Thursday, October 17, 2013

Two more weeks

Hi everybody,

A last update before we are finally leaving.... I just looked at my calender and in 2 weeks we will finally be leaving! 14 days!! It seems so surreal, that in some moments I just cannot comprehend it. But it is becoming very very real. We are moving out of our apartment next weekend. We (read "I" ;-) ) packed a lot of boxes already, and next week we'll pack the last remaining things. It is very sad actually, as I love living here. The apartment is great and I will miss it for sure!
My dad will help me move all our stuff to Hasselt again next weekend. So we will move in with my dad for a couple of days while we prepare for our trip. When we are back in May, we will move in with my dad as well. Claudio will probably go to China for two months for his work, between May and July. So I decided to stay at my dad's during that period. When Claudio is back, we will have to summer to look for an apartment, and hopefully we can be back in Antwerp by September.

So the apartment is gone, all my subscriptions have been cancelled (tv, internet, gym, phone,...), my work agenda has been cleared completely, we found a place for the cats to stay during our six months (THANKS JURGEN!!), we changed our address, we got all our vaccinations, and we even went to the dentist. I feel quite prepared. To get to this point was tough though. These last few months have been crazy. Planning and preparing for the trip has been mentally exhausting. So it better start soon cause I am soooo tired. I need a holiday :D

Last weekend, I also said goodbye to my big family. We had a nice party with lots of food and drinks at my sister's place.


 
My whole family was supernice and genereous (thanks everybody!!). My sister baked an amazing cake njaaaam and baked pizza, and my mam and me prepared quiches, salads, and meat. It was an awesome day, and it seems crazy that I will not see my family till May.
 
The weekend before that, my best friend and homy for life Davinia came to Antwerp for the whole day as well. We shopped till we dropped, and afterwards had an amazing dinner at I Famosi (thanks Daviiii!). Everybody is so nice to me, I should leave more often ;-) Also this weekend we'll make Hasselt unsafe and enjoy the Jeneverfeesten. And on top of that, next week she will help me paint the apartment. Can you wish for a better friend?
 
Off course I also have goodbye dinners planned with my mam, dad, and sister. But that will be right before I leave. Hm, I hope it will not be too sentimental, cause I'm not good at it :s Claudio is also in Italy right now, saying goodby to his friends and family in Bologna. Wow, so many goodbye's...
 
In the meantime, we are preparing the trip further. We outlined out itinerary for Mexico and New Zealand a bit better. I have so many things to say, but I will limit it, else I will have nothing else to tell you anymore when I'm actually experiencing it ;) I will just say that between Xmas and NY, we booked a little apartment in Puerto Escondido and booked some surf lessons. Hopefully we will be able to learn how to surf in that week. I'm sooo excited about it! And the crazy thing is, that for that week, we are paying 375 EUR for the two off us, everything included: surf lessons, apartment, surfing gear, transportation to the beach,... Can it be any cheaper? :)
I just cannot wait to be at the beach and enjoy the sun, the waves, some cold bears and delicious Mexican food! I'm highly doubting that I will be able to resist eating meat!!
 
In New Zealand we booked some nights in Queenstown. When you look at pictures, the town looks amazing. Queenstown is also known for it's crazy sports. You can do everything there, from skydiving to kayaking, to bunjee jumping. We decided we are going to skydive. Jump from 3000 m out of a plane with a professional skydiver. Claudio is afraid of heights, so I think it will be pretty funny :D
 
So darlings, that's all for now... I'll keep you posted ;)
 
X Marj