First blog

I have decided to start a blog in order to connect with people who share the same passions as myself - travelling, writing, experiencing other cultures, being a citizen of the world through learning about other countries and the people who live there.

I have travelled reasonably extensively and as I travel through my own life's journey, I intend to do more travel and to keep those memories alive by writing about them.

When I travel, I enjoy seeing and experiencing the ordinary, daily lives of people. Visiting the top tourist sites where the crowds are big is not as important to me as experiencing a place in an intimate way.
- walking the streets of Paris just as the sun rises, watching her wake up to greet the day. Seeing the bins being collected, the footpaths being swept off, smelling the first of many loaves being baked;
- catching a crowded commuter train in Italy where the locals crowd on clutching everything from bags of fresh produce to live chickens in cages;
- visiting a family in their home in a village in south-western China, sharing tea with them, feeling the warmth of their hospitality and communicating by smiling.

In this blog, I want to post my memoirs and stories about my journeys. Some will be recent trips, others will be a few years old, but all still live very vividly in my mind.

I hope you will join me on my journey.

Sincerely, Noelle.