Spellbound by a boutique hotel with a pretty name, in awe of a dreamy island church and enough cake and chocolate to satisfy her seriously sweet tooth. Some were hard lessons, some were exciting, some were just damp squibs and some I hope never to repeat.
Can you guess? A plane ticket and the prospect of heading off to somewhere for the first time. Perhaps less well known is my deep passion for the tourism and hospitality sector and how I have worked behind the scenes in various guises over the years, supporting destinations, hotels and restaurants, raising their profile to both consumers and in the media.
In a way, travel is about escape. When we travel for leisure, we look for something a bit less functional, at least I do. My most recent voyage took me to Slovenia on a mix of business and pleasure. What does it mean? In short, part work, part holiday. It makes sense. My primary reason for being there was business but not having had a proper holiday this year, a few days sightseeing and chilling out slipped into my work plans perfectly.
Boy, am I glad they did. The first stop was the capital city Ljubljana. It conjures up images of the fictional, fairytale places we see as the setting for many a Christmas movie. What a treat to have my first coffee of the day in lovely Ljubljana - this was sure to chase away the Monday morning blues.
That was something I noticed actually. Anyone who knows me will testify that I'm not a power walker.
