We travelled for 31 hours and ended up 48 hours away from home. Wrap your head around that. I still can't.
But we were determined to get on local time. So tired as we might be, we set out to walk the earthquake stricken city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was a tough place to start our trip. The damage from major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 is still the primary thing you see. A sign at a conservatory in Haglund Park said that the building was closed as the city worked to restore the 1,600 buildings they own. And that is just the city-owned property. Get your head around that. I still can't.
Many of the buildings that remain have been painted with murals, trying to restore beauty to the city. And many new structures are made of shipping containers. Of particular interest is what the locals call the cardboard cathedral. It's structures are made of cardboard tubes and shipping containers. Amazing. Behind the cardboard cathedral is a display of 185 white chairs; one for every person who died. Very moving.
Fun/wierd notes: 1) The bathrom on our 13 hour flight from LA to Auckland had a fake bookshelf papered to the wall. The titles were things like "Kiwis have big noses," and "The mile high club: are you a member?" It made me laugh every time I went in there. 2) Pat and Jim Keller arrived before we did. It was so great to have them pick us up at the airport - and drive. And 3) Despite losing the entire day of Sunday while flying over the Pacific ocean, my fit bit says I had 17,353 steps that day. I really cannot get my head around that.
The damage is still apparent in your photos but how ingenious to focus the attention on art instead. I can tell you are still using walking to adjust to the change in time ans your steps seem to be increasing by leaps and bounds! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
ReplyDeleteNow I understand why you are at the very top of all my friends for the past seven days on Fitbit despite sitting on an airplane!!
ReplyDeleteI really have walked an amazing amount. We had a 5 hour layover in LA, and our friends took us to Marina del Rey for dinner and a long beach walk. The funny part is how all that gets broken out by day.
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