CHRISTCHURCH, NZ

I will have to be honest my first experience with the "City of Gardens" was not a good one. We got into town late Saturday night for a quick stop over. The only reason we stayed in Christchurch was so that we could attend sacrament meeting on Sunday at a local ward. However, we happened to get a hotel in the middle of the city on a Saturday night with many local bars on the street. Needless to say we didn't feel very comfortable walking to the hotel from the parking lot down the street and all we heard were drunk people all night long. I was glad to get up early the next morning and get ready for church. I was surprised because people had told me what a beautiful place Christchurch was. Well lets just say my opinion quickly changed the next day. This was my kind of city!

We headed to sacrament meeting at a local ward. I love that we belong to a Church that is worldwide. It doesn't matter where you are you can find somewhere to go and feel the Spirit of the Lord.

After we left we noticed there was a little path into a park. We decided to go for a little walk and came upon an old house that has been turned into a lovely green space - it was called Mona Vale. This is when my opinion of Christchurch changed. This place was beautiful. There were gardens surrounding it and they were so well taken care of. If I had money this is what I would love to have. There was even a rose garden that reminded Kev so much of his grandfather's backyard - just the smell brought back so many memories for him.

One funny thing happened while we were here. Cooper saw this moss covered pond and thought it was grass. I was out taking pictures and all I heard was screaming from Cooper. Kev pulled him out but his pants and shoes were covered in moss and were soggy. We had one sad little boy. I probably shouldn't say this, but I thought it was kind-of funny.

We spent a good while walking around and smelling the flowers. As we were about to leave all of the sudden a procession of old cars and bicycles came riding through. They were meeting and having a picnic. I enjoyed walking around taking photos.

It was a lovely morning and one of the few times we saw the sunshine during our entire trip. Just what we needed to rejuvenate and head back on the road this time up north. We would come back to Christchurch a few days later....more on that later.