Live your life without regret, don't be someone who theyll forget.

Here I go!
and just quietly, way out of my comfort zone!

6 countries in 7 1/2 weeks?

50 year old man and his 49 year old wife. Nup not saying it till i am, besides he will be 51 before I turn...ah....you know!

We love to travel, Bali has been the spot since 2005, and its time to branch out so, on Saturday we are off to Europe for the first of many sojourns, we hope!
Over the coming days and weeks we will be traveling through Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Malta and Italy and the obligatory Hong Kong shopping and racing stop on the way home.

Don't get me wrong we are under no illusion that will we cover all parts of each country, but hopefully we will do each place justice and secretly I'm hoping this will only increase our appetite and create a yearning that will lead us to return.

This trip,however, will be a mix of driving ourselves (insert sign of the cross), cruising parts of the Mediterranean, a short coach trip, visiting family and doing the cities on foot.

In the end we hope to have had some adventures and seen many things we can't presently imagine and perhaps made a friend or two along the way. We will I suspect, have many memories hopefully all good, many photos and experiences never to be forgotten.

Packing

Packing started with earnest the other day, into brand new suitcases purchased specifically for this trip, we place all the things we are likely to need over the next 7-8 weeks plus no doubt a few that will never leave their relative security between the sunscreen that is always forgotten  and the book you said you really would read this time! The particular brand of shampoo and conditioner that is sold everywhere but they might run out, the first aid kit, extra batteries enough underware for 8 weeks and a nice warm coat for those balmy mediterranean nights....well you just never know!

My version of packing has always been the same, put in everything you think you might possibly need plus the things you know you probably won't. That sits draped all around the house for a couple of days, getting added and subtracted more often than a grade 3 maths class. Then it is culled.....violently! reducing the load by at least 1 pair of jeans a pair of socks (thats actually 4 items) and that extra pair of shoes....... oops what was I thinking, shoes go back in. The kitchen sink is removed but the cutlery and cutting board stay!

Cath