The Lizard does the Antipodes

Well, g'day! I'm in Australia! This is my seventh trip downunder since 1985...as you may reckon, I like it here. When I first came here in '85, I remember thinking that I wanted to make it here about every three years. I stayed on schedule at first, returning in 1988, but flagged in the '90s when I only visited once. However, this is my fourth time here since 2001, so I'm returning to my original plan. The last time I was here, in 2005, I figured out that I simply liked the Aussie lifestyle, from drinking VB (the best hot weather beer in the world) to hanging out on the beach, to watching the cricket, to grooving on the really cool birds and other critters, to just living in a friendly, informal, slightly irreverent mode. And guess what! The Lizard came along too. He didn't much care for the trip over...it's rigorous enough for a 6 foot 4 bloke to ride coach for over half a day, and the Lizard had to endure the whole trip in my less than aromatic sneaker inside my suitcase! But we both made it and now we're enjoying Oz. Here he is at Brisbane, which like Portland, Edmonton, and Sacramento is a fine river city, with many parks and walkways along the water.