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Well, that was a very long trip but it wouldn't have made it any easier by having a night in Singapore so we just did the whole 38hours in one go.
No taxi strike on friday morning so getting to the airport was a breeze. We were there way too early but with the endless queues at every point of check in and immigration it was just as well we got there early. It was also just as well we left on friday as on top off the chaos from the taxi driver strike on thursday we later learnt that Charles de Gaulle airport was evacuated due to a bomb threat on Saturday!
We enjoyed our last french breakfast, although I must admit to looking forward to my home made muesli again, you can only have so much baguette and croissant, and then boarded our plane. Plenty of movies, a bit of sleep, some very average plane food and we were in Singapore. The plan was to head to terminal 2 for a day by the pool but we were informed that the pool was closed and every hotel nearby was full. It was back to backpacking days of slumming it on airport couches and hanging for 12 hours. Luckily the kids slept for most of the time and Changi Airport very kindly gave us $40 each to spend at the airport restaurants and shops. Singapore is definitely the place to hang in transit! We're still not sure why they gave us the vouchers but it meant we could eat what we liked and buy some lollies and perfume all for free.
The Singapore/Christchurch flight seemed to go quite quickly, even though it was 9 hours and we got a lovely surprise to see Granddad and Nana waiting for us at the airport.
K2 was exstatic to see us even though Ian, Ester and Darron had looked after him so well. It was lovely to come home to a lovely clean house so all we had to do was unpack, relax and sleep. In fact, Sophie and Brodie crashed on the couch at lunch time and didn't wake up again until 11.30pm for something to eat. They then went to bed not rising again unitl 7am. A great effort which hopefully means they won't be affected by jetlag too much, especially since we're back to school and work tomorrow!
We're all looking forward to catching up with family and friends although I'm not so sure about getting back into the whole routine thing. It has been lovely to spend an entire month together away from the stress of everyday life. Brodie in particular has been so relaxed and we've seen his fun personality come out again now that he is away from the stresses of school.
People have been asking me what the highlight of the trip has been and really there isn't one particualr thing that stands out as it has all been so good. If I had to pinpoint one thing I would have to say spending time as a family with none of the everyday distractions has been the best part. How we do more of that now we're back in NZ is hard to say. Maybe that's why we have ended up with Marie coming to stay with us for a year. Having her as part of the family may help us focus more on family life and experiencing new things together.
As I've mentioned before this trip has been all about synchronisty, and coming into contact with Marie and her family before our trip, staying with them in France and having her come to live with us straight after means that we can hold onto our memories for just a little bit longer than we would have otherwise.
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