How I love this home/hospitality exchange and I am constantly overwhelmed by the friendliness and warm welcomes I receive. So yesterday I left my hosts Anna and Bill yesterday having had a great stay with them and travelled to Mandurah about 65 km south of Perth....to meet my new host family - Julie, Gary and their lovely daughter, Leanne. Julie's friends were concerned that I might be an axe -murderer and what was she doing letting a stranger into her house!!! This can someitmes be the response of folk who have never experienced home exchange but once you have tried it there is no going back and for me it makes travelling alone such a great and varied experience. Home comforts- Julie makes a very good spag bol- new friends with local knowledge - it is ... read more

Fremantle and Kings Park in Perth. I have just arrived in Mandurah 60 km south of Perth but need to write up the last 2 days. As Suzanne would tell you it is obligatery to have a boat trip on our travels . So this was the first one this trip . Travelling to Fremantle on the Swan River by boat takes about 1 hour and the shores are lined with homes of the very rich. Fremantle was gentrified somewhat when the Americas Cup came here a few years ago and it is a lovely small city …with lots of character…having maintained many of its old ( well you know when I say old I mean old for Australia) buildings and some have those beautiful Victorian wrought iron balconies. Of course there are lots of nice ... read more

(Written last night 4th Oct) Yes - I have arrived in the Southern hemisphere, in Perth Western Australia. Need I sing the praises of Singapore’s Changi airport - if you have been there you know how amazing it is and if you haven’t been then it is worth a trip to Singapore just for the airport!!! And a little café just inside the security (which didn’t bother with plastic bags and liquids of 50ml only rules by the way) does marvellous French toast with a sort of syrup ( no idea what it was)and butter. Just though I better tell you what I had to eat since this is also turning out to be a food journey. Flew with Singapore Air again - brill. Shopping News - Bought myself a little treat at Changi - a ... read more

Hello from Singapore… welcome to my blog and if you are new to it I hope you will enjoy keeping up with me…if you read blogs of my last travels then I hope you will not be bored and still keep up with me.. At last the long awaited departure day arrived and on Wednesday the lovely Ray kindly whisked me off to Heathrow. T 3 - has had some improvements I must say…good checkin and security but still rather cramped in the food area. Full marks to Singapore Air - they really are a super airline to fly with. I actually enjoyed the flight and didn’t really notice the time passing. I avoided looking at my watch and thought in chunks of time. So my time was spent reading the magazines, then a very nice ... read more

Hi all Now that I am in Kingston in one place for a week I have got computer access so I can get up to date. Re- the bear paws - no I am not going around killing bears and cutting their little paws off ( with my Swiss army knife) - the bear paws in question are salad servers made from lovely Canadian cherrywood - we saw them out West and of course I didnt buy them there cos I though "I am not carrying them all over Canada with me"- but attempts to find them in various places in Ontario failed ( although last of the big spenders -I did get a butterdish - that's another story!!). But today in a lovely gift shop in Kingston i found them at last. On Saturday I ... read more