Canberra Part 2

Wednesday was yet another rainy day so I went online to purchase tickets to Parliament House.  Because of Covid you are obliged to get tickets online and you specify the 2 hour time slot that suits you best.  We chose 9.30 to 11.30 as we were again meeting the family for lunch. Where are staying at the Alivio Caravan Park that is only a 10 minute drive to the centre of Canberra and we are grateful for the easy driving in Canberra.  The streets are not busy and with help from our car navigation system we have found our way to the various attractions without any difficulty.

The new Parliament House is magnificent.  I shouldn't really say new because it was opened in the 80's but the building itself is timeless architecture. The principal architect was Romaldo Giurgola and he was very clever in making the building part of Capital hill rather than sitting on top of Capital Hill.  Walking into the foyer is breathtaking.  The soaring marble pillars and two grand marble staircases are perfectly symmetrical as are all areas of Parliament House.  It truly is a magnificent building and at a cost of $1 billion.....it was cheap. Wandering around Parliament House I was overcome with a deep sense of pride in being an Australian and I'm certain this is what the architect intended.

(As I was taking this photo 

of the beautiful marble balustrade, a mob of school kids and their teacher came down on the opposite side. The teacher yelled at me "you can't take photos of these children!" I replied that I wasn't but she gave me a death look and huffed past me.  Please.  I am a 63 year old woman who was quite clearly pointing the camera in a totally different direction. I don't know how she could have thought any otherwise. Clearly she was delusional and power made. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of it. God Help Us....)

 

Our two hours passed incredibly fast and in no time at all it was time to meet the family at Coffee Club for lunch.  Surprisingly on this cold day we all ordered salads but gee they were delicious.  We didn't sit too long over lunch as the little grandchild was very tired and needed a sleep.  We will catch up with them all again on Friday when we will have a night with them at their place.

We didn't really want to head home after lunch so we looked up the Hop on Hop Off bus schedule and it had a $20 deal where you stayed on the bus for the 2 hour circuit.  We had around three quarters of an hour to spare and as the departure point was right outside CMAG (Canberra Museum and Gallery) we went inside to see what was on display.  I loved the HABITAT - Ways of Living exhibition that was a mix of photography and multi media. We also wandered into the "Don't Forget the Milk" exhibition that celebrated 50 years of Canberra Milk. The glass milk bottles brought back childhood memories.

We boarded the bus right on time and we got to see many of the places that we knew we wouldn't have time to check out. However we did drive through the Embassy area that was on my list of things to see and do. China of course had the largest followed by the USA.  The German Embassy looked like it needed a whole new renovation! The bus was not like other cities where you are given head phones to listen to a narrative on the attractions. On this tour the bus driver did all the narrative and it is ideal to have a local tourist guide to give you a little more intimate detail on the places that you pass.

We have been really in "full on" tourist mode in Canberra and are both feeling a little weary but tomorrow we have a couple more things to see from our "to do" list, so we need a good nights sleep for a bright and early start again tomorrow. 

xx

Canberra Part 1

We seem to have brought some bleak weather with us to Canberra that has limited our sightseeing to indoors but that is definitely not a problem in Canberra.  

Just driving around the well laid out streets it is easy to see that this is the hub of Australia.  Universities, museums, galleries, parliamentary buildings, innovation centres, law courts, Embassies, you name it and it is certain to be here in the National Capital. With so much to see and now limited to indoors, we made a list of the places that we didn't want to miss seeing.  Obviously we are just touching on Canberra but with family living here I'm sure we will be back another time to explore some more.  So, our list in order of priority is.....

1. War Museum

2. Parliament House (new)

3. Embassies

4. Telstra Tower

5. Lake Burley Griffin

6. Questacon

7. Wineries

Monday was our first full day here in Canberra and as we were meeting family for lunch we really only had a short time slot to do any of the tourist spots so on advice from the family we drove up the winding narrow Black Mountain Road to the Telstra Tower.  As the rain hadn't quite settled in on Monday we were afforded some magnificent views of the city below us.  We watched an interesting video of the construction of the tower in 1980 and it certainly was an incredible engineering feat.  The 90 tonne steel mast is socketed into the concrete Tower and is designed to sway 1.5 metres from the centre! As well as offering spectacular views the Tower also provides essential communications facilities for the national capital. 

By Tuesday the rain had really settled in so it was off to the War Museum.  I first visited the museum when I was around six years old with my mum, dad and uncle.  I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday. As we drove up to the building the memories came flooding back.  Of course at the age of 6 it didn't really mean that much to me but from my parents reaction to the displays I knew it was significant.  Today at the age of 63 I can now understand my parents reaction.  It is so moving and I just feel incredible sadness when I read about the precious lives lost in Wars.  We watched a video of the battle of Kokoda.  How on earth those brave soldiers won that battle against the Japanese was against all odds. Our guide told us that there is a major renovation happening at the museum that will mean that more memorabilia can be displayed as there is nothing much on display from Vietnam forwards.  It will be interesting in the future to see the difference in the wars conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan to the ones fought previously.

I was particularly moved at this photograph from the Tower of London with each poppy representing a man or woman lost in the First World War..... 

(Who remembers from their school days, Simpson and his Donkey from the battle at Anzac Cove?

As you are only given a three hour time limit to visit the War Memorial we were home in time for lunch and on this cold and rainy day, and feeling very patriotic, this is what we ate......

Berrima, Southern Highlands, NSW

 We couldn't get into the van park at Canberra until Sunday and as we had to check out of our spot at Kiama on Friday that left us with two days to kill.  It was a no brainer to head back up the range to the Southern Highlands.....a place that has stolen my heart.

The only place we could find a van site was at Mossvale and it was probably the worst van site we have ever had.   It was a completely bituminised site..... just like parking the van in a Woolworths car park!!! It's only redeeming thing was the giant eucalyptus tree to one side of us but that same tree then blocked our satellite signal and was full of white cockatoo that shat over the top of our van, slide-out and awning.  They even made them selves at home on my washing line and shat over my washing.  Philip pulled on a pair of shorts this morning only to find bird shit between his trouser legs......

Anyway.....the good part.  I managed to get us a lunch reservation at Bendooley Estate Winery at Berrima that is also home to the Berkelouw Book Barn that was established in 1812.  I am an avid reader as you would probably know if you have been following my blog for the past ten years and have an interest in every type of book from fiction to historical to non-fiction to autobiographical and this book barn had it all.  I spent a lot of time browsing the classics and would have bought so many if I had the room to carry them in the van. But I settled on a special edition of Bradshaws Continental Railway Guide as used by Michael Portillo on the SBS show of the same name.  It is one of my favourite television shows. I would have spent longer browsing but the maitre'd called us to our table for our lunch reservation.

I had read so many great reviews about the restaurant and as soon as the menu was handed to us I knew we were going to be in for a treat.  We both chose cold starters.  Philip the Kingfish, Scallop Ceviche with avocado, lime, coconut and chilli 

and I the Beetroot Cured Salmon with capers, kipflers, fennel and salmon roe.  We of course tried each others dish (no food envy in this marriage 😂)and we both declared Philips to be the more flavoursome but hey.....they were both fantastic dishes. Philip washed his entree down with a Bendooley Rose' and I chose the Bendooley sparkling chardonnay.  Both were perfect choices.

It was hard to choose a main as there were so many mouth watering choices but in the end we both chose pasta dishes as it was a cold day and there is nothing like a bowl of pasta to warm the body and soul.  Philip chose the Linguine with picked blue swimmer crab, chilli, garlic and gremolata 

and I chose the Rigatoni  with 'Nduja (pronounced Dooj-ah), prawns, basil, tomato and parmesan. It was absolutely superb and the only thing missing was a big piece of sourdough to mop up the delicious sauce!

We stayed with the Bendooley Estate wines to go with our pasta.  I enjoyed their Tempranillo and Philip the Pinot Gris. After eyeing off the desserts that were being take to other tables we just could not leave our table without trying the Tunisian Citrus Samosas and the Paris Brest.  They were so good and a perfect way to end our meal that I gave a 10/10

We were in serious danger of slipping into a food coma after such a large meal so a long walk was in order.  Philip drove us the short distance to Berrima where we parked the car and wandered around this lovely historic village.  Berrima was established in 1830 and most of the buildings are made from the very plentiful sandstone.  The little town is full of heritage listed buildings but we decided to devote our time to the Georgian designed Harpers Mansion.  It was built between 1834-1844 and although it looks quite small in comparison to modern day mansions, it would have been quite the splendid building back in the 1830's.  We were shown around the two storey home by one of the National Trust volunteers and his knowledge was astounding.  After the tour inside the house I couldn't wait to go outside to explore the massive gardens and most particularly the cypress tree maze. Philip and I were like kids in the maze and it was quite difficult to find our way out 😳

After Harpers Mansion we wandered past the old Berrima Courthouse and Gaol and then on to the Main Street where lovely cottages have stood the test of time.  You would need more time in Berrima to explore its 16 heritage listed sites but we were certainly there long enough to learn a little about the history of this lovely little town.  Oh, and one of its notable residents is...... Jimmy Barnes.....

So long Kiama....

we've had a ball. We have loved everything about you.  

We are going to miss the long coastal walks both north and south that took us from the Lighthouse and giant Blowhole to the pretty little East Beach Cove.

We're going to miss walking through the streets where terrace houses and eighteenth century buildings compete with the quietness of the Sandstone Walk

And I'm going to miss most of all eating freshly battered fish and chips while laying on the white sandy beach reading a good book.