Part of the ''Artsy'' set?...hmm..I don't think so.

This was our last touring day in Canberra.  We had a leisurely morning before TRYING to find a car park to visit the Sound and Film Archives.  It's located at the ANU (Australia National Uni) and you either had to have a permit or you walked a few blocks.  So we walked a few blocks.  It was an interesting place.  Not so much for the film and sound part of it, but for the historical value.  We got to see what  Canberra was like from the 1930's onwards.  We saw silent films and the machines which were used during those times to create movies.  The building itself was a remnant from the 1930's as well.  Marble in the bathrooms, thick wooden door jambs and doors.  This only took about an hour to go through, so we headed over to see Blundell's cottage after.  Mr. Blundell was a tenant farmer for Duntroon.  The house itself was made out of sandstone blocks.  Unfortunately it wasn't open, so we missed out on seeing the inside.

After that we headed over to the National Art Gallery which was featuring Edgar Degas.  That's pronounced " Day Gah", not ' Dee Gas" as Chris is wanting to pronounce. Frequently.  But aside from the 'gas' jokes, Chris quickly went IN one door and straight back OUT the other door.  I'm guessing it's not his cup of tea.  So we ended up getting split up and I lost him for about 30 minutes.  Which is about how long it took for him to get through the REST of the building!!  And while I was waiting for him to come back, I made my way around some of the other art exhibitions.  While I didn't mind some of Degas's work, I'm not really that fussed on impressionism.  I much prefer the detailed work of other painters, like Tom Roberts.  Scenes that are so detailed, you can see the dandelions in the grass...but also where you can get a ''feel'' for what was happening during those times, like how busy a street was in Melbourne.  I'm not much in to modern art.  Come on let's face it, some of it my 3 year old grand daughter could accomplish.  We saw two huge canvasses with NOTHING on it, EXCEPT for a navy blue and red border!! what the?! okaay...I get it,...I think.  The one thing I DID notice was that the detailed work that painters used to exhibit, are no longer done.  Artwork seems very slap happy now a days and yet for some reason, the critics go wild over it.  Go figure!  Well, I'm not an art connoisseur and I don't know composition from techniques,  so what do I know?

Well, we've walked over quite a bit of Canberra and seen many things.  There's a lot more to see here, but we've covered all of the things we wanted to see.  Both Chris and I are ready now, to head  back in to Victoria now.