Australia

Three weeks to go till take off, and still so much to plan. Anxiety levels rising. Bookings for accommodation in Paris made, at last, that was a hard one to decide. I'm indebted to all the travellers who have bothered to post a real opinion on places they have stayed. There always seems to be such a gulf between the glowing self promotions put out by "the owners" and the sadder but wiser words of travellers who have actually stayed at a place.

Have made the general decision to hire a car and self-drive around Ireland - don't think we can get into too much trouble / getting lost there. And getting there, the low cost charter flight operators seem to be a way of getting there without wasting a lot of time with the relative slowness of ferries across the Irish Sea.

On the Continent, though, everyone is telling me rail travel - and especially the Eurail passes that must be purchased before you arrive in Europe- are the best option, because the rail system is so extensive and well organised. I like the idea of not having to concentrate on driving all the time.

Still waiting on news from some contacts I am hoping to catch up with while in Europe. Not travelling with offspring this time, so no need to have every day planned ahead of time. Get some key dates in place, and leave some flexbility do explore whatever options come up, would seem to be a fair approach.

Today is the first day of the month that concludes with boarding the flight from Melbourne to London via Singapore and Dubai. Suddenly the need to throw more effort into reseaarch and organisation seems very urgent. Looking at many options in all sorts of accommodation, one soon becomes brain fatigued just trying to keep track of what currency you are looking at, understanding what that means in the good ol' Aussie dollar .

Very grateful for the proliferation of user reviews contributed by travellers who have gone before and subjected themselves to every variety of cramped, dirty, hostile shelter and survived to tell the tale. Had a lousy fortnight just finished with a virus that knocked the wind out of my sails, with a neat flowon into a very painful infection of a nerve deep in my jaw. That slowed down the planning process a lot. Like, how do you make rational choices when the old brain box is processing at what seems like 10% capacity.

However, our thoughts on where to go and what to see are gradually crystallising. Hoping to get right into some serious accommodation booking and purchase of Eurail passes this weekend. Hope the old broadband connection holds out!

Welcome to this blog. The story so far: earlier this year, Shane and Miriam decided it was high time to have a look at Europe. So far, their overseas experience has been limited to a week in beautiful Hawaii (Oahu and the Big Island, magic, if you get the chance go and enjoy it). Miriam commences long service leave in early March. Shane checks out the airline prices and detects impending uplift, so advocates a departure in late March.

Thankfully the Internet (and sites like this, thanks guys) provide a wealth of information relevant to planning a big trip. And this is big for us; leaving our two living offspring to fend for themselves while we travel for five weeks, and trusting them to keep themselves healthy as independent youngsters. Also, friends and work colleagues who have travelled far more (despite being so much younger than us) - have been full of helpful hints on how to tackle the wide range of tasks involved in planning this tour.

After extensive checking and comparison have settled on Emirates via Singapore and Dubai, with a two day stopover in Dubai on the return trip, as the best available deal for the time. I can only emphasise the importance of checking details, fine print, travel agent schmoozing, restrictions on changes to arrangements before you agree to the deal. Talk to people who have been there and done that (what ever that might be). I think I have learned a little something from just about everyone to whom I have mentioned this projected voyage.

Now I am developing a spreadsheet where I am keeping details of places I have researched and assessed as "maybe" in terms of visiting a particular city or staying at some specific accomodation option. Another sheet in the spreadsheet I keep "actual" details, eg bookings for flights, other travel, or accommodation that has been booked and on which deposits have been paid. I am doing this so that while travelling I will have all trip details gathered in one spot. I will also email updates of this file back home from time to time so kids and friends will have an idea of where we are.

The spirit of this trip will be one of exploring other cultures with a view to deepening our understanding and appreciation of the breadth of humanity.