Around the World in a 60s Daze. Chapter I - First Report

Dear family and friends,

Tomorrow I leave Toronto for Switzerland on the next leg of my trek. I have had a fabulous time with Kara from the moment she picked me up at the airport last Thursday evening. That night we went to the late show of Lord of the Rings. I enjoyed it a lot and expect to see the next two sequels when they come out. The following day we joined Bev and Jim for the drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a stay at Shannaleigh Bed and Breakfast. We enjoyed the great hospitality John and Carol deliver as normal fare. Superb!



After the drive back the next afternoon, Kara and I were out until about 11:00PM doing last minute shopping, then the next day (Sunday) we drove to Wellington to visit niece Sarah, husband Mark and their three perfect munchkins. We gabbed till 1:00AM and awoke in the morning to a fresh skiff of snow. The drive back to Toronto was okay other than about 30km of packed snow and ice, but we arrived in time to head to Larry and Leila Duplin's for a Christmas Eve visit and more eating.

Christmas morning Kara and I opened presents (I am now the most fully equipped traveller ever - thanks everyone), had Christmas breakfast with obligatory Champagne and orange juice, then walked the few blocks to Patty Douglas' for a short visit with Daphne.

At 5:00PM sharp (right on time as always) we were at the Le Francois' for a wonderful, full on, Christmas dinner and celebration. The whole family was there, Jay and Marie, Chris and friend Sandra, Jimmy, Kara, and Bev's special guests, a family recently arrived from Sri Lanka, Pria and her son (11) and two daughters (4 and 6). This was the standard Le Francois' Christmas, all the family, great food, great friends. Thanks Bev and Jim.

After the pace of the past few days, today was a leisurely one for Kara and me. We did a bit of shopping and then spent some time going over my travel plans while referring to Kara's notes from when she visited India almost 14 years ago. Tomorrow I hope we can find time to do the same review for Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in order to have the benefit of her experience from her visits to those areas. I leave tomorrow evening about 7:00PM.

This past week spent with Kara has been a perfect launch for me; I've had a wonderful Christmas and the best time possible. Thanks for everything Kara.

This is a long e-mail, I don't expect subsequent ones to be so long, but I will try to keep you posted. I invite you all to send me e-mails to keep me up to date.

I hope everyone had the Merriest Christmas and I send wishes to you all for a Happy New Year, one filled with peace and love.

Merv.