Sydney

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

It was only a week, but it seemed like a lifetime (but in a good way). Both The Grrl and I were very impressed with Sydney; great scenic beauty, very liveable, great food, great coffee, living-wage guaranteed, clean, EZ to get around by foot, ferry or taxi, pro motorcycle, very friendly people. If I already used this line, forgive me since I am a little jet-lagged: It is like Vancouver, BC, but with LA weather (+ some humidity).

Only 20 million people in the country, most of them gathered around the Melbourne to Sydney strip of coastline. Kangaroos are the deer-cognate; they are a pest in the rural and semi-rural areas (and very tasty).

and you can do this: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bridgeclimb.com/">http://www.bridgeclimb.com/</a><!-- m -->

Put it on your list. If you like big cities with a relaxed pace and a very high quality of life, you'll like Sydney.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Oops! I forgot the down-side: It is as The Queen said: books are enormously expensive. The guess by one bookstore person was that around 70% of the books sold in Australia are imported. What would cost us about $7 or $8 would cost about twice that there in good old greenbacks.

The single-malt issue was roundly defeated, however, and I had several opportunites for a good basic dram. Next time you are there, stay in the Darling Harbor area; great restaurants and bars.

Of course, I had to hunt through the Duty Free to find something to take home, which I did. After Burns Night at HK's family compound, where his whiskey won the "tipple o' th' night" award, I had to hunt up the Fiddich "Solera" Reserve.

Maybe the next gathering should be at my place just for the whiskey tasting...