The trip: and we’re off!

After a year of planning, organising, seeking advice, doing the trial trip and going on&on about our trip to anyone who would listen, we finally hit the road.

However, we started with a 2-hour delay. Somehow the passports had been placed in an unexpected bag and we had to unpack every carefully packed bag & box to find them. An adrenaline rush so early into the trip!

Finally driving out of London on a cold, crisp Sunday felt good, 90% excitement mixed with 10% apprehension.

Sad to leave Griff the cat behind, (who had become super friendly in the last few days to make us feel more guilty) but confident he’s in the best hands with cat-loving aunty staying in the flat during the 6 months we’re away.

When I say we’re finally off, I actually mean to my Mum’s in Dartmouth for a couple of days, before the Plymouth to Roscoff ferry, so not too adventurous just yet.

We had a great party 3 weeks before to celebrate birthdays, 25 years together and the trip. It was really fantastic to squeeze friends from different parts of our lives together into the same small pub, although for me it passed by in 30mins: “Hi & welcome” for 10mins, a 10min dance and then 10mins of “Bye, we’ll miss you”.

At my work Christmas meal & drinks on Friday before we left, 50+ of us on long, increasingly noisy tables in a great pub. As well as a way-above-Secret Santa-standard gift (Ottolengi’s Simple recipes), my lovely colleagues gifted me a LifeStraw water filter bottle, the perfect life-saving gift, along with a Walthamstow poetry book and a card full of good wishes. I almost felt sad to be leaving! Obviously I had to be embarrassed in front of the whole team having to say a few impromptu words.

I am very lucky & privileged to work with such a wonderful talented & dedicated team (I’m not just saying that because some of them are now following this blog, honest).

I do appreciate how lucky we are to have the chance to take a career break for 6 months knowing we can return refreshed and recharged and hopefully with new inspiration and insights from our travels.