The past two days were in Sydney. Today I will spend one day in Canberra and transition to Queensland tomorrow.

I started the day with a 3-hour drive to Canberra. We drove directly to Coles, which is basically the Australian Safeway. 

I bought two packs of Tim Tams which is kind of like Kit Kats but crunchier and crispier. And it’s originated from Australia, of course.

After this, we went to the top 1 university in Australia, ANU. I believe that I mentioned this yesterday. By the way, ANU stands for Australian National University.

I took the picture when we were in the car, about to arrive at the parking lot.

The National Computational Infrastructure is one of the many departments of the university.

I also visited another department, or school in this case. It is called the John Curtin School of Medical Research. 

Unfortunately, these places were not open for people to go inside. 

We had a lunch break that lasted for a few hours because we met with an old friend.

Following the lunch break, we drove to the Parliament House as I mentioned yesterday. I did somehow get a very nice view of ANU at the Parliament House.

And if you were wondering what the name of the mountain is, behind the university. It’s called Black Mountain. 

Now onto the actual part about the Parliament House. The picture below is the front view of the house. It is kind of like the Australian White House, where the important people of the government dwell.

The inside of the Parliament House is a bit complicated. I will try my best to explain verbally and supply you with visuals. 

When you walk in, the first thing you see is two staircases leading to the second floor.

When you walk up the right-side staircase, you will see a clock. A very old clock.

This clock is called the Longcase Dutch Clock. This clock is the official gift from the Government and the people of the Netherlands to the people of Australia during the 1988 Australian Bicentenary. If you want to learn more, here is the description straight from the Parliament House.

There are also 2 whole walls just for portraits of the past Australian prime ministers.

I sincerely apologize that I did not get pictures of all of the prime ministers. Also, the order of the prime ministers could be wrong.

As you continue your path along the second floor you will see a few ancient artifacts. One example is the writing table of Queen Victoria. 

Upstairs also has 2 sides where important meetings will take place for the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The red seats are for the Senate. The green seats are for the House of Representatives.

That is all for upstairs. There is still one thing that we have not yet discussed about floor one, and it is the ballroom.

This room is used for banquets and major events. 

The large oil painting in the background is a picture of a rainforest in Australia. And that ends the part of the Parliament House.

We ended the day with some yummy steak and a meeting with another old friend.

Tomorrow morning we will have a flight to Queensland, specifically, the Gold Coast. I do not know what I will do there yet. I have been alarmed that the hotel there is wonderful and has a fantastic view of the ocean. Stay tuned to learn more!