The halfway point

We’re halfway through our Canberra adventure. This surreal trip, where nothing is too much trouble and all our needs are catered for, while we are shuttled around all the highlights of Canberra by jolly, lovely people who always seem to have a smile on their faces.

We spent our first evening with all the other Humans at the War Memorial. We are all split into streams; arts and culture, food and wine, adventure and family for the whole trip, the idea being we will all experience different parts of what Canberra has to offer.

I really didn’t know what to expect, and even though we are part of the family stream, I was worried that the kids would be an after-thought, an inconvenience. Something to be endured.

But not at all. They have been catered for at every step. Dinner boxes especially for them, craft activities, age appropriate story telling sharing tales like Simpson and the Donkey, before an early bus to take the kids home for bed. Really, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

This morning was an early start and out to the National Museum. Again, the experience can’t be faulted. Small groups of us were given tours by friendly staff, before experiencing the K-Zone 3D activity, where Poss created a futuristic jelly bean covered house, which we then watched come to life on a big screen in 3D. We finished up in the kids activity section, where they each made rafts and then sailed on them with thanks to green screen technology.

Lunch was at Bicicletta, an Italian restaurant. Beautiful food, wine and another children’s menu, along with entertainment for them made for a wonderful finish for the first part of our first full day.

We are now relaxing in our lovely hotel, with a movie, maybe a swim in the pool and a lie down on the couch, before heading to Questacon tonight. We’re tired after a long couple of days, or a long few weeks in fact. Sitting, just sitting, with no pressure to clean or tidy, or answer emails or phone calls, feels very luxurious.

In fact, the whole trip has been very luxurious. There is no doubt that we have been spoiled, that this experience isn’t the norm. But with only another 20 odd hours here, I plan on trying to enjoy it as much as I can before the reality of home returns.

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You can read about what we are doing in Canberra here.