Christchurch center city

I spent the last day of my holiday shopping (and eating!) in Christchurch with my cousin. I still find being in the center of the city disconcerting. It's almost as if I'm visiting a city in a foreign country, maybe a place that I have seen on tv and so I know some things but it's also unfamiliar and new. This is the city that I grew up and worked in. My first job was in the Shades Arcade which was pretty much where I was standing when I took this photo. It is so hard to explain but we would be walking down the street and even though I'd been there hundreds if not thousands of times, I would have no comprehension of where I was until I saw street signs at intersections because so many familiar landmarks are gone.

 

But it by no means doom and gloom and many exciting things are happening. This photo is taken in the Re:Start mall which is built from shipping containers. It is lovely and vibrant (I arrived before the shops and cafes opened hence the lack of people) and later we went to The Tannery a new boutique shopping arcade built on historical tannery site out in Woolston where I could easily have spent all my money and then some!

Done