Yesterday our friend Charlotte from Hangzhou arrived from Sydney as part of her holiday in Australia. We had dinner in Civic at Happy’s (Garema Place) before retiring for the evening.
Today I took our friend out for a tour of the nation’s capital, starting with a drive up to the top of Mount Ainslie to view the lay of the land.
View South from Mt. Ainslie
Canberra provided excellent weather with superlative blue skies and plenty of sun. The view was simply outstanding, and we snapped some shots before moving on. The next stop was Parliament House.
The entrance to Parliament House
Main Foyer
It’s been a little while since my last visit, but not much has changed. It’s a very nice building, and very modern. Of course, you would expect this, since the building was only completed in 1988!
Charlotte at the Senate / Rob at the House of Representatives
We visited both houses of Parliament, starting with the Senate and finishing with the House of Representatives. The Great Hall was closed as it was set up for a dinner event, but we could still see it from the level 1 gallery.
After we left, it was quite late (after 2pm) so we went via Manuka where the kind folks at Timmy’s kitchen entertained a late lunch for us (we arrived at 2:20pm, they close at 2:30pm).
The we swung past the new house out at Wright, before heading back north via the National Arboretum. The views, particularly east and south were excellent, although on top of Dairy Farmer’s hill, the wind was brisk and fairly icy.
View East from the National Arboretum
View South from the National Arboretum
Afterwards, we returned home to find Jake awake from his afternoon nap. All-in-all, a good start to the weekend. Another day of tourism kicks off tomorrow!
I love these photos,thanks to my professional photographer :-)))