Departure from France
Stefan’s account:
Getting ready was not a pleasure. The last weeks before departure were packed with thousands of errands, and they never stopped, always a new ‘detail’ that popped up and needed fixing. Obviously as always the deadline was the only forcing device that worked for us. And (unlike in my job (-:)) our project management ended up in a huge 2-week long crunch!
Finally, the first big step in leaving had approached:
taking the campervan to the port in Zeebrugge. I had
to drive it up there on the 8th July, leave it in the port
and hope that it would actually leave on the 15th July.
After having scratched it driving into our yard, we
managed to get it out with only minor damage to the
neigbours trees.
I don’t think it was easy for any of us to leave our home
for the last 5 (rue de l’Est), no 15 years (France) behind.
But after having got our house packed into a huge
moving van with a team of 6 German packers (no
laughing, no fun, it was like a battle scene to squeeze
everything in!) we were ready to get on a plane and leave
for the US to wait for our van.
We spent the first week between Chincoteague (pony
island in Virginia), Willimansburg (live show of a 18th
century village) and Baltimore.
Stefan’s account:
Getting ready was not a pleasure. The last weeks before departure were packed with thousands of errands, and they never stopped, always a new ‘detail’ that popped up and needed fixing. Obviously as always the deadline was the only forcing device that worked for us. And (unlike in my job (-:)) our project management ended up in a huge 2-week long crunch!
Finally, the first big step in leaving had approached:
taking the campervan to the port in Zeebrugge. I had
to drive it up there on the 8th July, leave it in the port
and hope that it would actually leave on the 15th July.
After having scratched it driving into our yard, we
managed to get it out with only minor damage to the
neigbours trees.
I don’t think it was easy for any of us to leave our home
for the last 5 (rue de l’Est), no 15 years (France) behind.
But after having got our house packed into a huge
moving van with a team of 6 German packers (no
laughing, no fun, it was like a battle scene to squeeze
everything in!) we were ready to get on a plane and leave
for the US to wait for our van.
We spent the first week between Chincoteague (pony
island in Virginia), Willimansburg (live show of a 18th
century village) and Baltimore.
Lili’s account:
I was very sad to leave the big house in Rueil Malmaison and the big garden where we played very often and where my garden was. I was very sad to leave Lottie (our dog had to stay with the grand parents in the UK). I was sad too to leave my school in Perceval.
But it was very nice to watch the packers to pack in our furniture and squeeze it into the lorry. It was very funny to see the house without anything in it.
The day before departure, the 14th July (!!!), we watched the parade with our friends Jeanne and Basil and Louise. Then we went on the Champs-Elysées to Daddy’s bureau and saw the Champs for a last time at night with the beautiful lights and left in a taxi back to our friends house.
Climbing into the aeroplane finally was very exciting. I liked the flight because there were tellies and I watched Miss FBI. I was very tired when we arrived and I woke up at 3 am the following morning.
I was very sad to leave the big house in Rueil Malmaison and the big garden where we played very often and where my garden was. I was very sad to leave Lottie (our dog had to stay with the grand parents in the UK). I was sad too to leave my school in Perceval.
But it was very nice to watch the packers to pack in our furniture and squeeze it into the lorry. It was very funny to see the house without anything in it.
The day before departure, the 14th July (!!!), we watched the parade with our friends Jeanne and Basil and Louise. Then we went on the Champs-Elysées to Daddy’s bureau and saw the Champs for a last time at night with the beautiful lights and left in a taxi back to our friends house.
Climbing into the aeroplane finally was very exciting. I liked the flight because there were tellies and I watched Miss FBI. I was very tired when we arrived and I woke up at 3 am the following morning.
