We finally got our furniture this week! We had gotten so used to living in a virtually empty apartment it was almost shocking to have a couch, kitchen table, chairs, a real bed, etc. The quarantine/customs service here is evidently incredibly thorough about letting in things that might have little organisms or diseases on them or other things that they don't want finding their way to Australia. We ended up getting all of our stuff with the exception of my hiking boots which I bet were caked with dirt…those are either being "steam cleaned or destroyed." Hoping to avoid the latter, but I guess I'll find out. In any case, it feels so good to have a real apartment that is actually a liveable space, its quite a difference to how its been!
This weekend we set out on a roadtrip to Canberra, the national capital of Australia (Leah and Monica, two uni-friends, joined us for the trip). Canberra is a city that was plopped down when a dispute between Sydney and Melbourne over which city should be the national capital couldn't be decided. And it kind of gives off that vibe of being somewhat artificial and manufactured. I'm glad we went and saw it, but I can pretty safely say that I will not need to return to Canberra anytime soon. On Saturday we walked through the "parliamentary zone" which includes the new parliament building, the old parliament building, a few memorials, etc. We saw the red and green rooms which is where the House and Senate hold session which I thought was kind of cool to see. Overall the area is kind of like a toned down version of DC…it completely gives off the vibe of being a government center but it doesn't quite have the pomp and showiness that DC has. In the afternoon we went to Floriade, which is a month long festival of flowers. There were some really cool fields of brightly colored flowers…I think some people go there to spend the day, we feel like we covered it in about 30 minutes so its all relative but I thought it was cool. In the evening we went to a restaurant and sat outside and ate and had some wine…it was nice.
Sunday we had brunch outside (it was another gorgeous day) and then drove up to the top of this huge hill that overlooks the city and went up in the tower that gives you a view out around the area. And then we visited the Australian Institute of Sports which is where promising Aussie athletes go to train to hopefully compete in the olympics and one day make their country proud. The AIS has a huge sprawling campus and I imagine it was state of the art when it was built 20 years ago but the whole feel was a little weird, like they're so into making sure their athletes can compete on a global scale. Interesting to see. Afterwards we made the drive home, got a little lost on the way but finally made it back. A slightly random weekend, but fun…Bill Bryson's descriptions of the city are pretty right-on in my mind: it feels almost like a deserted city because there is never anyone around, no matter where you're driving the roads kind of circle around on themselves and you're going to get lost, I can't remember what else, but I found it amusing. Canberra is definitely not a place I would say anyone really needs to visit unless they've got a lot of time to spend in Australia. Some pictures are below along with links for some more (not the most spectacular collection of pictures I've ever taken, just to get everyone's expectations in line)
This weekend we set out on a roadtrip to Canberra, the national capital of Australia (Leah and Monica, two uni-friends, joined us for the trip). Canberra is a city that was plopped down when a dispute between Sydney and Melbourne over which city should be the national capital couldn't be decided. And it kind of gives off that vibe of being somewhat artificial and manufactured. I'm glad we went and saw it, but I can pretty safely say that I will not need to return to Canberra anytime soon. On Saturday we walked through the "parliamentary zone" which includes the new parliament building, the old parliament building, a few memorials, etc. We saw the red and green rooms which is where the House and Senate hold session which I thought was kind of cool to see. Overall the area is kind of like a toned down version of DC…it completely gives off the vibe of being a government center but it doesn't quite have the pomp and showiness that DC has. In the afternoon we went to Floriade, which is a month long festival of flowers. There were some really cool fields of brightly colored flowers…I think some people go there to spend the day, we feel like we covered it in about 30 minutes so its all relative but I thought it was cool. In the evening we went to a restaurant and sat outside and ate and had some wine…it was nice.
Sunday we had brunch outside (it was another gorgeous day) and then drove up to the top of this huge hill that overlooks the city and went up in the tower that gives you a view out around the area. And then we visited the Australian Institute of Sports which is where promising Aussie athletes go to train to hopefully compete in the olympics and one day make their country proud. The AIS has a huge sprawling campus and I imagine it was state of the art when it was built 20 years ago but the whole feel was a little weird, like they're so into making sure their athletes can compete on a global scale. Interesting to see. Afterwards we made the drive home, got a little lost on the way but finally made it back. A slightly random weekend, but fun…Bill Bryson's descriptions of the city are pretty right-on in my mind: it feels almost like a deserted city because there is never anyone around, no matter where you're driving the roads kind of circle around on themselves and you're going to get lost, I can't remember what else, but I found it amusing. Canberra is definitely not a place I would say anyone really needs to visit unless they've got a lot of time to spend in Australia. Some pictures are below along with links for some more (not the most spectacular collection of pictures I've ever taken, just to get everyone's expectations in line)
Floriade pics:
Other Canberra pics:
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