Canberra times - Part 2

The second half of our time in Canberra was just as full as the first part. Some might say too full...

Too much walking, too little food

But any reasonable person would say it was just the right amount of things to do. I even managed to fit in a Saturday afternoon nap at the hotel - that's what weekends away are for, right?

Canberra continued to be mostly empty...

But then an event happened right next to our hotel that seemed to bring all the Canberrans out! It was a food truck festival during the afternoon and evening of Saturday. It brought out more people than we'd seen all day.

Toby said it was like an anthill had been kicked over, and he wasn't wrong. But we went out and joined the crowds. It was a perfect surprise activity, as there were lots of local farms, wineries, and restaurants at the event.

Everyone was feeling much better after getting some snacks at the festival. It held us over to dinner, which - turns out - you have to book a table for. It was strange that for such a quiet down, EVERYONE comes out for dinner! Luckily a nice server let us sit at a reserved table if we promised to leave within 60 minutes!

The next day we checked out of the hotel and headed to the weekly Old Bus Depot Markets before we headed out of town.

But along the way, we drove through the Kingston suburb - photo stop!

The markets, as the name suggests, are held every week in a big empty building that used to be the old bus depot. They also seemed to be a big draw for the locals: we got there right as they opened, and when we left, there wasn't a parking spot to be seen!

But the markets were fun. There were lots of local food vendors and people selling the usual crafts and such.

Market time!

Right next door to the bus depot is the Canberra Glassworks. It's located in the old power house building. In this picture, you can see how they've redone part of the old smoke stack: the brick was replaced with glass to tie the new use of the building to its history. 

Inside the glassworks, there are big areas dedicated to different types of glass work. We stood for a while and watched some people taking a glassblowing class. And then we could walk through the other studios with other classes happening too. It was really interesting!

Displays for all the non-craftspeople to look at in the working areas

A work station in the studio

Some Aussie humour in the bathroom

Before we left Canberra, we walked down to the lake. Lots of people were out on the nice Sunday morning, and the lovely lakefront was perfect for a morning walk. 

Then it was time to head back down the road to Sydney!

But we did make one final stop on our weekend of fun! About an hour out of Sydney, we pulled over for a roadside sign of "best Riesling in New South Wales." I'm not sure we'd agree with that, but our little winery visit was fun!

This is how you get the credit card machine to work in the country

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

It was a great weekend adventure!