
just about every backpacker (the "anywhere outside of North America" term for a
hostel) you find these guest-books that throw out statements about, "Best
night's sleep I have had in months," or "my new second home in New Zealand." And
this is where I get my spoiled american complex from, because while no
backpacker that I have stayed in has been that bad, and many of the people have
been very nice, I would never call them a second home, or written in the book
anything more than, "I was able get to sleep, and don't worry I don't think that
rash is related to your rental sheets." I have stayed at hostels many times
over this trip, some better than others, but have now stayed at the Coleman's
home and the Crown Plaza, and give the option or the unlimited budget I don't
think I need to tell you which two categories I would choose. And last night I
chose the Crown Plaza. And now I feel guilty about
it.
Well once I did pull myself out of my comfy bed, and after I took a very long shower, and used just about all the complementary shampoo, I was ready to hit Christchurch. Last night before I went to be the temperature out side had to be close to freezing, so I wore my ski jacket, toboggan, sweater, gloves, jeans, and wools socks. Needless to say I was ready to hit the cold. Unfortunately but the time I got outside I realized that it was about 70 degrees out. I spent many moments for the rest of day trying to attach a ski coat to my backpack. I planned on seeing all the sights today, and the weather looked like it was going to cooperate. Just outside of the hotel was this statue of Capt. Cook. In fact there seemed to be statue clad parks all over this city. One of the great things about Christchurch is the number of parks and open area's where on a sunny day such as today you can just sit back and relax and watch the world go by.
While beginning my journey I passed a sign. Guess who is in town? Good ole Eddie. I think this is now the third time we are in the same city, and I think if he knew he may suspect that I am stalking him. I saw him in Auckland, then was in Wellington the same night, and now he is here in Christchurch literally next door to the hotel I am staying in. Spooky!
The first and closest stop on my journey today is the Anglican Cathedral (thats Episcopalian for those who don't know). This was the first church of its size built in Christchurch. When the catholics wanted to build they made them do so on the edge of town. Luckily their edge of town is now only about 5 blocks away. The Anglican church is surrounded by a beautiful square that is essentially the center of downtown Christchurch. Many old buildings surround the square, and some not so old such as the massive IBM building in the corner.
From the square I caught the "tram" or trolly which gave a great tour of the downtown. Its a very touristy thing to do, but in the case of Christchurch is made good sense to pick up on some of the finer details. The biggest it me was that Sir Ruthaford, theorized that you can split an atom here in Christchurch back in the early 1900's. Good thing his splitting of the atom was a lot different that the US version forty years later, otherwise Christchurch may look a little different.
In fact I hopped off the tram to see a little museam on Sir Ruthoford. The old university which he taught at is now a complex of museums, shops and art galleries. However in this museum they left his classroom just that same as the day he taught in it.
Yes I know it blurry!
After a great lunch and Rutheford museum, I crossed the street to the botanic gardens. Things such as the huge Rose garden were not in bloom, but with canals wondering through it, and many huge trees still in showing their beauty it made for a time to just wander throughout the grounds. When coupled with the sizable park next to it the size of these outdoor grounds has to be close to a Central Park.
I spent the rest of the day wandering through rest of the city center. I met up with Mehir to grab some turkish food for dinner by which point I decided to stay another night at the Crown Plaza. I knew that I would have to do the dorm room for the rest of my time in NZ to balance my luxury these past few nights.
Capt. Cook at Night
View from my room!
Well once I did pull myself out of my comfy bed, and after I took a very long shower, and used just about all the complementary shampoo, I was ready to hit Christchurch. Last night before I went to be the temperature out side had to be close to freezing, so I wore my ski jacket, toboggan, sweater, gloves, jeans, and wools socks. Needless to say I was ready to hit the cold. Unfortunately but the time I got outside I realized that it was about 70 degrees out. I spent many moments for the rest of day trying to attach a ski coat to my backpack. I planned on seeing all the sights today, and the weather looked like it was going to cooperate. Just outside of the hotel was this statue of Capt. Cook. In fact there seemed to be statue clad parks all over this city. One of the great things about Christchurch is the number of parks and open area's where on a sunny day such as today you can just sit back and relax and watch the world go by.
While beginning my journey I passed a sign. Guess who is in town? Good ole Eddie. I think this is now the third time we are in the same city, and I think if he knew he may suspect that I am stalking him. I saw him in Auckland, then was in Wellington the same night, and now he is here in Christchurch literally next door to the hotel I am staying in. Spooky!
The first and closest stop on my journey today is the Anglican Cathedral (thats Episcopalian for those who don't know). This was the first church of its size built in Christchurch. When the catholics wanted to build they made them do so on the edge of town. Luckily their edge of town is now only about 5 blocks away. The Anglican church is surrounded by a beautiful square that is essentially the center of downtown Christchurch. Many old buildings surround the square, and some not so old such as the massive IBM building in the corner.
From the square I caught the "tram" or trolly which gave a great tour of the downtown. Its a very touristy thing to do, but in the case of Christchurch is made good sense to pick up on some of the finer details. The biggest it me was that Sir Ruthaford, theorized that you can split an atom here in Christchurch back in the early 1900's. Good thing his splitting of the atom was a lot different that the US version forty years later, otherwise Christchurch may look a little different.
In fact I hopped off the tram to see a little museam on Sir Ruthoford. The old university which he taught at is now a complex of museums, shops and art galleries. However in this museum they left his classroom just that same as the day he taught in it.
Yes I know it blurry!
After a great lunch and Rutheford museum, I crossed the street to the botanic gardens. Things such as the huge Rose garden were not in bloom, but with canals wondering through it, and many huge trees still in showing their beauty it made for a time to just wander throughout the grounds. When coupled with the sizable park next to it the size of these outdoor grounds has to be close to a Central Park.
I spent the rest of the day wandering through rest of the city center. I met up with Mehir to grab some turkish food for dinner by which point I decided to stay another night at the Crown Plaza. I knew that I would have to do the dorm room for the rest of my time in NZ to balance my luxury these past few nights.
Capt. Cook at Night
View from my room!
Posted: Sat - August 16, 2003 at 09:31 PM
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 01, 2004 11:37 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 01, 2004 11:37 PM