A weekend away

We’ve just come back from a weekend away in Canberra, which is Australia’s capital city. We were visiting friends, and had a most wonderful time with them.

On Saturday we went to Floriade, which is a free exhibit of very beautiful cold weather flowers such as tulips galore. Its an annual exhibition that’s been on for years, but we’ve never visited before. I’d highly recommend it.

We had dinner that night at Fekerte’s Ethiopian Restaurant, which was fabulous. Yes, it is expensive food, but it was GOOD! It was much better quality than the odd little Ethiopian restaurant that we went to in Bankstown. And it was nice to again share our Ethiopian experiences with friends.

On Sunday we lazed around nearly all morning, and then made our way to the Old Bus Depot Markets where we enjoyed seeing the mostly high-quality crafts and foods. After that we went next door to the Glassworks. WOW! I could have stayed there all day, watching the artists at work, making a decorative glass vase. It was absolutely fascinating. However, our youngest decided that she’d had enough after about 3/4 hour – actually, I was surprised that she lasted that long!

Yesterday we went for a walk around the middle section of Lake Burley Griffin, which is the man-made lake around which Canberra is built. It was a delightful, easy walk, with very pretty surroundings.

After that we visited the Australian National Gallery. The new section was opened just a few days ago, and features a huge display (permanent collection, not a special exhibition) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. It was magnificent, and highly recommended!

Had a great weekend away. Really enjoyed the company of our friends. Back to the daily grind somewhat (it IS still school holidays, so not quite back to normal yet!).