Canberra is Pleasant

By Doug

Oct

6

I’ve been remiss in the blogisphere, but when you don’t have access to the Internet, it makes it quite difficult. I usually try to write my blogs in Word, then copy them to my blog online, but to be honest, I’ve just been plain bloggied out. But, I do miss all the comments, so here I am again, blogging about my trip to Sydney and Canberra, Australia.

It was a beautiful week in Sydney last week and I spent most of my time eating, golfing, relaxing and beaching it. The best part of my week, was to visit with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time; too long.  I had dinner at the restaurant and wine bar called DeVine with two of my most funniest friends, Mark and Tabitha. It was so good to see them and laugh till we cried. I’d forgotten just how fun it is to be with the both of them, they’re so funny; all the time funny. They should become a comedy duo. We had a nice bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which rounded off our exquisite meal quite nicely.

My weekend was astounding. I travelled to Canberra to visit Ria, Randy and their cat Ranch. I stayed at one of the Canberra Australia hotels instead of putting them out, even though they offered me to stay at their wonderful ranch, I just prefer to wake up in my own room where I won’t disturb anyone but myself. It felt like we were ‘back-in-the-day’ when I was with them. We used to hang out all the time together and try to get into trouble. Ranch, the cat, doesn’t like to be petted, but I talked to him anyway, he liked that, because he would respond every time with a meow.

Canberra is just as I was told it would be, not much of anything, which is exactly what I love about it. It’s not touristy and the pace here is slow and pleasant. I went ahead and did the tour of the parliament building, so I can say that I did see sights! Actually, I learned quite a bit about Canberra and Australia in general than I ever knew before, so the tour was to my benefit. I picked up Bill Bryson’s book on Australia before I came to Australia and I highly recommend if you plan to travel to Australia, to read this book first.

Museums of Canberra

By Doug

Sep

8

As the capital of Australia, Canberra had an interesting history in becoming the nation’s capital city. Established as such in 1908, the distinction fell to Canberra due to its being located conveniently between the rivals of its more dominant neighbors Sydney and Melbourne. It is also unique among Australian cities due to the exact intention and purpose behind its development. This works out well for the equally unique tourists who visit it every year and also have their own specific intentions for enjoying their stay. And most definitely, this is sure to include at least one fabulous dinner in one of many fine restaurants Canberra.What is also on many tourists’ agendas is a trip to the National Gallery of Australia as well as the National Museum of Australia.

The National Gallery of Australia is frequently considered to be the premiere gallery of the nation. Its collection includes over 120,000 pieces of art, and it was established as a public gallery in 1967. It is located in a building that was designed according to the Brutalist style perspectives common in the later half of the previous century. Angular masses and concrete surfaces are characteristic of this style, and the building is surrounded by sculptured gardens.

The National Museum of Australia was officially established and recognized in 1980 though it did not have a permanent home until 2001 at which time it was opened in its location in Canberra. The primary purpose of this museum is to preserve and catalogue major Australian heritage elements and showcase the special aspects of the nation. This includes a gallery dedicated to the 2000 Olympics that were held in Sydney. In addition, the museum coordinates and develops special traveling exhibits and programs intended to preserve the natural heritage of Australia. Both of these museums are essential aspects of Canberra and serve as major attractions to tourists who visit the capital of Australia.