I have something to confess, something that can be a little difficult to say to an audience of strangers; I am a hopeless cycling fan and France in July is the holy land to which we all flock. Whether it is racing in the flats, suffering up the Tourmalet, or sprinting through Monaco, the Tour de France offers a window to all the scenery that France has to offer.

“You said you wanted to see ‘Real India’, Mister David. Here it is.”

“Well, here’s a bit of the ‘Real America’ too, son (hands Jamal a $100 note).”

Lisa is our mutual acquaintance. After deciding we quite wanted to go to Japan, we sent her a facebook message, the first communication since leaving the same school four years ago, and about as much as we exchanged in our six years there. Did she have any friends who might want to come and stay with us in England and in return could host us in Tokyo? A “life swap”, we called it. A cheaper alternative to regular travelling, with the additional, integral bonus of providing a genuine insight into the others’ culture and family life, the food, the manners and mores, the idiosyncrasies. Mayu was her answer.