Getting Here

Leaving Portugal

Well, we made it. The past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy, but I guess somehow everything got done, or at least done enough. From Monday to Wednesday the movers efficiently packed and emptied everything in the house that didn't get sold or thrown away. We spent the last couple of nights "camping" in the midst of boxes and then in an empty echoing house. We enjoyed our last meal at Gafanhoto and for some reason decided it would be wise to host a dinner party for 13 the Saturday before leaving. We said lots of good-byes, and then snuck away in our 9 person van jammed full with 2 cats, 2 dogs, 2 kids, 2 adults, 5 check-in bags, 2 carseats, several small carry-ons, 4 crates for the animals, and who knows what else.

A quick 2 hour flight to Frankfurt and then a long 11 hour flight to Nanjing. Tristan slept a lot, Amelia played with the iPad and slept a little. The cats came on board with us and were generally well behaved. Blaze let us and everyone else in the airport know before we cleared immigration that he also had landed in Nanjing, and Tazzy was equally happy to see us though luckily less vocal about it. We had petitioned for special permission to bring Blaze home directly with us and that was granted, but unfortunately the other 3 ended up in quarantine, likely just for 7 days of the 30 day quarantine, and then the rest at home. We are applying for a visit to the facility for Monday or Tuesday, and I won't actually relax until everyone is home with us.

A little tired perhaps?

We went straight from the airport to our new home, but since contracts with the landlord only recently finalized, preparations were still ongoing with a full cleaning crew, satellite and appliance  installation, and the heating system blowing cold air out on an already cold day. So we were off to a hotel and are planning on staying here for a couple of nights before we settle in, and of course it will be around 2 months before our container arrives and we can make it really feel like home, but each step makes it feel a little closer.