Le Christchurch

Ok a little out of order but I DID warn you about this...

Here are some pictures from the last leg of my journey in New Zealand. It’s not the very first town I stopped in but it IS the first set of pictures I’ve organized enough to post satisfactorily. If you’re really curious to know when and where this part of the trip took place just refer to the nifty little map I so diligently worked on 2 posts ago. Finding time to post with regularity has been a challenge but I’m determined to keep you guys updated with no more than a months lag time. Ambitious eh? Eventually I hope to rearrange the posts somewhat to give it a bit of chronology but at the same time I wonder if doing that would compromise the integrity and authenticity of the efforts. *shrug* I guess we’ll decide that later.


But one of many glorious activities you can lighten your wallet with in New Zealand.


Oh Christchurch, you ain't no SF. That's for sure.


The cathedral in Christchurch. Now try saying that five times fast. And now try saying "five times fast" five times fast.

So tattered it hurts.

Makes me think of Virgin Suicides.
This couple was so very very cute. I spent a good portion of the day cursing myself for not having gathered the courage to ask them for a portrait. I even stalked them around the cathedral for a bit hoping for a good opportunity to snap their picture. The older gentlemen could have been any old white new zealander guy with a cane if it weren't for the traditional maori design tattooed over all of his face. She was a maori and you could tell that the love they shared for each other was a beautiful thing. Have you ever come across people you know just know have tons of stories to tell? I think they were 2 of them.

The square

No city is complete without a designated chess area.
uhhh? Creepstown!!


This is Zongqi. He is a neurologist from Boston who got on the magic bus over in Queenstown. We ended up spending a day in Christchurch together after the Lithuanians abruptly missed our bus 2 days prior. I was distraught for days after. It was like having your baby yanked from you without ever having the chance to have say goodbye. Yea it was that bad.

Anyways, Zongqi was an unlikely travel partner. After about 4 cumulative hours together he told me I reminded him of his brother because of the bickering. Ok, well maybe more like my bickering. Sorry Zongqi. It just means I like you!

So in Oceania, or maybe it's just New Zealand and Australia... all the intersections have a nice big silver button you HAVE to press in order to cross the street. Yes I know we have them in the states too but everyone actually uses them here. And I think they actually work!

We stumbled onto this street bazaare that is apparently held every Sunday.
This kids mullet is like 100% awesomecore.

The food vendors corridor.

Potato pancake with a bunch of stuff on it. It looks better than it tasted.

It's not like I think this is a particularly great sculpture or anything. Just that when I stare at it, it looks more like a smiley face than a body. Think it's on purpose?
We headed to the art museum afterwards. It was aiight. They were all New Zealand artists. LIKE I CARE. ha. just kidding!
Then it was off to to the park and the rose garden!
Roses are red. Violets are blue. Don't criticize my blog... or I'll fuck you up.


This is the interior courtyard of their arts college. It's an old academic institution that was converted to a school for the arts in recent years. Kinda has a Harry Potter feel to the campus. Wish I went to a school like that...instead I went to UIC with it's fucked up architechure that in the end got torn down anyways. And if this offers you any insight into the insanity of it, I heard somewhere that the architect committed suicide.
This was our last day hanging out. I'm glad we said goodbye when we did because I had to get up at 4:00 am to make it to my 5:45am flight to melbourne. That was the day I was up for almost 24 hours. Sucks to explore a new city on 2 hours sleep. :p Bye Zongqi!