Traveling there and back was brutally long, but we flew business class, so the flights and the airport lounges definitely alleviated some of the travel pains. Business class on Cathay Pacific provided us with our very own cubicle to lounge in.
I'm wearing a top I finished the night before we left. Every time I've traveled in the past, I've been way too cold - in the airports and on the plane. On this trip, however, I thought I was going to die of heat in this sweater - which is made from Noro Silk Garden. By the time we got to Hong Kong (layover 2 of 4), I was drenched in sweat. Thankfully, the business class lounge in Hong Kong had showers.
Awesome showers.
We arrived in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and were given a quick tour of the area. We spent our week working in this building.
At the end of the week, Carmen - the best hostess you could ever hope for - took us to a local yarn shop where I bought a locally dyed Merino/Possum blend. She also took us to the Parliament building:
And then to the golf course to check out the roo's:
If you look at her pouch, you can see a slight bulge - that's her baby. I could totally see it moving around in there, but never actually saw the joey itself.
After she took us to see live roo's, she then took us to her house and fed us roo meat. Taste's like a cross between steak and deer meat, but not very gamey. Kinda sweet.
The next morning we headed to Namadgi National park which has some rock paintings presumably 3700 years old.
We saw lots more roo's out there - and some dingos - and the results when dingos and roo's meet:
Sunday, we headed up to Sydney.
Opera season was over and all ballets were completely sold out, but we did get a chance to hear Rita - Isreal's Diva.
Monday we headed across the harbor to the Taronga Zoo, which was definitely one of the best zoo experiences of my life. You know the typical zoo - if you see an animal at all, it's lying at the back of the cage looking bored. These animals were all quite active. The koala's were definitely the highlight. This young lady obviously has a thing for red heads.
Tuesday morning, I took a train out to the suburbs and met up with Jane Slicer-Smith. I took a Fair Isle class from her at Stitches East last year and was seriously in love with her designs, but when I tried to check anything out at the booth representing her, I could barely squeeze in. Going out to her studio was much nicer - I got to see all of her designs unencumbered by any other customers. It was also sheer luck that I got to hook up with her while I was in town as she had just gotten back from a show and was leaving for another the next day. The knitting gods must love me. They ought to - I sacrifice a great deal of my income on the knitting altar.
Other highlights of the trip include the Aquarium where I saw the biggest sting ray I've ever seen:
The Sydney Tower:
Hyde Park:
And a great treat, right at the end, totally unplanned, The Australian Museum. Lot's of aboriginal art:
And a quirky sense of humor. You can see he's reading a book, with his pet dog on a leash, a bird in the bird cage, and just behind him you can see a little of the cat
Which is chasing a mouse into a mouse hole.
Only in Australia!
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