A city deserted

Most Canberrans are quick to defend Canberra from the uncharitable comments of other Australians. This little city does have a lot going for it after all. On the other hand, it seems that most Canberrans would agree that while Canberra is a nice place to live there, is absolutely no reason to stay here over the holidays. And so there is a Christmas exodus out of Canberra toward 'the coast.' I am guessing that, given how much of Australia is coast, when people say 'the coast' they mean anywhere that is not here. 

So Canberra has gone into summer hibernation. Sure there are still plenty of people left, but, based on our sojourns outdoors, it appears that the people left stranded in Canberra have better things to do than go outside when it is 35 degrees with a UV index of 17*. Or else they are too despondent about not being on 'the coast' to leave their houses. This exodus is even more apparent in our neighborhood which is made up largely of government buildings and hotels (my guess is there are not many visitors this time of year). We are enjoying the extreme quiet and the endless opportunities to walk in the middle of the road. 

In addition to Canberra having a much smaller population there is also not much open here. We expected everything to be closed for Christmas and New Year's. But when Christmas and New Year's and summer holidays and inland city all converge, the closures last much longer. We thought we might walk to a cafe today (the 26th) as it is a nice way to get out of the house without sunburning Zadie but some quick internet research revealed that things like restaurants and cafes wont be opening for a few days in the best of cases, and weeks in other cases. Actually, it is not out of the ordinary for businesses to reopen January 12th. I suppose given the lack of clientele really what is the point in opening? 

Luckily we have 10 bottles of wine, plenty of cookies, and a bag of pine nuts we have to finish off before we join the others on 'the coast' in a few weeks. Plus, who cares what is going on in Canberra when there is a cute baby to cuddle at home?

* Given that the scale hits 'extreme' at 8, a score of 17 means there is extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme extreme radiation risk.

Wrapped for the holidays

Where's the milk??

Keeping ourselves busy at home