Up in the Air

I went to see the new George Clooney film on Saturday called 'Up in the Air' and apart from the fact that it made me laugh so much I almost cried, it also made me remember what it used to be like travelling alone when I was employed by an American Corporation. I felt the film had been made for me and parts could have been about my life. A must watch for anyone who travels for their job and or anyone who has had to or will have to lay off/fire workers.

Travel guides for expats and others................

If you are travelling to a new country for a holiday, business trip or to settle and live there, then there are many places that you can now go to find out more about that country and what to expect from your visit. Country specific travel books, internet sites, intercultural training and cross-cultural training courses and websites.
I recently found the following website that has expat guides to over 34 countries;
http://www.expatarrivals.com/the-united-kingdom/moving-to-the-united-kingdom
Happy travels..........

New Year Travel

Its a New Year and a new decade (Happy New Year to all....sorry its somewhat late) and I have been sat here at my desk wondering what to write in my first blog of 2010.
I have been snowed in now for over a week, with all appointments having to be cancelled since I last had appointments to attend to before Christmas!
Now I am trying to remember why I returned to the UK after 20 years of living overseas in different warm climate countries, where the sun was nearly always shining and it never even got cold let alone snowed! I can remember many times wishing to feel cold as I overheated during the day or evening in many different locations.....
They say the grass is always greener on the other side and I now think that I may finally truly appreciate that saying. I came back home for many reasons and the weather was obviously not one of them and here is where I wish to stay, but I am thinking that some travel in the not to distant future is sounding rather like a good idea..........Can you believe that the next trips that I plan to take are the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train journey through France, the Swiss Alps and the Italian Dolomites and a cruise through the Antarctic to observe the penguin colonies, visit the Bay of Whales and Ross island........I clearly must enjoy the cold!
So I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has done either of these trips and what their experience was like, with any hints or tips on how to plan/prepare and also from anyone who has any cultural know-how of these countries that I should know about before I go.