It was surreal walking down the quiet streets that used to be full of people, and there were so many gaps from buildings that have been demolished that in some places it was hard to remember what used to be there. Add some more damage from the latest earthquakes, scrawled messages across buildings from Urban Search and Rescue checking for survivors back in February, and most of the areas still fenced off - it was still a bit overwhelming.
The reason I wanted to go back to the city was because of some new developments, mainly the new Restart Project which has brought back some of the original shops and cafes in buildings made out of shipping containers:
I was really impressed! If you want to brave a visit to the shaky city* then definitely check it out.
* I haven't noticed an earthquake so far today though, fingers crossed this lasts for a while longer!
