One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

We have always enjoyed travelling and seeing living history, and I’ve been told more than once in the last few months that travelling is a good way to release stress, because one gets away from everyday problems. Well, we will see!

I must admit, to be able to sleep each night I go through the process of recalling each hotel we have stayed at on one of our last holidays. Being particularly stressed of late, I thank Google Earth for being able to ‘see’ in my mind each hotel we are staying at on this upcoming trip. It stops me thinking of the bad things that are causing the stress and the sleepless nights and the tension and the high blood pressure and the .......

Fresh air, walking, relaxing are all ways to relieve stress, and what better way to get fresh air, exercise and relaxation but to go on a holiday. People don’t take enough holidays, mainly due to the pressures put on them by their employers, but holidays are important to make one cope with whatever pressures one needs to deal with.

- Vacations keep us healthy;

- Vacations relieve stress;

- Vacations can help families to bond;

- Vacations help to recharge our ‘batteries’ for the next obstacle.

We all need a holiday, but between work schedules and budgets, it is not easy to plan a holiday. This holiday has been 5 years in the planning and saving. It was planned around work commitments – not the ideal time to go, but work, sadly, always comes first.

So, in ending I must admit I do feel relaxed (at last), and I feel ready to have this adventure, to be able to enjoy time with my family and try to forget the problems and stress. This will be a time to rethink the future, to work out what is good for us. To focus on new things, hopefully better things and enjoy life much more than the recent past.

So we are all packed – let the adventure begin.