Canberra mini trip

Brunch at Lonsdale Street Roasters

I visited Canberra recently for a few days. It was the first time I'd been back since I moved to Melbourne in a whirlwind of stress and panic in early February this year (try packing, moving, finishing renovating, cleaning, driving 8.5 hours in a packed car, all in one week).

It was lovely and crisp in Canberra. I hadn't probably picked the best time of year to visit, but it reminded me of how much I enjoyed those clear winter days and blue skies, even if the weather was still very, very cold.

I caught up with lots of friends and family, and met my cousin's new pet rabbit (super cute and very friendly and doesn't bark, possibly the ideal pet).

Pepe with best friend Pooh.

I managed to get to a few exhibitions: the Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery, which was so fantastic I bought the catalogue, and a sneak preview of an abstract art exhibition at the Canberra Gallery.

I also got to take a few arty shots...

I checked out a few of my favourite shops: Felt (got a great red beanie and fluffy jacket), Landspeed Records (stylish fake fur jacket) and April's Caravan (didn't buy anything this time but thoroughly enjoyed the decor and vintage fashion ideas.

It was lovely to catch up with people and see a few of my old haunts. It was also a bit weird, as though the last five months had been a dream and I still lived in Canberra. Not true! My life has changed a lot since then, and it was nice to be reminded of that too.

Bright young things

There's nowhere better to get new ideas and inspirations for all things artistic and creative, than turning to students. I love going to student art shows. And this time of year is the best time to see one. I'm going to recommend two: the Twentyseven exhibition by twenty seven textile artists from RMIT in Melbourne, and the ANU School of Art Graduating Exhibition. Some images from the two exhibitions are above and below. Go! And be inspired.

**Photos in this post are from the ANU School of Art website and the Twentyseven exhibition website**

Washington: museum city (but in a good way)

I'm not usually a museum person. There's the people who poke around museums endlessly on their travels, and there's the ones who soak up the atmosphere outside. I am usually the second kind. I'm not even a national monument person, and I don't get excited about West-Wing style politics. So when it looked like Washington DC would be a stop on my whirlwind tour of the US, mainly due to my return flight to Australia, I wondered exactly what I would do there.

To my unexpected delight, I really loved the museums in Washington. For one, they are amazingly well-funded and well set up. They have fantastic exhibits. And they are free.

The Hirschhorn Museum has a wonderful collection of contemporary art from the 20th and 21st centuries. The Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery has a great collection of folk art, and an amazing atrium in the centre of the building where one could (and perhaps did) spend hours just hanging out with a book.

The world-famous Natural History Museum has its mammoth, and stuffed lions and tigers, but also a fantastic exhibition on race - a very topical issue for Americans - that was curated by the American Anthropological Association. The Air and Space Museum has its fair share of planes and other craft suspended from its ceiling.

The American Indian Museum is probably my favourite. It has remarkable exhibits on native American arts and crafts, as well as exhibits exploring native American identity and contemporary culture, plus a great gift shop and a very tasty cafe with all native foods. Yum.

Suffice to say I was a complete convert to museums, at least the ones in Washington. Amazing, inspiring, and a great way to end my stay in the US.