Napier

It was a short night and a long day.  Taxi picked me up at 6:45 to get to my bus. It was a beautifuldouble decker bus. I had a huge seat, free interenet and only about 6 of us on the main floor. It was only $10 more for an almost six hour trip.  Much of it was like going through Alberta only with some cornfields so I dozed through that.  Napier is everything that I thought it would be, picturesque, great beach walk although the beach is rocky. I went for a guided tour and was really glad I did.  Learned things and noticed detail I wouldn’t have on my own.  Tomorrow is a cruise boat day so I reserved my bicycle for early in the morning and will try to avoid the crowds.

Little things like when they rebuilt all the buildings were set further back on the street and on the corners they angled the entrances so people didn't bump into each other rounding the turn.

They ordered steel windows for this building from a company in England.  When they arrived they were bronze. The builder in a panic sent a telegram saying they hadn't ordered bronze, couldn't afford it the company said 'We know it is our gift to Napier' And these are the same windows today.

This business below was run by a well liked German couple who lived in the back of the store before the earthquake.  They lost everything and still rebuilt.  They originally had both the NZ and the German flags as decoration but painted them over as the 30's progressed and it wasn't until a few years ago when they were doing renovations that they discovered the flags and restored them.

This is called prairie style influenced by Wright and someone else I forget. It was built by an Irish lawyer so there is green trim and little shamrocks on the edges.

This little guy is at the top of a lamp post and waving down the street to his mom and dog

This is the beginning of the beach walk

Guess who would have been happy with this store