Swiss Bistro

Today's outing We drove to the  Sign of the Kiwi and went for a walk up the hill.  Sign of the Kiwi cafe is still closed.   There were a lot of yellow flowers around. I said it was beautiful.....but Giorgio said it was gorse which is a weed in New Zealand and the farmers spend a lot of money to eradicate it. It looks like a cute plant to me, the Japanese name is " Hari-Enishida " We walk up a very narrow track and it was very high. I have acrophobia. Our car is at the bottom .... On top of the hill, there was a nice view............... ..................................there were also a few Sheep up there. !! Sorry...did we disturb you !? We took the Cedrics track today,  we will take the Mitchell track next time.

The weather in Christchurch is very changeable. A few days ago it was wet and cold, but today, it's all clear. So, we went for a walk !! We drove for about 15minutes to the Cashmere hills. We passing in front of the Sign of the Takahe , we arrived at Victoria Park. There are a lot of walking tracks. The fresh air and the smell of the pine trees is very soothing...... The Olive trees came from Greece 50 years ago. They are gorgeous. I like Olive trees !!! We feel much better today after this little trip in the nature. 

Asparagus wrapped in bacon Beef sashimi ,  with garlic soy sauce or wasabi soy sauce

When no gossips, then I will write about food again..........hahaha !! Entrecote with red wine sauce,  Gratin Dauphinois   and Carrots glacee I normally don't eat a lot of meat but when Giorgio cooks it, I can eat like a horse !!!      Gratin Dauphinoise Nice meal with wine. Good wine at a very reasonable price. Shiraz from  Jacob's Creek ( Australia). You can buy it also in Japan. Lately, we eat  Asparagus and Strawberries ( first ob the season), yum !!!

Our courtyard is tiny........but I like this little sunny spot. It just has been cleaned. Before........ After.............. Our pot plants were left at the cafe for 3 months without care, luckily they survived. They are growing nicely again !!!!!!   Geranium & Hydrangea   Olive trees  Some little visitors in our courtyard ......... Blackbirds, They eat snails which I hate. Black cat from next door but, he has gone to Australia........sad. Black Cat with white socks, which is really friendly. Our little visitors seem to be " all black "......hahaha

Today was nice, so we went for a walk. Accidentally, we found the Mediterranean shop open. We just went in to have a look but, I should have known Giorgio would not be able to resist good food.................. His wallet was out straightaway. A real Baguette , Prosciutto  Crudo, Coppa and  Italian Salami We had an unexpected nice lunch with wine. ...other things we bought were, Amarettino  (Italian biscuits), Dried   Porcini  (Italian mushrooms), Polenta  (ground corn) and  Italian cherry biscuits After this nice meal we had a   Kaffee Fertig . (Swiss coffee with schnapps) It is nice !!! You can have it at our Cafe when we re-open. Schnapps is a spirit (alcohol content usually around 40℃)

A temporary mall in Cashel street in the red-zone was open today with containers. wow........... there were a lot of people. We haven't seen so many people in the city center for a long time............  people..... ............ and people................ The shops are made from containers, it looks good. We found our favorite shop which sales imported stuff. Only one department store Ballantynes, in the city center is open.  The bridge of remembrance is still standing. The weather was nice today !!!! Cashel mall map, here