March 15, 2014. Christchurch, New Zealand. Double Decker Bus.

Gill ordered the tickets and this morning, we three boarded a double decker bus for a tour of downtown Christchurch. We sat on the top so we had great views. The guide was informative, giving us many facts about the earthquake and the reconstruction. We have walked around quite a lot of the city, but this tour took us into new neighborhoods. The amount of the destruction was still visible. 100 buildings have yet to come down although 2600 are already gone. There are parking lots all around town, since the buildings once filled that spaces. We drove past the boarded up Opera House which looked sad, but when we drove past the rear of the building, where the back half of the building had gone and you see the seats still visible, you realized how devastating the whole thing has been. The Anglican Cathedral is unusable, so a temporary Cathedral has been built. The people call it the Cardboard Cathedral as the main structure is made of cardboard. And the Catholic Basilica is seriously damaged so a decision will be made as to whether to repair or demolish the building. In the meantime, it looks like a wreck. We three enjoyed our tour on the red double decker bus, and again, I would like to return in 5 years to see the progress.