Canberra, revisited

(posted June 3, 2008 in Krakow, Poland)

Hi folks! I know I should be terribly ashamed of how far behind in my blog!! How are you going to know what amazing places I've been visiting if I don't tell you? Well luckily for you (although rather unluckily for me) I've been stuck in Krakow with a nasty cold, so I finally have time for some blogging!

Canberra- May 6-May18!

I had a grand time with Annika and Michaela who took super good care of me. It was great to spend time with them and get to know them better- I miss them already! Their boyfriends, Rob and Nick, respectively, were lovely as well. I spent a lot of time wandering around the National Gallery which was fantastic, and I spent a lot of time in downtown Canberra where the shops and cafes are! Canberra has some great cocktail lounges- I didn't even realize I like cocktail lounges, but I do!

For my birthday Annika, Michaela, boyfriends and roomates took me out to a restaurant where I got to sample some native Australian food. In one meal (including various appetizers) I samples crocodile, emu, kangaroo, baramundi, and king prawns (big shrimp!). The emu was a proscuitto and was delicious, and I enjoyed the crocodile and the fish. The kangaroo was good, but I felt to weird about eating it to really enjoy it! I mean . . . they are so cute!! Also, they were hopping all over the place in Canberra after dark . . . like deer in Westchester, NY!

There were many fun and varied excursions with Michaela and Annika including the National Museum, a fun trip to the zoo (we saw a snow leopard!!!) where I was frightened by strange small monkeys, and a trip to Cockington Green Gardens which is filled with miniature buildings of famous edifices from Britain and around the world.

sideways Annika and Anna on the little train at Cockington Green (the nice conductor took us around a second time for free :)

People were friendly in Australia, and the food was lovely. The girls took me to many cafes that were surprisingly upscale and served amazing food (especially breakfasts!). I made cookies twice at Michaela's and Annika taught me a number of recipes (she's a fantastic cook!).



Michaela, Anna and Annika

I was sad to leave Annika and Michaela, and not at all prepared for my 33+ hour trip to Florence (although I was excited about Europe and seeing my family!). I had a 3 hour bus from Canberra to Sydney, 3 hours at the Sydney airport, a 15 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, a 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi (NOT my favorite airport!! I was so miserable I was forced to purchase junk food from the duty free shops!), a 7 hour flight to Milan, a 1 hour bus trip to the train station, and a 3 hour train to Florence. Whew.

On to Florence!