I am sure I have mentioned before that Adrienne has a countdown clock on her computer for our annual tours. It usually starts once she has managed to swoop on her Qantas points booking – which can sometimes be nearly 12 months in advance !
I am sure you will find a picture of one from past tours amongst my previous posts but here is a sample –
These clips are all taken toward the end of the countdown as we head for the airport ! 🚕🛫
She says that once it gets below 100 days the time passes very quickly – so let the excitement begin ! ⏳😂
We certainly have most of our booking in hand so the detailed day-to-day planning will be getting a workout during the time ahead !
Our time in Finland and Iceland will be extra special as we catch up with Simon & Jatta ! Although we have some plans of what we would like to see in Finland, we are pretty much leaving that up to the “experts” – I’m sure they won’t let us down. For Iceland, our plans will take in the well beaten tourist path – the Ring Road – as it really covers all the highlights.
Then Adrienne and I will be off to Scotland and Ireland – a bit of an “ancestral” tour for both of us – before heading home via a quick catchup with Simon & Jatta in Helsinki and a couple of days in Singapore.
For me, on our first UK trip in 2007 we visited Dalmally (in northwest Scotland) where my paternal great grandfather was born. At that time I had very little information about the place or the connection so other than saying “I had been there” it certainly wasn’t a great highlight. Since then however I have gleaned a lot more information and have even been “top billing” at the Dalmally Historical Association ! – but more on that when the time comes ! And I’ve found that on my maternal side there are roots back to County Donegal in Ireland so there will be a lot of interest there too.
For Adrienne, the “Clancy” roots are very much in Ireland ! She has spent a lot of time going back through old family records from her father and then searching beyond that information online. So armed with a lot of research, County Clare will get a workout and we will be staying in Killaloe where it all began !
And throughout it all we will have some superb scenery to take in – to be sure, to be sure ! 🍀 🍀 🎩 🎩
So “onward” with the countdown !