It's official.....

We are officially booked to fly now, finally. We are due to fly out on the 3rd of April, on Qantas, at 1045 arriving in Hong Kong at 1745. From Hong Kong we fly Swiss Airlines departing at 2320 arriving in Zurich at 615 the next morning. Finally from Zurich we fly Swiss again departing at 0720 and arrive in Amsterdam at 0900 the morning of the 4th of April.

On the 30th of May we then fly back to Zurich for the 2 months in Switzerland.

For the moment the return trip works pretty much the same and we're currently set to fly back on the 3rd of August. Although that date is yet to be confirmed so we're allowing a couple of days either side just in case.

Despite I was hoping to have a Bangkok layover in order to use the 'Confucius say: Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways go to Bangkok' joke, I take consolation in the likely hood of getting off the plane in Amsterdam and proclaiming, 'I have just flown in from Australia and man are my arms tired'.

Pining for the fjords....

The flights are being booked as I blog and it is just over 3 weeks until we head off to the Northern Hemisphere. It is now definite that we will be in Amsterdam for the first 2 months and then Switzerland for 2 months and it looks like we will be flying out on the 4th of April. I wouldn't say panic is setting in, more so the realisation of how much has to be done before we go and in a such a small amount of time. The feelings of anticipation and excitement are definitely bearing down on us now.

I had several concerns about the fact that finding work in Switzerland would be near to impossible simply due to their laws (that, and because the time in each place is relatively short) so it was a great relief to find out that I will have some general admin/office work with Scenic.

Now the packing and organisation begins.....

The ongoing saga...... (Somewhere, here we come)

Switzerland here we come, or not. And so the tale of the Barnes's going to foreign land continues, but now we're not exactly sure where we'll end up. Word has filtered through the channels the destination may well be changed to Amsterdam (although the duration is yet to be determined, it may be 2 or 3 months). So,cheeses will be replaced by other forms of fare and the cafes will no longer be a place to buy a coffee.

The frustration is growing due to the variables that keep being thrust in our path, however, the end result will no doubt remain the same - eventually we will end up somewhere in the lands of Europe. Let it be no surprise to you all if the next entry is entitled "Budapest here we come".

For now we once again play the waiting game and with anticipation wait for further instructions........

[T-Bone and Alwyn: Hope to see you over there! When we find out where there is going to be.]

Regards to you all.

"A great philosopher once wrote; Naughty, naughty, very naughty".

The long and short of it.....

Hello everyone,

Finally it seems that I have something noteworthy of blogging about. To those that don't know, Ness and I are heading to Switzerland. Keeping the droll detail short, Ness has been offered a position to help set up the new Scenic Tours Europe office (the T and C's of which kept changing) and I am lucky enough to be able to accompany her. We will be going for approximately 4 months, sometime in late March, and will be living in either Zug or Lucerne.


From all I have found so far, Switzerland is one of the most expensive and strict countries on the planet. Their laws regarding foreign workers has made it nearlly impossible for me to get any form of work permit prior to going, my hope is that I can rectify that while I am over there. Fingers crossed.

Despite all the hurdles and logistics we faced in just deciding if we could actually go, somehow we've managed to get organised and all we are really waiting on is to find out the date that we fly out.

I think that about covers it for now,

Regards to all; to those that are still overseas, those who have come back and those who are about to go again.

On the road again...

Hi all, Just a quick one - After a little over two months we have a car again. It's a '91 Nissan Pintara Executive (sounds fancy but means little more than being an auto).

It is great not to have to rely on public transport anymore.

Hope everyone is on the up and up,

Peace and regards,

Jimi

Little known fact...

The other day I got told an intersting story. I met a guy who's son was doing a roady gig for the Stones on their most recent Aus. tour. To cut a tall story short - Of course they travel with a mountain of gear, but this guy found it strange that there seemed to be a couple of extra speaker stacks to the left and right of the stage that weren't seemingly connected to anything. It turns out that the cabinets were hollow and contained 1st aid stations; CPR paddles, oxygen, wheelchairs etc etc. Imagine half way through a set Jagger goes down clutching at his chest, paramedics run out and give him a bit of juice and he bounds up and rips straight into Start Me Up. Now that's Rock and Roll.

Apparently this is from the original 'Stones Pinball Table, the likeness of Mick seems to be in terrible pain.