BRISBANE AIRPORT
Before my long flight I took an early run/walk along the river and through the Botanical Gardens --along with hundreds of other early risers. Brisbane gave me the same laid-back feeling as San Diego. It took a while to check in for my flight to Los Angeles, and go through customs and security. Once through those lines the terminal was bright and airy, with plenty of places to spend my left-over Australian dollars. I opted for some overpriced candy bars and a couple of nice bottles of wine as gifts. A Qantas pilot helped me pick them out. He said that Australia is one of the few places in the world where you can still buy great wine at a good price.

BRISBANE TO LOS ANGELES
I flew on a two-class 747-400 (the Sydney flight has 3 classes). I was upgraded to Business Class, and I couldn't believe how empty it was. The only person in my entire row was a really nice visually-impaired kid. He sat across the way, with his well-behaved seeing eye dog.

The plane was fitted with Qantas' brand-new cocoon-style seats that turn into Skybeds. Qantas boasts they are the longest business class sleeper seats in the industry. Each comes with a built-in back massager. Every passenger gets a L'Occitane amenity kit filled with lotion, lip balm, ear plugs and eye mask. Each seat has a 10.4" TV screen with 12 new-release movies, 6 TV shows and 10 video games. All can be started and stopped at any time. There is also an AC power outlet for anyone who wants to work (like me). The flight attendants were very cool, the food (dinner, late -night snack and breakfast) were quite tasty, and my seat was comfortable. However, it didn't go completely flat, so it was a bit difficult to sleep. But the 12-hour flight was still a dream -- sort of like my trip Down Under.

WISHING I WAS IN AUSTRALIA
Now that I'm back and I just finished seeing this Tourism Australia commercial (click here) on the Travel Channel that features a beautiful bikini-clad girl on the beach asking "Where the bloody hell are you?" I'll tell you where I am. Sweetheart, I'm home -- wishing I was still in OZ.