Days 1 & 2

Day 1 - We arrived in Edinburgh after being on the road for 26 hours. I am not sure that the $1,800 savings was worth the extra travel time. It was pretty rough.

Thanks to my friend Heather's suggestion - I had my Dr. prescribe a motion sickness patch to wear. Made things SO MUCH better! No motion sickness at all the whole way here!

Atlanta to Chicago - car to pick us up was early, flight was on time - we had a ticketing issue - so we had to check in at the desk and get boarding passes every place we went.

M enjoying the ride to the airport.

Wow Bao - Chicago Airport

Our plane arrived! 

Chicago - Dublin - LOVE all the great food options on O'Hare's international terminal. Was pretty fascinating to see how many people and trucks it took to clean and prep this plane to go back to Ireland, where it had just been. Only a 20 minute delay leaving, cleared customs in Dublin in 5 minutes, was easy peasy.

 Marion and I got a couple hours sleep in this plane.

































Dublin to EDI - 4 hour layover, took bus out to little stairs to get on plane, took off, 10 minutes in - something wrong with plane, had to go back to Dublin, on ground in Dublin for another hour and a half. We were freezing the whole time we were in the Dublin Airport.

We found the one set of benches without seat dividers and that were not metal. 

We were so cold that M and I bought Ireland sweatshirts at the airport, $34 Euros for 2 nice sweatshirts, live and learn I guess. I am kicking myself for not bringing warmer clothes. But I will just wear everything I do have all at once and be fine. Perhaps, a good excuse to go shopping.

Finally landed in EDI and all was smooth there. No customs from Ireland. Taxi line was about 10 minutes. Taxi ride was about 20. But we finally got into our apartment! Unpacked a little and walked to the grocery store. We went to a Scot-mid which was very like the "Little Kroger" back home, but much smaller. Probably will venture to the slightly bigger Tesco and Boots (drug store) today.

I have to say M is a trooper. No major complaining, no emotional breakdowns. I however, was on the verge of a breakdown ay one point.

We all went to bed and slept over 12 hours. Fortunately the beds are comfy, however the heating s mysterious and we are working on getting it warmer. We will see how bad anymore jet lag hits us.
Eric has a conference to attend, and will be headed to work shortly. They are much more civilized here, he has to be there at noon.

Breakfast in our lovely apartment. 

The sky was blue and the sun was shining for a moment. Now the clouds have rolled in, we will have to see what the day brings.

So far M wants to have a "chill-ax" day and hang out at the apartment. She says she wants to get used to living here. I know her, what she really means is; she is nervous about anymore new stuff. I will have to see what I can do to coax her out. We have a list of stuff we want to acquire for the apartment. And I have a list of things I want her to see and do. But we do have loads of time, we will get to what we get to.

Found out we will officially have some visitors come see us in July! They will be staying in Ireland so maybe we will be able to pop over and see them and see something besides the inside of the Dublin airport!

So far it has been a pretty smooth adventure. Hopefully more fun pictures and stories soon!! I did bring my good camera so no more phone pics either.

What adventures are you getting into this summer?

Hugs - C

Last Day of School!

Fun.
Emotional.
Sad.
Happy.
LONG.

These are all the thoughts I am having about today.

Are we ready to go? Yes and No. But as with all things in life, it is what it is.

Our things are as packed as they are going to get.

Our house is as clean as it is going to get.

We have only had one emotional breakdown (the kid). But she got to play at the pool with one of her best gal pals while I finished packing up at home. And today was a fun filled last day of school. She is exhausted though she will never ever admit it.

Yes, we have a ride to the airport. But thank you! to all our sweet friends who have offered.

No we do not have a direct flight.
Atlanta.
Chicago.
Dublin.
Edinburgh!

I'll have to let you know how the motion sickness patches work.

We may arrive earlier than our apartment is ready. But that is only if we have no delays along the way.

Currently it is 44 and rainy in Edinburgh. If we did not pack warm enough stuff, we will go shopping!

You may not hear from me again until Monday. But hopefully by then we will have pictures and stories of adventure.

Hope your summer starts off with a great weekend!

- Chrissy

What do you pack for an 8 week trip?

Yesterday I wrote the top ten most asked questions. Eric reminded me of a few more we get quite a lot.

1. (to Chrissy only) Are you going to do any sewing while you are there?

Probably not. I am not a hand sewing kind of gal. And I am not dragging all my stuff with me. So unless I take a class that has all the stuff then, no.

But I will probably doing some knitting or crochet. They are great time passers when waiting in airports and train stations. And YES there will be great wool and such to buy there.

2. What do you pack for an 8 week trip? With a 7 year old? Are you bringing a bunch of toys?

The easy one first. No we are not bringing a bunch of toys. She can bring 5 toys. And I am steering her towards the acceptable ones. She will live, we will find things to do. We will bring books that we can donate to Oxfam or somewhere and buy new ones over there.

What else do we bring?
Well we each get one (1) suitcase to check and whatever carry ons we are willing to individually carry. I am taking a messenger bag and a backpack. Marion is taking her big school backpack and Eric is taking his messenger bag and perhaps a backpack.

M's Suitcase and some packing bags. 

We have to keep in mind we have to have luggage small enough to manage on side trips. Marion and I will share her small suitcase and take our backpacks when we go to London and Paris and that is it. I have learned over the years to travel light.

Another thing to consider is the weather. It is currently 54 and rainy in Edinburgh. It may not get over 70 the whole time we are there. And we hope to make it to places even further north. But we will be in London & Paris at the end of June and early July where it will be warm and possibly even hot! But still somewhat unpredictable. Eric will be in Trieste Italy, where it is warm, while we are in London & Paris with Grandma and Grandpa.  So we all need clothes with layers and options.

We have decided we will not waste valuable space on stuff we can buy there. Shampoo, sun screen, etc... will all be bought there. It will give us a fun errand when we get there and drugstore brand stuff costs about the same there and we will be there long enough to use it up. Essentials only! Prescriptions, deodorant & toothpaste and maybe a bar of soap. But that's it!

Additionally we will have a duffle bag as one of our checked bags. Gives you more room for less weight than a traditional suitcase. We use packing bags which is helpful. They make you really think about what you are bringing and keeps things more organized.

I am really glad that kiddo is almost 8. There are many things I am glad we do not have to bring such as a stroller, diaper bag, car seat etc... I am thankful she weill be able to carry her own stuff for the most part.

Tomorrow, more packing tips and what actual stuff to bring!

- Chrissy