Nice, Sydney (by Joe)

Very nice Sydney - we've been very impressed on our whirlwind three-day sight-seeing tour. We expected to like it, but it really does have a nice feel.

We've enjoyed the large Botanical Gardens to picnic in overlooking the harbour (please DO walk on the grass - see left); plenty of good shopping; nicely done skyscrapers in the central business district integrated smartly alongside a surprising number of well-maintained old terraces and buildings (see below/ right); and good beaches only half an hour out of town.

To top it all there's the fantastic Sydney harbour, constantly full of sail- and speed-boats (see top).

There are also excellent restaurants - a real mix of cuisines; lots of nice bars; and very good nightlife scene.

Sydney is also home to a large gay community, which, in my book, gives it in parts that feeling of trendy, well-to-do pink-pound liberalism that you find in, say, Brighton.

In fact, with that, steep hills across the city, the harbour and bridge, the whole place has reminded me very much of San Francisco (... er, not that I've ever actually been to San Francisco!)

We're only staying a few days, but we've liked it very much.

Joe