Arriving in Canberra in the afternoon, we drove around the city familiarising ourselves with locations of interest and decided to visit old Parliament House, the home of the Federal Parliament from 1927 to 1988, and now housing the Museum of Australian Democracy.

The Behind the Lines: 2021 in political cartoons” exhibition was fab to visit, with both hilarious and sobering commentary on which to reflect. 

We were able to explore some of the old rooms in the House, including the Prime Minister’s (Bob’s) rooms and offices…lovingly and authentically restored to the 1980’s aesthetic! 

“Democracy DNA: the People, the Prime Ministers and the World” allows you to explore the events that shaped the nation from 1901 and the stories of the people who created our democracy. We didn’t have sufficient time to do this section justice unfortunately. 

Bollywood Marsala for a delicious barramundi and vegetarian curry dinner. 

The next day we visited the Australian War Memorial for a tour covering Aussie involvement in wars from WW1 to Afghanistan. Thought provoking and moving. 

A beautiful day to experience the National Arboretum, created after the 2001 & 2003 bushfires, which aims to establish 100 forests and 100 gardens focussing on threatened, rare, and symbolic trees from around the world. We explored the Cork Oak and Himalayan Cedar tracks and visited the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion. 

Took a tour around the (new) Parliament House and learnt more about the towering flagpole to the Grand Hall tapestry, the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives, art and craft, architecture and Parliamentary proceedings.

Rainforest walk in Canberra’s Botanical Gardens yielded an eery atmosphere on a sunny day.

Parts of the Yale-Colombia Refractor telescope destroyed in Canberra’s 2003 fire, were used to construct the “Astronomer sculpture”, at Questacon. 

The National Portrait Gallery was displaying the 2022 National Portrait Prizes entries, here are some of my fave paintings and photos

Sensational dinner at Saffron Restaurant in Kingston, specialising in Greek, Lebanese and Moroccan dishes. Grilled salmon, haloumi, feta in pastry, tabouli, fattoush salad, baklava…..yummo!