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DisneyDreams

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

A neighbourhood kid has just been to Disneyland.
No longer are our trip conversations centred around service-opportunities;-)

“We’d like to go to Disneyland too”
“It sounds like so much fun”
“What do you think Dad would say?”
“I’m sure he’d like it”
“He DID like it. We went on the fourth of July on our honeymoon. We were there when it opened and didn’t leave till it closed. Two in the morning or something.”
“Two in the morning? Really? After midnight?”

They didn’t realise we could be so crazy.

And it WAS fun.

But we’re not going to Los Angeles.
And shouldn’t we visit the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame if we are in Paris? Not Disneyland!

Then what should turn up on Boots-n-all, but a post about Hong Kong Disneyland. I didn’t even know there was one. Well, actually, there’s only half of what you’ll find in the other Disney Parks, but
a) that’s still more than plenty coz we’re not going to drag a two-year-old round a theme park till two in the morning AND, more importantly,
b) it costs half as much as the other parks 🙂

Half as much is still not cheap when you have to do the times ten thing though.
But the kids are scheming.
No fireworks next week.
No icecreams over summer, not even when we go camping. *Especially* not when we’re camping – coz it costs twice as much for icecream up there as it does at home and so we’ll save even more!!
All coins found on the pavement, under supermarket counters and down the back of Grandpa’s couch go in the Disneyland Jar. And to kick-start the jar we’re doing a Loose Change Hunt.

Will they manage to save $400 in the next ten months?

Hit A Roadblock…no, TWO

Monday, October 29th, 2007

So Russia has decided you can only apply for visas in your country of origin. And they are only valid for ninety days from when they are issued.
How on earth does one travel through Russia when one has been on the road for six months prior to arriving there? It’s sounding like it would be easier to go to the moon.
There remains one fact in their favour. Those Russian Rules change quite frequently, so it might all be OK by the time we want to pour our tourist-rubles into their local economy. (I’m an optimist).

And the second roadblock. Schengen visas.
These things are meant to be a great idea, making border crossings quick and easy, eliminating the need for individual country visas. In fact, they are so good you don’t even have to apply for one or pay money or get stamps or anything. All you have to do is enter the Schengen area and make sure you’re out again within ninety days. Oh, and don’t come back for another ninety days.
So our plan to mooch around through Europe for as long as our money lasted isn’t going to work so well. Not when you consider Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are all Schengen countries. And by the time we get there Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland will all be in on it too. We’d better hurry – if we go before 2011, we’ll still be able to go to Romania outside of the ninety day restriction.
So that puts paid to one of our possibilities – Rob work in Poland (the joys of possessing a British passport) while the rest of us use our ninety visa-free days, pop over to Germany for the weekend and come back for another Polish ninety days….and so on until he’s finished the school year. Now the way things stand we would have to go to the moon Turkey and stay there for ninety days before we could go back to Poland. By then school would be out for the summer! Time to start investigating other visa options, I suppose.

Reading “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt” hundreds of times over the last decade has left its mark. We don’t give up easily.
“We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We’re not scared. Uh-oh. Grass. Long wavy grass. Can’t go over it. Can’t go under it. Oh no, we’ll have to go through it.”
We’regoing on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We’re not scared. Uh-oh. The Schengen Visa. The awfully short visa. Can’t go without out. Can’t overstay it. Oh no, we’ll have to work round it.
And we will.

Handy Wee Planning Gadget

Sunday, October 28th, 2007
I've just found this. I had already made up a spreadsheet on my own computer, but lack the skills (as yet) to put up a table in HTML prevented me from adding it to our planning pages on the ... [Continue reading this entry]

No Turning Back Now!

Thursday, October 25th, 2007
Arriving in Mongolia it was gently snowing. But as we travelled down the river it got warmer and warmer....until we happened upon a castle where famous dignitaries had been entertained. Our "boat" with special runners that allowed it to run ... [Continue reading this entry]

Episode Two

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
There's an Associate Head of School job going in the organisation Rob works for now. Not in the United Arab Emirates this time; just up the road, in fact. But they wouldn't want to be sending their AHoS to China next ... [Continue reading this entry]

New Season, Episode One

Friday, October 12th, 2007
Over a decade ago, Rob went to work and a colleague had put a job advertisement on his desk. It was actually for the job he was hoping he would move into in ten years' time. He applied, got the job, ... [Continue reading this entry]

*GASP*

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
We're going to need a miracle. So this will be a good place to link to the Seeing God page in the sidebar;-) The nurse from our medical centre just called with the news of which vaccinations we need and ... [Continue reading this entry]

LOST IN SPACE

Saturday, September 22nd, 2007
I wondered why Pilgrims' Progress was suddenly a hot destination when I hadn't even posted anything for a couple of days. Here's why: click me. Thanks Kristen! Safety.....children....travel.....(you can see this post is inspired by Kristen's own submission - thanks ... [Continue reading this entry]

let me off this see-saw

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
Remember Rob suggested we look at going up to China for the February teaching instead of August? We had decided there just wasn't time to get organised.....sewing clothes, applying for passports, buying gear, booking flights and accomodation, getting immunisations, applying for ... [Continue reading this entry]

what if?

Monday, September 10th, 2007
what if we can't find a caravan when we get to England? The European part of our trip hinges on being able to find one at a reasonable price....and a van......preferably within a few days of each other.....most likely on ... [Continue reading this entry]