We're Home!

The trip itself was quite an adventure.

We drove from Eindhoven to Paris.... arriving early (I didn't want to risk traffic, or not being able to find the car rental return place again) and having some time to kill.  Where can you go with clean bathrooms, cheap food and plenty of parking?  Ikea!!  We put "Ikea" into the TomTom and 20 minutes later were happily eating swedish meatballs for lunch.  I know, I know, it's not very Parisienne, but I was feeling shattered and quite ill and didn't have the energy to drive or navigate or even THINK about anywhere else to go!

Then our plane was delayed.  By almost 2 hours.  My cold was in full swing by then and all I wanted to do was to curl up in a ball on the cold hard floor.  I didn't appreciate having to go through security for a second time (when they changed our departure gate) and the unrelenting waiting.

Still..... with a racing pulse and 6 fast legs...... we made our London flight.  It was touch and go.... especially as my sinuses were completely blocked and my ears hadn't popped during the flight.  I was in absolute agony and raced for a pharmacy to buy some cold medicine to dry up my head.  

Finally we arrived in Sydney...... pretty much exactly 36 hours after we'd left Wikke's ..... and waited at the luggage carousel for luggage that didn't arrive!  One of our bags had been left in London.  I can't believe that that only happened once during our entire trip!  And I'm pleased that it was at on the final leg rather than the beginning, or anywhere in the middle.  All that we really need our luggage for now is to unpack and wash.  And (I know you'll find this hard to believe) I'm not really looking forward to that part.

Finally FINALLY we walked through the arrival gates to see my Mummy and Ewan and this Monkey waiting for us!!  It is COLD here!  Yesterday it reached a wopping 10 degrees celsius and today feels like about 5 degrees.  

Two things happened last night while I was trying to catch up on my posts.

First thing, my sturdy, trusty, beloved MacBook finally died completely.  The wonderful thing actually waited until I returned all the way home before giving in to its' injuries (some of which were sustained months before our trip).  I tried to turn it on at Bangkok airport, unsuccessfully, but it managed to turn on and boot up last night, for an hour or so.  It then lost it's ability to connect to the internet before freezing and hanging every 5 minutes or less. 

The second thing was that I feel asleep.  I slept for 13 hours.  F is STILL asleep (16 or so hours and counting) and H has been awake for 4 hours already.  We all stayed up until Sydney bedtime last night and will hopefully be okay for school tomorrow.

SO.... we're home!!!  And that brings both happiness and sadness.  It is both an ending and a beginning.  

And I'm just so grateful for every minute of our journey here.

Monty Python, anyone?

This is Doune Castle, where they filmed "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".  

And this is a young man with his very first salmon, caught in the River Tooth (not spelled that way!!) which runs beside Doune Castle.  All TEN POUNDS of it!!  Quite amazing.

Gillian's family...

Gillian's parents re-organised their holidays to be here for the boys and me.  Pretty amazing.  And to top it off, they put on a true-blue Aussie b-b-q for us on Sunday.  Gillian's brother and his family, her sister and her family (who are absent from the above photo) and the divine Wendy made us feel special and very loved.  

And then Mike and Grant, two of Gillian's oldest friends, took the boys to see "The Incredible Hulk" while Gillian and I visited the local pub.

A wonderful day.

Up the Byres Road...

Gillian lives in the grooviest part of Glasgow, the West End. Her flat is absolutely perfectly located for pubs, restaurants, cafes, public transport and ambient strolling. And today I've done a fair bit of the latter. I was able to do that because Gillian has taken H and F to the Science Centre (an activity that would leave me yawning).


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And tonight we're having pre-dinner drinks with two of her dearest friends that I've not met .... and tomorrow a bar-b-que with her entire family. I'm in heaven. I barely have to make any decisions regarding food or itinerary or even bed-times! They boys adjusted instantly and completely to the local time, and although they're staying up a bit later than when we're at home (well..... we ARE on holiday) they're sleeping through.

Next week we're off to Edinburgh for a night before visiting my family's "seat" in Scotland. Yes, that's right! The Family Castle! Luckily for us it has a B&B and Gillian has organised for us to stay there. Pretty exciting stuff!!

It's very easy to feel instantly and thoroughly Scottish while staying here. All of our first names are Scottish and our surname is thoroughly and utterly Scottish too (and quite uncommon). When visiting the site of one of the most significant battles between the Scots (Jacobites) and the Government (English).... it was incredibly moving to see our forbearers' names listed amongst the dead.

In fact, I found it so disturbing that I took my tears to the car while Gillian and the boys explored further.

are ye awright bawheid?

It’s so corny..... but there’s nothing like being met at the airport by a wonderful friend that you haven’t seen for years. By the time we got to Glasgow, the boys and I were absolutely shattered. F’s ears wouldn’t pop on the last flight, and I had severe nausea. We were all fantasising about never having to board another flight for as long as we live.

And there was Gillian.. and it was all worth it.

We spent yesterday afternoon walking around Gillian’s neighbourhood (Partick). We walked up Byers Road and then through Glasgow University... before walking in the rain through Kelvingrove Park and through Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We watched kids skating and biking on a purpose-built track ...... and saw two wedding parties.

The last time I was in Glasgow, it was deep winter. It was so cold that I had arthritic pain in my hips. The sun rose about 10.30 am and set about 3.30pm. It rained often and often.  And this time everything is different.  The light is amazing..... the air is crisp and clean  and the colours of the sandstone buildings seem to leap out at me.  It's light from 5-is in the morning until after 10pm.  It's like a different city!

And this afternoon Gillian organised a street parade just for us! (umm...) The West-End Mardi-Gras passed along our street and provided MUCH entertainment.  

Tomorrow we are taking off for a road trip to the north-west of Scotland.   

Click here for more photos....

Is leaving a way of appreciating what I have when I return?

This is my question of the day.

I left Australia once, 20 years ago, and stayed away.  I was a lost soul for years... although I value every person I met and every lesson that I learned during that time.  

I didn't actually choose to come home.  I met DH and stayed to be with him.  

And for years, I felt displaced.  I didn't belong here, but I didn't belong there.  I simply took years to learn the basic lesson of "wherever I go, there I am".  But I DID learn it.  And life moved on.

I have taken trips in the last 10 years...... but never for 6 weeks....... and not with my kids.

We're packed and although I'm extremely anxious, I also feel ready.  I'm looking forward to sharing my wonderful friends and my favourite places with my two favourite boys in the whole wide world.

Wish us luck!  I'll update this blog along the way..... although as Gillian (in Glasgow) doesn't have internet access at home, the first couple of weeks might be sketchy.

Progress...

The kids seem to be taking it in their stride, but I'm a stressed-out nervous wreck.  Just the idea of packing for 6 weeks is turning my head into something that resembles mince in a blender.  Uggh.

The boys have put out their clothes already.... and they did a great job if you like having your kids look as though they've just left rugby training.  Every day.  I have visions of having smartly dressed, beautifully coiffed boys adorning my table on a pavement in Paris.  Just not going to happen.

Still.... fashion police aside.... they've basically finished their end of the packing deal.  Which means that I have nothing to focus on except for MY packing (and organising my apartment which is a tip).

Can a depressed woman wear black (layers and layers because of seasonal temperature changes) for 6 weeks without falling into a black hole?  I'm putting in tiny touches of colour in the shape of a cheeky orange scarf (for Paris, of course) and a red chinese-silk backpack.... but basically it's black from my toes to my chin.

And if I'm only wearing one colour.... how many tiny black cardies can I justify packing?  I mean.... I will hopefully be washing every week or so.... but these cotton knit cardies aren't quick drying (and I'm allergic to putting my clothes in dryers).  Ahhhh the dilemma!  And how many black trousers will I need?  3/4 length or full-length?  And will they be suitable for the heat of Lisbon?  And if not, then what else should I take that takes up no room and weighs nothing?

And shoes!  Between hill-walking in the Scottish highlands, strolling in Paris, going to the beach in Lisbon and driving for days......

Now you're getting the idea.  Stressful, or what?

DONE

Everything but the packing. I think.

(panic starts to set in)

Help!!

I've spent the last couple of days trying to organise all of the internal flights, trains and car rentals for our trip.  It's an absolute nightmare.

I finally found an almost affordable way to travel from Paris to Lisbon and then back to Eindhoven (Holland) and am unable to book it.  Seriously.  I can't get the site to accept my credit cards (which seem to work perfectly well everywhere else on the internet).
So, I have to book it through an Australian site, which wacks on a whopping great mark-up (I know - they have to make money too but it does seem extreme) that makes it even LESS affordable.
I still haven't organised all of our visits to friends.  Especially the ones in the UK.  And we're leaving in 8 days.  Ooops.

I still haven't booked the Eurostar from London to Paris, because until I've established what nights we can see our London friends, I don't know when we'll be leaving the UK.  It would be just my luck to book everything and then find out that my friends are only available the night after we've left.  
And the nightmare and expense of trying to organise car rentals that start in one country and end in another country.  I mean..... what's the point of the European Union if everybody still behaves as though they've got their own currency?!  (I am kidding - all my European readers)
Sheesh.  The extra expense of an "international one-way" rental means that 8 days of car rental from Paris TO Paris (via Eindhoven) is cheaper than 24 hours of car rental from Paris TO Eindhoven plus a train back to Paris.  Crazy.
It's a steep learning curve.  And it seems such a waste to be learning so much stuff about a subject that I may never need again.   Please feel free to pick my brain before your next European jaunt
Ah well..... it'll be an adventure.  That's for sure.