Some of us just have all the luck, I heard today that I should go back to Tasmania again next week, so I've booked a seat and am just waiting for it to be approved. This time I am not allowed to go via Bangkok (too dangerous for our work travel agents), so it looks like Abu Dhabi, where I've never been. But it seems to be quite a good flight, direct from Paris, two hours in transit in Abu Dhabi, then straight through to Melbourne, where I can stay overnight and sleep before going on to Tasmania.

At least this time, I can pack properly before I go, so I hopefully will not be dragging too much stuff around the world. But this time I am taking my Nespresso machine and a square pillow, because the rectangle pillows in the hotel did nothing for my neck. I won't even begin to describe the coffee.

I also may be able to go to New Zealand for a week at the end, since it will be my summer holidays. That will please my mother and sister, although it may kill me, being yet another series of plane trips, something like Hobart - Melbourne - Auckland - Napier. Why, oh why, are there no international flights from Hobart when the airport is called Hobart International Airport?