Iedere dag prima

Sometimes it is so extremely nice that I wonder: why not everyone is doing this. And some other times I am wondering how we will survive 2 months. Good moments are when we drive, with music, no kid is screaming and we feel it gets warmer (it happened today, i removed the socks and felt like the world is mine).

Or when we wake up with Gioia and Alex in our bed.

Bad moments are when we have to put the kids to bed (they both sleep at the same time and next to each other). And when I had to cook today, which took for ever with everything costing ten times the usual effort.

But then again comes a good moment and we get a huge smile. Like when Gioia yesterday, who sings 95% of the time we drive, started screaming out of the blue ‘iedere dag prima’ (Dutch for: every day is perfect). It becomes the trip motto: #iederedagprima!

Sleeping arrangements



This is so special, it’s the first time we will all ‘sleep’ in the same space. So far only Alex sleeps. Gioia is so extremely excited (and just cant hide it) she will sleep next to Alex that she can’t relax at all – let alone sleep. It’s been 3,5 hrs after her usual bed time and she still turns restless. Gosh, she is standing up again…

Update 1 hr later: Gioia FINALLY sleeps. Hopefully she will not roll on Alex. Fingers (and toes) crossed! Good night!

Leaving…for real

We have been a bit too relaxed with this trip when it comes to preparation and planning. It has not always been a conscious choice, rather the result of running around the kids all day and ending up dead on the couch when they would sleep. And then there was one week left. Then few days left, one day left…and suddenly ’oh sh*t, we pick up the camper tomorrow!’ It did not even hit us when the camper was parked under our doorstep (thanks Daan, we are forever grateful!).


The same evening Dave and Daan joined us in the camper for drinks, we would leave Amsterdam the morning after.


How nice drinking and chatting was! And still no stress (and no preparation).

I got my first ‘holy crap’ moment few minutes before we left home. I realized I was almost forgetting my keys of Greece and greek mobile! If I can forget these, what else have I forgotten? Panic panic panic. The most amazing people were there to wave to us, hugging Juno and Mica took some of the panic away, but my heartbeat was still 30000: what else did i forget? Panic.

Anyway, all these knowing we still have a night at Hapert. This felt like a buffer; in reality it was THE trip preparation squeezed in few hours. Not sure it was possible for people to simply talk to me, i was a tornado in and out the house. Tidying, retidying, arranging stuff hoping to control the chaos. Martijn was responsible for the storage (man, we took a lot…) and i was on top of the cabin. Gioia was wondering ‘what the heck happened with my parents, no one pays any attention to me anymore’ and Alex was in his usual spirit of smiling all day.

My panic gave room to some more positivity and before we knew it, hop, we were in the camper! Vibeke you asked for it so here it comes: Martijn found a camping with good reviews 30 min before we left, so we headed straight to Belgium! The trip would start…for real!

Bye bye Hapert, doei allemaal!

We left!

Well..technically we left! We are still within the borders of NL and didn’t sleep in the camper last night (i know..), but we enjoyed a great birthday party in Hapert and warm double beds! Happy 70th birthday Kees! Corry happy birthday to you too! Thank you both for letting us camp in front of your door 🙂

I think we are (almost) ready to go – for real this time!