About five hours into our return trip from Canberra, I said something to the kids about being only two hours from home. It was part of my lame attempt to stave off their growing boredom (mine, too) and to keep things in the back seat "positive". Their reaction to my update was as desired, but I was also taken by their seeming enthusiasm for the notion of coming home. Many times over the course of this year, I have often caught myself when I said the word home, wondering if it needed a clarifier like our "Melbourne home" or our "home away from home". However, most of the time and this time included, the reference to home was accepted without question or correction - we were heading to our home (in Melbourne) and that was good enough for them. Of course, recently the talk has centered more on our other home, our "real" home, and that topic has also generated all kinds of enthusiastic discussion. Yet I wonder, when it comes right down to it, if the notion of home merely applies to that place where you most often sleep, eat, live and by a strange sort of "squatter's rights" scenario, one's home becomes the place where you've done the most living, most recently...Regardless, we are about to be moving homes again and the anticipation is enough to make even me ask, "Are we there yet?"
Our trip to Canberra, was by design, an attempt to keep our minds and bodies in the present and in that and many other respects it was a roaring success. The drive was long - about 650kms or 7 hours, but there was little traffic and with Nintendo's fully charged and a planned lunch stop at Rotten Ronny's - we might have gone a lot further had our bladders not also been full. It was otherwise uneventful and even though we were armed with the best directions Mapquest could muster, there were really only three turns necessary before we were drving down mainstreet Canberra.
Next morning we were up and at'tem and off to our first stop - the Australian Institute of Sport. A huge federally funded campus, the Institute selects and trains Australia's best and brightest sports talents in an effort to win more Olympic medals and bring more athletic glory to this sports mad nation. We had a great tour guide who was half Canadian - his mother is from Edmonton - and we were impressed with the nine year old gymnasts vaulting through space and the 17 million dollar swimming pool. We were also aghast at a typo on one of the displays that suggested an Australian skier had won her bronze medal at the Olympics in Albertville, Canada! We felt somewhat vindicated by the fact that we might not win as many medals as the Aussies, but at least we know where the Olympics were held. Sheesh!
Then we were off downtown to the southside of the city and across beautiful Lake Burley Griffin. The strangely modern and striking parliament buildings stand as a beacon from whatever vantage point you take in the city and we had a wonderful view of them as we made the turn for Questacon - Canberra's answer to the Ontario Science Centre. Alex was beside himself with excitement as this was the place he had been looking forward to for several weeks. Built as a stand alone science centre, the building is new and very modern and does not have the 1970s hangover that lingers throughout Toronto's centre.
Our first stop, after the requisite dinosaur exhibit, was an area known as the Sideshow which had among other cool things, a 6.7 metre free fall that gives one the impression they are - falling 6.7 metres straight down. Needless to say the parents were not in, but the kids gamely strapped on the jumpsuits and headed for the high bar. After a moment or two of hesitation Colin plummeted safely back to earth, but when it was Allie's turn, common sense got the better of him and he bailed. Frankly, I was amazed he even climbed the stairs and after a few tears of fear, he was able to shake it off and enjoy himself immensely. The rest of the time was spent learning how not to be eaten by crocs, experiencing a "real" earthquake, and riding a virtual roller coaster. This place would rate highly on both boys' Rate-the-Weekend review.
Dinner on this night would be Chinese, as it always is when we are trying to avoid battered or fried. The place was packed and I think they had good food but the combination of Alex being in a bit of a funk and my lame ordering and all we could think about was bed. It was a fun first day in Canberra and we settled into a rental movie that night, comfortable in the knowledge that tomorrow's attractions looked to be equally cool and many were for freeeeeeeeee....! (Sorry, inside family joke - unless you've seen the movie Bedtime Stories)
As Australia's eighth largest city and the largest inland city in the country, Canberra is an interesting study in urban planning. Built in 1913, the city was planned by an American and chosen as a capital in order to quell the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. The city is laid out in a spoke and wheel pattern as opposed to a grid system and is known as the "bush capital" due to its many gardens and parks. It is quite a beautiful city and is home to many, many national galleries, museums and memorials and we were there to enjoy as many as time would allow.
Our hotel was conveniently located on Northbourne Ave on the "northside" of the city and a short walk to all the action. Due to the long drive we "chilled" at the hotel with a swim in the shoebox of a pool and then went downtown looking for grub. We had been putting off eating at this chain called the Hogs Breath Cafe due to its tacky ads and tackier food - but with hunger high and energy low we finally gave in...we should have held out. Slow is not the word for the kitchen and it took an hour to get things like fish and chips and a salad. With the exception of an equally grim meal in Lorne, this might have ranked as the worst meal in Oz!
Next morning we were up and at'tem and off to our first stop - the Australian Institute of Sport. A huge federally funded campus, the Institute selects and trains Australia's best and brightest sports talents in an effort to win more Olympic medals and bring more athletic glory to this sports mad nation. We had a great tour guide who was half Canadian - his mother is from Edmonton - and we were impressed with the nine year old gymnasts vaulting through space and the 17 million dollar swimming pool. We were also aghast at a typo on one of the displays that suggested an Australian skier had won her bronze medal at the Olympics in Albertville, Canada! We felt somewhat vindicated by the fact that we might not win as many medals as the Aussies, but at least we know where the Olympics were held. Sheesh!
Then we were off downtown to the southside of the city and across beautiful Lake Burley Griffin. The strangely modern and striking parliament buildings stand as a beacon from whatever vantage point you take in the city and we had a wonderful view of them as we made the turn for Questacon - Canberra's answer to the Ontario Science Centre. Alex was beside himself with excitement as this was the place he had been looking forward to for several weeks. Built as a stand alone science centre, the building is new and very modern and does not have the 1970s hangover that lingers throughout Toronto's centre.
Our first stop, after the requisite dinosaur exhibit, was an area known as the Sideshow which had among other cool things, a 6.7 metre free fall that gives one the impression they are - falling 6.7 metres straight down. Needless to say the parents were not in, but the kids gamely strapped on the jumpsuits and headed for the high bar. After a moment or two of hesitation Colin plummeted safely back to earth, but when it was Allie's turn, common sense got the better of him and he bailed. Frankly, I was amazed he even climbed the stairs and after a few tears of fear, he was able to shake it off and enjoy himself immensely. The rest of the time was spent learning how not to be eaten by crocs, experiencing a "real" earthquake, and riding a virtual roller coaster. This place would rate highly on both boys' Rate-the-Weekend review.
Dinner on this night would be Chinese, as it always is when we are trying to avoid battered or fried. The place was packed and I think they had good food but the combination of Alex being in a bit of a funk and my lame ordering and all we could think about was bed. It was a fun first day in Canberra and we settled into a rental movie that night, comfortable in the knowledge that tomorrow's attractions looked to be equally cool and many were for freeeeeeeeee....! (Sorry, inside family joke - unless you've seen the movie Bedtime Stories)
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