But First: Europe

Days until departure: 5

Number of bags packed: 3.5

Family and friend’s commitments remaining: 8

In five days our great adventure will begin. 

When Dave and I chose August 1st as our departure date (first for Europe, with Australia to follow) I started making lists: lists of administrative to do's (renew passports, apply for visas, purchase medical coverage), lists of vaccines we would need, lists of currencies to convert and quantities of each, and lists of what to pack, what to give away, and what to store in Toronto while we're away. I started booking hotels in April, train tickets in May, and then re-booked it all in June (when our plans inevitably changed). 

And now, in five days it all begins.

Last night I laid in bed awake and wondered what we're forgetting. Dave packed more boxes this morning and gestured wildly around our living room, asking wide-eyed for the millionth time: what else has to be moved? Our conversations have become cyclical: How many pairs of shoes are you taking? How many sweaters? Should we bring the Roku or leave it? Do we have enough power converters for everything that needs to be charged?

The thing that has surprised me most about the action of leaving, is how overwhelmingly difficult it can feel, but how simple it really is. My poorly packed suitcase is currently laying on the floor of our bedroom bursting with clothes, photos and other sentimental objects: The next time I see its contents I'll be half a world away. Barriers to leaving: like our apartment lease, cell phone plans, and access to funds, were all overcome. Thanks to careful planning, determination, and a divide-and-conquer-attitude, I'm starting to suspect we might actually be able to make this work.

Dave has been my rock these past few weeks and months. I'm a control freak (a well-known fact) but he never hesitated to take something off my plate when I was feeling overwhelmed. Three weeks ago I was near tears over an email exchange with a car rental agency and Bergen, Norway, when he calmly closed my computer and said not to worry about it — he would reserve the car. (Heads up: Norwegian currency conversion is hard stuff!)

All the details were finalized two weeks ago. We will be spending a month in Europe (England, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Norway) before flying to Melbourne, Australia via Heathrow Airport on September 1st. Our European journey begins and ends in London, a decision we made to alleviate the need to lug two suitcases full of Australian travel necessities across the European continent.

And so, as we tick off the days on the calendar, and our flight to London looms, here's a playlist full of amped up travel tunes that I'll be listening to on repeat:

Leg One Travel Playlist:

1.    Arcade Fire — Keep the Car Running

2.    Wintersleep — Amerika

3.    Jonas Blue ft. Dakota — Fast Car

4.    Grouplove — Tongue Tied

5.    The Strumbellas — Spirits 

6.    The Head and the Heart — Down in the Valley 

7.    The National — Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

8.    The War on Drugs — Red Eyes 

9.    Patrick Watson — The Great Escape

10. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros — Home

Until next time,

Heather