And the people, so relaxed and friendly, not uptight and hostile like some places I could mention. In the paper this Sunday past, an article on happiness found that Australians when asked to rate how content they were with their lives, on a scale of 1 to 10, answered an average of 7.9!!!! 

The numerous beaches and coves which literally litter Sydney and its environs have great facilities and I mean great. Showers, picnic areas and gas BBQs - for free!!! And so it goes, the majority of the restaurants here display BYO which means Bring Your Own bottle with little or no corkage fees. Why wouldn’t they like living here?

Yes, as I suspected after six and half years of being away I’m in awe that I could have ever have left for so long before coming back. Before I shuffle from this mortal coil I definitely want to wallow in Australian living rather than being content with scraps from the table.

Don’t worry Australia, "I'll be back"

(I'll be leaving Australia in early October bound for San Francisco)