Getting ready for vacation, makes me really need a vacation…

Today I did a major about of laundry…scratch that this week I did a major amount of laundry, I hate having laundry in the basket when we leave for vacation.  I took a break for lunch and conversation with the ladies (so much to do, but I wasn’t going to pass up hanging out with the girls).   I also had to get the apartment ready for the mold people.  We were informed that the mold in our apartment was very common in China and not harmful to our health, however if we still wanted it cleaned it would be very messy.  I love the Chinese people, but they aren’t the neatest people and they don’t take care of things the way I do, so I figured if they think it would be messy I didn’t take it lightly.  We chose to have it cleaned because a) we are bringing a baby into this house…never mind the baby could be effected by it now since I am exposed to it.  b) I have never heard of black smelly mold that is OK for your health and c) it smells.  I took all the baby stuff out of the baby room and hid it safely in the guest room, I took pictures off the wall so they wouldn’t get damaged.  I (with the help of my husband) cleared out the kitchen so that I wouldn’t have to wash everything when we got back.

Packing for Japan meant I had to iron anything I washed and hung before it went into the suitcase.  It also meant a few trips to the grocery stores to pick up snacks that are easy to pack, that will help me survive and are going to travel well.

I was exhausted, and we didn’t get to bed until midnight and we had to get up early to get to the airport on time.

It’s All About The PLAN!

I just spent the entire day (from when I woke up to about 9:30 at night) working out the details of our trip to Japan.  I had already spent a lot of time doing research on plane ticket prices and hotels (which took a long time as well) in July.  For pretty much all the trips we have taken so far I have planned down to where we will eat…as structured as it is for vacation it makes the trip so much more relaxing and less stressful.  I usually plan too much so we can weed out the stuff we don’t feel like doing but we end up with more time to do extra things we see along the way.  I love that we don’t waste one second saying where should we eat…I don’t know where do you want to eat blah blah blah!  Since food is such an issue for me the last thing I want (or want to put Adam through) is being stuck somewhere where we can’t find somewhere to stop for a snack.  This pregnancy puts a whole new spin on everything because not only do we need to be near food, but I need to make sure we go to a Japanese restaurant where they serve cooked fish that isn’t exotic, plus some cool Japanese sushi and fresh fish for Adam to enjoy.  One of the mornings we will go to the fish market where they say you can stop off for sashimi and sushi rolls at booths on the street (this day I had to plan for a second lunch location so Adam could enjoy the very fresh sushi and I can eat something that won’t harm the baby). 

I read our travel book basically from cover to cover and did research on the internet to decide which cities we wanted to travel to.  We decided on Tokyo (of course) Kyoto and Osaka.  We arrive in Tokyo on Friday night and will take the Bullet train to Kyoto next Tuesday afternoon.  On Thursday we will take the train to Osaka and fly out of Osaka on Sunday morning. 

I am excited about everything but there is one thing in particular that I am really looking forward to (mainly because they could turn out to be the best thing ever or a total waste of money).  One of the things is sooooo expensive that I don’t even like to think about but is something that every website I looked at and our book mentioned was something you HAD to do in Japan.  We are staying in a Japanese Guest House (Ryokan)…we will basically sleep on a futon and sit on the floor but it should be really cool.  My only requirement for the Ryokans I looked at was that they had a bathroom on the floor (so glad I thought of that since I wasn’t even pregnant when I reserved this room)…we actually are staying in an updated guest house where they have bathrooms in your room.  It should be a real Japanese experience. 

This has been a tough job because I reserved the hotel months ago (without knowing anything about the areas…mainly looking at the price).  Usually I pick the cheaper hotel with good reviews and we have to spend a little extra on transportation to get to the tourist areas or the City center.  As it turns out our Tokyo hotel is right in the center of the metro system and equidistant from the three different areas we will visit on three different days, our Kyoto Ryokan is walking distance to some tourist things and our Osaka hotel is right in the center of the things I had planned for us.  This trip has also been difficult because I know nothing about Japan and I don’t know anyone who knows anything about the cities we are traveling to.  The difference between this trip and our trips to Thailand or Vietnam was we are going to a much bigger city with many more things to do and I have to plan for 10 days in three cities rather than some weekend relaxation time mixed with a few cultural sites. 

I’ll let you know how it turns out!!!