Let the planning begin

Well we have arrived in Australia and this is the first place where we have absolutely no plans, no hotel reservations, and no real idea of what we're going to do or how long we are going to stay in a particular place. Now is when it gets fun. We just stopped at the tourist center and Elizabeth is pouring over all the materials we got, not to mention her purchase showign all the best food and wine 2011. Melbourne has become something of a foodie paradise and just trying to decide things like which wine region to go to takes a lot of time. I know, poor us. Weather was beautiful today, like an early fall day in NYC. Once again we are being told this is the coldest March in YEARS. We seem to carry this with us wherver we go. But cold here meant high 60s with a promise of high 70s by week end. This is the first time we have been out of Asia for two months and the different feel of a more western city is obvious to us. Part of it is language. Although English has not been a problem anywhere we have traveled, it's been a more basic sort of communication. You can ask how much something is or what's on the menu but getting more detail and the real nuance is much more difficult. Anyway, Australia is beautiful and we hope to have some good pictures to share with you.