Went to Canberra

On 7th March, I got a train from Melbourne to the Australian capital - Canberra. Everybody has told me this would be the most boring place on earth, but it was actually quite good, well except for the 5 hour train and then 3 hour bus ride to get there. OK, it's a bit like that fine Milton Keynes place because it's a new town and all the roads are planned out(although they're in a circular design, not a grid system), but the scenary and weather is totally different, there are mountains in the background and hundreds of cockatoos in the trees!
I visited the New Parliament and got to see PM John Howard at question time, which was most entertaining(the govt kicked the opposition all over the shop!) and the view from the grass roof of that building is spectacular - you get a 360 degree landscape of the bushland around Canberra! I also saw the Old Parliament building, the Australian War Memorial(and saw my name on the role of honour!), the National Gallery of Australia(they had a Monet I considered buying), Questacon - the science museum and the oddly/controversially shaped National Museum of Australia(they had an Outlaw exhibition there, but it wasn't that good except I discovered my friend Ben Hall is really a famous 19th century bush-ranger).
I stayed with Anne and Richard(my cousin's cousin's...I think). Along with their 4 children - Claire, Giles, Hilary and William, two crazy travelling Dutch dudes - Johan and Timon and their mental terrorist-style van - were also staying at the house so it was a most amusing place to be. Because we're all of similar age(or rather I am of similar mental age) to Johan, Timon, Claire and Giles, I got to see some of the Canberra night life at the Phoenix and Holy Grail bars in the civic centre, which was pretty good, I missed the famous Wig & Pen though and it's 12 home-brewed beers, oh well, something for next time