Thrills can be rather cheap in my world - or in this case approximately 31 Euros. I FINALLY, after 3 1/2 agonizing months, with 3 trips to the RDW, 1 trip to the automotive shop and 1 trip to Wittebrug Audi, got Audrey all registered and my license plate on my car! For those of you whole follow my blog, you will remember my late night craft session when I had to make my own license plate, or so I thought. Well it turns out that I could drive on my Alberta license plate and I found out yesterday that I could in fact drive with it for up to 6 months! Who knew. . .
I had a great trip back to Canada but I have to say that it was nice to come home and sleep in my own bed again and have all of my "stuff" and to just be home. My friend Heidi who is an expat in Dubai, had posted something on her Facebook about what expats bring back after a trip Home. In my case, my list was pretty simple: bacon, they don't have a lot of good bacon here, or rather the type of bacon I like, Top Dogs (hot dogs) - I am a firm believer that hot dogs should not come in a can. Plus - they were on sale for $2.50 at Superstore so I bought 4 packages as that was a steal! I also brought back shredded cheddar cheese - yes, I am lazy and although there is a lot of cheese here, it can be difficult to find cheddar. I haven't been able to be able to find any Frank's Hot Sauce, so I bought a couple of bottles at Costco, as well as a few boxes of Triscuits and some Premium Plus Crackers (saltines) to go with my Campbell's Tomato soup which I have a healthy stockpile of. I also brought back some wooden hangers - I am quite particular about the type I use and of course 6 new pair of shoes :-).
With the bacon, hot dogs and cheese, I was taking my chances, as technically you aren't able to bring these back into the country. Fortunately for me, Schipol was a shit show when I landed with 1000s of people in the baggage claim area, so they pretty much just let everyone through customs and didn't ask any questions. Score 1 for me and my bacon! LOL! If you are wondering how I got all of this home, well I bought one of those large duffel bags from MEC and loaded it up. I already had one but I had forgot to pack it so I ended up buying a new one. I figured that the guys at customs would just think it was part of my regular luggage. In my past life of living up in Old Crow, I used to pack my groceries in rubbermaid containers and bring it on the plane, but I figured that 1) it would draw WAY TOO MUCH attention and 2) I couldn't see me lugging it home on the train and the tram! So duffle bag it was. As for my bacon, hotdogs and cheese, I froze them first and then packed them in my suitcase amongst my stuff to try and keep it cold (didn't work).
It is hard to believe that I have 7 1/2 months already! Where has the time gone as it feels like I hardly even know this place yet? I know - it is the 3 trips to Asia so far that have seemed to have sucked up my time! LOL! Speaking of which, I am only home for about a week and a half and then I am back to Asia again for 3 weeks (China, Malaysia and Brunei this time). Then I am home for a week and then my friend Janet and I are going to Honduras for a week for a diving holiday. So I guess that is where the time is going. . .globetrotting! LOL! Don't get me wrong - I am not complaining but before I know it, it will be Christmas!
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| Audrey with her new "bling" |
With the bacon, hot dogs and cheese, I was taking my chances, as technically you aren't able to bring these back into the country. Fortunately for me, Schipol was a shit show when I landed with 1000s of people in the baggage claim area, so they pretty much just let everyone through customs and didn't ask any questions. Score 1 for me and my bacon! LOL! If you are wondering how I got all of this home, well I bought one of those large duffel bags from MEC and loaded it up. I already had one but I had forgot to pack it so I ended up buying a new one. I figured that the guys at customs would just think it was part of my regular luggage. In my past life of living up in Old Crow, I used to pack my groceries in rubbermaid containers and bring it on the plane, but I figured that 1) it would draw WAY TOO MUCH attention and 2) I couldn't see me lugging it home on the train and the tram! So duffle bag it was. As for my bacon, hotdogs and cheese, I froze them first and then packed them in my suitcase amongst my stuff to try and keep it cold (didn't work).
It is hard to believe that I have 7 1/2 months already! Where has the time gone as it feels like I hardly even know this place yet? I know - it is the 3 trips to Asia so far that have seemed to have sucked up my time! LOL! Speaking of which, I am only home for about a week and a half and then I am back to Asia again for 3 weeks (China, Malaysia and Brunei this time). Then I am home for a week and then my friend Janet and I are going to Honduras for a week for a diving holiday. So I guess that is where the time is going. . .globetrotting! LOL! Don't get me wrong - I am not complaining but before I know it, it will be Christmas!
Bacon seems to be a popular export, I know one of the guys working with my son in Albania brings a whole suitcase full with him, each and every trip. Although I know very well that a blog is a flawed reflection of the real world, reading yours makes me almost want to go back to work, it sounds like a lot more fun than I remember it. Whoooa, I didn't say that out loud did I, we are having to much fun and seeing to many great places to need a job interfering with our schedules.
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