VictoriaFebruary 10
I guess we were channeling M.F.K. Fisher today. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Powerhouse Cafe in Hanmer Springs and then headed south to Black Estate Winery in the Waipara Valley. Yes, we went from one restaurant to another because that’s what we do best. We’ve perfected the art of eating.
Mitch claimed Black Estate to be the best food of the trip so far, and we also enjoyed the wine flight. So much so, we bought another bottle of wine. That makes five bottles we’ve collected so far. We’ve got to get drinking tonight to lighten up our luggage.
For dessert, the blackcurrant tart with a torched meringue top was made with local blackcurrants and was one of the best desserts I’ve had in recent memory.
We rolled out of there and drove to Christchurch, about an hour away.
Christchurch is named after Christ Church college at Oxford University and is the largest city on the South Island. It experienced a major earthquake in 2011 and a terrorist attack on a mosque in 2019.
After wandering around for 30 minutes at the apartment complex that houses our Airbnb, we finally found the correct apartment and lugged all of our stuff upstairs.
It’s so nice to be in one place for 5 nights so we can feel somewhat settled. We drove around town for a bit to get the lay of the land and familiarize ourselves with the city, and then we popped to the grocery store (!) to pick up some things for the next few days and came upon this cool pineapple machine.
A rainy evening is keeping us indoors tonight. Mitch made us some pasta and veggies for dinner. We plan to watch another episode or two of Suits and be ready to explore more of the city tomorrow.
