Marlborough wine district

Here is Bill in the rose gardens of the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch. The roses are beautiful right now, as it is the second summer blooming - like September in the northern hemisphere.

We visited three wineries this morning: Hunter, Cloudy Bay, and Allan Scott. They are all within a five minutes drive of our lovely apartment-style hotel. Thanks, Bob, for the recommendation of Allan Scott. It is, indeed, a great winery with a garden and an outdoor restaurant. Bill had an oyster and bacon pie, and I had green mussel and shrimp salad. Both were great with the Allan Scott's sauvignon blanc. It was the best s.b. we tasted today. The others, although higher priced, were very acidic. This afternoon, we took a nap, (Eilene, our rest day was today) and then drove into Blenhiem, which is really just a small "farm" town, to find an ATM, visit a petrol station, and do a nice walk in the park along the river. The flowers are blooming. The walking path lies along the public golf course. So, after a nice hour-long walk, we are back at "home" fixing a salad in our little kitchn for supper. Eating out every meal gets old. Actually, we've had breakfast in almost every morning, as every hotel has coffee makng facilities, and yogurt and fruit are easy to find in local shops.

Tomorrow, there is a local market at the fair grounds, so we'll go there before doing the Wilton Hills walk and then more wineries.