Of nou ja, thuis, want wat is nou eigenlijk thuis. De afgelopen 3 weken was ik ook thuis. En wat hebben we een goede tijd gehad. Ik wil ook wel eerst even de weergoden bedanken voor die Indian Summer. Als het 3 weken met bakken uit de hemel was gekomen had de vakantie er vast anders uitgezien. Dan had Luca niet met haar Opa op de fiets gekund, met haar Oma een blokje om gekund, hadden wij niet met vrienden op terrasjes kunnen zitten en door Utrecht en Amsterdam kunnen slenteren, hadden we niet met Jasper en Lisa door de grachten van Amsterdam kunnen varen, enz, enz. Twee jaar geleden hadden we ook al zo'n geluk met het weer. Het is dat ik uit eigen ervaring beter weet maar anders zou ik bijna denken dat het altijd mooi weer is in Nederland.
Het was super om iedereen weer te zien [nou ja, bijna iedereen]. En geweldig om te merken dat we gewoon de draad weer op kunnen pakken, alsof het gisteren was dat we elkaar voor het laatst zagen ipv 2 jaar geleden. Het was geweldig om Luca aan jullie voor te stellen en wat hebben jullie haar verwend. Ik denk dat onze bagage bijna 10 kilo zwaarder was als op de heenweg, dus dan weten jullie het wel. Ik ben ook wel een soort van trots dat we toch besloten hebben om te komen. En dat het allemaal zo goed is gegaan maakt het voor herhaling vatbaar. Het voelt als een soort overwinning op mezelf. Toch veel zorgen gemaakt en hartstikke zenuwachtig voor vertrek en dan gaat het gewoon allemaal zo goed.
Ik heb heel erg bij kunnen komen in de afgelopen 3 weken. De zorg voor Luca kunnen delen met mama en papa, dat was echt zo lekker. Het was heerlijk om Luca bij mijn ouders te laten en even met John alleen weg te kunnen. En om geen boodschappen te hoeven doen, geen eten te hoeven koken, te wassen en ga zo maar door. Ze hebben alles voor ons gedaan. Zelfs toen John op dag 2 de bumper van mijn vader's auto reed werd daar vriendelijk om gelachen, nou, wat wil je nog meer;-) Het is echt een goed vakantie adres, ik kan het jullie aanraden;-)
En dan zijn we weer in Sydney. Missen doe ik jullie allemaal al. Maar ik ga niet zeuren, ik ben zo blij met de afgelopen 3 weken, ik voel me een bevoorrecht mens. Het glas is op dit moment half vol!
dinsdag 30 september 2008
maandag 22 september 2008
Weekend in Amsterdam
We spent the weekend in Amsterdam, catching up with John's brothers Dan [on the left] who lives in England and Warwick [on the right] and Warwicks girlfriend Cornelia who live in Germany. It was great they could make it to Amsterdam to see us.
We also caught up with some friends from Amsterdam [Sandra and Martijn in the photo below]. The weather was perfect and we had a lovely afternoon.
And Isabel, Bas and their daughter Olivia in the photo below.
And Margot and Ilse in the photo below
donderdag 18 september 2008
dinsdag 16 september 2008
Help!!!! Time is going too fast! I already knew this was going to be the case. 3Weeks is just not enough. We have done a lot though in our first week here and this week coming is going to be very busy too. I think I need a holiday after this trip;-)
These photo's were made early last week.
This is my cousin Evelien
and her gorgeous kids Bas and Anne.
Luca had a ball playing with both of them.
These photo's were made early last week.
This is my cousin Evelien
and her gorgeous kids Bas and Anne.Luca had a ball playing with both of them.
Here Luca is wearing my dad's reading glasses
and here she is getting ready for her first bike ride
We stayed at Natascha for a couple of days and we had a get together with friends at her place. It was great to see everyone and I wish I could sit with each of them for a proper catch up.
In Natascha's back yard after some lovely pasta
And with Jip on the couch
Catching up with Ciska, Miranda, Thom [Wanda's little boy]and Nika [Ciska's little girl]
woensdag 10 september 2008
It is already wednesday and at times John and I feel we are still recovering from the flight. We still feel as if we just stepped off a boat rather than a plane because our balance is playing funny tricks on us. Luca is back in her "Sydney"routine. So no more waking up at 4 am to start the day.
Yesterday John and I went to Utrecht and Luca stayed home with Oma and Opa. This went well. Luca seems to remember my mum, not so much when she saw her at the airport but definitely in the way my mum interacts with her. They are playing the same games as when my mum was in Sydney and this is very familiar for Luca. They took Luca for her first bike ride and she absolutely loved it. Can't believe we missed it. But there you go, she is a little person living her own life and experiencing new things every day. With or without her mum and dad.
We had fun in Utrecht. The weather was very nice, lots of people out and about, great shops and soooo many of them. We caught up with a Kiwi friend of John who didn't know we are in the country. Always nice to suprise people that way, Mike nearly got a heart attack;-)
After that we went for Tapa's. We sat along one of the canals and as we had the scenery it was to be expected that the food would be shit [as you can't seem to have it all] Or maybe we are just very spoiled [or should I say Lucky] with the food in Sydney. And the wine for that matter. In this restaurant the choice of wine was red or white, I went for white and could choose between sweet or dry........................
Tomorrow we are going to Natas. She has invited a whole bunch of friends so it will be great to catch up with everyone.
Yesterday John and I went to Utrecht and Luca stayed home with Oma and Opa. This went well. Luca seems to remember my mum, not so much when she saw her at the airport but definitely in the way my mum interacts with her. They are playing the same games as when my mum was in Sydney and this is very familiar for Luca. They took Luca for her first bike ride and she absolutely loved it. Can't believe we missed it. But there you go, she is a little person living her own life and experiencing new things every day. With or without her mum and dad.
We had fun in Utrecht. The weather was very nice, lots of people out and about, great shops and soooo many of them. We caught up with a Kiwi friend of John who didn't know we are in the country. Always nice to suprise people that way, Mike nearly got a heart attack;-)
After that we went for Tapa's. We sat along one of the canals and as we had the scenery it was to be expected that the food would be shit [as you can't seem to have it all] Or maybe we are just very spoiled [or should I say Lucky] with the food in Sydney. And the wine for that matter. In this restaurant the choice of wine was red or white, I went for white and could choose between sweet or dry........................
Tomorrow we are going to Natas. She has invited a whole bunch of friends so it will be great to catch up with everyone.
zondag 7 september 2008
We have arrived!!
As we are now in NL I will update the blog in English [counting on the fact that most Dutchies will be able to read this as well]
The journey was OK! I mean as much ok as it can be because it is just a very long flight and that's never fun. We got to the airport on time with very little stress and have to thank John's mum for this as she came in early to look after Luca while we did the last of our packing. It was the very last of our packing though because for once we were very organised. Sydney to Hong Kong was a breeze. We had the whole front row to ourselves, 4 chairs and a basinet for Luca, what a joy. Luca was great, went for a couple of walks up and down the plane and made lots of friends on the way. She slept for a good 4 hours of the 9 hour trip. Hong Kong to Amsterdam proved to be a little more challenging, with people rolling their eyes as we took our seats. This time it was all a bit more cramped. Luca and John managed to get sleep, Luca I think about 6 hours of a close to 13 hour flight. I dosed off twice but that was it for me. A bit too anxious and excited I guess.
Luca handeld the flight realy well, just like any other toddler, or maybe even better as she was very settled and kept herself occupied with her toys and other people. All this worry for nothing:-)
The journey was OK! I mean as much ok as it can be because it is just a very long flight and that's never fun. We got to the airport on time with very little stress and have to thank John's mum for this as she came in early to look after Luca while we did the last of our packing. It was the very last of our packing though because for once we were very organised. Sydney to Hong Kong was a breeze. We had the whole front row to ourselves, 4 chairs and a basinet for Luca, what a joy. Luca was great, went for a couple of walks up and down the plane and made lots of friends on the way. She slept for a good 4 hours of the 9 hour trip. Hong Kong to Amsterdam proved to be a little more challenging, with people rolling their eyes as we took our seats. This time it was all a bit more cramped. Luca and John managed to get sleep, Luca I think about 6 hours of a close to 13 hour flight. I dosed off twice but that was it for me. A bit too anxious and excited I guess.
Luca handeld the flight realy well, just like any other toddler, or maybe even better as she was very settled and kept herself occupied with her toys and other people. All this worry for nothing:-)
At the airport we were picked up by mum, dad and Jacco and my friend Natas [she just always seems to be there, when we come or go]. Then on our way to Nijkerk to settle in at mum and dad [oma and opa for Luca] As you can all imagine they have been all over her and Luca absolutely loves it. She also got to meet her uncle Jacco and the two of them seem to get along well. Luca was very excited to be in a new environment and did not want to go to sleep for a while. Then she crashed for a couple of hours. We woke her so she could meet Terry, our old neighbour from Amsterdam who dropped by. Great to see him! Luca managed to stay awake for a couple of hours, before going to bed at 6 pm NL time. She then slept for a good 10 hours ...................to wake up at 4 am............... pfffffff
Today we are going to take it easy, trying to get into a bit of a routine before the catching up starts. I'm happy and relieved that all went so well! Happy we did bite the bullet and booked those tickets.
vrijdag 5 september 2008
dinsdag 2 september 2008
Verrassing!!!!!!!
Flight Information
>
5 September : Sydney to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific : CX100
Economy Restricted Class
departing Kingsford Smith Terminal 1 (SYD) Australia at 14:30arriving Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 22:20
>
6 September : Hong Kong to Amsterdam
Cathay Pacific : CX271
Economy Restricted Class
departing Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 00:05arriving Schiphol Terminal 3 (AMS) Netherlands at 06:50
>
28 September : Amsterdam to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific : CX270
Economy Restricted Class
departing Schiphol Terminal 3 (AMS) Netherlands at 14:00arriving Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 07:35(29 September)
>
29 September : Hong Kong to Sydney
Cathay Pacific : CX139
Economy Restricted Class
departing Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 09:00arriving Kingsford Smith Terminal 1 (SYD) Australia at 20:10
>
5 September : Sydney to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific : CX100
Economy Restricted Class
departing Kingsford Smith Terminal 1 (SYD) Australia at 14:30arriving Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 22:20
>
6 September : Hong Kong to Amsterdam
Cathay Pacific : CX271
Economy Restricted Class
departing Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 00:05arriving Schiphol Terminal 3 (AMS) Netherlands at 06:50
>
28 September : Amsterdam to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific : CX270
Economy Restricted Class
departing Schiphol Terminal 3 (AMS) Netherlands at 14:00arriving Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 07:35(29 September)
>
29 September : Hong Kong to Sydney
Cathay Pacific : CX139
Economy Restricted Class
departing Hong Kong International Terminal 1 (HKG) Hong Kong at 09:00arriving Kingsford Smith Terminal 1 (SYD) Australia at 20:10
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