Canberra and xmas

Ron and Angela very kindly agreed to a road trip to the Australian capitol, Canberra (pronounced without the 'e' for some reason). I highly recommend you give a read of AU history on wikipedia, as they can do a much better job then I can, but I will tell you a couple interesting tidbits. Australia is officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, which gives you a hint of it's governmental system. AU is part of the Commonwealth, and hence means the Queen of England is still an important and official part of their government. A very odd, and dare I say, noble idea to most Americans. The set up of Canberra is similar to Washington DC in that it's a planned, separate, and very small district unto itself known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Oh, and the architect who designed the parliament buildings didn't like buildings built on top of hills, so they removed the hill, built the buildings, and then brought the hill back! Seriously. The main building is under ground the hill, with grass stretching over the whole thing in the shape of a large hill. Evidently rolling down the hill is no longer permitted. Another interesting factoid is AU's age. Several times over the years I have found myself talking to international folks (especially Europeans) who will offhandedly scoff at how young the US is compared to their own country, and how we really are far to new to have any real traditions, wisdom or understanding history. I usually think of these people as pompous jerks. Well, when I learned that AU didn't become a country of it's own until 1901, suddenly I was thinking, "1901? That's nothing! They can't possibly have their own traditions or culture!" Ah, how quickly we can all become jerks.

We also spent the afternoon viewing some truly uniquely Australian items at the National Museum of Australia, like the Wobble Board, an unusual 'musical' device, and the Buffalo Catching car, a truly amazing real life mad max type of machine! They had a video of the buffalo car in action, and it straddled the fence somewhere between genius and insane.
The other interesting part of the trip was were we stayed, the (not so) exclusive Formula 1 Hotel. Our room, mind you it was meant for 3 people, and yet was no more then 15 ft long and 8 feet wide. A queen size bed sat dead in the middle, consuming the majority of the room, and what was above it? Well a bunk bed of course! It was cozy to say the least.  I've stay in a lot of crazy places, but I've never seen such a room in my life. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, hearing your father and his lady friend smooch good night while you are mere feet above is not awkward in the least.

We are now back at Ron's in Gosford, preparing an xmas lunch for Angela and her kids and grandchild (Jason, Yvette, and Zali, respectively). I've only got a few days remaining, which with any luck will be filled with sailing and perhaps a few more helpings of fish and chips with pudding for dessert! On an unrelated note, I am very perplexed  I've gained 10 pounds this trip!

Happy holidays to all!