Returning to my ute from Old Parliament House I briefly considered exploring the tennis courts and nearby parliamentary gardens, but it was currently being utilised by some of the school children that were having lunch. I decided no, I didn’t want to wander around while they were doing that. I remember (very vaguely) being that age and seeing other adults in space that you think you’re inhabiting can be weird. I also didn't want to be confronted by them, children en masse are like ducks en masse. Fine in small groups, but a flock can be intimidating.
So returning to my ute and dropping the windows, as despite the cool weather it was surprisingly warm in the sun.
I had a list of places that I intended to go today and had intended to go and wander the National Gallery. But after 3 hours or so wandering around in Old Parliament House, I was kinda done in the ‘looking at stuff’ mood.
So instead decided to go to one of my ‘secondary’ options which was Queen Elizabeth II Island and the carillon. Which Google seems to state is temporarily closed, I dunno if the carillon was ever actually open to the public. But it was tolling while I was there.
I’ve also never been on this side of Lake Burley Griffin. Never really wandered around the lake much when I've visited in the past, just went and looked at it from nearby to the National Gallery or elsewhere nearby to there when I've visited previously.
I wandered around the island for a bit, went to the end of it, took in the Kings Avenue Bridge. Sat down for a little bit to enjoy the atmosphere, and seemed to immediately attract magpies, they all came running over. They’re obviously used to people sitting down and eating, one hopping up on the table barely an arm’s length away from me and giving me some bird song.
Australian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae)
I moved on and sat at a different location and sat on my phone for a little bit enjoying the sunshine which at times was almost a little too warm.
I did kind of wonder if I was just a bit more used to the cold, I saw some people in puffer jackets, beanies etc. I had a sherpa lined jacket on that's mostly synthetic with something like 5% wool.
I was looking through my list of places in Canberra that I wanted to visit, but none really grabbed my attention at the moment. Sitting there I was just kinda tired.
I’m not really good at the ‘doing touristy’ things, in the past on my road trips it was all about doing one thing, and focusing on that one thing, the West Coast Wilderness railway in Tasmania, MONA, etc, doing multiple things is a lot more of an outlier for me.
I’ve always been about going places as the journey being the thing to do, not going to places to go to places and do stuff.
So after returning to my ute I looked again at my list and decided as I was close I’d go and see the Eagle aka "Australian-American Memorial".
As it was just up the road from Queen Elizabeth II Island, but upon arriving at the car park (to the left of Kings Avenue) I realised it was unlikely that I’d be able to get a parking spot. There was an older Hyundai already doing loops, aggressively so, they tried to block me from driving through on side, then sped off when they saw someone walking through the car park.
I realised pretty quickly that I wasn’t getting a spot, and it wasn't worth hanging around.
Nonetheless it was interesting driving through this car park, which is for or related to the government's Defence-related operations, lots of different vehicles in the car park, more than two Jimnys, some Hynundai i30 Ns in pale blue, some Teslas and a variety of other interesting vehicles. If I’d been able to stop, it would have been interesting just to stop and take photos of the vehicles, which I imagine is probably frowned upon, especially given the where I was in Canberra was for defence-related stuff.
Hitting the hazards on my ute so I could look at my phone I decided to go for my fall back, doubly so place to go and check out some of Fyshwick’s antique shops, only one of the collection actually open today Dirty Jane’s, no matter I thought, it was something to look at that didn't require too much cognitive engagement.
It was interesting enough, similar stuff on offer to that which I’ve seen in Victoria in similar sort of re-purposed old industrial buildings.
There were the similar ranges of dealers; book sellers, mid-century, garage-alia, clothing, garden etc. Not too much in the realms of older furniture.
Not sure what the building used to be, decently high ceilings, lines painted on the concrete floors.
Leaving Fyshwick I went to the Woolworths at Canberra Airport, wandering around for something for dinner. I’m not one for going out, unless it’s convenient to where I’m staying. In the past I liked to stay at pubs because it was a quirky place to stay, and you just walked down stairs to get a meal and could have a drink without any worries, although that sometimes burned me, staying above a pub. Going further out it’s still a great option to experience the life and culture of a town.
In buying food I was somewhat limited by my airbnb’s cooking offerings, it’s listed as a kitchenette, but there is an oven built into the wood burning fire place. Not quite something I wanted to try and mess with. There’s also an induction hot plate and microwave, and there’s also a sandwich maker and bench top convection oven (the one with the glass bowl). It’s not something I’ve used in the past, so instead I went for a ready meal for tonight and tomorrow, but bought some additional vegetables to go with it that I can cook quickly in the microwave or in hot water quickly and easily. Some asparagus and some sugar snap peas.