I love to plan and prepare things, writing ‘to-do’ lists excite me and I have certainly written a lot of those recently. We are now T-13 days from take off. I swear it was yesterday when I looked at my countdown app and it was 148 days to go. Whilst at a friends birthday last night, I glanced at my watch at 9pm, the exact time we will be taking off in 2 weeks. The distant and dreamy thoughts of our adventure are suddenly becoming a reality.

It has been a full and busy month of preparation in many forms. I have organised travel insurance, gadget insurance, had my injections, enjoyed countless dinner parties and gatherings with friends, booked accommodation, altered flights to ensure we are on the ground for all the French Rugby World Cup games (ok, I wasn’t the one who organised that…), donated food … and dog food to our local tramp and his pooch and taken a few bags of clothes to the charity shop. Its been a fabulous time for cleansing and clearing. Oh and I have added to my bikini wardrobe, a very important chore ahead of 10 weeks on an Island.

In the next 13 days, we are going to Brussels and then Berlin… TWICE, once for Max’s marathon, where he will be running for Marie Curie and once for a wedding, with only a few days between to pack up the flat and move the contents back to a stable at my parents house. I think its all going to whizz by in a flash. I’m definitely beginning to feel the pang of butterflies.