Dear All Greetings, in this my final blog entry on my amazing two-week trip around New England. If it hasn't been made clear so far, I absolutely loved this trip! After a couple of mini-trips to the Isle of Man and Ireland earlier in the year, it was my first proper travelling trip in quite a while, and it thoroughly confirmed not only how much I just love travelling, but also how much I love the United States of America! I will certainly be back again in future years to explore more. Last time I wrote, I believe I was settling in for my final evening in my cosy accommodation in West Springfield. I had a slightly more unsettled sleep on my second night there, after realising that the boiler in the basement flat came on ... read more

Dear All I continue my travel blog write-up of my hugely enjoyable two-week trip through New England by writing up about my time spent in the delightful state of Connecticut in this entry. Being New England's southernmost state, and bordering energetic and buzzing New York to its south-west, I rather expected Connecticut to be busier and less New England-y than my previous destinations so far - but boy was I wrong! Connecticut seemed quintessential New England, with lovely little towns filled with white clapper-board houses and tall white-spired churches, super-friendly people, and bodies of water everywhere - whether it was the sea, a lake or a river, houses seemed to be just built next to a waterway. I loved Connecticut, and enjoyed my time there very much. After having gratefully received a lift from my mansion ... read more

Dear All Greetings again from England, with this my second blog entry of my amazing time in New England over the Easter holidays. This one will write about the thoroughly enjoyable time that I had in the very famous Cape Cod, probably my favourite place visited on this trip. It was outside of the tourist season, so very free of the crowds of tourists which apparently flock there in the summer, so I could completely enjoy the peace and serenity of this unique peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on all sides by beautiful coastlines and sea - it was just lovely! Although the morning that I left Boston was still cold with an icy wind, it didn't seem as bad as the day before, and I spent most of it indoors anyway. After ... read more

Dear All Greetings from London! I’m currently in England on the eve before quite a big trip that I’m beginning tomorrow, and I’m excited! After two years of exploring the British Isles, having done trips in North-East England, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Ireland, slowly building up my distance from home as travel restrictions have eased over time, I’m now ready to go further. Although my destination doesn’t sound too far-removed from England, it really is and I’m so excited to be exploring further afield again. Tomorrow I head to New England!! The plan is to first fly to Boston from Heathrow on Saturday morning, to spend a few nights in the city, before heading down to Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard for a few more nights. From there I head westwards to Providence, Rhode ... read more

Dear All Greetings on my second blog entry for my time in country number 100! I have just completed my application for the TCC to become a fully-fledged Centurian, in which you have to tick all the countries you’ve been to. I had a mini-scare when I added up all my ticks to just 99, but then I realised that the island of Rhodes which I visited in 2003 forms part of the TCC’s “Greek Aegean Islands” category, and thus my calculations of 100 were indeed correct – phew! After a really good second night’s sleep, testing the accommodation’s electric blanket for added warmth (it was chilly during my time there!), I was ready to set out on my second full day of explorations. This time I was headed to a few places north of Dublin, ... read more