Well Virgin telephones didn't bother getting back to me - so I did a quick web search and found a mobile phone dealer who sold unblocked phones. Ryda.com of Ashfield. I went in on Friday and bought one for $39.95 - could have save myself some money and stress if I had done that first. You live and learn! I got it home and charged the battery and put in the SIM card and lo and behold, it worked - Yes! Not that we intend sharing the telephone number with anyone - it is for us to use in the UK to make calls to the various places we have to communicate with. The SIM card is designed for UK calls only. We can be contacted through our Gmail addresses, which we will be checking regularly, and of course through the comments section in this Blog.
Last night I did a re-pack of the suitcases and hand luggage. The blister packs of medications take up very little space in the hand luggage, what a great idea for anyone travelling with lots of medications.
Not much else to say about preparation as it is all done. Only boring house cleaning to do before our house sitters Claudine, Leo and Isabelle and their two dogs come to stay. Next post will hopefully be from Singapore - internet links permitting.
Showing posts with label Preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preparation. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
8 Sleeps to Go
It is Thursday and we are nearly finished preparations for the trip. Yesterday, Deb got her scripts for all the medications she has to take for the trip (nearly 10 weeks worth). What a performance ! However the scripts are with Pharmacy Direct who are going to package them for her into dosage blister packs which will reduce the amount of space they will take up in the hand luggage. We will pick up the packages some time today. One last thing that is holding us up is trying to get my mobile phone unblocked so that I can use the UK SIM card we have purchased in the UK. Mobile phone companies can drive you nuts, and our supplier is one of them. Having spent an hour on the phone a couple of days ago, they finally sent me the unblock code by email. I tried - but no success, so I phoned them again last night - still no luck, so they are supposed to be contacting me today by an "expert" who will "talk me through the process". I think it would have been easier to buy a new phone, but as I really detest the things, I didn't want to waste the money. Anyway, that may have to be the solution if there is no result today.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Countdown to Departure
This morning I was able to say to myself "all the planning is finished" ! I have finalised all the pre-booking that it is possible to do before departure, and now only have to deal with the packing of the suitcases, and getting to the airport on time.
On Thursday, the Queen Mary 2 was in Sydney, so Deb and I took Isabelle (our Granddaughter) down to see her. We took the train, as the RTA was advising that there would be clearways, and to expect crowds - and arrived at St James Station around 10.30am - there was quite a number of people walking down towards Mrs Macquaries' point, and the Art Gallery. So we joined in the procession.
We didn't take long to get to where we could see the ship from the Art Gallery roadway. Then we decided to go down some pretty steep steps, to get to the water's edge where there was a water taxi offering rides out to see the Queen up close ($5.00 a head). We thought this was too good an opportunity to miss and so went out with some other people in the boat.
These are the photos we took:
Queen Mary 2 at Garden Island Dock, Sydney. Looking at her from the stern.
Hazel & Isabelle Deb and Isabelle and the Queen
We all had a great time on the Water taxi, and enjoyed being able to get up fairly close.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Preparation
Such much to do with the organisation of this trip. Little by little we are getting there. Yesterday Deb and I saw our GP and had our vaccinations !!! I had not anticipated needing these, but when we told our GP that we would be stopping at Singapore, India, Dubai, Oman, Egypt, Greece, Italy and France on route to the UK, she trotted out all the possible diseases we could be exposed to - yuk. Anyway two needles and a dose of foul tasting oral vaccine, we should be safe from Adult diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, typhoid, Hepatitis A and cholera. Thank goodness they combine many of the vaccines. The biggest sting was when we got the account for the vaccines - all up the cost of the two lots of vaccinations and the visit to the Dr was just under$600.00. Deb also got her scripts for the medicines she has to carry with her, along with a medicine transport letter and form to take the drugs out of Australia and in to other countries.
On Monday I picked up an international driving licence from the N.R.M.A. that at least was easy and just a matter of supplying a photo and of course paying some money.
This morning I recieved an email from the lady organising our tour of the Battlefields of the Somme - she was advising us to take the TGV from Amiens rather than a limosine (which was to be provided by the airlines) - said it would be much faster, and more reliable than a car.
I am waiting to hear from the French railways to advise me when bookings open for the TGV, so that I can book our seats before we leave.
On Monday I picked up an international driving licence from the N.R.M.A. that at least was easy and just a matter of supplying a photo and of course paying some money.
This morning I recieved an email from the lady organising our tour of the Battlefields of the Somme - she was advising us to take the TGV from Amiens rather than a limosine (which was to be provided by the airlines) - said it would be much faster, and more reliable than a car.
I am waiting to hear from the French railways to advise me when bookings open for the TGV, so that I can book our seats before we leave.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Preparation
Here it is Thursday 22 January, and preparations for the holiday are almost complete. All accommodation is now booked, so we have somewhere to sleep every night - which is a good thing!!
I have also booked our Eurostar trip from London to Lille, France - the bookings opened for the dates we wanted to travel just this week, so we had a wonderful chance to select the seats we wanted for the 90 minute trip. We will be getting up before the crack of dawn that day, as we need to be in Lille early enough to start our tour of the Battlefields of the Somme.
Deb and I were given a Cruise on the Thames as part of our Christmas presents from Claudine and Leo, and we have been working out when we might take it, unfortunately, most of the time we will be in London with be over Easter and other bank holiday periods which means the crowds are much heavier then.
We have also obtained our visa for the stopover in India - that was fairly painless, despite having difficulty in finding where the Indian Visa office was located in Sydney.
Next step is to have some vaccinations. We checked with our GP as to whether or not we needed any, and she has advised us to have DTPa (Diptheria, Tetanus and Whooping Cough), Hep A and Typhoid vaccinations - sore arms are about to be experienced. Deb has made the appointment for this activity - so I'm not looking forward to it.
I have also booked our Eurostar trip from London to Lille, France - the bookings opened for the dates we wanted to travel just this week, so we had a wonderful chance to select the seats we wanted for the 90 minute trip. We will be getting up before the crack of dawn that day, as we need to be in Lille early enough to start our tour of the Battlefields of the Somme.
Deb and I were given a Cruise on the Thames as part of our Christmas presents from Claudine and Leo, and we have been working out when we might take it, unfortunately, most of the time we will be in London with be over Easter and other bank holiday periods which means the crowds are much heavier then.
We have also obtained our visa for the stopover in India - that was fairly painless, despite having difficulty in finding where the Indian Visa office was located in Sydney.
Next step is to have some vaccinations. We checked with our GP as to whether or not we needed any, and she has advised us to have DTPa (Diptheria, Tetanus and Whooping Cough), Hep A and Typhoid vaccinations - sore arms are about to be experienced. Deb has made the appointment for this activity - so I'm not looking forward to it.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Pre-Cruise Preparation
It is Sunday morning and I have spent many long days since June last year getting ready for our holiday to end all holidays. Deb and I saw an advertisement in the Sunday paper travel guide about cruises on the Queen Mary 2 to Southampton from Singapore. The prices were quite reasonable, so we decided to investigate more on-line, and were able to make a booking for the cruise through a travel agent in Frankston Victoria.
The cruise was something I have dreamed of for many years, and this one seems to be a wonderful way for us to get to the UK. We fly to Singapore from Sydney on 13 March, stay overnight in the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore, then join the QM2 on the 14th March to cruise to arrive in Cochin (India) on the 18th, from there we cruise to Dubai (21st), Salalah (Oman) on 23rd March, then cruise through the Suez Canal to arrive in Alexandria (Egypt) on the 28th. From there we travel to Athens (30th) then on to Rome (1st April), Cannes (2nd), Barcelona (3rd), then on to Le Havre (France) arriving 7th April and finally in to Southampton on the 8th April. We spend the night at the Caesar Hotel in London, and then transfer to Youth Hostel accommodation at YHA Thameside (9-13 April) then overnight in another hotel before joining our Globus tour of Britain.
When we first decided to travel to the UK the main objective was to do family history research, along with seeing the country, and we planned on travelling under our own steam with a fairly flexible itinerary. This was all to change however, when the financial world crashed and everyone's superannuation took a beating - ours included. The price of petrol had also skyrocketed, and we became concerned about being about to fund the holiday in the UK, given that the exchange rate between the A$ and the UK pound was pretty steep.
Fortunately for us, another advertisement appeared in the Travel guide of the Sunday papers - this time for a Globus tour of Britain, which started a few days after we arrived in England in April.
I rapidly contacted our travel agent, and asked her to see if she could get us on the tour - and she was successful, so now we had an arranged tour of Britain, which will take us from London, across to Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, and Warwick on the first day, next day we travel from Warwick to York, Day 3 from York to Edinburgh, day 4 in Edinburgh for the day, day 5 Edinburgh to St. Andrews, Braemar and Inverness, day 6 Inverness to Fort William and Glasgow, day 7 from Glasgow to the Lake District and Chester, Day 8 from Chester to North Wales and then by ferry to Dublin, day 9 spend in Dublin, day 10 Dublin to Kildare and Limerick, Day 11 Limerick excursion to the West Coast of Ireland, day 12 Limerick to Adare, Ring of Kerry and Tralee, Day 13 Tralee to Blarney and Waterford, day 14 Waterford to Bristol, day 15 Bristol to Bath, Glastonbury and Torquay, Day 16 Torquay to Cornwall on excursion Day 17 Torquay to Stonehenge, Salisbury and back to London. 30th April, Overnight in a London Hotel.
On the 1st May we go back to the YHA Thameside for 4 more nights, then travel to Cornwall for 4 days - to do family history research, on the 9th May we transfer to the Isle of Wight for some more family history research. On the 15h we transfer back to London before taking the Eurostar to Lille in France for a 3 day tour of the Battlefields of the Somme. We then travel to the Charles De Gaulle airport to fly home to Sydney with Etihad Airlines via Dubai. Arrive in Sydney on the 18th May at some ungodly time of the morning - but will be transported home by limosine courtesy of Etihad. Whew!! that's nearly 10 weeks away from home.
Deb and I hope to be able to keep this blog going while away and those who are interested are invited to read it. I am hoping to be able to post some photos this time - however that will depend on being able to access the internet while away.
The cruise was something I have dreamed of for many years, and this one seems to be a wonderful way for us to get to the UK. We fly to Singapore from Sydney on 13 March, stay overnight in the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore, then join the QM2 on the 14th March to cruise to arrive in Cochin (India) on the 18th, from there we cruise to Dubai (21st), Salalah (Oman) on 23rd March, then cruise through the Suez Canal to arrive in Alexandria (Egypt) on the 28th. From there we travel to Athens (30th) then on to Rome (1st April), Cannes (2nd), Barcelona (3rd), then on to Le Havre (France) arriving 7th April and finally in to Southampton on the 8th April. We spend the night at the Caesar Hotel in London, and then transfer to Youth Hostel accommodation at YHA Thameside (9-13 April) then overnight in another hotel before joining our Globus tour of Britain.
When we first decided to travel to the UK the main objective was to do family history research, along with seeing the country, and we planned on travelling under our own steam with a fairly flexible itinerary. This was all to change however, when the financial world crashed and everyone's superannuation took a beating - ours included. The price of petrol had also skyrocketed, and we became concerned about being about to fund the holiday in the UK, given that the exchange rate between the A$ and the UK pound was pretty steep.
Fortunately for us, another advertisement appeared in the Travel guide of the Sunday papers - this time for a Globus tour of Britain, which started a few days after we arrived in England in April.
I rapidly contacted our travel agent, and asked her to see if she could get us on the tour - and she was successful, so now we had an arranged tour of Britain, which will take us from London, across to Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, and Warwick on the first day, next day we travel from Warwick to York, Day 3 from York to Edinburgh, day 4 in Edinburgh for the day, day 5 Edinburgh to St. Andrews, Braemar and Inverness, day 6 Inverness to Fort William and Glasgow, day 7 from Glasgow to the Lake District and Chester, Day 8 from Chester to North Wales and then by ferry to Dublin, day 9 spend in Dublin, day 10 Dublin to Kildare and Limerick, Day 11 Limerick excursion to the West Coast of Ireland, day 12 Limerick to Adare, Ring of Kerry and Tralee, Day 13 Tralee to Blarney and Waterford, day 14 Waterford to Bristol, day 15 Bristol to Bath, Glastonbury and Torquay, Day 16 Torquay to Cornwall on excursion Day 17 Torquay to Stonehenge, Salisbury and back to London. 30th April, Overnight in a London Hotel.
On the 1st May we go back to the YHA Thameside for 4 more nights, then travel to Cornwall for 4 days - to do family history research, on the 9th May we transfer to the Isle of Wight for some more family history research. On the 15h we transfer back to London before taking the Eurostar to Lille in France for a 3 day tour of the Battlefields of the Somme. We then travel to the Charles De Gaulle airport to fly home to Sydney with Etihad Airlines via Dubai. Arrive in Sydney on the 18th May at some ungodly time of the morning - but will be transported home by limosine courtesy of Etihad. Whew!! that's nearly 10 weeks away from home.
Deb and I hope to be able to keep this blog going while away and those who are interested are invited to read it. I am hoping to be able to post some photos this time - however that will depend on being able to access the internet while away.
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