Back in the city

Ahhh...civilization again! We've been enjoying sun, warmth, a few rain sprinkles, lots of good sushi and Thai food, the most beautiful lattes in the world, street performers, seagulls screeching for handouts, lots of walking on grass and sidewalks, a huge grocery store with really expensive fruits and veggies but three separate displays of all kinds of cheeses, etc. One of our favorite hangouts so far is the Belgian beer garden, just down the street from our apartment, where they have imported Belgian beers and a wonderful patio overlooking the Avon river. We went there twice yesterday. I've been putting on sunscreen and wearing my hat but still feel a little glow from hours in the sun. Michael is a healthy pink now.

We hosted a little get-together last night at our place and had a room full of Polies. That's Jamie, Gail (Dennis's friend from Perth), Michael, Dennis, Francie, Kris, Jason, Randi (Kris's girlfriend) Jack, Leah and Noah. We were hoping that some friends would make it in to Christhurch yesterday but heard that they were actually still stuck at South Pole and not too happy about that. So we toasted our friends still on the ice and were even more thankful that we were the first and only group to escape Pole so far. If we don't see you guys here, safe travels and we'll see of you in a few months.