Rosalyn Page: Exit Through The Gift Store, Kartoniert / Broschiert

Klappentext

When journalist Rosalyn Page and her teacher husband Brad land in London with four bags, two kids, no jobs and nowhere to live, they've gambled everything on a dream and a spreadsheet.

With stable jobs, a much-loved forever home and a happy blended family, mid-life is good. But they can't shake a long-held desire to live overseas and share it with their boys - an experience out of reach in their own childhoods.

What begins as an idle conversation after watching another English travel show becomes an all-consuming operation after life-altering events remind them there are only so many tomorrows.

Leaving behind Australian sunshine and good coffee, they settle in an historic city near London, armed with only a guidebook and GPS. All that stands in the way is renting a house, finding a new school, securing jobs - and surviving the English drizzle.

From London landmarks to the rugged Orkney Islands, they: Cram onto the London Tube, checking off iconic sites like Big Ben and the Tower of London. Swap soccer games and beach swims for scaling ancient castles and marveling at historic ruins. Dodge pickpockets, train inspectors and questionable Airbnb hosts. Battle the English weather lottery, try to settle driving arguments and decode the quirks of British life. Navigate the cobblestone streets of Paris, Berlin, and Lisbon on epic family detours. Learn the ultimate moving lesson: never transport your life during a sudden snowstorm.

In between, Rosalyn navigates new school mum friends, snatches solo outings to London's eclectic markets, glossy fashion stores and immersive exhibitions, and reminisces with old friends in the city's swanky bars. And she manages to survive a girls' weekend in Paris that goes awry.

Exit Through The Gift Store is an amusing, candid memoir about one family trading life in Australia for a year-long British adventure, where the only rules are embrace the chaos and pack a raincoat.

Told in vivid detail and candid reflection, this lively memoir shares the real joys, small triumphs and everyday struggles of finding your feet so far from home. It is the next best thing to taking the plunge yourself -- minus all the bags and bookings.

It's a heartfelt reminder that the best souvenirs don't come from gift stores, it's shared adventures that make them memorable.