Deelight! Come on over!

[Delster]

Hey Deelight isn''t your trip to Europe coming up soon? Are you all set? Come on, tell us about your trip

 

[Deelight]

Hey Delster Thanks for asking I saw this thread on my way to work but I wanted to answer properly

Unfortunately we delayed our trip a little (buy about 3 weeks)

so we will be missing Eurovision but I still get to go to Disney world and GOG and Leon (You know your a pricescoper when you list diamond vendors up there with Disney )

which is a shame but as my BF got a new job not that long ago and he was worried that he might not have a job to come home to and was preferring to wait, in the end it was my decision and as much I wanted to be I could not be selfish it was better to delay a little and not have to worry about stuff on a positive note we will have a heap more spending money hehe I plan to shop till I drop

. There is always next year for Eurovision here is hoping Ireland wins

Visiting Ireland is on my to-do list but I don''t think we will get to this time which is a shame

) it looks so beautiful.

At this stage we will be heading into Europe around early to mid June so summer time so it should be really beautiful (I have only been in winter still beautiful but cold) and hopefully not to cold for this Aussie to handle. We plan to go to NY first and pick up a little something sparkly (I posted this in RT but I know your banned for a bit ) I have no idea on the setting but I know that it will be a Leon platinum solitaire with pointy claws . Go down to the south and from there to Disney and onwards to Rome through to Serbia and Austria and then onto England to do a contiki tour (France, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, Amsterdam I can''t remember the others) back to London and then onto Hong Kong and back home so that be the plan . Darling BF wants to drive a lot of this trip which will be fun a good way to see the sights and get off the tourist track . And somewhere (though he won''t spill, I definitely don''t want to know but I kinda do ) he will propose I really can''t wait to see what he comes up with, as long as he asks I will be happy .

We really need to finalise an itinerary but it is really hard when we have so many things and people we need to co-ordinate with and working but we will do it soon I hope but that about sums up the trip in a nutshell .

Hopefully I have more of a concrete update after this weekend

 

[Delster]

Oh my goodness that''s a HUGE trip! I thought it was just Europe you were doing. I am so jealous! It sounds fabulous. And don''t worry about missing the Eurovision - you can catch in a pub somewhere and play the Eurovision drinking game with the locals, you''ll have a blast

We''ll pass each other in Leon''s by only a couple of weeks

Sounds like our settings are going to be very similar too!

Can''t wait to hear more after you''ve done your big weekend of planning

 

[Deelight]

I can''t wait I was bummed about the Eurovision thing but hey at least I can skip the voting and I get to hear the commentary I think we will still be in OZ when it is on but hey I can always have a Eurovision party at home

I actually thought the same thing when you described your setting you and your BF have exceptional taste . I can''t wait to see your ring it will be magnificent, I bet your excited .

I heard that the flights are back on as well whoot

When BF got home last night (he works night shifts so I really only get to see him on the weekends

) I made sure to show him this thread I was all like isn''t that set beautiful how perfect does it look . He liked it too asked for all the specs and let slip that it was along the lines he was thinking OMGAH I am so happy . So hopefully by next week or so he will be ready to get it sent off to Leon and that should coincide with our NY time nicely .

He is still asleep but when he wakes up we are off to get passport photo''s done and then hopefully onto some serious planning and booking .

 

[Delster]

We can both log on here and play the Eurovision drinking game across the continents!

We are crazy excited about the ring. BF is hyper hyper hyper. I actually showed him that thread and I was so shocked how excited he was by the pictures - he''s adorable! He keeps saying: ''guess what I bought?''

Flights are back on (

)but now we have a problem with the dates - I''ll post about that in the other thread.

How did the passport photos turn out?

I have to get some done myself. Ugh, I hate having those taken!

 

[Delster]

bump!

 

[Deelight]

Sorry I got sidetracked

We didn''t get passport foto''s on the weekend

but we did have a lovely time just hanging out (we only get to see each other on the weekends even though we live together

) and he took me shopping unfortunately I didn''t find what I was looking for but it was sweet of him considering he loathes it. I am aiming to get them done this week no later .

I think we have finally decided on a tour that we want to do at this stage I think we will do it first and then visit the relies afterwards (the tours can be really full on) it is only 14 days but still a good intro to Europe European Highlights and will be a good way to meet some new people plus there is no overlap with where the relies live .

I so think a PS Eurovision night would be fantastic I am all for it

It is really hard to type when you have a cat on your chest grooming your shirt (it is all wet with cat slobber ewwwww)

 

[Delster]

Awww your BF sounds sweet

Will you get much time to yourself on the tour? Will they roll you out of the bus and tell you to 'go play' or will it be more structured? I've never been on a bus tour so I've no idea how it works. I've been to a fair few of the places on your itinerary, you're in for a fabulous trip!

(My typing is not interrupted by a friendly cat on my lap, but rather by our neighbour's over-excitable dogs that they leave loose in the neighbourhood all day and that I have to run out of our flowerbeds at least once every hour. Ugh!

)

 

[Deelight]

grrr my pet peeve is people who let there dogs run wild it is a hazard to the animals and other people.

I am not sure I think you can have it as structured or as unstructured as you like it, for instance there is group outings but most nights your on your own to explore the city and do you own thing you also have the option to go on extra tours as well. I can''t wait to do one I am especially looking forward to France - my dream place to visit ever since I was little. Earlish in our relationship BF promised me that one day he planned to take me to the top and kiss me that day will be here soon , I only had to wait 10 years whoooot .

I think contiki (well here it is) the thing you like want to have to do when your young because it is so much fun and a complete blast, BF has done one before he meet me but I haven''t so this is really more for me and my experience in the sense of doing one but a nice way to have a taster of places we would love to visit again properly. They tend to pair you with like aged people and couples with couples singles with singles so it is planned to be a blast as much as they can.



I tried to take a photo of kitty on my chest but it just came out looking like a blob of fur LOL

 

[Delster]

So where in France is BF going to 'take you to the top' and kiss you?

Actually the Eiffel tower is super romantic if you go up at night and it's quiet. First time I went up it I was seriously underwhelmed but it was daytime and I was with a girl pal and it was all just kind of 'eh OK'. Second time I went up was with BF and then it hit me that yeah, it is romantic actually. Funny how circumstances play into your experience of a place so strongly!

So is that where you think the proposal is gonna be, at your special place in France? Or do you think that might be in Serbia (you mentioned before you have family there right? Or am I making that up?)?

Agree with you about irresponsible dog owners. One of those dogs is left out at night and sometimes he lies in our front lawn and just barks and barks and barks. I've contemplated putting a note on his collar saying if I find him barking on my lawn at night, or rummaging through my flowerbeds during the day, just one more time, I'm ringing the ISPCA. Grrrrr. These houses are too small for dogs this big. They let them out because they couldn't be bothered doing all the walking they'd have to do if the kept the dogs in their own gardens all day.

Anyway. Vent over. BTW I liiiiiike blobs of fur!

 

[Deelight]

Delster vent all you like I would call the ISPCA I dread to think of those poor dogs getting hurt or someone else and then being put to sleep

Sheesh it gets me when people don''t get pets have needs and you need to satisfy them, and it is really not fair on you having to deal with the unrulinesses

OMG I am a complete gumby

Yes at the top of the la tour de eiffel (that is about as far as my HS French extends), as to whether he will propose there or not I am not sure I did ask him once and he said no he thought it was cliche: me I am okay with cliche anything as long as it involves mah sparklie .

I have given him one instruction for the proposal only: please bring tissues because I am like 99% certain I will cry. I lost it when I saw the video of the diamond what will I be like when he does it all for real.

No you weren''t making it up all my non immediate family (cousins and aunts etc) live in Serbia so in some ways there feels like home, I never had extended family growing up and I really missed it I always wanted to have a big family around. If he decided to propose anywhere in Serbia I would be over the moon, I actually wonder if he is seriously contemplating that then I try to think where there are some really beautiful places but I doubt he would know any of them LOL I don''t know a lot of them.

One of my "dream proposals" would be the place my mum grew up in Croatia. We spent some time there with my grandma, uncles and aunts and cousins when I was last there, across the road (well it is a dirt track) from the little cottage my family owned and a hill there is a massive forest called the Lisac it is so beautiful that place has a lot of really happy memories for me, I got to learn about my history the good the bad and the view is TDF.

Unfortunately my uncle lost our family home during the war so whether we get to go back is something yet to be seen, I would love nothing more then to take him there and show him the area is really rural there are no shops, no plumbing, no electricity, no running water it is like stepping back in history but that place has such happy wonderful memories for me it is really hard to explain in tangible thought.

I am uploading a photo of said blob of fur he is really quite sweet and snuggly I am surprised he is not here now I have had him since he was 3wks old I found him abandoned by his mum in my backyard, he is my little terror of a friend.

 

[Delster]

Aw Deelight I really hope you get the opportunity to go back to your Mum's home place. Fingers crossed for you

The Lisac link won't open for me, am I doing something wrong?

I've been to Croatia twice (Zagreb and Split) and both times it was lovely. Spent a day in Belgrade once and the people were incredible. Random people walking up to us thanking us for visiting, offering to read the map for us, offering to recommend places to eat etc. Well, except for the nice gentleman who tripped me up with a broom on my way into the bathrooms in the main train station and then laughed at me when I landed in a pool of... well, it wasn't water

He hosed under the cubicle door too while I was in there. That was my first experience of squat toilets to boot and BF howled with laughter at me when I came back I looked so freaked out. Until I sat down beside him and he smelled me, ha ha

Belgrade was amazing though. Beautiful buildings, the open squares in the city. Really lovely. I did find the fortress a bit scary - it was frightening to think about how recently all that artillery had been in use. It's very alien to someone from Ireland, you know?

Your blob of fur is gorgeous. I am so jealous. I love cats but am horrifically allergic

 

[Deelight]

I hope so too thanks Delster


I womder why it did not work it opened for me but here is the link spelled out http://www.blog.hr/print/?id=1621234289 it is beautiful kinda makes you think of a fairytale forest like at any moment a dwarf might pop out and say hi (I did see a bambi though which blew my socks away

), I am a born and bred city girl and the only time I have seen a deer is at a zoo.

I have been to Zagreb but not to Split (this is where the dalmatian dogs come from, just a random fact) but again this was in the 90''s just literally before the war broke out so my knowledge of what it looks like is going to be poor. Belgrade I only drove through on my way to Novi Sad where my family lives but the drive was nice.

The lifestyle there is very different (it is a very social going to cafe type life) that what I am used to over here. I do have to agree the people are wonderful really friendly and welcoming (I think my BF will be a hit a real Aussie LOL). I have heard many locals all over the Former Yugo are grateful that after all the years of dissent people are coming back. While we are over there we are planning on looking at some churches to possibly get married in a couple of years , I think a planned elopement with family would be nice, heck I think it would be nice to have my whole family in the one place for the first time in my life. The cathedrals there are really just something else much nicer then the orthodox ones here but that probably has to do with them being older.

I am glad you had good time but bleugh to the guy and the loo what an arse :K. If you go back again I will teach you a few choice curse words you can hurl back should a situation arise . Double ewww on the loo, I still have issues with those I flat out refused to use one when we were in my mums hometown until days later my mum forced me to go in fear of making myself sick, I was/am stubborn.

I am curious to know which fortress Delster, my BF might find it interesting to visit I plan to give him not only a touristy tour of the place but also a historical tour. I understand about the war thing for me it is something that I have known about my whole life my grandmother survived 3 wars -WWI, WWII and the most recent one before she died, my mum and dad were both born during WWII and finally knowing my family lived through the last one but have never (thankfully) had to experience it first hand.

To end on a happy note I am glad you like my blob of fluff he is not here right now I think he is off sleeping.

Well I am off for a promised adventure...Today is my and BF''s 10yr anniversary

and apparently I get to pick my present as well but am stumped as all the shops are closed it is a public holiday

, I am curious as heck. I will let you know later what happens .

Have a good day Delster hope your thesis is going well, I am cheering on for you

 

[Delster]

Oooooh it opened, it opened! It's so beautiful!

You know? It kind of reminds me of here! Have you ever seen pictures of the Killarney National Park? Last time BF went hiking there they saw stags fighting. He said it was amazing.

I really hope you find a beautiful cathedral to elope to! Is your BF's family also from the Balkans? We went into a cathedral in Zagreb when I was there - it's at the top of a steep hill, near the national parliament, and it has the Croatian flag in tiles on the roof. This was back in 2001, and there were so few tourists. The doors were locked and we figured we couldn't go in, when this little old man came running with a key and brought us in. He bawled his eyes out while holding our hands showing us around. It was so moving. We had similar experiences in Belgrade in 2003. By that time Croatia had gotten its tourist mojo back so they weren't as excited any more to see tourists I guess!

I've nothing against those loos (aren't they meant to be healthier or something? I think I heard that before), it was just the people manning the place were less than friendly! There were no lights on down in the cubicle section and the doors had no latches and were too far away to hold closed with your hand while you, em, organised yourself. It was all a bit traumatic at the time but it makes for a good story!

The fortress was this one: http://www.beograd.org.yu/cms/view.php?id=201323 I think there was a sort of mini zoo in the grounds too. I have this bizarre memory of walking in to the fortress with ostriches looking over hedges at me. That could be something I made up though! I'll ask BF and see if I can dig out our old maps and notebooks.

Now, enjoy your adventure and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DEELIGHT AND MR DEELIGHT!

ETA - my Dad was born during WWII and there was rationing here and my Nana used to tell this story about how the first time he saw a banana (after the war) he was scared of it! So cute!

 

[Deelight]

The fluffy blob says hi

I know your allergic to cats but have you ever considered a sphinx cat or a devon rex both are really good for allergy suffers but aren''t fluffy though I think they are cute .

OMG Delster Killarney National Park is beautiful, I just googled it that is really breathtaking...I really wish we had time to go Ireland on this trip

, next time Ireland is on my to see list.

Mr Dee''s family is Aussie but he has no objections getting married in an orthodox church, he is not religious so for us it was not like we would have to pick, though for me that was a big non-negotiable. I think his parents would be happy - another excuse to travel and my sister would be ecstatic that this means I might have a baby sometime in the foreseeable future LOL my dad would probably grumble at the thought of travel.

I am definitely putting that fortress on our list of things to see we won''t actually be staying in Beograd but we can always day trip it (we will mostly be in Novi Sad) I also found while web surfing a bunch of festivals that will be on in and around June this one looks interesting called Exitfest never heard of like any of the musicians except the Sex Pistols could be a riot either way if we get there in time there is also a beer festival - could also be fun .

I went on my adventure totally unexpected where we went but really cute, he took me on a 3hr drive inland into Toowoomba to visit a rose garden (I like roses one of the only plants in my overgrown jungle of a garden I like). We had a nice lunch at a little fish and chip shop and drove around for a while and he bought me a couple of specially bred roses he researched on the internet - very sweet and unexpected. I confessed later to him I was wondering if he was planning to throw me off and propose (not that I expected it at all and my diamond is still in NY and all the other jazz) but all the secrecy of the trip was like he wouldn''t would he... he laughed at me, I am glad he didn''t though.

The next day I had a mini meltdown I want to be engaged already my patience is wearing thinner he offered to get the ring sent out but I said no this combined with the torture of looking for a dress for a formal wedding was enough to get to me all meh. He did offer to buy me something from Tiffany''s or this really nice red guess bag to make me feel better but I said no...silly me .

That is so cute about your Dad and the banana awwwwww.

 

[Delster]

The hairless cats are actually worse because they've no fur to trap the dander so it proliferates all the more

I'm a hopeless case I'm afraid!

I had a look at that Exitfest and the names I recognised were Juliette and the Licks (that's Juliette Lewis the actress); Paul Weller (fantastic!); Ministry (do they mean Ministry of Sound the dance club in London?); Kruder and Dorfmeister; The Hives; and Primal Scream. It seems like a pretty strong line-up. Hey when you come to visit Killarney you could time it to go to one of the festivals here - the Electric Picnic is a small intimate one and all our pals rave about it

Your anniversary adventure sounds lovely. I don't think I could go to a place called Toowoomba without giggling happily at the sound of it the whole time I was there

Did you find a dress in the end? I always find I can never get anything I like when I'm actually looking, but when I'm just browsing on a whim the shops are full of stuff I like!