In Christchurch, Everyone is Above Average

On our third day, our friend Colleen Loffhagen took us on a tour of Christchurch's artisan craft galleries and local markets.

Christchurch is a smallish city of fewer than five hundred thousand people, but it's clear from the caliber of its craft shops, art galleries and theaters that this city punches far above its weight from an artistic standpoint.

Furthermore, we were completely blown away with the quality of regional meats, cheeses and other foods that we sampled at a farmers market in town. We enjoyed delicious local breads, pastries, homemade sauces and tapenades. Everything was excellent.

Of course you'd expect this town to have a talent for lamb, wool and cheese, but we never expected them to be excellent at everything.

That afternoon, we enjoyed another delicious lunch on Richard and Colleen's back patio, a brief tutoring session on cricket, and then it was time to hit the road and head south to Dunedin.