6 days to go..

I think I am just about ready, The bag is packed except for toiletries and a few odds and ends such as batteries and power adapters.  All the hotels are booked and we have organised the airport van to pick us up and drop us back on return. 

Three weeks to go...

Have been busy shopping for summer clothes as we will be arriving in the European summer.

It is winter here in the southern hemisphere and this year it has been a very cold and wet winter by our standards and the shops have limited summer clothing at the moment.

I have invested in a new suitcase and purchased a diary, phone and camera to record our trip. We arrive in Aberdeen on 6th of August 2011 and have organised a hire car from the Airport, which reminds me we still have to obtain our international licences.

We will drive to the High Street and have some lunch followed by a trip to Edzell where we will stay for a couple of nights.

We then plan to take a leisurely drive to Brotton to visit Nick's cousin and stay there a while.

On the 11th of August our plan is to travel to Stockton, drop off the hire car and catch a train to Kings Cross in London then change trains for Hammersmith where we are booked into the Novotel Hotel and from where we commence our tour on the 13th of August 2011 - we have confirmed our booking but still have to confirm times.

Countdown to overseas adventure

It is 33 days to lift off,

Flying Qantas to the UK and then Europe.

After the initial re-acquaintances with family in Scotland and England we embark on a 16 day guided tour of Europe at a pace classified as medium. During the 16 days we will be visiting London, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.

After our tour we will be visiting relatives in Poland and I hope to show my hubby some of the wonderful places I had visited 2 years ago. I am looking forward to seeing some of those rellies I had met on my last trip.

I have dusted off one of our larger suitcases which I am generously donating to my husband and I shall have to burden myself (hahaha) with a new suitcase. I am currently in a dilemma as to what to pack and what gifts to take with me. The people were so generous and giving when I last visited and I was totally overwhelmed with the hospitality and warmth with which I was embraced.

My last journey was a journey of discovery of my father's homeland and the people he left behind during World War II. This trip will be a celebration of our silver wedding anniversary and a honeymoon we did not have and also a celebration of the closure of our working life as we slowing move into our retirement years.