Paul has no problem with the idea of retiring, but recently I have realised that I'm unlikely to ever do anything about it unless I force myself to take some action.
So this week, I have done two things - I've signed up for a pre-retirement seminar, and I've booked us on a cruise next year.
The cruise mightn't sound much like an encouragement to retire, but the thing is, I won't have enough leave to cover it. Sort of forcing a decision :-)
The plan is pretty simple this time - fly to London or Manchester, spend about a week in England, visit a couple of places, if your name is Sandra then don't break any bones!, finish up in Southampton.
Then, cruise home.
The cruise is called the "Four Continents Grand Adventure" and it leaves from Southampton on 29 September 2016. The ship is the Emerald Princess - it's normally based in the Mediterranean half the year and Caribbean for the rest, but this cruise breaks that cycle - instead it's spending the (southern) summer of 2016-17 based in Oz.
The cruise takes 48 days with lots of lovely sea days - and the ports of call are pretty interesting too. We sail into the Mediterranean and stop in Rome, Naples, and Messina in Italy, then through the Suez Canal. Next stop is Aqaba in Jordan so we can get to see Petra, followed by an overnight stay in Dubai - I can finally go to the Burj Khalifa and no doubt some other outrageously huge and over the top buildings! Then it's on to a few places I've never really considered visiting - Cochin in India; then Phuket, Singapore, Ko Samui, Bangkok, and Bali. After that, it's back on home territory with stops in Fremantle, Margaret River and Melbourne before arriving back in Sydney on 15 November 2016.
So, if anyone else feels like a long slow cruise, this one looks like an excellent plan!
So this week, I have done two things - I've signed up for a pre-retirement seminar, and I've booked us on a cruise next year.
The cruise mightn't sound much like an encouragement to retire, but the thing is, I won't have enough leave to cover it. Sort of forcing a decision :-)
The plan is pretty simple this time - fly to London or Manchester, spend about a week in England, visit a couple of places, if your name is Sandra then don't break any bones!, finish up in Southampton.
Then, cruise home.
The cruise is called the "Four Continents Grand Adventure" and it leaves from Southampton on 29 September 2016. The ship is the Emerald Princess - it's normally based in the Mediterranean half the year and Caribbean for the rest, but this cruise breaks that cycle - instead it's spending the (southern) summer of 2016-17 based in Oz.
The cruise takes 48 days with lots of lovely sea days - and the ports of call are pretty interesting too. We sail into the Mediterranean and stop in Rome, Naples, and Messina in Italy, then through the Suez Canal. Next stop is Aqaba in Jordan so we can get to see Petra, followed by an overnight stay in Dubai - I can finally go to the Burj Khalifa and no doubt some other outrageously huge and over the top buildings! Then it's on to a few places I've never really considered visiting - Cochin in India; then Phuket, Singapore, Ko Samui, Bangkok, and Bali. After that, it's back on home territory with stops in Fremantle, Margaret River and Melbourne before arriving back in Sydney on 15 November 2016.
So, if anyone else feels like a long slow cruise, this one looks like an excellent plan!
