Labour Day!

The first weekend in September is Labour Day weekend, a public holiday. Naturally, we expected things to be a little quieter since, whilst it is the State capital, its also a surprisingly small city, the centre of which revolves around government, and the legal system. This being said, we were unprepared for the fact that just about 'everything' was closed for the day. Post-breakfast, we took a pedestrian tour of the Downtown area, discovering more of its superb architecture and public art .... fascinating, but two hours and not a single coffee shop! ...... remarkable!! The concourse in front of the Capital building, with its (Portuguese-style) mosaic square, sculptures, and the giant egg structure, is a must-see.

Nevertheless, enough can be enough and at 11:30am we headed for the car and Crossgate Mall, a shopping Mecca, thronged with people of all ages. And everything was 'open'! As ever, Starbucks was our first call ...... coffee, free wifi, and a (successful) opportunity to Facetime our son! We followed-up by visiting the Regal Movie Theatre Complex and whiled away a couple of hours in the company of Geoff Bridges in 'Hell and High Water'! (Recommended!!) As we emerged from the Mall it was hot and sunny as we drove back to the hotel. The desk team had very kindly rang around to see if anywhere was open for dinner on 'Total Closure Day' ...... fortunately, the Albany Pump Station, a local brewery, was!! Unfortunately, we missed it and discovered the Olde English Pub ...... actually pretty damned good!!

Anyway, despite being sorely tempted to sign off with the song 'A Pub With No Beer', this was far from the truth and I finally plumped for the classic 'Ghost Town' by The Specials!