Putting the CAN in Canberra – #humanbrochure day 1

Hello from Canberra! We have completed day 1 of the Human Brochure initiative. Did you know that Canberra was designed as a part of a competition, and the Walter Burley Griffin, architect and designer, had a certain lifestyle in mind when he designed it. I see this initiative, one year before Canberra’s Cententary, as a way for Human Brochure participants to design the way they want potential tourists to see Canberra. It is experience-based marketing. It really is ground breaking.

I was contacted by Ant Sharwood from News.com.au/The Punch to give a quote about my experience – I called him from the airport, excited about this adventure. You can read his article, including my quote, here. Note – I have been to Canberra for leisure before, though the article says contrary.

Tash and I have had a wonderful first day filled with laughs, sights and food. We waited in a long queue at Qantas security and a bit of turbulence in the air. I was given an extra sandwich (thanks Qantas! – I was becoming angry hungry!). There was a little boy on our flight who was so adorable – laughing hysterically everythime we experienced turbulence and clutching his sick bag like it was a gift, oblivious to its purpose. He is on the Human Brochure tour too.

Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were on our flight. I have some goss. And a blurry photo. Paparazzi I am not.

They’re beardy.

An Edward Sharpe and A Magnetic Zero was making music as we waited to board.

I was smiled at by a Mumford and Son. He said hello too.

That’s all.

We are saying the East Hotel. It is beautiful. The attention to detail is amazing. Such thought has gone into the extras at this hotel. A bike in the foyer! And a deli!

A warm welcome on the Macs in the foyer!

The East Hotel has a playful theme, with magazines, books and board games in the foyer. I like this ornament.

There were lollies on departure to our night time activity. And there is an awesome floor rug.

Our room – bigger than my unit. And really modern. They have thought of everything! Beautiful furniture, a coffee machine, a full sized fridge, cookware, an ipod dock…There is even a washing machine and dryer.

Tash coordinates her outfit with the furniture! We have been GLUED to our phones, tweeting, instagramming and facebooking. I have even bought a battery pack for my iphone.

We had a late lunch at Silo (Giles Street Kingston). It had quite a limited menu by the time we got there, but we had a choice of cakes, pizza and cheese.

We went the ewe and goat cheese platter. I described this as soft, hard and harder cheeses.

CurlyPops’ brooch came with on the trip.

Silo has a cheese room. I love a cheese room and think I might build one into my future house.

We then went for a walk to Lake Burley Griffin. We saw a caravan.

And I got in touch with nature. A swan and blossoms. The lake resembled the murky Yarra – dirty and brown – but the Instagram filter makes it prettier!

The trouble with bloggers is that they always stop to take photos.

Back at the hotel and I bathrobed it up. Love these slippers.

I got dressed up – dress from Target, cheapie shoes, Mimco headband.

There are some really well shod women in our group!

Our evening was spent at the Australian War Memorial. I have been here before. It is moving and spectacular. We saw a film about World War One planes, had a history lesson, and got to know some of the other participants on the Human Brochure trip.

I sat on the step watching the speakers from the War Memorial and Australian Capital Tourism introduce the night, and took a deep breath, marvelling at just how spectacular the surrounds is. So much history. I think the vastness of this gathering space represents the vastness of history the memorial musuem covers.

We were presented with an amazing array of canapes. Seriously so many. This was just a sample of them. There were desserts, lamb cutlets, coconut prawns, zucchini fritters and rice paper rolls. Yum!

I loved that the senior staff involved in the event, including Ian Hill, who heads up Australian Capital Tourism, came to say hello to us, and was genuinely interested in our opinions and ways of communicating this event. There is a buzz in the air – this is exciting stuff.

I got talking to a range of people including blogger Vicky Finch and a lovely young man from Tasmania – we had lots of laughs and ribbed each other. The quote of the night, on telling him that I am not very outdoorsy, was “you sound like my fucking tomato plants!”. A charmer!

So that was day one over! Looking forward to what today has in store. A breakfast buffet, wineries, art gallery and posh restaurant. Our hotel left us some goodies to ensure we are refreshed this morning.

I am loving doing this tour with Tash – she is heaps of fun and we have had lots of laughs together. She also really loves food – handy given we are on the food stream!

Follow my adventures on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Follow the Human Brochure on social media via the hashtag #humanbrochure

Disclaimer: All of the commentary on this post and future posts about Human Brochure are my own thoughts about the city. This trip has been paid for by Australian Capital Tourism. I was chosen to participate in the Human Brochure initiative because of my strong social media presence.

PS – hey it’s Tash’s birthday today! Best birthday present ever perhaps?! Go on, wish her a happy birthday!