Welcome!

I've decided to become a blogger. Not sure how it all works or even whether it will work, but here goes!

I love to travel. Alone. As a woman alone too. I get time off as wife and mother and get to spend my time entirely as I wish. I can be completely selfish and do everything I want to do, never having to compromise and do stuff someone else wants to do.

What I'd like to share are my experiences of travelling alone as a nearly-forty year old woman. It has to be done on a tight budget - yes, Easyjet and Ryanair are my usual modes of transport.  Holidays tend to be 4 or 5 nights in duration only due to home commitments. I rarely pay more than £50 a night for somewhere to stay, and often stay in youth-hostel type places. I love to explore the markets,  eat at local restaurants that aren't pricey or pretentious, talk to people, use public transport, see the sights and try to return with a better understanding of where I've been. I like to bring back something from where I've been that will remind me of my travels - this year it was a bag of Arabic coffee bought from a coffee shop in the souk in Nazareth. Each time I open the bag and inhale that coffee, with its warm cardamom aroma, I  return to that great little gem of a city......

This year, I've just returned from Israel for the second year in a row. Why Israel? Well, my interest in Israel was ignited when Easyjet advertised their new route from London Luton to Tel Aviv. £170 later I was booked on a flight. My first adventure was 4 nights in Jerusalem with a day detour via the Dead Sea and Massada. It was the start of my love affair with Israel, and this year I returned again, staying in Tel Aviv and Nazareth for 5 nights. I'm going to share my photos, the recipes I discovered and the great experience of travelling to the Middle East. Plans are already afoot to return again next year  - Easyjet have recently announced their new route to Amman in Jordan so I'm already thinking about an open-jaw trip: fly into Tel Aviv and out of Amman, taking the opportunity to see a bit more of both countries. I hope you enjoy reliving my travel experiences with me!