Travelling is a very arduous task these days. Avoiding gluten is often very difficult and I knew this but somehow thought the magic salad fairy would be on the train. Perhaps she was but I slept through the first call for a hot meal. I took the train from Sydney to Sawtell. Eight hours of sitting and avoiding conversation with the young lady who got on at Strathfield. I needed to think and gather my thoughts about everything. As the time gets closer to leaving Australia I am less sure of the wisdom. Who would swap the welfare safety nets of Australia for the 'fend for yourself, bucko' system of America? I guess the wisdom will come in in making it all work.

I spent a week with my niece and her family - three days of it glued to the loo. When you eat too much gluten .... Then after a birthday party my sister and I trekked to Brunswick Heads for two days. The funny thing was she had to fly to Sydney the same day as I but she left at 6:00 am and I left at 12:00. Coolangatta airport does not have a lot to offer the traveller in waiting. However I had learnt my lesson and went preparted with a tub of cooked rice, a bag of nuts and a treat of a seaweek snack. There is nothing like loosing your usual snacks for discovering strange and wonderful new things.

Back in Sydney. I have a new haircut, I've lost 10 lbs since leaving Canberra, I am quite tired and getting a little hesitant about things. I am missing some friends rather a lot and wish there was an easy way to turn back time.