a) Christmas morning for a child who just realized they're going to get loads of gifts, b) watching your favorite sports team tied in a game with just 30 seconds left to go, and c) a fly in a jar - have in common? They all describe quite accurately the way I was feeling that Tuesday morning before our first guests arrived at Belle Villa!
I woke up early, jumped out of bed and flung open the curtains to look at the amazing view! Cleaned up, ran downstairs for breakfast and estimated the exact time they should be arriving. 5 minutes late, 10 minutes late...I went to the front desk to ask them to call the driver...did he pick them up yet? Was he on his way? How long? Back to waiting...10 more minutes...Haike telling me they will be here soon, don't worry. A big, white van pulls up. You know the phrase, "jumping for joy?" Have you ever actually done that? I have. As the van door opened and I spotted my mom, Lindsey, Laura, Beth, Janine, Emilie and Dietrich I just couldn't stop jumping...if I didn't, how would I release the excitement that was threatening to bubble over? This scenario happened approximately 5 more times as each van full of guests arrived but the first group was the most exhilarating - it was a symbol that all of this was real - this week, this ceremony was HAPPENING!
After our exhausted guests arrived we got them to their rooms, joined them for breakfast and gave them a tour of Belle Villa. Approximately 1 hour later they were all either in the pool or sitting beside it trying to get a suntan. They didn't waste one second of precious Thailand-resort pool time! Haike and I were happy to join them and we all had a ton of fun throwing around a frisbee in the pool and sharing travel stories.
The afternoon was much like the day before - we stayed at the resort and many people got massages to relax after the long journey. Our friend, Sonja, from Germany arrived in the afternoon and we met again with our wedding planner to talk about details for the reception and how Sonja, who we asked to be our MC, would host it. A few surprises for the ceremony and reception were also discussed - it was so fun to see my mom because she was so giddy to be in on the surprises!
That night we took the new arrivals into Chiang Mai for the night market...this was partly so that they'd have the chance to see it and partly to keep them awake for a few more hours so that they'd sleep through the night and get adjusted to Eastern time more quickly. (I warned them that they might hate me for making them stay awake but that they'd thank me later, ha! :) Haike and I also had a few more must-buy items on our list that we quickly checked off and then it was another day over already...TOO FAST! SLOW DOWN!
Haike and Dietrich at the night market...
The whole group (minus my mom taking the picture) at the end of the night market...ready for bed! (Pictured from left - Haike, Sonja, Beth, Dietrich, Emilie, me, Janine, Lindsey, Laura)
Day 3 = ziplining through the rainforest. Check back soon!!
No comments:
Post a Comment