Here is Mike Acocella's comment for our blog:
"I had a very nice time visiting Wellington and Palmerston North. Wellington, for one of the smaller capital cities I have seen is very compact yet has all the conveniences of a large city, with an extensive waterfront. The "suburbs" (Palmerston North being one of them) are "islands" in the middle of a mostly agricultural/rural area. I was a bit surprised how self contained it was, with all sorts of "mom and pop" stores around a town square. It even has some cultural activities going on (i.e. jazz concerts, and live theatre.) There was more than one bookstore within a 5 minute walk of each other, which is something you don't see in the US anymore. Everything is walkable, including a 15-20 minute walk from the center of town back to the house. What a concept - you can actually walk everywhere, and on sidewalks no less. We could take a cue in the US from that."

Think of Mike as he travels back to Virginia.
Palmerston North to Wellington to Sydney to LAX to Washington, Dulles;  long layovers in each city.
Tomorrow, I'll be attending an office staff meeting at noon, and a GP peer review in the evening.   Learned today that having the receptionist ask the patient the reason for the appointment is a novel controversial concept.  I had suggested that care would be more efficient if i knew why the patient was coming in before I brought them into the room.  
Expressions:  It's good as gold.  I feel like a box of fluffy ducks.
Sorry to muck you around.