3 days in Canberra, Part 1

When our car pulled out for Canberra on Friday, I really thought I'd come to you live each night with snippets of our trip. They kept us hopping though, and it wasn't meant to be. As if the exhaustion of climbing up a one peak and throwing ourselves down another on mountain bikes weren't enough, we found ourselves smack in the middle of a food coma. Gluttonous in every way.

For those who missed it, Craig and I won a trip around Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. We are among the 500 humans helping build the world's first human brochure. We'd never been to Canberra before. I didn't know what there was to do in there, but we've already started talking about our return! Hopefully you like my Canberra stories.

--- a tiny bit of housekeeping ---
The goal for this week (besides finding a job!) is to get these stories and the rest of my travel adventures linked up in a nice way for you on their own page in the top blog bar. For the crafty folks, my first tutorial for the Value Quilt Along will pop up late today or early tomorrow. I haven't forgotten you!  Please enjoy a virtual Canberra tour over a few posts in the mean time!

We rolled out from Sydney at 10:15am in a really empty Mazda 2. Melba, our car, is usually packed to the gills with kiteboarding gear and craft projects. It was a strange feeling bringing just a small bag of clothes and snack food. We rocked into Canberra, and by 1:30 we found ourselves at a pub in the Manuka village area.  Technically our adventure didn't kick off until 5, so we puddled around for a bit on our own.

When you travel with Craig, puddling around often means finding food to ward off hanger. Hungry anger. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy as long as he's fed and watered on a regular basis.

With Craig's gluten-free diet, eating on holidays can sometimes be tough; but he managed to smash the tandoori chicken burger we found at Public. After years of eating flat, dense rice bread; he was stoked that the corn-based gluten-free alternative was both tasty and fluffy. So big that it became a knife and fork affair:

I was a bit mesmerized by the retro styling at Public and lunch time crowds around us. High marks and perfect weather!

Satiated, we made our way to the Mantra on Northbourne to check in.  The Mantra spoiled us a bit all weekend with little cocktails, food platters, snacks and surprises.  I'd read a few online reviews and had expected a 70's brown basic sort of room, but I wasn't worried. We were on the adventure stream after all. I still stay in hostels at times. I was half-nervous they'd send us out in a swags!  So we were plenty surprised to find  a kitchenette and comfy living space about the size of our apartment. I'm not sure why anyone would class it as a 70's hotel. I lived through the 70's, and it was anything but... While not as swanky as some of the other #humanbrochure hotels, it'd be a good choice business or holiday travelers especially since it's centrally located in the Civic area.  The bathtub got plenty of use as I soaked the muscles to dull the aches of mountain biking.  

Our opening reception for the human brochure was held at the Australian War Memorial, a solemn and moving place. I tried to hold back tears as Marylou told us stories of young local boys coming to visit the names of their fallen friends. I regretted putting on mascara that night. Bad idea, Amy.

The Australian War Memorial is quite a big place. You could spend a day or two there and not see everything. Along with the wall of remembrance, there's an extensive collection of memorabilia from each of the conflicts that Australia has fought in. The collection includes dozens of  planes, submarines and even a boat from Gallipoli. In ANZAC Hall, they have a several biplanes as well as a Peter Jackson directed video, Over the Front, which tells the story of the young pilots in World War I.  The biplanes were probably my favorite exhibit that we saw. My mind started spinning with ideas for quilt quilts based on their markings. That might have been the only time that my mind raced away to craft all weekend.

ANZAC Hall was a beautiful venue for our reception, but I'll admit that I had a bit of guilt about our gluttony where others grieve. I was stuck in a strange moment between sadness and celebration. We were whisked through the memorial and museum. When I'm in Canberra again, I'd love to go back and take in the museum in a more private way.

As the night drew to a close, the adventuring humans put on our walking shoes and headed to Tongue and Groove in the Canberra's city centre.  It was a perfect time to get to know the other adventurers who would be joining us over the next couple of days; friends that I'll keep for much longer.

In the next few posts, I'll tell you about the National Zoo and Aquarium, mountain biking and  food. Canberra delivered on sunshine and smiles this weekend. Good stuff - many thanks to the folks who worked behind the scenes at #humanbrochure to make this one stellar weekend.