Our First Sunday in Christchurch

On Sunday, we went to the Riccarton Market, the Canterbury Museum and the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. The weekly market is held at the Riccarton Racetrack and there are many stalls hawking various wares.  You can find everything from dusty old secondhand treasures to fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers and newly constructed furniture.  It is a bustling assortment of stalls, tents, vans and people. We also had breakfast at the market.  I chose a bacon and avocado sandwich from a food truck.  It was prepared for me by a rugby shorts-wearin' kiwi who grew the bacon himself.  AMAZING!

This is a replica of a home that an early British settler, who was a doctor,
built from shipping materials. He lived in it with his wife and three children
who were all under the age of 5!

Immigration advertisement to entice people to
come to New Zealand

Then we went into the city of Christchurch to visit the Canterbury Museum and Botanic Gardens.  At the museum we saw exhibits on Antarctica and the history of Antarctic exploration, birds of New Zealand, the Maori,and Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House.  We learned about the early English who were crazy enough to travel to and try to inhabit 2 tiny islands at the bottom of the world.

Maori carvings

Early motorized Antarctic exploration vehicle which eventually led to today's Hagglund.

The New Zealand Antarctic program logo

Once out of the museum, we finally had lunch at a Greek food truck called Dimitri's that serves real messy souvlaki.  It's my mom's favorite food truck and she has been searching it out in Christchurch for nearly twenty years now. Judging by the lines, the locals like it too. Mmm, good.

Dimitri's for lunch- one of our favorites

Miranda is the same color as the hydrangeas

After lunch, we went to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, which has lots of beautiful flower beds and ginormous trees like Californian Redwoods and Giant Sequoias.  After strollin' through the park, we returned to the bus and went home, though I have plans....  To return, of course.

I am fascinated with these giant trees in the
Botanic Gardens