I was only in Brisbane for a few days, but in some ways, it was my favourite city in Australia. On arrival, I tried the hop-on-hop-off tour bus which wasn't very good. The commentary was live, but the poor guy must have said the same words so many thousands of times, he couldn't help but let some of his boredom show through. Nevertheless, it did help orientate me to where the city was.

The next day I did a guided walking tour of the Brisbane architecture and was very impressed. There are many Gothic and Colonial style buildings, all spotlessly clean with equally beautiful interiors. There is also (again) a stunning amount of development going on right around the old buildings. A persistent anxiety from the tour guide was the hope that the new developments would work with the old buildings rather than reduce them.

But Brisbane really came alive after dark. I'm not sure what it is, but I think that Brisbane is the nicest outdoor eating place I've ever been to. Of course, it is helped by a consistently sunny climate, but they've also set aside lots of space throughout the city for restaurants and bars. In any modern city you expect to be able to get all the different food styles: Indian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, French, Mexican, Spanish, etc, etc. Brisbane mixes this with outdoor night-time markets on a stunning river front overlooking the city. And given this setting, it is hardly surprising that such eating out seems to be part of the normal way of life here - everyone does it. Fantastic. I had several great meals here including a Chicken and Blue-Cheese Risotto and a Lamb Bhuna. A fatty like me could move here and die happy.

But I only have a limited amount of time left in Australia, and still a couple of things I want to do, so I've moved on again and have reached Tamworth, New South Wales. It is a bit of a nowhere place, but I hope to go gliding tomorrow at nearby Lake Keepit.