Suburb #57 Monash

Suburb no. 57 was Monash - and I've got to say (sorry Monashians) - this is going to be a hard suburb to write about as I  really struggled to find any inspiration here.

Monash is named after General Sir John Monash who commanded the Australian Army in France during the first world war and has his head on our $100 note. His motto was 'Feed your troops on victory'.

The streets here are named after engineers - mmm yeah what I can say inspirational...

First stop was the local shops. But really this was more like the local shop plus a Chinese restaurant...

We also visited Isabella pond at the bottom of the suburb....

But after that we did struggle a little to be entertained... but to be fair there were some nice views....

This house probably would probably be more interesting in the evening....

 And Monash does appear to have the widest variety of bus stop designs of any suburb we have visited so far...

So seriously what more could you want right? :p

Suburb #56 Gordon

Suburb number 56 was Gordon at the very bottom of Canberra in the deep south.

It is named after Adam Lindsay Gordon an Australia poet, jockey and politician. His poem A song of Autumn was set to music by Edward Elgar.

Where shall we go for our garlands glad

At the falling of the year

When the burnt-up banks are yellow and sad

When the boughs are yellow and sere?

When the old ones that once we had,

And where are the old new ones near?

What shall we do for our garlands glad

At the falling of the year?

The streets are named after sportspeople.

Gordon, very much like Banks across to the east, boasts some amazing views. You can also literally walk for five minutes and feel like you are in the middle of the countryside.

But turn around and you are surrounded by epic mega mansions...

And yards filled with strange objects...

A highlight though was definitely Point Hut pond and the local park....

Here we found the leaning tower of Gordon...

This was harder than it looks...

But the slide was awesome!!! unlike my very inelegant dismount...

And I haven't made myself dizzy in one of these since I was like 12....

Not far away was also Point Hut crossing...a gorgeous little spot.

Overall a great southern adventure :)

Suburb #55 Macquarie

Suburb no 55 was Macquarie not far from where I slave away at the salt mines during the week and unfortunately a lot of other times...

This suburb is named after Lachlan Macquarie, who was Governor of NSW between 1810 and 1821. He is sometimes referred to as 'The Father of Australia' due to his role in transforming NSW from a penal colony to a free settlement. Central Sydney is also basically based on his street plan...But I find it more interesting that he was born on an island off the West Coast of Scotland where he lived until he was 14. He then volunteered for the army and travelled to North America to take part in the American war of independence. He was also a Freemason. His wife died of tuberculosis :( but he found another one.

The streets here are named after contemporaries of the man himself.

Our Macquarie adventure started @thelocalshops - that is the real ones, that are stuck in the 1970s, where the wonderful Kinh Do Vietnamese restaurant is. I understand this was closed for a bit as some clever person drove their car through the front window...but it appears to be back in working order.

I was very excited to find a copy of my favourite piece of braddon street art here :)

Macquarie is a quiet, relaxed sort of place....the residents do seem to have a habit of leaving things in odd places though...

It was such a hot day I was tempted to go watersliding with all my clothes on at Big Splash - another Canberra institution...

Instead I escaped to the wonderful and air-conditioned Asia Bookroom. Why had I never been here before? (noting if I had know about this place in my twenties I may never have left my house and just read Asian history books). But in my 30s this just opens up the whole realm of Asian crime fiction :)

Alas I didn't find anymore tartan dresses at the Salvo shop nearby this time. I did, however, find a new Asian grocery...

Some apparently Vegan street art ????

And some shopping trolleys that were in love :)

The journey ended at the Jamieson centre - i.e. the new shops - where I was so glad to be able to take a photo of one of my favourite signs anywhere. I am not sure if the slogan or the completely bizarre picture of a country field makes me laugh more.

Though arguably dessert from Ricardos here and a bottle of champagne is all you need to be fat and happy :)