Well, the sky cleared up last night and it was back to sunny cool weather for my last day in
ChristChurch. I didn't do anything special today...just wanted to take it easy and relax a bit before packing and getting ready for my flight to Queenstown tomorrow afternoon. Many people have told me how beautiful it is there (they call it the Swiss Alps of
New Zealand. I hope they also have Swiss Miss with the tiny marshmallows), so I'm looking forward to wandering around and exploring that region (we all enjoy exploring a new
region).
I spent a couple of hours in the main square of
ChristChurch today, just watching the wide variety of people hanging out in town. It's really interesting to just sit and listen to all of the different languages chatting all around you. Backpackers and travelers come in all shapes and sizes, age ranges and nationalities. You see everything from young couples walking hand in hand, groups of backpackers clumped together looking over a map or eating a quick sandwich before wandering off to their next destination or hostel, old couples walking around with full backpacks that, you'd think, would topple their frail bodies. But, they don't topple or teeter...they just blend in with all of the other people milling around them.
There is always a large group of people gathered in the square, many of them watching this one street performer. He eats fire, does tricks and tells jokes for at least an hour or so each session. It probably helps that he's right across from a Starbucks...it's like a beacon for travelers in need of a pickup. I know that I picked up their new Dulce de Leche Frappacino...enjoyable.
Seagulls are the pigeons of
Christchurch. They are pretty aggresive with each other as they fight over bits of food that people drop for them. Very un-Jonathan Livingston Seagull for sure.
There was a really big game of chess going on (and I mean that literally) on one side of the square. It's funny to see two adults staring very intently at these giant chess pieces, then casually walking over and lifting one up, then moving it into place...which brings the opponent immediately onto the chessboard to pick up his piece, make his move and then, take his opponents fallen knight or rookie away. I think the next level of this game should involve real people dressed as the pieces and then, when someone needs to remove a piece from the board, the winning piece could smack the crap out of losing piece, sending them crying off to the side of the game. Oh, the interactivity possibilities that could occur...
I walked by and took a picture of the structure that the drunk kids attempted to
climb the other night. I didn't notice any blood around the base, so there are still a couple of lucky dumb kids still around to binge drink for another day.
I wandered by a couple of "famous" statues today...
This one looks kind of like TV's
Frasier Crane with a few too many seagull deposits on top.
This one reminded me of Samantha's father on the TV show "Bewitched" (
Maurice!). I wish he had been holding an extra large martini glass...that would have been perfect!
And...a few fun signs from around the city...
A local restaurant with a name that doesn't make me to want to eat there...
It's not
fashion, if it's not KOOKY!
I wonder if they have live, nood girls working inside?
I waited to post this until after I left
Melboune. I wasn't Khutie-grounded and didn't want to chance it.
Well, I've gotta start packing up my stuff so that I'm ready to check out tomorrow morning. I'm gonna miss my
starship guest room and hotel. It's been a great place to stay and I highly recommend you try it, if you're ever in the neighborhood.
It's "SO" cool....
Happy Easter Everyone!
