Canberra

Pedestrians are endangered species in Canberra. Most drivers did not want to stop when pedestrians were in most intersections, and others tried to turn the corner before you reached their side of the street. It certainly helped to be used to looking to the right when first crossing a street.

Canberra is difficult to get around. The bus system goes to lots of places, but each route to the outer parts of the city (out of the government center, that is) were scheduled an hour apart. Thus, if there was not another route bus that also stopped at a certain place, you had to wait as much as an hour for your next bus. Baloney! (Or words to that effect.)

The National Museum of Australia - very nice native artifacts and history, and an interesting building. The collection is well-worth visiting. Looking toward the entrance.

Looking back from the entrance.

Where John Howard and his Liberal Government works. Here in Oz, "Liberal" is to be taken with a salt mine's worth of salt. They are the conservative party. Labor is the liberal party. (The Green Party and others are radical, you see.) Johnny is as loved in his country as The Bush is in mine.

The National Gallery of Australia. The ball is suspended by wires, of course, but it makes for a fascinating introduction to the building. This museum is another worth visiting.

On the whole, I can't recommend more than two days in Canberra. Taxis are ridiculously expensive, the city is hard to explore in depth without taking much more time (due to the inadequate public transportation system), and it just did not feel friendly.