Must see if I can find the mag.
I’ve got that sorted. October handoverMust see if I can find the mag.
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sounds fabulous - who needs a new kitchenI know it's very early to start this TR but heck, why not?
I was looking for a possible trip over the next few months as I was getting a little stir crazy at home.This adventure came about quite suddenly, by which I mean a day or so from suggestion to booking.
Several options were canvassed with MrLtL and each was rejected in no uncertain terms. If he was going away, he wanted something that was ‘good’. Antarctica was in the mix though of course most people book their trip of a lifetime at least a year in advance, so some of the ones we looked at only had very limited availability, as in very very very expensive last minute fares or waitlist only.
Not being the most patient of people I was quite taken by a Ponant cruise leaving on 3 November this year. After a bit of a discussion and the decision to postpone the kitchen renovation, the money earmarked for that was free for me to spend! What was I to do with that money sitting there in the bank? So the following cruise was booked and paid for before the good MrLtL had a chance to change his mind. Actually that’s a bit unfair as he did say that he thought it was the right decision to go to Antarctica now rather than later when perhaps we are too old to manage it.
The trip will mean that we will have officially visited all of the 7 continents so that’s a bucket list tick off.
So the details. We will fly into Montevideo for a few days then board for 16 days visiting g South Georgia and the Antarctic mainland, disembarking in Ushuaia before a chartered flight back to Buenos Aires.
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The ship is Le Lyrial, a rather spiffy looking French number. I am looking forward to the champagne already.
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Now all I have to do is check out our cold weather gear. And before people start saying it will freezing, my research says it won’t be too bad. Remember, we Canberrans are tough!
That meant a bit of fast money juggling as the coffers were looking decidedly sad. So.... have ordered and paid for the new appliances (Miele to match what we are replacing, ouch) and just waiting for the email for the builder's 30% deposit. We're not actually changing the layout, just replacing cabinetry and increasing the number of drawers and all the appliances and sink/tap but it's still about $35K all up. I think last time I did a kitchen it was about $15K so things must have become more expensive. Slight problem is that the bench is so long, the top and sides won't fit in the lift and no, we are not going to hire a crane like the upstairs neighbours. The kitchen is not going in till January after the Christmas shut down but it will be constructed off site before Christmas hopefully.
You will be pleased to know Pushka that I have devoured this magazine, not just the article on Ponant, so I do appreciate you lugging it half way round the world for me.
It is quite heavy isn’t it!You will be pleased to know Pushka that I have devoured this magazine, not just the article on Ponant, so I do appreciate you lugging it half way round the world for me.
Things are moving along. This time next week we will be onboard Le Lyrial in Montevideo. A funny thing happened with the kitchen. We booked the cruise (and paid the hefty fare) and within a couple of weeks, our kitchen renovator got back to us with a date.
So now we are just about ready to rock and roll on this holiday.
Hope that's a big reno for that price! As I said; ours is just cabinetry and appliances so no major works.
we are all Miele appliances as well and have had a good run with them. Our induction cook top, extractor fan and oven are still going strong and we put them in over 17 years ago. We did replace the dishwasher after 10 years, but that was more because I tripped in the dark, fell on the door and destroyed it - can’t blame Miele for that
I am sure it will be fine says she with conviction.
you didn’t want to take a chance on the 19:35 to Canberra? (Weekends - think there is a slightly later one weekdays). I booked it using points and I figure if we miss it, I will just throw away the flights and book new ones the next day. It is almost two hours between the flights and I would never normally book that close together, but I figure if I am prepared to book new ones, it shouldn’t cause me any stress.Packing is well underway. Unfortunately our carry on size luggage which we usually take is not going to cut the mustard this time, so we have to use 2 much larger soft sided High Sierra bags. Even then they are looking quite full already. The French on the ship tend to dress a little better for dinner so have needed to also include a couple of 'good' outfits, including jacket for MrLtL, so we don't look like antipodean bogans.
Dealing with Ponant has been an interesting experience. I am hoping that the service on board it better than their landside offerings. It is one of the few times we have used an agent and he has been very good but also found dealing with the cruise line quite frustrating. The need to have the medical form completed by a GP caused a fair bit of angst, especially as I make a habit of not visiting a doctor unless I am at death's door. So when I rocked up with the form, there was a bit of pursing of lips and the comment made that I had last been there 15 months ago. On top of that with MrLtL's surgery earlier this year, we were not actually convinced we would be allowed on board. But all seems good and we have received the cruise documents so we are assuming we are going.
When we first thought about the cruise, QF had J fares on special ($4+K pp) but of course by the time we were ready to book it was $6.5K pp) .... so the upshot is PE.
So the trip is:
CBR - SYD - SCL - MVD - QF PE
3 nights - Belmont House, Montevideo
16 nights Le Lyrial cruise, taking in South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula
Ushuaia to EZE charter flight
EZE - SCL (yes, we have lovely crisp $US for the Chilean reciprocity fee)
2 nights Hyatt Centric Los Condes
SCL - SYD
Then Murray's coach SYD - CBR (as we would miss the last flight and didn't want to stay overnight at the airport hotel).
We're off on Wednesday morning, so just the last few things to sort.
I am not sure what Qantas does with two different tickets, as far as honouring late arrivals. We booked Syd-scl with money and Cbr-syd with points. Wasn’t planned like that, but Ms FM and husband were dithering about whether they could fly to Sydney the night before or not and I didn’t want to miss the good J fares, so just booked and sorted the rest out later. We are flying down the night before and staying at the Rydges, which is much more relaxed.
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