We saw Inglorious Bastards at the Outdoor Cinema. Situated in the Botanical Gardens, this event shows a different film every night. Tickets sell out fast as it is such a fantastic location - we did well to get seats. I had a bit of a dash home from work, but we made it, and even had time for a bite to eat and a bottle of something chilled and sparkly before the film began. I have to say that the contrast between the stunning setting and the violence onscreen was quite surreal.
Then we had Australia Day. It's compulsory on this day to attend a barbecue, eat lamb and drink too much.
We just had to obey - and despite the onerous demands - we had a good time. Thanks go to our hosts Andrew & Shane.
Our weekend in Canberra however proved less exciting. Canberra is a planned capital - all sweeping vistas and grand boulevards for the politicans to drive along. The whole place is designed to make the politicans feel important - trouble is, at weekends, the place is absolutely dead. They all go home, leaving behind a soulless city. And that's when it is sunny. We picked the weekend of Canberra's first rain in 8 months - and boy did it rain. Torrential. Another "rain event". And Canberra in the rain is a lot less interesting than Canberra in the sun. There was one highlight. The "Masterpieces from Paris" exhibition - artworks from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, featuring Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Cezanne, Seurat & Gauguin. A great exhibition, and proving wildly popular. People have been queuing for 2 hours just to get in - there ain't much else to do in Canberra admittedly. We were lucky - we were advised to go late afternoon and indeed the queue was only about 10 minutes. It was worth the 3 hour drive from Sydney.
Now we do love living here in Australia - but just occasionally we come across something which makes us think fondly of life in the UK. Like this sign, on the toilet building at a rest stop on the road from Sydney to Canberra.
You don't get that at the services on the M6 now, do you?
