Robot Claw – Page 504 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

Sailor Chicken

January 1, 2013

Yesterday was our last day in Canberra, and I woke feeling pretty crook. We didn’t have enough time to visit any other attractions, so strolled the CBD until we left for the train.

I actually used one of those massaging chairs you see in malls worldwide! This was the second time, since I’d stealthily used the same one the day before. They are actually good, and recommended for only $2.

That’s a shot for Bernard. These mini cinnamon sugar donuts look delicious don’t they?

This sign was posted at the station:

What the hell? Canberra has evil mushrooms? I wish I’d known that before we left, I would have watched for them.

I was feeling quite sick on the train, with classic cold symptoms. This delicious lunch made me feel momentarily better:

Yep it’s a long sausage roll. A steal for $3.40!

Here’s what Australia looked like out the train window:

By the time we got back in late afternoon, I was feeling terrible, and made the (brave for me!) decision to get some medicine. A few pills, a nights sleep and an absence of junk food later and I feel much better (although not yet completely well).

And here’s a friend I met at the UFO catchers the other day 🙂

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2012

Here’s a shot of the foyer of our hotel, the Crowne Plaza:

It’s a very nice hotel, with massive rooms and comfortable beds! It’s also very close to the CBD, which seems to be one massive shopping center. It was into this tangle I ventured in the early hours searching for breakfast. I found this:

Yes readers, that’s a fresh from the oven cheese & bacon roll. I would eat 3 of these today alone.

The CBD shopping area is home to a great amount of wonderful graffiti murals and stencils. Here are some examples:

Our first destination today was the National Gallery, and the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit which is on display right now.

Look at AW boulevarding in that photo! The exhibit was impressive, but I have to say I was particular taken by a few other exhibits in the museum. One was this painting by Melville, entitled The Squatters Hut:

It’s quite large in person, and brighter than the above image suggests. I was especially charmed by the cockatoo! This was one of many wonderful Colonial Australian paintings on exhibit, and the beauty of the collection almost excused the travesty that is the failure to display Norman Lindsay.

This was my lunch:

After I ate the ~~horribly dry thing shown~~ above we headed to our next destination, the War Memorial.

This is a remarkable museum that honors all Australians ever killed in war. It is a deeply moving place with more to see that can be seen in any one visit, and a wall of remembrance upon which the names of all fallen Australian soldiers are listed:

That’s just a small portion of the wall, showing some of the tens of thousands of Australians list in the Great War. The red things are artificial poppies placed there by visitors.

Of all the countless exhibits in the museum the one I find most moving is this photo:

Australian soldiers took some kangaroos with them to Egypt at the start of the First World War to remind them of home. Ours was a small country then, but we fought alongside England and many, many Australians were killed. The kangaroos survived, and in 1915 were donated to Cairo zoo.

Today is New Year’s Eve, and around 9 we headed to the official celebration in the CBD. Here’s Adam displaying the typical crowd response to the entertainment, which was Johnny “I was famous 20 years ago” Diesel:

Mercifully his set was brief, and at 9 pm we were treated to a spectacular firework display:

Tomorrow is a new year. Happy New Year to everyone reading this, and best wishes for the year ahead 🙂

Operation: Capital Gains

December 30, 2012

Very early (I woke at 3:45!) this morning, we boarded this train, bound for the Australian capital city of Canberra.

The train was clean and comfy, which was good because the trip was 4.5 hours in length. Adam read 4 newspapers, while I watched Australia go by out the window:

The first half of the trip was all cows, and the second half sheep (as the above show). The landscape – aside from the Great Dividing Range – was exactly as you see above. I only saw one Kangaroo, not too far from Canberra.

Our first stop was the Royal Australian Mint, where all Aussie coins are made. A charming lass led a 45 minute tour, and we spent some time perusing the displays and shop. It was fascinating stuff, with such things as ‘Kookaburra pennies’ and $300k + rare coins from the 1930s. Worth a visit if you’re ever here.

Afterwards we headed to the seat of Australian government, known as Parliament House:

Opened in 1988, this is a massive and impressive building that I was surprised to discover is almost completely open to the public. Here’s where the politicians do their jobs, for instance:

Here’s one example of the many striking artworks in the building:

And here’s a majestic portrait of the great Paul Keating, my favorite Australian prime minister:

We took the chance to stroll from Parliament House to our hotel, a walk that took us over Lake Burley Griffon on a bridge. It was mid afternoon and the heat had picked up quite a bit.

By the time we got to the hotel (which is swanky), we were both ruined and retired early. Being old has its disadvantages 🙁