Sunday, October 02, 2005

Tell 'Em It's Can-berra Territory!

We just finished a great day in Canberra, only two and a half hours from Bronte via the Remembrance Expressway. We were never instructed what in fact we were supposed to remember, although we almost forgot our pillows back in the hotel.

As far as capitol territories go, Canberra didn't disappoint. Dubbed the 'world's most symmetrical city' by Urban Planner magazine, everything here is on a concentric circle emanating out from the Parliamentary House. The grounds felt quite spacious, certainly on the scale of Washington D.C., but with the climate of Sacramento. It was massive lawns everywhere with plenty of acreage to put these monolithic government structures on. We would have been better served if we had secured bikes to rent, rather than park and walk around. That being said, there was no traffic anywhere to be found. Peggy remarked that if the world was ever to introduce magnetic, auto-pilot cars, Canberra would be the place they'd introduce them.

The Parliamentary House itself was quite modern, with sloping lawns which you could walk on, leading up to the top of the structure. We went at night, but during the daytime sessions, you can actually peer in from above and see them hem-hawing and hub-bubbing over the latest measure on which non-native species to begin culling. We look forward to having politically-inclined visitors in order to do a good ol' American tailgate in the parking lot, setting up a BBQ and having some bubblies, then parlay into the chambers, where you can attend these sessions. R.O.C.K. in the A.C.T. baby!


















In Canberra this week was 'Floriad'. No, not a prescription allergy medication as one might think, but a flower festival. This, like most attractions here in this geographically balanced city, was fo' free. It was a fantastic slice of Capitol Territory life, with more cameras visible than at the Michael Jackson trial. You could just see the photos from future personal ads playing out in front of you, 'Hi, I'm Ramesh. I like standing in front of tulip fields and long walks on the lawn of the Parliamentary House'.

Lastly, the city is built on a large lake, with a huge jet shooting water continuously hundreds of feet in the air. This was erected as a liquid memorial to Captain Cook by his grandchildren, thanking him for their conception.

posted by ncawthon at 5:55 PM