BLOODY CANBERRA

We've just returned from a long weekend in Canberra kindly hosted by Australian Capital Tourism as part of its intriguing Human Brochure project. And, to be honest, we were blown away. Exploring some of the capital's gems, places with deep national significance, and some that were just plain fun, was an all-round positive, double thumbs-up experience.

It all seemed sort of counter-intuitive. I mean, how were we having such a good time in a place renowned for being irreparably dull with few redeeming features?

THINGS PEOPLE ALMOST NEVER SAY

I can't wait to go to Canberra.

You probably didn't expect that.

It's a bit of a lazy joke in Australia that Canberra is boring. The nation's capital. Home to dullards like Parliament House, the National Gallery, The National Museum, Floriade, Questacon and the Institute of Sport...

All a bit of a yawn, isn't it?

Well, no.

I haven't visited in the 20 years or so since that time. But I know the story of the place with its sacred geometry, the hierarchical placement of our great institutions, the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on Walter Burley Griffin's grand, almost esoteric vision and his wife Marion's renderings of it give this place a rich framework on which modern Canberra is draped. You don't have to dig too far to find golden veins of storytelling worth mining.