...with a little help from our friends....

Saying goodbye was not easy, but we managed with a lot of help from our friends.

One of our last challenges was to get everything in our suitcases. Packer Magnificus Jarett found a worthy mate in Inge and pulled off fitting 54 kilos into the 2 Samsonites, making it look soooo easy. Inge took around 15 kilos home in her own luggage, saving us from having to leave more stuff behind.

Marieke provided the sushi when we got hungry, but due to the big knot in my stomach, my last Matsuri meal consisted of only 7 pieces. (The crew of our outbound flight did not mind, as they got the leftovers...)

Leaving the house behind was very, very hard. That was the house where we met, courted, got engaged and had our wedding, so it was like leaving a part of our history behind.

Our next break was checking in. As we were some of the first to check in, the lady behind the counter was still fresh and happy and gave us a break by not charging us the 4 extra kilo's @ Naf 36 a piece.

I won't even try to describe how crappy it was to leave ma, pa and Lisa behind. Let's just say that the people standing in line with us waiting for customs did not see the most charming side of me and those tissues I bought for Naf 7 (!!!) were worth every penny.

Once at the gate I was extremely happy to get extra hugs from Inge, before she boarded the plane. We were lucky to have a flight with 40 empty seats, so after an emotional take-off, our extremely diplomatic flight attendant offered the creep next to me at the windowseat another seat at the other side of the plane, so we could have 3 seats for the two of us. We were happy enough like that, but it got even better. We already had our wooden shoes slippers for on board, but Inge had brought along my vaas and for Joris the bubble-addict a big bottle of Spa Rood. And she had a question. What do we prefer, being served by her during the flight, or be moved to the business class?

We really couldn't believe our luck, we could lie down 180 degrees and did so. The food was EXCELLENT! The time flew by and before you knew it, we were in Holland.