Canberra, Australia

Parliament House!
(photo by Yansa)

The building in the distance is the seat of Australian government, Parliament House (or "New Parliament House"; the old one was behind me when I took this picture).

The flags of the world usually hang on the flagpoles along the paths to Parliament House, but they weren't up the day I was there.

At the gift shop at Parliament House, Riçk bought Kat and I some Easter Bilbies! The bunny rabbit isn't a positive thing in Australia, since it is driving out the native animals off in the bush. The bilby is an Australian animal threatened by the rabbit. Hence, a lot of Australian families celebrate Easter with the Easter Bilby instead of the Easter Bunny. It wasn't Easter, but we found Easter Bilbies at Parliament House. :)

Riçk, Yansa, and a view of Canberra.
(photo by Kat)

This is Riçk and myself standing near the top of Parliament House. We walked to the top; you've just got to climb a grassy hillside, and voilà -- you're standing on top of Parliament House.

There are some tremendous views of Canberra from up there. 

View from atop Parliament House.
(photo by Yansa)

The hill with the tower on it is Black Mountain.

View from atop Parliament House.
(photo by Yansa)

The white building near the center of the picture is Old Parliament House.

View from atop Parliament House.
(photo by Yansa)

Looking down the grassy hillside.

The flagpole atop Parliament House.
(photo by Yansa)

As viewed from beneath said flagpole.

Chambers of the Australian House of Representatives. 
(photo by Yansa)

This photo was too dark; I had to mess with the brightness and contrast to get things to show up.  

Chambers of the Australian Senate.
(photo by Yansa)

This photo was too dark; I had to mess with the brightness and contrast to get things to show up.  

You can't see it at all in this picture, but the Senate chambers have a really cool version of the Australian coat of arms. :) 

Freeway beneath the Parliament grounds.
(photo by Yansa)

This freeway ("motorway") cuts across the Parliament grounds. I took this picture because the roadcut looks very Australian :)

Old Parliament House!
(photo by Yansa)

Note the Australian coat of arms at the top of the Old Parliament House sign.

Riçk and Cal!
(photo by Yansa)

In Canberra, I got to meet Cal, the world-famous Polyphonist and owner of the chifleybasement.com domain! Cal rocks. :)

This is Riçk and Cal, standing a block or so away from the Canberra restaurant where we had dessert after lunch.

(Lunch was quite good. Sometimes I still get a craving for Zeffirelli's pizza...)

Yansa and Cal.
(photo by Riçk)

Yansa and Riçk.
(photo by Yansa)

This is currently the background on my main computer at work :)  

Riçk, Yansa, Cal, and a reflective window.
(photo by Yansa)

We all got pictures of ourselves taking pictures of ourselves in an office window.

THE CHIFLEY BASEMENT!!!
(photo by Yansa)

I have been to the Chifley Basement -- both chifleybasement.com and the basement of the Chifley Library on the Australian National University campus in Canberra!

They've got wacky bookshelves there -- you twist a lever to move them one way or the other, so that you can get to the book you want. However, as the sign warns, you've got to make sure that nearby aisles are clear before you move the bookshelves, so that you don't squash somebody.

Yansa in the Chifley Basement.
(photo by Riçk)

The obligatory photo of myself standing in the Chifley Basement :) 

Magpie, light pole, and nifty buildings, at the ANU campus.
(photo by Yansa)

The magpie on top of the light pole behaved himself when Riçk and I walked through the ANU campus. However, if it was swooping season (spring, if I remember right), he might've been quite a jerk with us -- to the point where he could've torn chunks off our flesh. Literally.

I am not kidding. Australian magpies are vicious.

The Australian National Museum!
(photo by Yansa)

This is one modernistic, abstract, wacky and cool building. 

Sadly, Riçk and I only had an hour or so to go through it, but it rocked.

I don't wanna wait... for our lives to be over...
(photo by Riçk)

This is me, on the "Dawson's Creek pier" on Lake Burley-Griffin in Canberra.

No Australian black swans were visible in this picture. Black swans are twelve feet tall, they have pouches, and they spit venom. Actually, I am kidding. Australian black swans are much like North American swans, except that they have black feathers, red beaks, and red eyes (although they apparently make a creepy noise, which I didn't get to hear while I was there).

One of my co-workers told me that there are some Aussie black swans living in a park in Ashland, Oregon (?)