After surviving the torturous flight and the airport interrogation, we threw our bags into a Kiwi version of a Toyota — yes with the steering wheel on the right side of the car — and headed into Christchurch. Cool little city — “The Garden City” as it is known. We saw some signs of earthquake damage immediately … but not the large scale damage I have seen in TV reports from other earthquakes … like the really horrible one in Mexico City a few years back … or Haiti. There was a fenced off building here and there … a few crumbled store fronts … that sort of thing at first glance.
The city has a nice bit of a skyline, with several high-rise hotels and office buildings in City Center of Christchurch, but the most notable structure is the Anglican Cathedral — a massive stone structure, completed in 1904. To me, it was particularly significant because I spied a really cool Starbucks just across the plaza … (got Wi-Fi?) … more on that later.
First stop — our hotel. Pretty nice. The Marque on Gloucester is a recently opened 22-story structure, with a swank, modern design — lots of marble, a modern gas-powered fire box separating the bar from the lobby … and an extremely helpful and friendly staff.
You know me … I asked about Wi-Fi immediately. To my chagrin, the rooms were dependent on DSL cables. (I hate wires, and I was already making mental notes to buy a 220 current converter for this non-U.S. stay.) But, I was pleased to learn that the lobby, near the fire thingy, had a Wi-Fi network. I would test it soon.
Since we “disaster peeps” were sharing rental cars, most of the early exploration was on foot. The first evening in Christchurch, we meandered through the tourist district, navigating around closed streets and construction barricades due to the quake and settled on a nice little Irish pub for appetizers. We ate a mussels, lamb, prawns and gourmet cheeses sampler. Nice. To our surprise, the charming waitress was from Kansas so she seemed happy to meet us.
Next we grabbed a few slices of pizza near the cathedral, and me mates sampled the local grog. I sampled for wireless, to no avail. Two eateries in one night … zero Wi-Fi. This time … a charming waitress from Ireland. Always playing “Mr. Icebreaker” with a bizarre question or two to get things rolling, I asked her a most logical question, not stereotypical at all: “Do you Riverdance?
I insist she seemed a little embarrassed to tell us that she could not. I offered to teach her and demonstrated with my index and middle fingers doing kicks on the dining table. I digress …
After all that excitement … we headed back to The Marque.
We had to be on the job site the next morning, but it was really too early to turn in, and too late to go exploring much. The downtown area had pretty much closed down. So, I decided to do a little exploring inside the hotel. It’s what I do.
Years ago, on my first trip to Manhattan, I stayed in the New York Downtown Athletic Club — a rather bizarre lodging, booked by my employer way back then. Yes, the Downtown Athletic Club, home to The Heisman Trophy. I think I was the only guest in the entire place, so I roamed the floors and ended up on the roof, by the building’s water tower — enjoying an unforgetible view of Lower Manhattan … back when the Twin Towers were standing … The point? You never know what you might find.
I digress …
Back to The Marque. I asked myself, “Hmmm … I wonder where this elevator might lead …” I took the lift up and stopped on the 10th or 11th floor. Nothing special. It looked like my floor on seven. I tried to stop on 21, but the elevator wouldn’t do it. Perhaps a private suite.
So, I went up to 22. Do NOT tell the hotel management, but the 22nd floor is totally accessible (not for wheelchairs, for curiosity seekers like me), and it is a penthouse suite under construction. There is nothing up there except concrete floors, dry wall, and a balconied 360-degree view of Christchurch, from one of the city’s tallest buildings. Did I partake? Duh! … I popped in up there several times for photos, sightseeing and videos. Of course I didn’t hurt anything … but I am not sure I was supposed to be there
And, it was really dark on the floor, with the only light coming from the amber city lights well below and my iPhone. Oh … get this. The glass doors to the patio were open too. I stepped out onto a narrow catwalk balcony … then remembered there had been a recent earthquake. Who knew if the balcony had been checked for damage and approved for explorers. I backed off for the time being.
I would be back …
Know what I sayin?
(More New Zealand blogs to come …)
