What a great start to my trip! My adorable nephew Hunter arrived 2 days before we are due to leave. Which meant I got squishy newborn baby cuddles today 😀
Congratulations to my baby brother and future sister in law!
Europe 2012
Tattoos, term ends and total packing fail!
Soooooo I haven’t packed yet. We leave in 5 days! I have a bunch of random stuff stacked haphazardly next to my suitcase with the intention that, eventually, it will go in my suitcase. That’s as far as I have gotten.
There are two things causing me to not be packed and ready yet…one is the fact that I am still wearing half my clothes…the other is my packing experience.
Every domestic trip I’ve been on (and there has been a lot!) I have been fully packed a few days before and then on the day I leave I ALWAYS have a massive attack of “oh my gosh I forgot something” so everything gets pulled out again. This time I’m removing that step and I’ll just pack the day I leave.
This is the excuse I am using. I’m sticking with it!
Don’t even ask about the tattoo part of this post….
Vegemite courtesy of a fellow teacher for the family in the UK!
Countdown!
Ten days from today!! Not that I’m counting…
Trip mascot
This is Percy the Platypus. He will be our holiday mascot 🙂
Motion sickness
Anyone got any ideas to help motion sickness? I am fine on planes (provided they aren’t crazy bumpy) but cars and buses are a disaster.
I’ve always been a nauseous traveler. Small or big buses, front or back seat, I’m a puker. I have to avoid reading altogether which includes maps, text messages and street signs and that helps a little. So does sitting near the front.
Travacalm does work for me but it makes me into a zombie so is no good for short trips where I need to do stuff at the other end. I mean a real zombie…drooling and falling asleep standing up…much to other peoples amusement.
So I am gonna give these pressure bands a go and I have zombie Mel stuff as well.
Any other ideas or suggestions are most welcome?
Holiday preparation with two weeks to go
Things I have bought or borrowed or found in my closet or pinched out of other peoples closets so far to take on my trip:
Things I have on my “pretend I am super organised list” that I still need to buy or sort out:
Two weeks and one day to go!
I have been posting on the contiki “shout” app and chatting to people who will be on my tour. Have to say it is an awesome app. Already I have had some fears alleviated – mainly that I won’t be the only one NOT whitewater rafting!
Roaming sim rates. Very reasonable!
Where else have I been in the big, wide world…
Where else have you been Mel? Why did you wait this long to travel? Why now?
The only place I have ever been overseas is Bali. I didn’t enjoy it very much, way too hot and touristy for me. Plus if I want to get drunk and run around like an idiot I will do it in my own country which has a decent hospital system thanks!
I have travelled a fair bit around Australia. One of my favourite places is Canberra, my best friend lives there so I have visited a lot in the last 18 months. As a P&L/History teacher I find all the national exhibits and places to visit in our nation’s capital fascinating. Question time at Parliament House has been a highlight three times so far, not to mention the Australian War Memorial. Some of the places I’ve been around Australia include:
So why did I swap from exploring places in Australia to overseas? Previously I had no interest in travel at all. Anywhere. Not even my own state. After being sick for awhile and slowly getting better, I was only working part time so was able to plan more trips interstate and weekends away. The idea of travel and independence gradually became less scary and more exciting. Not to mention the inarguable fact that seeing awesome sights becomes a lot more appealing when you have faced the possibility of never getting the chance!
After awhile I started itching to explore some of the places you see in photos. You know the ones I mean, where people are posing cheesily in front of amazing landscapes or monuments. Other friends international holiday snaps began to inspire jealousy and *I really wanna go there* sentiments which had never happened before! What was wrong with me? Oh no, it’s the travel bug!
I was a goner.
As a side note, the budgeting for this trip has been insane. I still only work part time (my choice) and have basically had no social life for 9 months as I save my butt off! Contiki was great as they had a payment plan so I took 4 months to pay the trip cost of $3200 and have scrimped and saved since then to get together as much spending money as possible. With 3 weeks and 4 days to go, I am confident I have saved enough to cover essential spending money, extra for fun stuff, back up money for emergencies and all the bills back home since I don’t get paid while on leave (the down side to casual/self employment).
Hooray!
Photo from Bali trip, 2010 (yes, I was distinctly chubbier then)
Contiki!
Most asked question: how did it happen that I, the part time teacher who enjoys being a homebody, decided to bugger off overseas for a month?
Answer: A combination of impulse, good timing and family influence!
On Christmas Day 2011 my cousin Emma and I were chilling with some other family members under a tree in the backyard. Our Aunt Brenda was telling us all about her and her husband’s adventures overseas and in particular, to Oktoberfest in Germany. She was telling us that we MUST make the effort to travel!
Me: I’d like to and I have the flexible schedule for it but everyone I know has a morgtage or kids.
Emma (cousin): I’d like to but everyone I know is studying, has a morgtage or kids.
Both of us: WAIT A MINUTE….
….and two days later we booked Contiki!
The tour we decided to do was http://www.contiki.com/destinations/europe/tours/120-european-inspiration and the link gives you quite a bit of info on where we are going, I have also included the cities we visit at the bottom of this post. As well as the Contiki tour, we will be visiting family in Potters Bar (UK) for two days and spending four days exploring London.
So far, my impression of Contiki has been great. I am not a huge party animal and when you say “I am doing contiki” everyone gives you a knowing *you’re gonna get wasted and hook up with randoms* look. My friends were all quite surprised I had decided on it! There were a few reasons why and these have all been backed up by my interactions with the company so far.
- No planning required. They do it all. Easy peasy!
- Cheap. For 19 days of transport, tours, accommodation and at least one meal a day it was $3k.
- Organised. They do this for a living and I’m a noob traveller. Just the meeting centre alone (you can log on and chat to people going on your tour up to 8 weeks before you leave) has been fantastic.
- We chose a time out tour so it is all twin share hotel rooms with our own bathroom (hooray!) and the demographic of people on the tour is a little more balanced and a little less *giggly insane drunken 18yo* which would have led to me getting arrested for homicide.
- They cover all the main touristy things and you get spare time for extra stuff.
We leave Perth on September 22nd and the countdown is on!
The countries and cities we will visit
| Country | City |
| Australia | Perth ->; Doha |
| Doha ->; UK | Doha ->; London |
| UK ->; Netherlands | London ->; Amsterdam |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam |
| Netherlands ->; Germany | Amsterdam ->; Berlin |
| Germany | Berlin |
| Germany ->; Czech Republic | Berlin ->; Prague |
| Czech Republic | Prague |
| Czech Republic ->; Germany | Prague ->; Munich |
| Germany | Munich |
| Germany ->; Italy | Munich ->; Venice |
| Italy | Venice |
| Italy | Venice ->; Rome |
| Italy | Rome |
| Italy | Rome ->; Florence |
| Italy | Florence |
| Italy ->; Switzerland | Florence ->; Lucerne |
| Switzerland | Lucerne |
| Switzerland ->; France | Lucerne ->; Paris |
| France | Paris |
| France ->; UK | Paris ->; London |
| UK | London ->; Potters Bar |
| UK | Potters Bar ->; London |
| UK | London |
| UK | London |
| UK/Doha | London ->; Doha |
| Doha/Australia | Doha ->; Perth |
A photo of our Contiki documents (which arrived today!)
Categories: Europe 2012
Tags: christmas, contiki, cousin, family, holiday, oktoberfest, places, travel
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September 2011 update
This blog has been around for years but I just deleted all the previous posts and decided to start afresh! Kind of like spring cleaning of the soul as I have been blogging on here for almost 4 years. For info about me and my awesomeness have a look at the “about Mel” page.
Categories: Europe 2012
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