Jacob moved to Canberra for uni about 3 weeks ago, Lindsay and I went to Canberra last weekend to see his college room and see the Cat Empire with him.
Having arrived at the motel/the 1970s we hopped on the lift which took 2 minutes to travel up one storey. The gold decor, frilly curtain things, dark hallways, giant radio and padded bed heads warmly welcomed us into the past. We had fun in the dark hallway, with Jacob pretending to be something. Looking at the photo later we noticed a strange figure between the 2 boys. The hallway was empty when we took the photo.
Deciding that the headless figure in my photo was harmless, we chilled out for a bit, before heading off in search of some dinner.
After dinner we went to Koko Black, yummy!
In the morning we woke early….I woke up early and waited for the boys to wake up! and headed out to Belconnon for breaky, and a sneak peak of Jacob’s college room. His room is about the same size as my bathroom, I was impressed at how clean he had managed to keep it but threat of red backs kept me on guard most of the visit.
We spent the afternoon at the National Archives which was really interesting and worth a look. Following that we headed over to Old Parliament House.
We tried out the seats in the senate and house of reps,
looked at old newspapers on a stand
We found a room that was being used to hold all the old signs, I asked “what was that room used for?” and Jacob replied “to put to the signs in”. thanks bro.
Jacob interviewed John Howard on ABC radio, while I practised looking ’special’
we tried on the costumes,
(am I dancing?)
Jacob also had his photo taken in the speakers chair, the photo is blurry because I was laughing too much… ask him.
After Old Parliament House we were so hungry and thirsty we raced to a coles to stock up on BBQ chicken, rolls and salad.
We decided to picnic on the south side of Lake Burley Griffin…missed the turn off and felt maybe a picnic on the north side would be ok too. Jacob ate his weight in chicken rolls (he is a student now you see),
The boys eating
I dropped coleslaw through the table into my birkenstock and between my toes, managed to pour BBQ chicken grease down Jacob’s Leg and sent Lindsay off looking for non-existent tissues. Deciding to use my mad skills artistically I went off with Lindsay’s camera to practice taking photos on manual.
Check out this photo, I am so proud of myself. I am still learning to use the manual function and I managed to take this awesome photo.
After lunch we went back to the 1970s for a nap and to get ready for the concert.
The Cat Empire were playing at the Royal Theatre. Paprika Balkanicus were the warm up band, and warm us up they did! Their music was amazing and were so much fun. They encouraged everyone to hold hands and form circles to dance a traditional Balkan dance. Jacob, Lindsay and joined up with a group of around 15 others. The only instruction was “its like Irish Dancing, but you hold hands”. The music started and our circle started running, holding hands we ran around and around, laughing and asking each other “is this dancing?”. After that song we were asked to help with the “la la las”, girls were asked to la, then the Boys “don’t be sissy’s” the lead singer told them. It was fantastic.
We head out to the foyer to meet the band afterwards and to buy a CD, chatting to the band we found out our ‘dancing’ was a little off, they had hoped for more of a step and kick routine.
We made it back into the theatre just as the Cat Empire came out on stage. I love how enthusiastic they are, how much fun they have on stage and how awesome their music is. Singing and dancing along the 3 of us dogged the boys on drugs, the girls on alcohol, women on high heels and the numerous children.
My favourite song of the night was Miserere, a rather sad song that started of with Felix playing solo on the keyboard. But as the song progressed he was joined one by one by the rest of the band, as more instruments joined in, the music gradually brightened up, it was beautifully done.
Then on stage came the warm up band, with their violin, guitars and accordions to play a couple of songs with the Cat Empire. It was fantastic! We had so much have, and from the looks of things so did both the bands! This was the 3rd time seeing the Cat Empire play live, and it was just as amazingly awesome as the previous shows.
The Cat Empire on stage with Paprika Balkanicus.
With most concerts it seems to be over rather quickly leaving you feeling unsatisfied. However with the Cat Empire, they were on stage for probably 2 hours, and by they end of it I was looking forward to them finishing up because my feet were killing me from all the dancing!
After a dinner of chips and chocolate we dropped Jacob in Belconnan and head back to the 1970s.
The next morning Lindsay and I found a little village to have breakfast in, we bumped into a cousin of Lindsay’s from Sydney! What a small world!
We waited 30 minutes for breakfast only to find out they forgot to put the order in!
A quick stop at the Dutch Embassy to work out how to get a Visa for Lindsay, the ladies there was fantastic! So helpful…unlike the staff at a certain consulate….in a certain city in which we live.
Then Lindsay drove me home! He is a rather good driver, must be because he has such an awesome driving instructor.