13 MORE DAYS!!!

Holy cow, it's so close to March 2nd that I can literally taste the Eiffel Tower... it's a little tinny... There really isn't much left to do at this point for the trip except get on the plane and go. It's getting more and more exciting as the days pass by, which makes sense. There were a few things that I had planned to do last month that got pushed aside, so I was scrambling a bit at the start of this month for a few small detail items.

One item is an International Drivers Permit (IDP), which is required when driving overseas in almost every Country. I was hoping I could just not bother with it, but apparently it's a requirement. It's basically like a passport style booklet that translates your driver's license into about eight or so different languages. It works in conjunction with your actual driver's license, so you still need that as well. The point of it is only for translation purposes, making it easier for authorities to read your info in their own language. Anywho, it's a pretty simply document to get, you just need two passport photos (which don't need notorizing), $15, a photocopy of your drivers license, and a filled out form. You take it to CAA and they make the document for you in about 15 minutes. So I still have to get that, but I have everything I need to do so. I'll try and have that done this week.

The next item was a case for my video camera, which I took care of quite easily once I finally got myself to the closest Henry's Camera store. It fits everything I have for the camera quite nicely, and it's nice and light.

Finally, the only other loose end was figuring out a cellphone option while overseas, in cases of emergency, or needing to call hotels, etc... This was not a simple task to bring resolution to. Having no significant knowledge about cellphones beyond their daily use, I basically started from scratch learning about different networks, and what is used overseas. From there I had to figure out about pre-paid SIM cards, and blah blah blah, it was really boring, and there was never a simple "This is what you need to do/get" anywhere on the net. So here's the low-down for those interested. There are basically two major networks in the world: CDMA and GSM. Most European countries use GSM, while we in North America use CDMA. Some cellphones are specifically one network or the other, while some phones support both. If your phone supported both, then you could actually bring it overseas and use it as normal - mine is only CDMA. Therefore, step one was to get a cheap GSM phone. The next step was to figure out an easy network access solution for getting a working phone line. From what I can understand, you can purchase a little SIM card in the countries you visit that are prepaid, and you simply stick it into the GSM phone (as a side note the phone must be "unlocked" for different SIM cards, which any that are purchased as an individual phone apart from Bell, Rogers, etc..., will always be). Once in the phone, a number is attributed to the phone, and you're good to go. The only thing is that you need to get a different card in each Country you visit, as the card connects you with a local service provider for that Country. The solution that I found was through forums that recommended a Mobal phone. It's a company that sells GSM phones along with a Universal SIM card. The way it works is that the card basically allows the phone to pick up on the strongest signal of any service provider in your region. It's also a pay as you call solution, meaning you don't have to prepay anything, and the phone never expires. You can keep it and bring it out whenever you travel. Seeing as the phone is really more of security blanket in case of emergency, I went with it and just received it in the mail today. It's a $49 Motorola phone, much like the phones from around 2002. It's basic, stylish looking, and perfect for what I needed. So yeah, that's done now!

That's it really for the scrambling. I made a checklist on the weekend, and am starting to pack now. I've pulled out all the things we're bringing that I don't need for the next week or so, and have organized them for packing. I'll keep chipping away at that over the next week.

So yeah, we'll likely make a habit of posting some pictures and stuff on here every few days, but we'll see how it goes. As for now, that's basically it. We have to pack, make some photocopies of some stuff to leave with the Fam, and go! Can't WAIT!!!