Hello from Melbourne!  I will be spending the next few days in Australia for the upcoming World PR Forum.  I will be presenting during the research colloquium tomorrow (still getting used to the 16 hour time difference from Louisville!) – the research I am presenting on is related to crisis communications and food safety messages with social media and traditional media. Should be exciting! 🙂

My first day in Melbourne was very good – I was actually surprised how I really wasn’t jetlagged.  After spending about 23 hours flying around the world, I arrived in Melbourne and was able to get settled into my hotel and explore a little bit of the city.  It is a very easy city to get around by walking – which I appreciated after my long day of travel.

Got a chance to explore Melbourne a bit after my long day of travel!

Coffee was indeed my friend today – I had fun exploring around and found a great Gloria Jean’s Cafe where I was able to relax, drink fabulous coffee, and check email and social media.

The last time I was in Australia was when I was ten years old.  My family and I took our first international trip together to Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji, Raratonga, Tahiti, and Hawaii (whew!)  This trip not only was a life changing experience for me personally, but it really opened my eyes to the world in a whole new way.  I do thank my parents for giving my sisters and I the chance to see the world and really gave us the travel bug.  I had many fond memories of Australia and I am very happy to be back for a visit not only as a tourist, but also presenting at a prestigious conference.

Well, I am off to prepare for tomorrow’s conference – will let you know how it goes!  Have a fabulous day and good day mates! 🙂

Best Wishes,

Karen