Wrote this while on a Greyhound bus from Canberra to Sydney. The landscape outside looks kind of like a British motorway except the grass seems less green but you know how it is - the grass always looks greener on the other side of the world! The soil is more orange here too.

In Canberra we visited the Aussie parliament. It has just turned 23, being just weeks older than Simon and I. Anyone can park in the car park below and wander in (after an airport style metal detector) and wander around inside and also go into the public galleries and observe the goings on in the Senate and House of Representatives. The old parliament is also open to the public as a museum of democracy, where we learned about past primeministers and the history of democracy in Australia. We also explored the old senate and representatives rooms. The building was built in the 1920s and the interior reminds me of Surrey County Council's building and Croydon town hall, where I once went to a planning meeting. It was cool to be able to wander around and take photos. There was a sign in the public gallery banning, amongst other things, reading, writing and knitting! In the new parliament building, you have to leave all electronic items and food and drink outside. We also saw the prime minister's offices in the old parliament building, all set up as they were in the 80s complete with typewriters and retro TVs and filming equipment.

In the new parliament, you can get a lift up to the roof and get a view of Canberra from under the huge flagpole.

The main difference between the Aussie parliament buildings and the Westminster ones is that there is enough space for everyone to sit down. They actually have assigned seats, so you can tell who is who. It looks more comfortable than the House of Commons!

I went to the Not Just Ned exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, about Irish immigration to Australia. Despite the name of the exhibition, they had assembled the 4 sets of armour of Ned Kelly and his gang. The armour looks very solid but somewhat lacking protection in a lot of areas. It looks very Medieval. Also it weighed 44kg - I'm amazed they could even move wearing that! We had watched the film version of Ned Kelly with Heath Ledger in it the previous night and we visited Glenrowan, the site of Kelly's last stand and capture, on the way to Canberra a couple of days before, so the story was fresh in my mind.