So I’ve booked…

You all did a really bad job of convincing me that I would be able to stay here in Australia and do justice to the cultural and historical research that I want to do for my next book.

The thing is that when we travel, we travel as a family. We love sharing the world with our girls, as they add so much to our experience, and they learn so much (as do we!) by travelling. However, due to various reasons, we can only travel during school holidays, and if travelling to Europe, the best time for us is the middle of the year holidays. This is peak season, and therefore we pay peak prices. Investigating a family trip to Mystery Destination revealed that it was going to be ridiculously expensive, and that there was no way we could afford it, in our wildest dreams. Very regretfully that idea got canned.

But I couldn’t help but think that if I didn’t go, it wasn’t going to be the book I wanted it to be or the book you would expect from me. (And you all helped to convince me of that too.) So I started investigating going by myself in a shoulder or low season. By doing a bit of careful research, I found that I could reduce the cost of an adult airfare by about $1000! I had two options for dates: one period very soon, and one period in September.

I worked out where I needed to visit – the must haves for researching this embroidery – and made a plan of public transport between them. I figured that I could probably manage with just two museums, and a little cultural exploration of the desired region. A little over a week would suffice, including the two to three days travel each way. (Australia is a long way from Europe!)

I did a costing of accommodation, and worked out that for about the same amount as the original peak season airfare, I could do the whole trip just by myself, in a shoulder season. I managed to find a time that avoided teaching commitments, the craft show, and other busy business periods. As far as I could see, it could work. But then I needed to sell the idea to my husband, because he wanted to come too, if I was going.

I presented my spreadsheet, along with the dates. While he isn’t happy about not going with me, he’s agreed that I need to go.

I made enquiries of the two museums about the not very likely possibility of obtaining reasonably soon appointments to see the relevant parts of the collection (most things that I want to see are in archives and not on general display). But I figured that if I didn’t ask, I would never know!

One said that there was unfortunately no way they could fit me in for the quite soon option – being a large museum in a capital city, this wasn’t surprising. I could still visit the museum, but just see their regular display, which certainly won’t be a waste of time!

However, the other one, a small regional museum which was my top choice for museums to visit because of their extensive collection, amazingly said that they were happy to see me on the date that I had nominated. I was completely astonished and so very happy and grateful! As soon as I received that email, I realised that there was nothing holding me back from booking to go for the very soon option.

So on Friday night we booked flights, and a train trip. Since then, I’ve booked the accommodation, and arranged travel insurance. It’s all done. It all came about so quickly. I’m still a bit amazed, because I will be leaving NEXT WEDNESDAY. Yes, that soon!

We told the girls on Saturday morning. They were not happy with me. The Reader gave me dirty looks all day. Thankfully she’s stopped since then! They really want to come too. Both of them have specific reasons for wanting to visit the region. But we just can’t afford it.

Very importantly, I’d like to say thanks so very much to everyone who has pre-ordered books and also purchased other things from my website in an effort to support my “Get Yvette to Mystery Destination for researching her next book” fund. While it certainly hasn’t covered the whole trip, it has been an encouraging amount of money that has come in, and has helped immensely. I’m very grateful to each of you for your encouragement of me, and your practical support. THANKS!

I will therefore be away from 14th May until 22nd May (back to work on the 23rd). The Vetty Creations office will be closed during that time. Any orders placed and enquiries will be attended to on my return. I apologise for any inconvenience.

Again, thank you so much for your support and encouragement of me. I am so very grateful!