Friday, July 4

[Canberra]

After a second-rate flight of about an hour's duration, I touched down for the first time in the national capital. It's hard to see the city for the trees really... many different varieties cluster around the circular streets. The city's setting is very pretty, but the fact that the whole place was built virtually from scratch not all that long ago removes a certain degree of charm.

The ever-gorgeous Melita met me at the airport and people curiously watched our greeting (it doesn't seem to matter where you are in the Canberra airport, it feels like there is a row of people looking at you). We took some circuitous path into town, picked up Cam from his office at ANU (he's doing a PhD in physics) and went directly to a cafe in civic.

Which was pretty much where we spent the entire afternoon.

The evening saw dinner at a Malaysian restaurant followed by red wine at an Irish pub, oh how I pine for the abundance of good South Australian vinous beverages, not that we didn't have a good time. Somehow we ended up in some horrible tram-themed pokie venue; let me tell you it was bright lights small city, I don't understand the addictive quality of gambling, especially since the machines themselves are so visually unattractive. Oooh, it's the 'dollar man'!!! Ugly, ugly, ugly. It's like sitting in front of a poorly designed neon sign for hours on end; needless to say I spent none of my hard earned *cough* money.

After a fine sleep on a deceptively comfortable modular couch, the real day of sightseeing began. Melita and I commenced it all in a very nouvelle fashion, breakfasting in a delighful Kingston bakery/cafe where we shared a toasted brioche with mascarpone and roasted pears and also a bruschetta with lentils, herbs, poached egg and a horseradish salsa... combined with the requisite coffee these provided an unbelievably delicious breakfast. And oh how we posed out the front of that establishment; it would make anyone sick (although I secretly longed for a designer-label shopping bag to carry as well; it would have properly silenced a couple of wayward public servants who annoyed me).

Then it was up to the Telstra Tower for a panoramic view and a creepy Ring-like experience when our car radio started picking up a billion simultaneous signals. Thank goodness I'm not psychotic 'cause there would have been some messages encoded for me in there.

We picked up Cam and hit the National Museum where flailing architectural forms project above artificial spaces. The building is quite arresting at first but becomes a bit tiring once you realise there are multimedia kiosks to endure. We experienced some virtual ride/movie thing which was cleverly assembled, but the ranks of screaming school kids really took it out of me.

So it was time for a quick and convenient sushi lunch, and then up to the imposing Parliament House. The building is great from the outside but absolutely ugly inside... an overwhelming sea of marble and timber. I was prepared this time, and removed my belt prior to stepping through the X-ray machine. Melita had to relinquish her pocket knife.

We looked at one of the gardens nearby, then tried to find the much-mentioned 'sculpture garden' in several different places before discovering it, oddly enough, right next to the National Art Gallery. This gallery is wonderful and I could have spent the entire day there, but time did not permit and it was a bit of a hurried rush. Nonetheless, we viewed some wonderful works.

After that we visited Melita's former workplace, and then dropped in on a fascinating friend of hers who owns an entire coffee machine (cafe-size) and is about to put on a rave in his house. We then went back home (via an icecream store) for a chilled-out evening... Benet and Franca taught me a strange Italian card game which proved to be lots of fun. Once more I have met a bunch of interesting people, many of whom I am unlikely to see again. A late dinner at another Malaysian restaurant and then back to the modular lounge. Benet gave me a weird psychological evaluation but that's a story for another time.

And so the day of the road trip dawned. Melita is an amazingly efficient packer (especially given that she was actually moving cities, not just visiting) so we were on the road in good time. Which was lucky because we took the wrong highway to begin with and had to wind back to the correct direction... three minutes into the trip and we were already lost. The journey was pleasant and fun; for some strange reason we ended up listening to an old Bush tape in between the dying radio signals. Funny how our high school years coincided exactly with the profusion of indie angst-rock (as opposed to grunge). A very misty Melbourne received us and the Sallys weren't home so we escaped the cold by visiting their friendly neighbours. When the girls did arrive, another pleasant evening began.

posted by pete at 11:38 AM

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