our last summer weekend...until june!

it is summer here for a few more days, but the canterbury population will tell you this was no christchurch summer-chilly and wet (pronounced 'wait') and i actually think the folks back  home in maine have had warmer temps lately!  so this weekend blossomed into a lovely summer swansong: blue skies, puffy white clouds floating lazily along the calm but constant winds.  yesterday was st pattys day and we celebrated with reubens on our deck with guinness for paul and i.   we didnt go out for any local nightlife, but sure heard it out down our road up half the night-the university of canterbury is located nearby and it truly makes me feel like an old grump as the students make their noisy way home after a night out! at least when i celebrated st pats in college, i started in the wee morning hours and was done by 9am!   before our dinner, we ventured down to new brighton beach which in every other experience had been a cold and windy whipping, but after the amazing zipline at the playground lost its appeal, we walked up and over the dunes and were met with the sweet rock of waves hitting the sand and even tiptoeing into the seafoam did not knock us back.  kogen actually asked if he could go swimming, but did not feel like stripping down to his undies for the dip.  he and mia did get wet enough going far into the water, and paul waded out into the green water that did not bite with chill. it was an unexpected gift from the pacific.

today we woke to another great summer day, and the plan was for a little adventure up to a place called  hanmer springs, an hour and a half away north.  we packed up suits and towels   and got our breakfast on the run from one of our bakeries on our street-scones, muffins, a sausage roll and coffees.  now about NZ:  statistics say there are ten sheep for every citizen here, and i am starting to feel there are at least ten cafe/coffee shops per person.   yes everyone loves their coffee, and in the states it sometimes feels like starbucks has paved every suburbia and city block with that mermaid thing, but this seems different.  the cafes are in every unexpected nook and cranny: in the town library (yes,eat and drink with your new free book!), inthe grocery store lobby, at the movie theatre, in a gas station in the middle of nowhere.  a couple weeks ago we went to a seaside town kaikoura,driving along a stretch  of road that was flat, blank and brown.  we were low on gas and the "towns" we drove through were blinks.  so when we did see a lonely gas station we stopped to stretch and refuel.  the coot pumping our gas had one eye and an accent not many kiwis could understand and we went inside the station for toilet breaks and snacks.  my coffee of choice here is something i have never heard of, ordered or really know what it is :flat white.  we asked the old man for coffee and he turns to his espresso machine and we were soon favored with just about the best barrista'd cappacino and flat white we have had!  you just never know!   of course this seems like a twilight zone episode that turned out friendly and caffeinated, but the coffee shops are plentiful, and strangest of all, always bustling with business, no matter where they are located.   it would appear everyone wants to start their grocery shopping with a latte (which runs the same price as an americano/black coffee so why not?) and a leisurely chat over a treat from the cafe  bakery.   your selection for food items with your artfully foamed creation are not limited really, its just that they are the exact same at every joint.  dont get me wrong, the dessert here are divine (pavlova, lamingtons, slices/bars in all flavors of caramel/choclate/ginger tan yumminess) and we have ordered our share, but there is one we have not gotten brave enough to try yet:the lolli slice.  it is a bar cut through the middle to reveal these garish pastel globs nestled into the cookie.  mia and i will let you know how it turns out!