We are good to go

Cate is still in Saudi Arabia in her Abaya but goes to Bad Homburg tomorrow and can wear proper clothes.

The Hendersons arrived after a refreshing 30 hour flight on various airlines including Finnair and were in remarkably good shape – considering.

I got a dreadful dose of something from my Doctor – who last time I saw her was barking like a seal. I knew it was a mistake to be in the same room as her but I did it  - and suffered the consequences.

A few days later in America I was barking like  a seal and now feel terrible – even after a week.

Things are hotting up here.

The good news is that Spring has finally arrived and it is starting to get warmer.

Today we had a succession of people through the apartment. These included the owner, a painter, a cleaner and my relocation agent who is attending to all the business of erasing our existence in Vienna. More will come tomorrow. This is a bonus – I thought I would have to do this myself.

In six months time it will be as though we were never here – apart of course from my account with T-Mobile which will go well into the next century.

I recounted to the owner the long and sordid history of the non-functioning of the air-con and he was most sympathetic. He has waived the cost of the final service of the system.

The worst news so far was that it appears that the Nomad people – who are looking after our temporary accommodation in Indianapolis – have given us the wrong address.

I asked them to confirm the details – which they did - before I broadcasted it to all and sundry throughout the know universe but today they have come back with a different apartment number. Terrific.

It is likely that we – the cats and the air-freight shipment will end up in three different places.

But the good news is – we got our passports back from the US Consulate. We are good to go! 

Back in Vienna

We are back in Vienna – again to freezing weather. The heating systems has had enough of it and has packed it in completely. It was 17° in the apartment  when we got home and the cats were huddled together for warmth.

This weather is ridiculous.

We will miss our apartment but be won’t miss the air conditioning. The owner of the apartment is coming to visit - for the first time ever - next week so I shall attempt to explain the problems to him. Not that I now give a rats - as we will be gone in three weeks.

Cate is of course still going at it hammer and tongs and goes to Riyadh and Bad Homburg on Sunday.

On Tuesday the Hendersons arrive and on Saturday we go to Burgundy for a week  where we have rented a property called the ‘Moulin Vert’ for a week.

I hope that Cate will be able to relax and start to wind down after what for her has been a strenuous 5 years – and for me has been a doddle. I sometimes feel bad about that. 

We bought a house

Our house

The hotel we are staying at was chosen for us by Ducky Pharma and we are in a cave on the ground floor. Breakfast on day one was served on paper plates with plastic knives and forks – but in any event was inedible.

There was no espresso machine and the filthy sludge which masqueraded as coffee came in gigantic drums. I think they brew and stew new coffee every Sunday whether they need to or not.

But then things improved dramatically and they produced real china plates and steel cutlery – together with stuff that could pass as food. Today I had bacon and eggs!

Of course we still cannot drink the coffee so go to Au Bon Pain where the staff know us really well as we also have lunch there most days.

So we spent half a day touring Indianapolis with a guide who showed us all the sights and told us all about where we could live. But we pretty much knew this from our last trip.

Everyone told us we should live in Carmel which in 2012 was voted by someone as the best place to live in America. But it is – at best a 45 minute commute and we knew this would make Cate tetchy so wanted something closer to the city.

We new pretty much what we wanted in a house and in fact had chosen one on our last trip but someone else bought it – the swines.

But this time we found exactly what we wanted.

One of our squirrels

It is a historic house called The Wishard Mansion and was built in 1897. It is very us and is even older than our house in Sydney. But it has been completely refurbished and renovated from top to bottom.

It also has its own squirrels which is important to us and will drive the cats crazy because they will not be allowed outside to chase them.

So we made an offer and clinched the deal.