SKIPPY IN THE TULIPS – Floriade, Canberra

The Netherlands meets Australia in Canberra.

Our nation’s capital has a reputation for being cold. The cold makes it one of the few places in the Southern Hemisphere where tulips flourish, which means that for a few weeks each year, Canberra is in full bloom.

The Floriade Festival, on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin brings Canberra to life each spring. It’s a sort of unofficial Dutch event, so naturally Mevrouw T and I had to check it out.

SOMETHING’S FISHY IN THE CITY OF CULTURE

Oooh, yucky!

Marseilles is having trouble in its role as Capitale Europeenne de la Culture 2013.

We get our first sense of this when we call in at the Office de Tourisme and ask for our City Pass Marseille. It’s a museum and public transport card that, according to the website, “…makes it easy for first time visitors by identifying the best things to do in the city and permits to save (sic) money and time.”

Except today, ‘Sorry, Sir, our printer is not working so we cannot make the cards.’

CLASSICO BORETTI 2013 – a snapshot and some snapshots

Of course there are windmills along the route.

6000 Dutch cyclists, some very expensive road bikes, an awful lot of bananas, boxes of krentenbollen (currant buns), thousands of litres of sports drink, several tonnes of penne bolognaise at the finish and, for us, a little over five hours in the saddle…the 6th annual Classico Boretti ride.