Part One:: A Weekend Venture To The Capital:: The Human Brochure

Just in case you missed it, last weekend we went to Canberra as part of The Human Brochure. We were in the 500 selected out of 31,000 applicants to take part in this world first online experience - pretty darn exciting.

So us four humans left Sydney as soon as Matt finished teaching on Friday, and hit the road. It was such a pretty drive. You know when you've had a long week - there's nothing that gives you perspective quite like going on a road trip - straight out of the city and into the real world. It perfectly quenched my thirst for space - those green rolling hills, that unending blue sky. It got me dreaming. 

Before I knew it - and before the smalls could be too disgruntled and start chiming in with 'how much longer?' - we were meandering our way through the green, tree-lined streets of Canberra. 

Our first stop was to meet with the rest of The Human Brochure group that were at the Australian War Memorial. Unfortunately we were late, but we managed to spot some rabbits grazing on the lawns (see that top pic where Tiny expresses her excitement), and then made our way inside. 

Firstly - I was nervous. Mainly because this is what I was wearing, and when we walked in - there were many people dressed in military uniforms from different eras, and I was afraid I was going to be mistaken for someone in costume (it wouldn't be the first time for Canberra to do that to me*).

It was such a great evening, and I learnt so much. I am always interested in hearing about war-time efforts, it's so heartbreaking, and incredible what our men and women went through during this time. 

We're absolutely going to go back to the Australian War Memorial - they're hosting an open day on 6th April 2013 that I've heard is going to be a big one. 

And you might be thinking, might be interesting for you PMM, but what about the kids? Well they were definitely catered to. There were dress-ups, puppet shows and stories - all of which were perfectly pitched to their younger audience (and I found interesting too). Plus the exhibits are really interesting - you could spend a few hours there, easily. 

If you're in Canberra on 11th November, or can travel there easily - it would be worth taking a look at the AWM's Rememberance Day services. 

We then made our way to our accommodation for the weekend - the Clifton Suites on Northbourne. The kids always love staying in hotels (who doesn't? No housecleaning!), and the rooms were so spacious the Doctor and Tiny asked if we could live there (heck, our two bedroom apartment was bigger than our house). 

Finally, we wrangled the smalls in to bed and crashed for the night - preparing for the big weekend that lay ahead. 

* When I was in Year Six, we visited Canberra. Because I was the tallest out of the year, the waitress at the restaurant asked me at dinner time if I was sitting with the teacher's table. HA! She thought I was a teacher. And I was a lanky 12 year old. 

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Honesty is the best policy! Our accommodation and itinerary was covered for the weekend. We liked it. We had fun. We wanted to share our trip to Canberra.