Only 2 more weeks now! It has gone so quickly. I guess partly because we’ve been so busy finalising everything for the trip and organising room in the house for Matthew and Melissa to move in. We’ve got our tickets and are just waiting on the paperwork for the car we’ve booked in Europe, so nearly there. Just a little bit of shopping to do – and that is mainly to put together a care package for Naomi, our niece who lives in London, and whom we’ll be staying with while we are there. This will consist mainly of vegemite, life savers, minties, etc. – the really important stuff! While vegemite is available in London, I believe it’s very expensive, so a couple of (large) jars will find their way into the suitcase (plus a tube for us of course, after all we’ll need some to have with all that lovely French and Italian bread we’re planning on eating while we’re away). Mmmmm, toast and vegemite!
Because the last weekend before we leave is Easter, and a lot of our friends will be tied up with their own families, we’ve organised to catch up with family and friends this coming Saturday at a local Irish pub – this will also give us the chance to do a final taste test on the Guiness and whiskey before we go to Ireland. Purely for research and comparison purposes of course!
Working out the best way to manage our finances while travelling took a bit of thought, but after some research we’ve decided that our credit cards and a Travelex Cash Passport for access to cash is the best solution for us. The cash passport is reloadable via our internet banking, and since we’ll have the laptop with us it should work out ok. The Cash Passport website also allows easy tracking of spending. The downside of the card is the heavy transaction fee for an ATM withdrawal, but if we’re careful we should be able to keep this to a minimum.
Now that the trip part is just about organised, I’m concentrating on finalising everything at work. Since I’ll be on leave for the 6 months, I’ve had to organise for someone to fill in for me and hopefully this will all be finalised this week. Providing I get the person I want, I’ll be able to go away knowing everything will go smoothly in the office (and that I won’t come back to a real mess!)
Only 7 more work days!