to the tune of auld lang syne seemed to be the anthem of many in their twenties (and on either side!) I was fortunate to visit the USA for 6 months and back pack around this vast country. To my surprise & delight I was just old enough to drink alcohol in public the day I arrived. This was not something I had considered when planning my trip as the drinking age in Australia was 18 years.

But I was a sensible drinker and often made the conscious decision not to over indulge in a country where I was most often travelling alone. So I would always order light beer! You see, in Australia, light beer was alcohol light not calorie light. I am not sure it helped me anyway as I still managed to again 35 lbs in 6 months! But I guess it could have been worse! And the 3 years drinking practice from 18-21 years kept me in good stead to not get drunk on beer. But the Bacardi 151 is another story…