Sharing the pictures and adventures we will experience on our trip to Italy

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Greetings from Queenstown, NZ

Hi everyone,

We have made the jump across the very big pond to New Zealand. We landed a bit late in Christchurch and were surprised to find no one waiting for us. There was a slight mistake and a phone call got us a Supershuttle ride to our hotel. We were supposed to be met by a Globus representative but there was no one to be found. Luckily the whole situation was rectified when we got back to our hotel after a walk and dinner. Frank and Ozzie were waiting for us. They had been given 5:00 as the meeting time while we had 3:00. Their charm and concern more than made up for the earlier problems.

We are really only here overnight so this will be a short time here. We did find out at the airport that Christchurch is a sister city of Seattle, WA. Alex, did you know that? Right in the center of town there is a cathedral as well as some other very interesting looking buildings. We wandered around the town and then asked some locals for dinner recommendation. We ate wonderful fish and chips at The Taproom. Very authentic, wrapped in newspaper. Then back to our hotel where we met our Globus reps.

This town is very British looking. They do have a River Avon where you can go for a punt ride. It is lovely. One area we saw had weeping willows hanging down over it. The weather here is a bit chillier, I guess because we are getting closer to Antarctica. We head to Queenstown tomorrow where we will be seeing more of the Maori culture.

One thing we forgot to mention yesterday was the Aussie observance of Earth Hour. Did anyone hear about that at home? From 8 -9 lights on Saturday night, lights dimmed across the city. We were eating dinner at the hotel and they dimmed the lights in the dining room. I think they said that Australia was where it started and then moved across the country.

One thing we will not miss in Sydney is the TV. Very few stations and one channel had someone singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow 24 hours a day, much like we have Law and Order 24 hours a day.

5 comments:

patty said...

morning. glad to hear that things worked out for you guys and you found your tour guides. aunt fliss, any chance one is cute, single, rich, and willing to relocate to the states?? hahahah. anyways, be safe as always. i cant imagine how much fun you two are having. nancy, i actually did hear about the earth day hour. some major cities back here, also turned down lights for an hour. well, continue to have the best time ever. chat with you again tomorrow.
love
patty

Carol said...

Atlanta was going to observe Earth Hour. There was a big article in the paper. We were inside at the time, so we did not notice anything. The lights were dimmed in the ballroom while we were eating dinner - thought it was for effect - maybe not. I thought it would be fun to watch it from our view of the city, but it was cloudy and overcast, so we may not have seen anything anyway. Had fun last night, we even danced - and I was wearing the right clothes - Nancy, you'll understand that!!

Love, Carol

CColetta said...

Hi Fliss
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Nothing exciting here just waiting for warmer weather. The kids want to say something:
Hi Aunt Fliss its Ashley hope your having a great time.
Hi ant fliss miss you love DREW
Hi Aunt Fliss its Lauren hope your having a really nice time.
Well we all miss you so be safe.
I love the pics.
Collette

patty said...

WOW, NO NEW MESSAGES FOR ME TO READ THIS MORNING. YOU GUYS MUST HAVE HAD ONE FUN NIGHT AND SLEPT IN. LOL. CHAT SOON. ILL START TO WORRY IF I DONT HEAR FROM YOU GUYS BY TONIGHT SOMETIME.

Carol said...

Great to hear from you 2. Don't know much about NZ. Is it generally more primitive? Sure there's plenty to see and do. Hurry Home, Fliss. Hillary needs you. She's in debt and 10 points behind today.