So my weekend was not all parties and presents. No, we also had time for a little Canberra sightseeing with the family.
The chosen destination….
But not before indulging in a favourite past time….
Yum Cha!
And let’s just say – there was no holding back - gotta love a meal of ‘entrees’! It was actually lucky we had such a decent brunch, as the rest of our day involved a lot of walking. And reading.
The one thing that strikes me every time I visit the War Memorial, is its sheer size. You could easily spend three days exploring the museum, and then still not even make it the whole way through.
From the AWM website:
“The Australian War Memorial combines a shrine, a world-class museum, and an extensive archive. The Memorial's purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war. Its mission is to assist Australians to remember, interpret and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.”
Knowing that we were time limited in advance, we decided to join a tour group which ended up being a great option.
The tour started outside….
In the Commemorative Courtyard, and with a walk past the eternal flame.
The sheer number of names that adorned the walls of the courtyard, the names of men and women who have lost their lives in various conflicts, was truly overwhelming.
Next up - the Hall of Memory.
Where we were greeted with stunning mosaic tiling…
And impressive stained glass tributes -
with each window representing a defining quality of Australian servicemen and women at war.
It was then time to move inside, where we spent over an hour reading our way through the first world war.
Taking in as many facts and figures as we could.
Sadly, however, time was against us, and we had to cut our tour short. But not before taking a quick detour into the Aircraft Hall.
I highly recommend the War Memorial if you are in Canberra and looking for an educational afternoon (out of the cold lol!)
(mum, me, little bro)
The exhibits and displays really are world class, as we are so very lucky to have such a fantastic memorial in our home town.
A great afternoon for locals and tourists alike!
What about you? Are you a fan of museums?
Posts
I'm certainly a fan of musuems, but I haven't been here in, gosh, could be 15 years! Shame on me! Thank you for the peek :)
ReplyDeleteI could spend a week at the AWM
ReplyDeleteWow! Beautiful pictures :) It is nice you got to sightsee the weekend of your b-day and go to the AWM!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures (and beautiful family!). I love museums but don't get there as often as I'd like.
ReplyDeleteI love museums. The first thing we do when we travel is figure out what museums we want to go to. It looks like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful! We have quite a few museums here & don't get there nearly enough.
ReplyDeleteWow that museum is gorgeous! You got some great photos! I live in DC so we have tooons of musuems. I don't go nearly enough!
ReplyDeletethe poppies look absolutely breath taking on the memorial wall!!! <3
ReplyDeleteIt has been years since I visited the war memorial! I think it was for a school excursion too so literally decades ago. Andi like your description of yum cha, a meal full of entrees! : P
ReplyDeleteI haven't been there for ages! It's one of my favourite places to visit though.
ReplyDeleteI love playing tourist in ones home town!
ReplyDeleteOhhh dear! How gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with us!
ReplyDeletewow! what an incredible experience!
ReplyDeleteCan I just say.... Your little bro is SOoooooo tall. :) I love doing the stay-cations, I do the war memorial every 3 years, it's a beautiful. I love that it is so specific to Australia. Oh, and how good is Yum Cha, such a fan.
ReplyDeleteI love yum cha/ dim sum!!! Something about that bustle, the small bites, the steam and the many, many dishes...so charming. :-)
ReplyDeleteI do love museums, but I fell asleep in a museum once. I just lay down on the bench and slept for an hour. It was the MOMA at SF. haha.
The War Memorial is such a great place to visit. We go pretty regularly even though we're locals.
ReplyDeleteBut more importantly.... where did you go for yum cha? And do they have a good selection of gluten free?
I love the war memorial - such a beautiful museum - I loved visiting there when I had friends in canberra and time to visit them as a student - just the place to take visitors
ReplyDeleteWow! its incredibly informative. Well written. I have bookmarked your blog. As a travel blogger, your blog will be definitely useful to me.
ReplyDelete