Canberra

Saturday 30 April: Canberra's War Memorial is more than just a monument, it's a surprisingly emotional museum experience with Anzac day poppies remaining. In the afternoon it's a long but pleasant lakeside stroll to the National Museum of Australia. It's mostly modern collectibles like those you might find in a junk shop at home, but the colourful Aborigine quartz spear tips and art are impressive. The much smaller Canberra Museum and Art Gallery has some sculptures and one of Sydney Nolan's Ned Kelly oils on canvas.
Sunday 1 May: Another long walk, this time south across the Lake Burley Griffin towards Capital Hill, takes me to the National Gallery of Australia and Julie's guided tour of the highlights. She's clearly not a Nolan fan and I have to find the Ned Kelly series for myself. At five million dollars a painting it's quite a collection. In the close by National Portrait Gallery I only recognise four faces: Lieutenant James Cook, David Campasie, Nicole Kidman and Nick Cave. I just have time to see old and new parliament buildings as dusk falls.
I end my day with a row of Wig & Pen Brewery samplers: a rich nutty malt Lazy Days ESB (5.8%), a fruity refreshing pale ale (5%), a mellow earthy IPA and a roast and slightly chocolate cream stout, but horror of horrors it's Sunday and they close at 9:00pm, bloody Aussie licencing laws. I'll have an early night, I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow.
Photos of Canberra.