Trip with Mom & Dad: Day 1 - Christchurch

My Mom & Dad have arrived!!! It was so exciting to see them get off the plane this morning.

If you look hard enough, you will see mom & dad coming out of the exit in the back 

We started out our sightseeing at Hagley Park & the Christchurch botanic gardens.  Sadly, we have a rainy forecast for the weekend, so we took a little shelter under this ginormous tree.

Mom & Dad trying to figure out how to use their camera...haha!

I'm not sure if it's because of the rain or they just turn it on at specific times, but I haven't seen this fountain going full force before.  It looked really cool!

Before the water turned on - and me with my best Averie pose 

And after!

We also hit up the rose garden...we got some great pics of the rainy roses, but I'll post those at the bottom so you don't have to look at them all if you don't want to. My mom and I got picture happy :)

Other sightseeing today included the Canterbury Museum.  We didn't take any pictures in there, but Mom & Dad learned about the extinct Moa bird and about the Maori tribe.  We also saw a neat exhibit on the quest to reach the South Pole.  You can refer to one of our first blog posts for pictures of what is in this museum.

We also drove around the CBD (central business district) and looked at how little progress has been made in the city center for rebuilding Christchurch.  We stopped at the restart mall (see previous blog post for pics) and drove by the Christchurch cathedral.

We also drove out to the Christchurch pier in New Brighton...this time we took pictures.

Is anyone surprised that Mom was cold???

It's really hard to see, but just to my right there is a ferris wheel that was actually running.  I think there was a little fair going on for the holidays. Kind of sad it was bad weather and no one was riding it.

Here is Brian's obligatory photo for the day.  I told him he had to be in at least one picture per location during the trip.  So here he is!

And here are our flower photos...

We took pictures of these Dahlias for Aunt Linda!

For once I have to agree with Brian that the rain was a good thing. It definitely made these roses look amazing in picture - although the orange roses are not nearly as vibrant as they were in person.

Mom really loved these hydrangeas in bloom so we got her into the middle of them.  Look how happy she is!

Arthur's Pass & Greymouth

A few weeks ago, December 7th to be exact, we took a day trip to the West Coast via Arthur's pass. This is the shortest route to the west coast from Christchurch.

Arthur's Pass

The weather forecast for the weekend was absolutely sunny and beautiful so a road trip seemed appropriate.  Little did we know that outside of Canterbury, there were storms all over the west coast and most of the drive was overcast and rainy.  Oh well! It was still a beautiful drive and we got to see some extra waterfalls because of the rain.

Beautiful view of the Sourthern Alps as we went through the pass

I really liked the pink heather growing along the road so I made Brian take a picture of it.  Too bad he got bit by sand flies and was itching like crazy for the next two weeks!

Greymouth

We finally made it to Greymouth where we bought some green stone and walked around the small downtown area.  We also went out to the harbor and took some pics in the wind.  It was crazy!

Brian was really in to his west side signs in these pictures...lol!

From this view, the right side of the pier is the ocean and the left side is the river that enters into it.  Pretty interesting!

Castle Rocks

On the way home, we stopped to look at some really cool rock formations called Castle Rocks.  I could've sworn we were in Northern England or Scotland by the looks of it.

Christmas Party in the Gondola

Christmas time is upon us and it's quite a different feeling than we are used to.  No matter where we have lived in the US, we have always had snow and winter during Christmas.  There will be no white christmas for us this year (except for my annual viewing of the title movie, of course!) given that we will be in the middle of summer when December 25th rolls around.

The PwC Christmas party was located at the Christchurch Gondola.  We got to ride a cable car up to the top of the hill and were treated to amazing views. I tried to take some pictures on my phone but my crappy Blackberry wouldn't cooperate through the glass windows.  I'll try and steal some from someone at work and post later!

In preparation for the big night, I decided I needed a new dress. I have't shopped much here (hard to believe, I know) and I really wanted to wear a long dress and I don't have any cocktail type dresses that are floor length.  So, I asked my friend Quynh (See her in my "Off to the Races" post last month) where I should go to buy a dress.  She kindly gave me the name of her favorite store, Forever New, and off I went on Saturday morning in search of a dress.  

I found two dresses that were LDS suitable and fit pretty nicely. I opted for the more summery dress over the black one since it has been so lovely and sunny outside.  Later that evening, I got all dolled-up, even curling my hair, literally dragged Brian out of the house and off we went.  Brian wasn't feeling super great so we didn't do too much mingling prior to dinner.  

As we were sitting at our table, I spotted Quynh at the bar getting some drinks. She was wearing a beautiful pink and white dress - exactly the same as mine!!!  Well, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised since we bought our dresses at the same store and we are friends.  But seriously, what is the luck?  And of course she is much skinnier than me but such is life.  We took a little picture of us together.  At least I had to wear a jacket, so it differentiated ourselves a little bit - but everyone pointed it out.  It was pretty funny.

We are set to be great bridesmaids if anyone at work gets married!

We didn't stay too long after dinner because Brian was unwell, but I had a really nice time. They did some awards meant as jokes for people around the office.  The awards are meant to be embarrassing or make light of funny things that have happened during the year.  Happily, I was not subjected to any such humiliation but I got a laugh over some of the awards.  It's amazing what people can get away with over here.  The emcees prefaced the awards ceremony with the qualification that anything potentially offensive is only meant in fun. Even with that qualification, I'm pretty sure the entire office would have been sent to one of those seminars where you learn to be sensitive to others and what not to say in the workplace had we been in the US.  It was crazy!!!

The last picture is of me as we rode the cable car back down the hill.  It was a really beautiful night and you could see all the way across the valley.  Of course, the BB picture is terrible, but trust me - it was a breathtaking view!

Off To The Races

It's New Zealand Cup and Show Week during November 8-16 here in Christchurch. It's a combined horse racing and A&P (agricultural & pastoral) show. From what I gather, this is the biggest Spring event in New Zealand and one of the biggest events of the year in Canterbury.  (Side note: Canterbury is the region Christchurch is located in. Similar to a state or county in the US.)

The event kicked off last Friday night with a party, but the real action began on Saturday at the Sothys New Zealand 2000 Guineas Day race at Riccarton Park racecourse, which happens to be just down the street from where we live.  My work friend, Quynh Tran, invited me to attend a charity luncheon followed by watching the horse races with some other girls from work.  

Imagine my excitement when I found out that you actually get dressed up to go to the races here! I'm talking about visions of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.  Buying myself a fancy hat was about all I could think/talk about for two weeks.  Apparently I didn't have enough excuses to get dressed up before (lol)...but I certainly haven't had an excuse to buy this type of hat.

Lucky for me, I found the perfect hat that could go with any of the three dresses I was deciding on for race day. I finally settled on the dress I wore for Austin's wedding.  

I was quite proud of my hair before the hat smashed it. It was a pretty cool knot, but the bobby pins were murder!

We all met up before the event and took some group photos and then it was off to the races!  Well, more specifically we were off to the luncheon first.  

My fellow PwC buddies: Me, Quynh Tran, Michelle Harris, Nicola Green

All dolled up and ready to go!

We had a really nice time.  The food was excellent and they had a pretty good fashion show.  The charity supported Neonatal Trust so it was a very worthwhile cause.  The only disappointing part of the luncheon was the award for best dressed.  No one I talked to agreed with who they chose - there were far better dressed women there.  But what can you do?

When the luncheon was over, we wandered out to the race track where we checked on the bets we had placed (some of the races were already completed) and then watched a few of the races. It was a blast!  It was a little cold, but there were snippets of sun to warm us up a little. 

Jockeys strutting the horses around before the race

There were so many close races. I almost won my box trifecta bet, but the wrong horse edged in for 3rd place right at the end.  Good thing I don't make a habit of gambling!

Look how close were! I am literally standing on the other side of the fence from these horses as they come off the track...

Soaking up some sun in between races

Per instructions from both Brian and my sister, Ashlee, I did not yell out "Come on Dover!" during any of the races.  Unfortunately, there were no horses named Dover and I agreed that people probably wouldn't understand the reference.  I am an old lady inside with my love for old musicals.

Last but not least, while Quynh, Vicki and I were watching a race and checking our game books, a reporter approached us and asked for our names so he could put a picture of us in The Press. When we asked him about taking the picture, he said he had already taken it.  I found the following article Sunday afternoon.  This was definitely not a great candid photo! Oh well, it was still exciting to make the paper - I guess he really like our hats.  I know I did!!!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/9383429/Cup-and-Show-week-could-match-pre-earthquake-success

Another great memory down in the books.

Edit: I forgot to add in the picture of my little $1 bet I placed and won. Had to do it for the experience - and the bookie made a mistake. I tried to bet on two different races but she placed the same bet twice.  Lucky for me it was a winner haha!

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day.  If you are unfamiliar with Guy Fawkes (or haven't seen V for Vendetta), here is a quick summary from wikipedia:

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

This holiday has been carried to many British colonies, including New Zealand.  

So, my day started out as a normal work day, except that I got to leave at lunch to attend a charity golf tournament called The Pink Jacket.  It's an all women event in support of Breast Cancer research and PwC had four slots.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had a blast at the tournament.  My team came in 5th, which surprisingly landed each of us with a $50 food voucher to the Christchurch Casino. I'm glad it was for food and not gambling!  Sadly, I think I was the best distance golfer which explains why we only came in 5th.  We had too many extra shots on the fairway. But the networking and conversation made it all worth it.

Here is our team - It was fun to be dressed in pink for the event.  From left to right: Carrie Pritchard (PwC), me, Jane Campbell (Warren and Mahoney) and Christine d'Costa (BNZ).

These are the wonderful ladies from PwC that I got to attend this great event with.

Me, Wendy Somerville, Carrie Pritchard, Paula Taylor

Needless to say, after 5 hours of golfing and networking, I was much, much too tired to head out to the New Brighton pier for fireworks.  I have heard they are absolutely amazing - I will have to make sure to catch them next year. I hope you all had a great November 5th!