The countdown begins - Europe 2009

Ok, so for those of you who haven't already heard, I'm planning another trip to Europe in May next year...

And, the best thing is that I've managed to convince mum to come with me. She might say that it was a case of me bullying her into it, but it basically came down to the fact that I didn't let her say no, so there is a difference (isn't there???)...

This time 12 months ago I was in the throws of organizing my trip to London to see Josh... It feels like a lifetime ago! A lot happened in the following months, particularly the week before we were due to fly out, but thankfully health-wise mum is really good. She'll obviously be monitored over the coming years, but we're living in the moment and believe it or not, our flights and tour are booked.

I guess I was determined that Mum would get to Europe, after-all (and based on my logic) what's the point of having a passport if you never get to use it?

We're flying via Singapore where we'll have a few days before boarding the new A380 on the way to London.

After two nights in London we head off on a 19 day Cosmos "European Treasures" tour, that will take in the highlights of Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France. After the tour we'll have about 6 days in London so I might get to do some of the things I didn't get to do last time, which may or may not have had something to do with the fact I was distracted by Groban.

So with 169 more sleeps to go, you can probably tell that I'm a little excited about the trip.

For updates on the holiday plans, visit Pat & Kay's Europe Blog.