It's who you know

Amazingly, last night comes an email from a colleague in Aberdeen. Not someone I have ever met, but she had seen the press release about my visit to Canberra and wrote asking whether I would like an introduction to her sister, who lives here.

A couple of emails later, and I am in contact with Madeleine, who volunteers to show me around Canberra today.

I had already planned to undertake the hike out to the lake and National Museum, so she picked up from there late morning.

It was great to meet someone who knew the city so well. She took me up to an lookout outside the city where I could see the whole city laid out in front of us. Another beautiful day meant that you could see for miles.

It turns out that Madeleine works at the Parliament, so I also got a tour there. A month ago, we were touring the Cortes in Madrid - this is getting to be a habit! Some photos for Nikolas of the House of Representatives and the Senate: