Happiness is a Jam-Packed Breakfast Tray!

For new years' Nick and I booked a room in a historical, art déco hotel in Zurich to partake in the city's festivities. It was too cold to wear anything glamorous, just black lacks, an embroidered jersey top and sensible shoes for (there was snow on the streets so we had big parkas and beanies, gloves and scarfes!) The best part, other than shopping in the Bahnhofstrasse's boutiques during the sales, was dinner at Lipp's a French brasserie: boujolais, rosted lamb with potatoes duchissoise followed by crème caramel. And of course wee had a bottle of Mum's Champagne with us.

On the first of January we awoke to two opulent breakfast trays of fresh orange squash, croissants, coffeee, bagles, sliced meats and cheeses, and complimentary champagne - all delivered to our room! After breakkie we slowly, lazily headed back home. But when we got in the car it was such a gorgeous, clear and sunny day we decided to make a detour and stop in Luzern on the way home. So it was lovely, in Luzern, we walked around, taking in the sights and just loving the scenery, the famous wooden bridge that corsses the lake and the dramatic mountainous landscape as a backdrop; a perfect way to begin the new year!

At home, things are getting a bit hectic; with Nick working until the day we leave Lugano(!) and me taking care of everything, including his paperwork (superannuation and pension funds, banking, taxation, notification to immigration, taxation, and on and on...). The list of things seems endless so I break it down into managable quantifyable units. However, I lost a whole day just sifting through our boxes of photographs and throwing out all the unwanted ones! In the meantime, people are coming to look at our flat, the removalists have been here too, to give us estimates and quotes on volume.

On today's list of priorities: place ads for sale of motorvehicles, dry cleaners, decluttering the sutdio, photocopying all important documents, notifying the post office of our change of address, contacting the removalists, recycling unwanted stuff, shopping, cooking and cleaning. And I'd like to squeeze in a couple of hours at the gym for some Pilates, followed by a sauna and a solarium (don't want to arrive in OZ looking like a ghost).

Well it's only four weeks now before we leave and panic is starting to take hold of me. I hope we'll get everything sorted out in time! And there is so much cleaning to do! Sometimes I just wander around the rooms in this place wondering where to start... As much as I feel nostalgic about leaving my friends and this gorgeous part of the world, I'm now looking forward to being in New York, when all this will be behind me and I'll be enjoying my holidays, thinking only about the future.

Hope this year is filled with wonderful surprises!