When we talk about our round-the-world project, most of our friends' and family's reactions are like:

‘Wow, so cool! You're so lucky!

Going on a trip is an incredible opportunity to discover and experiment, to learn and understand new ideas. But it's not all luck... Because preparing for a trip requires concessions and, above all, a lot of preparation: mental, administrative and logistical.

Let's get in the DeLorean and take a trip down memory lane...

August 2019, somewhere in Isle sur la Sorgue.

Marine confirms what she told me at the start of our relationship a year earlier:

- I want to go on a big trip... For a year! she exclaims.

- Erm... But I've just started my new job and you've just started your training... And it lasts two years... And I don't know if I want to go away for that long,’ I tell her, a little anxious.

- That gives us until July 2021,’ she says. I think that won't be too long...

The first step was for Marine to convince me to leave for such a long time. Leaving her job, her family, her friends, her home, but also the mental aspect; imagining a new way forward, going against society's injunctions, throwing ourselves into the unknown, outside our comfort zone.

November 2019,

After talking for a long time, we first agree on a 6-month trip.

But where are we going to go?

We have to make choices. And choosing means giving up, giving up countries, giving up destinations.

Marine would particularly like to go to South America or Asia and I would like to go to Asia or Oceania.

- Perfect,’ she says, ’we'll go around the world: Asia -> Oceania -> South and North America -> Europe or Africa.

- Wow, wow, calm down, we said 6 months max!

- Well, South America then!

- I'm not tempted... How about Asia? We both agree on that part of the world.

- OK then! But one day we'll do South America,’ she replies with a wink.

March 2020,

We've just decided on the general route; we'll be flying out to Nepal and travelling to New Zealand on foot, by train, by bus or by boat, to limit our carbon impact by only flying twice.

Once on the outward journey, and once on the return.

But then COVID-19 hit and we were faced with the prospect of confinement.

However, like everyone else, we don't think it will last beyond the summer. So we're continuing to plan our trip quietly until May.

As we prepared the detailed itinerary, something became clear. The trip couldn't last 6 months. With a dozen countries to visit, that would only be around two weeks per country: too short!

So we're in the process of preparing for a year-long trip, and that's starting to look like a different kettle of fish.

- Marine says to me: ‘How do you feel about this?

- I don't know, I never thought I'd leave so much, but I have to admit that if you don't want to run around everywhere, you need what you need. So let's go!

Autumn 2020,

It's time to take a break from preparing for the trip. The pleasure is gone.

The second wave arrives and the borders don't reopen.

The questions keep coming, and a stressful, oppressive atmosphere takes hold of us. We still don't know if we'll be able to leave and under what conditions.

However, despite the doubts and with the determination to move forward despite the difficulties we encountered, we booked our tickets to Kathmandu.

F

February 2021,

A new element emerges!

- Have you read what's just happened in Burma?’ I say to Marine.

- I said to Marine.

- There's been a coup d'état, there's civil war and the army has taken control of the country. The French government has ordered all French nationals to return and formally advises against going there for tourism.

- Is there anywhere else we can go?

- Hardly!

- So we had to find an alternative.

So we set off to devise a new route.

One thing led to another and we began to dream of a project even crazier than the first:

NOT TO FLY AT ALL.

We'll be travelling north to Asia on the Trans-Siberian Railway!

April 2021,

Big change, I'm no longer working. So I've got some time to prepare for a ‘painful’ phase for me, who places great importance on memories and the value of everyday objects: the sale of unwanted furniture and other knick-knacks.

Especially as we won't be able to keep everything as we'll only have a small attic at Marine's grandmother's house to store it all.

So we'll have to take photos, dimensions, etc. to attract customers. And believe me, it's not easy. This is also the time to give notice of the lease.

This time there's no turning back.

May, June 2021,

Preparing to leave means thinking about everything that goes with it, in our case the move:

• Cancelling your electricity, water, insurance and internet.

• Selling the car

• Preparing mail redirection

• Dealing with tax

• Hiring a lorry

• Preparing powers of attorney In addition to the move, you'll also need to take care of the administrative preparations for the trip:

• Finding an international bank We'll be travelling through countries that don't use the same currency as ours. The costs involved in using a traditional bank card are exorbitant in these cases. We need to compare and find the best option for our situation. Fortunately, some very good sites such as Tourdumondiste give you a precise idea of the options available.

• Taking out travel insurance We had to find a way of insuring ourselves properly. We were no longer covered by health insurance during a long trip. After a bit of research, Chapka appeared to be the ideal solution. With extensive cover (including COVID insurance) and reasonable prices, we decided to take out a CAP AVENTURE policy. Many thanks to the Chapka team for their support right from the start of our project.

• Have the appropriate vaccinations for the countries we will be visiting. (Some vaccinations need to be done 6 months in advance for the first injection).

Apply for an international driving licence and a European health insurance card

• Buy any missing items: ( see the contents of our bags )

July 2021,

MOVING !!!

The boxes are packed and we're taking what's left of our belongings to travel halfway across France to the North.

All that's left is to spend the last 3 months enjoying our loved ones and putting the finishing touches to our departure. Because of COVID, we'll be leaving for Europe first, before the land borders reopen.