My sister blog: Facing the street

I feel like Going Local has a sister blog. I hope that author of Facing the Street, Laura Byrne Paquet, doesn't mind me describing it that way.

I came across Laura's site about a month ago and instantly noted we have very similar interests. From her base in Ontario, she writes about ways travellers can "live like locals" on the road. "Tired of anonymous hotels? Sick of chain restaurants? Want to broaden your understanding of the places you visit? Me, too," she says. Me too, Laura, me too.

Laura's also just published a book, Wanderlust: a social history of travel. In it, she looks at where passports came from; why 1930s stewardesses carried wrenches; and how teetotalers shaped the modern vacation. Intrigued? So am I. I hope to get my hands on a copy soon. The hurdle is that it's only available in Laura's native Canada ("A long, long story," says Laura). But, for the curious, Going Local has an extract about another woman who was always seeking local ways to travel. This one, however, was ahead of us all: going local in the 19th-century.