christchurch

from kaikoura we drove a bit further south to christchurch. it too is located on the east coast of the south island. mike was giving some lectures there and stayed in a hotel right in cathedral square. christchurch is a charming city that is managable by foot or tram. there was a tram that circles the major square....the rivers interject during the ride to tell some facts and some of their stories of christchurch... we spent a lot of time at the canterbury museum. it was great and had a discover room for kids...
after searching high and low for a kids playground, we found one in the botanical gardens. the garden was quite impressive, i could only imagine it during spring or summer...there were some great trees and most of them were "nudified" as alexander would say. seeing that its winter here...
on my own was able to see some cute boatsheds and wander some of the galleries.
there is a great art center that has heaps of crafts, ranging from wood to knitting to fudge :) fudge obviously being my favorite..
outside of one art gallery they had decorative poles, but close up, the artist had taken everyday images (noses in this case)and made a kaleidescope-esque image from them.
on our last night we went to a restaurant called winni bagos. a really tasty pizzaria. halfway through our meal a group of high school girls gathered at the front and sang acapella. they were in town for a competition. when they finished alexander charmed them all by blowing kisses to them.