Departure and arrival in the Whitsundays, Queensland.

As the 6:30am alarm went off I awoke panicked, realizing that I was about to leave my Melbourne life behind for 2 months. My belongings prepared, I donned my backpacker’s bag and my aussie brimmed hat (to protect me from the fore-warned harsh Australian sun and to reassure everyone of how much a dork I am) and prepared for take-off. Part of me was...

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Travel updates - SOON!

Friends, family and colleagues!Apologies for the lack of travel updates! I had originally planned to update when faced with bad weather but I've had such great travel luck that no such time was alloted!I am hours away from my final flight - landing firmly on the other side of the world! Upon my arrival and after some well needed/deserved TLC and rest, I will be updating my blog with great detail. I have captured many moments with my DSLR, my video camera and plan on creating a scrapbook of sorts...

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New York - NY

The highly anticipated day finally came! After months of preparation, we managed to sign over our apartment lease, sort through all our personal belongings, give away what wasn’t needed to a good home and box up pieces we couldn’t part with. Everything came together smoothly and we were whisked off to the bus station by Mom on her birthday. We arrived...

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Packing

The last of tasks, after giving away our no-longer-needed belongings to charity and assigning our lease over to a new tenant, is to pack up the few bits and pieces that will be schlepped around on our backs for the entire trip.I used my iTouch to find apps for handy packing lists, but here's some useful guidance I found online: http://url2it.com/cfehA few general rules.1) Travel light2) Travel small3) Make copies of all important travel documents (passport, driver's license, etc) and keep them separately.Backpack...

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Paris - France

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/12-france-travel-guides-paris-d Lonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/parisTime Out Guidehttp://www.timeout.com/paris/Rick Steves' Historic Walkshttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/paris1.htmhttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/paris2.htmhttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/ruecler0208.htmFrommer's...

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Gimmelwald - Interlaken - Switzerland

Let's Go Guide - Switzerland & Interlakenhttp://www.letsgo.com/102-western_europe-travel-guides-switzerland-dhttp://www.letsgo.com/12408-western_europe-travel-guides-switzerland-switzerland_schweiz_suisse_svizzera-jungfrau_region-interlaken-cLonely Planet - Interlaken, Switzerlandhttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/switzerland/central-switzerland-and-berner-oberland/interlakenRick...

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Cinque Terre - Italy

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/273-liguria-travel-guides-cinque_terre-dLonely Planethttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/cinqueterrecuisine.htmRick Steves'http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/cinqueterre_fiatfree.htmhttp://www.ricksteves.com/tms/article.cfm?id=161http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/cin...

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Venice - Italy

Lonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/veniceRick Steves - 'Planning Your Time'http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/venice3.htmTime Out Guidehttp://www.timeout.com/venice/Frommer's Mapshttp://www.frommers.com/destinations/venice/67_maps.h...

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Florence - Italy

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/264-tuscany-travel-guides-florence_firenze-dLonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/florenceRick Steves - 'Planning Your Time'http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/florence3.htmFrommer's Mapshttp://www.frommers.com/destinations/florence/51_maps.h...

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Innsbruck - Austria

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/12215-western_europe-travel-guides-austria-austria_Österreich-tyrol_tirol-innsbruck-cLonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/tirol/innsbruckFommer's Maphttp://www.frommers.com/destinations/innsbruck/103_maps.h...

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Berlin - Germany

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/178-germany-travel-guides-berlin-dLonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/berlinFrommer's What to See and Do - Mapshttp://www.frommers.com/destinations/berlin/46_maps.h...

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Amsterdam - Netherlands

Let's Go Guidehttp://www.letsgo.com/104-the_netherlands-travel-guides-amsterdam-dLonely Planet Guidehttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-netherlands/amsterdamTime Out Guidehttp://www.timeout.com/amsterdam/Frommers Walking Tours http://www.frommers.com/destinations/amsterdam/0043010008.htmlFrommers Mapshttp://www.frommers.com/destinations/amsterdam/43_...

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Personalized Guidebook Itinerary

Heading to the library to take out City Guide books that I can photocopy material from to make my very own Guidebook based on my own itinerary.Got a few books!And now the plan is to review city guides online resources for information, suggested site-seeing, maps and any other relevant travel material.I've decided I'm going to dedicate two days to each city and post information on my Facebook statuses about the cities I will be visiting and the places I have interest in scoping out. I hope this will...

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Getting out of Cell Phone Contracts

Only recently did I realize I might have some time left on the contract with my phone company. And, as phone company luck has it, I still had over a year's commitment time left on my contract.My options for getting out of a contract with Telus:- Vacation Mode: $8.50 per month + upon return the contract time left remains.- Cancellation fee: Calculated according to how much time is left on your contract - in my case, $280 + tax.- Swap: Find someone to buy your phone and take over your contract + $25...

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