On our own in Christchurch

This is Saturday, March 29, 2014, 5 p.m.

We're still in Christchurch.  As I said yesterday, the bus tour is now over.  We think only seven of us from our group are still here in New Zealand.  John and I had no plans for today, but we did manage to both relax and have fun.  This morning, we walked a few blocks to a mall, and wandered around there for awhile--getting our "mall walk" in.  This afternoon, we found a bus that would take us to the central business district.  As Christchurch recovers from its 2011 earthquake, an entire area has developed in which businesses have opened their shops using shipping containers, instead of actual buildings.  That's where we went today.  There were lots of shoppers and diners there, wandering around the coffee shops, gift shops, and clothing shops, some of them two stories tall.  This is such a clever way to reopen a business quickly.

Near our motel, we had seen a Chinese restaurant.  That sounded very good to us, so we went there for an early dinner.  It was delicious, and a nice change from 19 days of mostly buffet meals.

We've spent lots of this pretty New Zealand money on this great trip.

Aotearoa (meaning Land of the Long, White Cloud) is the Maori word for New Zealand.