29/9/10 (Wed)
Today we rise-and-shined at 7.30 and pampered ourselves to a continental breakfast buffet style. It was the nicest breakfast we have had in a long time - eggs, bacon, cereal, milk, sausages, hash brown,...mmm. We didn't even have to toast our own bread. Just tell the waitress how many slices you want (white/ brown bread) and she brings them to you fresh and crisp in a cute little basket.
Meantime, the weather in CC was the best I experienced in NZ. Cool and breezy.
The wonders of spring must be the greatest consolation for the locals to endure the winter chills.
Construction works were still on-going to repair the 'wounded' during the quake.
I find this warning sign rather amusing.
Doesn't mean I'll actually laugh if a cyclist actually trips over the tram tracks.
I'm pointing to an orange flower coz it's the same color as my sweater?
If I recall correctly, I'm standing very close to Victoria Square, one of the many gardens in CC.
It's no wonder CC is known as the Garden City. It's also the largest city in South Island, so how can anyone not come here if they're in NZ.
These birds strut their stuff all over CC.
Trust me, walking is the best way to see CC. Well, cycling too, but we had no idea where to rent a bike, plus we really needed to walk off all those extra pounds (read as 'fat') we've packed in since we got here. Hence, a good pair of walking shoes really came in handy for us.
We've reached the Cathedral Square where there was some kind of flea market going on. Not the kind you'd find at The Curve or inside Ampcorp Mall though. Those stalls looked too touristy (and pricey) for me.
Instead, we walked into an Information Centre and bought ourselves round-trip bus tickets for the following day to Kaikoura. You could say it was a somewhat spontaneous decision, but Kaikoura is a place I've read a lot about and really really wanted to visit. I basically hinted, begged and sulked my way through just so my partner would agree to this. tee~hee.
The tickets were NZD 25 for one way and it was gonna be a 2-hour long ride. But THAT is another story that I will live to tell another day.
We couldn't have timed this vacay better as we were informed that effective from 1st Oct, all prices were to increase due to the change in season, school break was starting plus the govt service tax was to go up from 12.5% to 15%. *pat pat on the shoulder for yours truly*
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| Statue of 'i-forgot-who' from 'i-forgot-where' ..... hopeless, isn't me? |
Dear approached a couple of wandering police officers to take a photo with us.
We chatted a while with these very friendly cops and before taking off, they told us to enjoy our stay there and be careful on the streets. awwww...
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| aiya, should have borrowed their cap to wear... |
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| Site of a flour mill in 1859 in Mill Island |
Imagine living in a country that looks like this every morning!! This view is to die for!
Ducks here are the envy of the our Msian scrawny-looking ducks.
Then we did what usually only old couples would do - we went punting on the Avon.
For NZD 20/person on a 30-minute ride, this was our punter punting the punt.
Don't think he liked to be called a punter (which also means 'customer of a prostitute').
The ride was a slow one (of course it was!) and got even slower on the way back as the poor punter was heaving and panting away, propelling the punt by pushing against the river bed with only a pole.
(Pooooh, did you noticed how many 'p' I just typed?)
Poor guy must have some really sore muscles at the end of his shift. I almost wanted to introduce him to
'Yoko-yoko'.
I took magnificient photos during the boat ride. Mind you, a punt is not to be confused with a gondola that uses an oar instead of a pole.
We continued with our walking tour shortly after the ride.
Detailed maps like this all found over the city proved really useful to guide us back to where we started - our hotel.
Our main intention is to charge into any building that had no entrance fee :)
...like their art gallery.
Yeah right, since when both dear and I were into art. But still, it was foc so we faked our best to blend in with those other art-lovers, nodding, pointing and smiling at the art pieces, pretending we were in a Picasso hall or something.
Since our camera couldn't be used inside the gallery, here's a look at the interesting entrance of the gallery.
And here, dear is showing us a totally different kind of entrance.
The Arts Centre is very much like our Central Market in KL. Only classier with a Victorian feel to it.
Lots of galleries can be found inside here; one of the most interesting ones was this Wood Gallery. I like the big fish hung on the wall.
How about this jacket carved entirely out of a piece of wood? All items here are for purchase. Like if you bought this jacket, would you hang it in on your wall or in your cupboard?? It even comes with a hanger.
The Cottage Corner sells really prettty things like soaps, lotions, crafts and lights. We didn't dare to go in for fear of knocking over all the delicate merchandise.
Now, the Fudge Cottage was more MY kinda thing.
It was full of fudge and the ladies there were so generous in giving out samples, it was like the cost of making those sweets were practically NIL?!
I grabbed some of these pre-packed bags of lollies going for NZD 2.50 each. Some of my buddies were lucky enough to get a taste of 'False Teeth'. That's one type of candy they had. lol.
Passed by this shop with 3 cute dolls in its front window. I like ^_^
Next stop was the famous must-visit Canterbury Museum, housed in a remarkable stone building first opened in 1870. Also foc. heehee.
Watching this guy made me miss my Nandos Hot Peri-Peri Chicken!!
One of my fave museums by far, I love it so much because it houses a variation of exhibitions, from human history collections, Maori exhibits, a Victorian Christchurch street and an extensive Antarctic collection. And that's just to name a few. There are many many more to see here.
If you're wondering why am I standing in front of a house in a museum, well this is no ordinary house.
This is Fred and Mrytle's Paua Shell House. Paua is a type of abalone found only in the seas around NZ. We were curious to check it out so we followed a bunch of people into this mini theatre, only to be presented with a 4-minute story about an iconic Kiwi couple named Fred and Mrytle.
Then we were led into the famous Paua lounge that was created by Fred & Mrytle in the early 1960s while they were living in a place called Bluff. The story goes that Fred would collect these shells every morning and the floors of their house soon was filled with Fred's collection that it became difficult for Mrytle to vacuum the floor. An idea struck that made them hammer those shells onto the walls as a deco and it went on that way until their living room looked like this.
Yup, all 1,170 shells.
This loving couple departed about 5 years ago but their legacy lives on. Way to go, F&M!
I'm now scouting around in a very dark section of the museum, looking at some period costumes.
This kind of bicycle is known as a boneshaker, invented in the 1860s in France. As the name implies, it was said to be extremely uncomfortable to sit on. Is that why dear looks constipated here?
Penguins!! WOW!!
They're too perfectly shiny to be real....I was in the Antarctic part of the museum
...where dear got to take a virtual ride through the Antarctic on a real Ski-doo (That's a real cool name for a snowmobile)
This is a piece made from glass that I soooo loved, I wanted to buy it. It was going for NZD 75 only!
But I knew it would be a hassle bringing it back with me. *sad*
The interactive part of the museum was real fun, even for an adult like me!
All sorts of levers to pull, knobs to turn, buttons to press and drawers to open really brought out the kid in me.
Having finished our little tour and feeling slightly more 'knowledgeable' now, we were back outdoors. That was when dear stumbled upon his sweetheart, Fiesta. Or should I say 'ex' sweetheart? (if you know what I mean..)
From the nearby food kiosks, we grabbed some light but damn good snacks, such as this hotdog topped with my beloved 'sauerkraut' (sour cabbage).
This kiosk looked promising...
...so I ordered their seafood chowder. My first time spooning it out from a paper cup. It was full of fish, crab and mussel bits, very satisfying. Sprinkle the top with lots of black pepper and it's perfect to dip some buttery bread into it.
Till now, the weather has been super kind to us. That gave us the perfect chance to visit the Botanic Gardens nearby.
A grand fountain at the entrance of the park greets enthusiastic visitors like me.
Obviously, these kids seemed even more excited splashing their legs in the water.
From then on, this park was all about flower power!
I've never seen a more colorful bed of flowers.
Kayaking is one of the activities they have.
It was getting rather inconvenient carrying my soup around. ..
Sakura!
Tell me these are cherry blossoms...?
Dear caught me plucking the only dandelion in the fields. *gulp*
bad marky mark....bad!
The entire garden is super huge and full of majestic-looking trees like these. Can you spot me in this pic?
NOW, can you see me?
'NZ's Next Top Model' pose gone wrong...
I love this flower....not sure what kind it is. A magnolia perhaps?
'Ma, I'm bringing this home for Christmas.'
The version of 'The Tree Stooges' scared out of their wits.
Waitaminute, maybe THIS is the magnolia flower?
Fancy some pretty bright red and yellow tulips...
... as opposed to the conventional white tulips?
This Christ's College reminds me of the Hogwarts School from Harry Potter.
The setting would be perfect if they were to ever teach witchcraft and wizardy courses here.
As we were walking back to our hotel, somewhere down the road was Hagley Park. It wasn't as lively and vibrant as the Botanic Gardens, but it does have a really really huge field.
This here is for my dad because 'The George' is like 'The Dad' to me. K, it's actually a boutique hotel.
We've been out for some 4 hours, and it was resting time back in the hotel, until...
evening came and we stepped out again for souvenir shopping.
We came across this local market selling fresh produce, namely fruits and vege.
Too bad it was still very early of spring, so we were told the seasonal fruits like strawberries and apricots doesn't come till much later. drat.
We had to settle for the so-called 'all-year-round' fruit, the Kiwis.
I got the golden ones of course, since they are hardly sold around here and can be quite costly.
It was quite a disappointment ler coz the kiwis were too tiny and slightly sour when I got to taste it. Cheap no doubt but not quite up to standard. The seller told us that the better kiwis are usually exported for a higher price. double drat.
We completed our express souvenir shopping in one single store alone.
Geng leh..Couple of hundreds of RM spent....fyi, even the simplest keychain in NZ costs a dollar. And that's usually the ugliest keychain around that everybody avoids buying.
Our glutton for roast dinner striked as soon as we saw this very tempting sign in front of a restaurant. Who could resist, man! Not to mention, I was craving for some chicken at that time.
Holy cow....and pig and chicken!
In the end, I went for the Roast Pork instead of chicken.......aaaahhhh, the hypocrite in me.
What we got were 2 humongous serving of thick chunky slices of roast meat with the biggest ladleful of carrots and green peas I could ever imagine, a huge dollop of kumara which is mashed sweet potato and 2 bulging whole potatoes.
To top that, dear's roast beef had an additional soft bun to go with it.
By golly, the size of our serving could have fed 6 mouths!
Back at the hotel, with our big bellies and lazy asses, what could be better than to snuggle under the warm sheets and watch a movie of our choice, courtesy of the hotel.
So, what movie did we watch?
None other than Shrek.
I badly needed to laugh at Donkey's silly jokes to help in digestion of my roast dinner. burp.
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