Muffy Toe

Just a few notes on my trip to Canberra...

I haven't been to Washington DC, or any state/national capitol for that matter, so I don't know what my preconceptions were based on, but regardless, Canberra wasn't exactly what I expected.

I understand now why Aussies say "why?" when you mention visiting Canberra. It really is "just one big roundabout." It must be one of the quietest, most relaxed capitols in the world.

It was fun to have Karyn as my personal tour guide. She just graduated from Macquarie this month with a degree in political science. I really do suspect that she may end up as the first female PM of Oz. She had an internship in the Senate for a year, so she knew a lot about Canberra and all the places we visited.

Interesting notes on the Parliament House:
-The flagpole on the top is worth 4 million dollars.
-All of the marble in the Grand entryway was a gift from Italy.
-In the 1960s, the Prime Minister was eaten by a shark. He was taking a swim and disappeared off the coast. True story.
-There's something like 2,000 clocks in the building. If a Representative or Senator walks by a clock 15 minutes (or less) before a meeting, his badge will cause a little red light to flash on the clock. There are no excuses for being late, I suppose.

Interesting note on the War Memorial:
-Grandaddy, I was walking through the World War II exhibit keeping my eyes open for any aircraft carrier information, but I never saw any. Later, I asked my Aussie friends if Australia had aircraft carriers. I don't think Karyn even knew what I was talking about. Dave told me that Australia doesn't have any. Apparently they had one once, but it ran into another ship and sank and they never built another one! He said they just use ours. =)
-Do y'all know what Anzac Day is or the battle it commemorates? I didn't before I came here, and I'm wondering how known it is. (I find it funny that they call Oatmeal cookies "Anzac cookies.")
-Although it was a nice memorial, it made me appreciate the Pearl Harbour Memorial. I really do love it.... maybe because I'm American.... =)

Other Canberra info:
-All of the embassy houses are built in the style of the home country. America's is a big red brick building with very formal guards standing in front. It makes the Aussies laugh because the Australian guards are so relaxed and silly.
-We saw four kangaroos hopping around.

Currently my wireless card isn't working so there's no easy way to put any pictures up, but I will eventually.

Things I'm looking forward to:
starting my Padi certification this weekend
Daddy, Walt and Jenny arriving in 2 and a half weeks
visiting Melbourne
my coffee shops, church and Bible Study in Houston
being in my house in Houston, Benny, and of course seeing all of you lovely people who read my silly blog.

Sorry this is a lame post.
With much love,
mich