Canberra: Day 3 - To avoid the long queues for the Impressionist exhibit,
we had been advised to join the National Art Gallery as a member, and that we could then circumvent the entire crowd
and enter the exhibit immediately upon our arrival. This is exactly what we did, and we breezed through ahead of the six-hour long line! The exhibit was wonderful, especially the Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh paintings, many of which we had seen before in France, but which inspired us all over again. To stand in front of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is indeed magical. After the exhibit, we still had some time before our flight back to Melbourne, so we visited the original Old Parliament Building which stands exactly opposite from the War Memorial and directly in front of the new Parliament building.
It is spectacular to look down from one historical site right across the city to the next historical site, reminiscent of Washington DC.
We also found time to take a brief tour of the beautiful National High Court building.
Thereafter we relaxed, basking in the warmth of the unusual Sculpture Garden located behind the National Art Gallery.
We then headed out to the airport, where I was randomly chosen to undergo a drug check before being allowed to board the airplane. The officer asked me to read the paper that he thrust at me - I began to read it aloud slowly, thinking that it was a sobriety test. Then he stopped me and told me that he didn't mean for me to read it audibly!! It was just an information paper! We could see humour in the incident, but didn't dare laugh! En route home, we were amazed at the desolate mountain scenery all the way between Canberra and Melbourne.
All in all, Canberra was a great visit.
we had been advised to join the National Art Gallery as a member, and that we could then circumvent the entire crowd 
and enter the exhibit immediately upon our arrival. This is exactly what we did, and we breezed through ahead of the six-hour long line! The exhibit was wonderful, especially the Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh paintings, many of which we had seen before in France, but which inspired us all over again. To stand in front of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is indeed magical. After the exhibit, we still had some time before our flight back to Melbourne, so we visited the original Old Parliament Building which stands exactly opposite from the War Memorial and directly in front of the new Parliament building. 
It is spectacular to look down from one historical site right across the city to the next historical site, reminiscent of Washington DC. 
We also found time to take a brief tour of the beautiful National High Court building. 
Thereafter we relaxed, basking in the warmth of the unusual Sculpture Garden located behind the National Art Gallery. 
We then headed out to the airport, where I was randomly chosen to undergo a drug check before being allowed to board the airplane. The officer asked me to read the paper that he thrust at me - I began to read it aloud slowly, thinking that it was a sobriety test. Then he stopped me and told me that he didn't mean for me to read it audibly!! It was just an information paper! We could see humour in the incident, but didn't dare laugh! En route home, we were amazed at the desolate mountain scenery all the way between Canberra and Melbourne. 
All in all, Canberra was a great visit.
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