In 2020 I started to write blog posts and created this website in order to share our global adventures with you. I was thrilled that so many of you signed up to receive our weekly, then bi-weekly new stories in your inbox. Since then we have written hundreds of blog posts about some 50 or 60 countries, from 3 months around Australia to hiking in Cambodia, from going to Saudi Arabia to traipsing across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. And much in between.

We’ve always paired these travels, like good food and wine, with the books that taught us so much about each place. Or the books that were responsible for those adventures in the first place - like finding a book called The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah which caused me to go to Morocco.

Very soon we are off on more adventures that we hope to share with you…. from Portugese Islands to Namibia, from Sri Lanka to India - many places we have not visited before so we can’t wait to learn more.

But until then, I’m going to take a break from writing bi-weekly blogs because I am finalizing edits on three new books coming out: Playing Around The World (Kids Can Press), Celebrations Around The World (Kids Can Press) and Beyond Books - a timeline history of all things book and library (Orca Book Publishers).

So this particular blog is a journey through the rest of our site to remind you how much there is to read while you are waiting for new posts. If you only read our bi-weekly email, you are missing out on all the other pages of our Globetrotting Booklovers site! There is much more to explore here.

Besides practical links to transportation and acommodations, there is information on how to use global e-sim cards in your phone or download the Rome2Rio app for worldwide public transit. There is page highlighting how you, too, can be involved in many worthwhile book related organizations, like The Book Bus in Zambia or Kiva micro lending: Literacy Projects.

The blog posts cover many countries but not all of those show up in the side bar, which is limited to about 21 lines. So type in any other country that you might be interested in, and it will pop up, if we have been there, like ‘Tanzania’ or ‘Qatar’.

Perhaps my favourite page on our website is the list of BOOKS. Have you checked these out lately? I am constantly adding more books here. These books help us to understand and appreciate the countries we visit. Sometimes they are books about the country’s history, or books placed in that culture. But they also include simply great travel stories. These books include stories about Greece, Easter island, Australia (with 19 blog posts!) and many other interesting places. Even if you can’t visit the countries themselves, these books will open whole new worlds.

Right now I’m reading The Slow Road to Tehran by Rebecca Lowe, a fascinating story of a journalist who cycled from London across Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately to Iran on a 11,000 KM bike trip. No, I’m not planning a similar trip, but it’s interesting reading. There’s also a book, listed under Canada, called Train Beyond the Mountains, Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer by Rick Antonson, which we enjoyed.

Kees and I really enjoyed reading Blue Latitudes by Toni Horwitz, who retraced all of Captain James Cook’s footsteps, or his wake, around the world. A great book that makes you realize how much he did for our current travels - create accurate maps and help to develop tools for future travel.

So, using this list you can indeed travel around the world in 80 days! And now we’re off to India soon - can’t wait to share that adventure with you!