Carol DuvalMar 141 minSchool Gaze: A Teacher's TaleSchool Gaze takes readers on a round-the-world school trip spanning six decades. Each chapter is a snapshot of life from the ‘50s to the...
Carol DuvalMar 142 min2021 Year of LockdownsCOVID-19 has been the defining feature of the year but so has gratitude. Never have we been so grateful for science and vaccines, to live...
Carol DuvalDec 15, 20203 minFarewell 2020, Welcome 2021I admit to not entirely looking forward to this year after Australia's horrendous bushfires in 2019 not to mention the crazy political...
Carol DuvalJan 17, 20201 minSchool Gaze SurveyI thought it would be interesting to devote the final section to sharing the thoughts of people who’ve been with me on this journey over...
Carol DuvalDec 7, 20194 minSeason's Greetings 2019This has been one of those consolidation years, settling back after last year's wonderful house swapping experience with Elaine in...
Carol DuvalMay 10, 20192 minTrying Lives: A House Sitter's Tale Trying Lives: A House Sitter's Tale. This book tells the stories of house sits and swaps across four years and five countries.
Carol DuvalApr 23, 20191 minCelebrating Sydney We're lucky to live so close to Sydney's beautiful harbour. Down the road at Balls Head, we have the Coal Loader, now reinvented as a...
Carol DuvalDec 30, 20182 minChristmas CheerTo get us right into the winter holiday spirit, we spent an unexpectedly joyful day at the Weald and Downland Living Museum which...
Carol DuvalDec 1, 20181 minYorkshire - Leeds and Harrogate23rd November 2018 Harrogate—A bit like a northern Arundel but with department stores. Lovely Christmas lights and festive shop windows....
Carol DuvalNov 28, 20183 minCities, Towns and Villages of the South Downs Chichester — Nearest to 'home' and so our local shopping town. Cathedral, ancient walls, Roman Museum, buzzing shops—what’s not to love?...
Carol DuvalNov 1, 20182 minWalking the DownsElaine left a very handy and accurately written booklet called Octagon Walks outlining with eight walks that we’re working through and...
Carol DuvalOct 31, 20183 minFalling for the South DownsWhat a change! From precarious mountain roads, thick forests and misty views of the Pyrenees to the hedged country lanes and green/golds...
Carol DuvalOct 16, 20184 minFarewell to France—With a Couple of FriendsAfter nearly seven weeks in La Forge del Mitg, friends Avis and Peter Gunn shared our final few days and gave us a chance to revisit some...
Carol DuvalOct 4, 20183 minCoping with Catalonia A recent email from my school friend Jenny (North Sydney Girls) brought a sigh of relief with her recounting of the time she was...
Carol DuvalSep 30, 20183 minGirona and the Catalunya Hinterland Elaine had told us that if we were beginning to get cabin fever in La Forge del Mitg we should spend a couple of days in Girona—Spain’s...
Carol DuvalSep 21, 20182 minBack to the Costa BravaIt has certainly been a few years from when we took a few days out from travelling on our Eurail passes around Europe. The beaches are...
Carol DuvalSep 13, 20181 minCéret and PicassoAfter a few days' driving from Paris to our new exchange home in the Pyrenees Orientale we've started to explore this fascinating area....
Carol DuvalSep 11, 20181 minFigueres and DalíMore art and more crowds but at least more bearable than in Barcelona—that is, the Dalí Museum and Theatre in Figueres. We spent nearly...
Carol DuvalSep 8, 20182 minThe Spirit of CataloniaOne of the unexpected discoveries about living here is the whole Catalonian experience. We should have known or at least investigated...