Farewell picnic
A bit late, thanks a lot to all the friends who joined our farewell picnic last 11th of july. It was great to share a few hours with you. Here are some photos from the event...
 |
| PiKNIK d'au revoir/farewell/despedida |
D-6 : On the road !
Just a few kilometers to cross the french-spanish border : after the marathon of the last days, I feel on holidays at last. There is nothing I like more than the sensation of traveling, of being on the road to somewhere... Still a few days to rest in my home village, to breath its mountain air, to go to the same swimming pool I went as a child, to enjoy the Spanish sun, to check with friends and family, to dance in the wedding of my cousin Gema next Saturday before starting the big adventure !Bea
D-6: Can't wait for the 4th of august !
07/28/2009 is our first day on the road even though we are not going that far for the moment: we will be spending a few days at Bea's parents village in Spain before flying on the 4th of August to Argentina.
Leaving Paris was quite a relieve. The last two weeks have been overwhelmed by the sexiest tasks in a round the world trip preparation : paperwork, dentist, shopping, fixing stuff and moving out of our flat... Actually, you spend much more time preparing your leave than really planning the trip activities. But ultimately, everything went quite smoothly: no need for a sleepless night before our departure. It would have been a nightmare knowing that we need a 1500 km drive to reach our destination.Nevertheless, I am so pleased to feel this freedom and to see this round the world trip project getting real, specially since the decision was taken more than two years ago!. The dark side of it is to leave our friends, life and family behind.
Karim
Bea Indian Visa part 2
If you are wondering, what is this badly framed photo of an Indian visa, you will find some explanation in this article
Bea suggested that we should send some Ferrero Rocher to the embassy....
Karim
PS : a little advise : do not make any business with Action-Visa. After being arrogant and inefficient, they still owe us money.
Vicissitudes to get the indian visa
Only 7 workdays (one and a half for Karim) and 23 days left to leave for Buenos Aires... and yet so many things to do!
These last days before the departure make me remember suspiciously the days before our wedding: running all day long from one place to another to complete in time what seems to be a never ending tasklist. But I cannot complain because it is mainly Karim who has been investing time and work in the preparation of the trip for around two years now.
Right now, the most complex problem is to obtain my Indian visa. The software used by the official agency through which Indian visas are requested in France only allow to deal with 6 months stay request if you are not french.
For that reason while Karim, who has got a french passport, has been granted a one year visa that will allow him enter India at the intended arrival date in march 2010, I have been granted a 6 month visa whose validity ends in december 2009 ... not very useful indeed !
Karim, who is a resourceful person, sent an e-mail to the ambassador of India in France asking for help. Although we did not pin a lot of hopes on the result, we have been nicely surprised: somebody from the embassy has answered asking us to launch a new request and then to inform him back of the reference number.
With the answer from the consulate and after a little wait and stress, it was possible, finally, to launch a new request, this time for a year.
So here I am, fingers crossed and waiting anxiously that all run smoothly this time and that I am granted the paper that will allow me to get into India in march next year.
To be continued ...
Bea
These last days before the departure make me remember suspiciously the days before our wedding: running all day long from one place to another to complete in time what seems to be a never ending tasklist. But I cannot complain because it is mainly Karim who has been investing time and work in the preparation of the trip for around two years now.
Right now, the most complex problem is to obtain my Indian visa. The software used by the official agency through which Indian visas are requested in France only allow to deal with 6 months stay request if you are not french.
For that reason while Karim, who has got a french passport, has been granted a one year visa that will allow him enter India at the intended arrival date in march 2010, I have been granted a 6 month visa whose validity ends in december 2009 ... not very useful indeed !
Karim, who is a resourceful person, sent an e-mail to the ambassador of India in France asking for help. Although we did not pin a lot of hopes on the result, we have been nicely surprised: somebody from the embassy has answered asking us to launch a new request and then to inform him back of the reference number.
With the answer from the consulate and after a little wait and stress, it was possible, finally, to launch a new request, this time for a year.
So here I am, fingers crossed and waiting anxiously that all run smoothly this time and that I am granted the paper that will allow me to get into India in march next year.
To be continued ...
Bea
