The best laid plans....

If all had gone as planned I’d have been leaving my home in Sarasota about now (4:00 p.m. Monday 31st October) and heading over to Tampa International Airport.

From there I was to have flown to Sydney, Australia via Dallas/Fort Worth.  Unfortunately I had chosen to fly on Qantas  -  which airline was shut down by management for a few days.  So I’ve had to postpone -  to a date yet to be determined.

Qantas will honour my ticket at any time until mid-June 2012.  I had to cancel a railway round-trip (Sydney-Melbourne-Sydney), and a day trip out of Melbourne along the Great Cost Road.

Having Skype makes long distance calls inexpensive -  which is just as well as I was on the ‘phone to Australian numbers for just about three hours yesterday morning.

I am happy to report the staff of Countrylink (Railway) and Great West Tours (day trip) were a delight to speak with.  They were understanding and incredibly efficient in cancelling my bookings and refunding my money.

I’ve not had such good luck with the Hotel in Sydney where I was to have spent four nights.  I’ve been in touch with them by ‘phone and e-mail, but they’ve been unable to retrieve my reservations (for which I have paid).

It’s been a wee bit disappointing, and a bit more frustrating  (the long phone calls etc) but on the whole I’ve been able to shrug my shoulders and say “there’s nowt you can do ‘bout it).

I’ll re-schedule just as soon as I’ve heard from my friends Andrew and Felicity in Melbourne as to what time/s will be convenient for them
Location: Sarasota, FL, USA

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