Instead of having old girlfriends drive me to the airport, I decided to do a Stay Park Fly package out of San Diego, because San Diego Airport parking is a real cruncher, and that's no way to start a vacation. Our first stop was Melbourne, a very lovely and slow old town, which may be why Bette Midler said "Melbourne makes you ask the question: is there life before death?". Bette probably didnt take a short jaunt to the promontory where regular families play on the beach among monster rock formations of megalithic stature, in water so clear you can see your feet (not so in California!). Here's the thing, if you go to Australia its because you want natural splendor; because the daily life of Australians is kind of unremarkable. Older women wear frocks and serve tea (dinner), and little boys wear school outfits that, while charming (knee socks, shorts and a cap and cardigan), would get them beaten up in any American city. Australia is very clean, and we enjoyed our hotels all across the country. Plenty of sports, though, and plenty of great outdoors like you've never seen, to get sporty.

Don't hang out near the shore if its not the beach, though. The crocs aren't kidding, and many people have been killed. If you love strange creatures (we had bats in the tree outside our window in Sydney, and lizards shooting past our feet in the garden path) and seemingly unlimited wide open spaces, Australia is just right.

10-03-2017