Officially on Vacation

As of 3pm today I'm officially on vacation and I feel good! Na-na na-na na-na na. From now until 1st April, work is a 4-letter word not to be used in public.

It is the weekend here in Dubai and there are only three more sleeps until Cunard's Queen Mary 2 arrives almost literally on my doorstep. As I write this she is making her way across the Indian Ocean from Cochin, India. The map shows you where I go from there. The Suez Canal and Cairo's pyramids are the big highlights for me. They're both feats of engineering that have fascinated me since I was in single digits. And of course living aboard a floating palace for a couple of weeks is pretty cool too.

I keep thinking of things I might need or want on the trip. Stupid things. Like spending money for Egypt when I don't even know what currency they use. Or knowing which train to catch from Southampton to London when QM2 arrives. I must be getting old because I never used to worry about such things. There was a time when a courier would hand me an envelope on Friday, containing a ticket and some survival cash and I would just go wherever the ticket pointed. Who knew that at Narita Airport a Limousine is actually a bus? Or that if you get your whites laundered in Beijing they are returned 2 sizes smaller and tinted an odd beige colour?

And then there are all the silly things I haven't done. Like arrange my car insurance, sort out hors d'oeuvres and extra glasses for the Bon Voyage party, pick up my last minute dry-cleaning, check if I really can still fit into my evening gown, and watering the plants.

But you know what they say - don't sweat the small stuff, and its all small stuff. Well, all small stuff except QM2 of course. Did I mention she's bigger than any aircraft carrier in service today?