What shall I take on holiday?

It's such a minefield

• Is packing 3 pairs of knickers a day (just to be safe) going a little overboard?


• Will I really want to handwash bikinis and cozzies or do I just buy loads of cheap ones from Asda (tricky one)


• Do I have my eyelashes dyed before I go or take the trusty mascara or both (some of you chaps might not have this problem - there again....)


• Please please let this holiday mean that I don't need to use an iron (casual and slightly creased is actually on trend for the summer in Lefkada


• Can I trust that the teabags over there will be up to the job (generally speaking - no, not if you're big into Builder's tea. However, lots of lovely herbal teas and the local Mountain Tea available for your delight and delectation)


• How much money do I need for food ?(a perennial problem go here for a fuller answer but I'm pretty nifty on the whole 'Greece on a budget' way of living. If you need a pointer, email me kim@serenityretreat.co.uk or call me 07921 520166).

And that's before we even start on whether we need long trousers for the evening or fleeces or ball gowns or a tux etc etc (incidentally - definitely don't need the ball gowns or tux).

We'll all so DIFFERENT. I'd never leave home without a minimum of one book a day to read (email me for details of what I'm holding in the library to save you carrying lots of books).

Some people will bring a change of clothes for every day, some will wear t shirt and shorts all week (or two) some will look like Ivana Trump every evening at dinner.

It doesn't matter. Within no time at all we'll be able to look beyond what our holiday friends are doing or wearing and start to learn about each other and who we truly are. I know for a fact that it will be beautiful.

Green Blogging

How cool is green blogging? With one swift copy and one quick paste I can have a tree planted to offset my blog. Fab.

Why Lefkada?

Recently I was asked why I chose Lefkada to become the home of Serenity Retreat.

• Could it be the magnificent award winning beaches?
  
• The ridiculously 'have they digitally enhanced it?' turquoise blue sea of the West Coast?
  
• The delicious Mediterranean food - all that fruit and veg that would have been spurned by the supermarkets over here for being unattractive but it tastes oooh soo good? (Is there a lesson in there somewhere....?)
  
• The amazing hospitality of the Greeks? I mean come on, economic crisis or not, the Greeks are just born hosts and the small matter of looming national bankruptcy can do little to dampen their energy and enthusiasm when it comes to making you feel at home.

Well, yes, of course in part it was all of these things. But really the things that truly grabbed me are beyond words.

You know when you're in a place and you see a view and it feels like your whole body just relaxes all in one out breath because of its sheer beauty?

When you suddenly catch yourself stopping and just 'being' because all of a sudden you realise that you have just this moment and how glorious it is to be in it?

When you gaze into the middle distance as you're lying on a beach reading your book and realising that it's fine just to do that. Just to stop. Just to wander off and daydream about nothing and everything?

That precious moment when you get an insight to peace?

The joy of being. A remembrance of how truly liberating it is to enjoy a simple life. A reconnecting to who you REALLY are.

These are the things that made me settle on bringing Serenity Retreat to Lefkada....

I felt completely At Home and I want you to know that feeling too.

Join us!

Getting it all together

Today has been a day of organising. There are many logistics to be considered when you decide to start up a holiday company and head off to (Greek) foreign parts! Thankfully all the holiday company stuff has been done, it's just the personal (and faffy) bits and pieces that need doing

• Who should I donate my hoover to? (My sister)


• Who'll look after my desktop pc? (Erik)


• How many books can I fit into my Corsa to take for the Serenity Retreat Library (put it this way, clothes are getting deprioritised)


• Do I REALLY need to take my quilt when it's going to be 30 degrees C (hmm, not a tricky one after all)


• When can I get to the Sunglass Hut to get my new pair of sunglasses (I'm so NOT a designer chick, but it's the one weakness I have)
  
  And the list goes on.
  
  Add to that I'm running a half marathon this week for Macmillan in Bath - my first ever. What was I thinking? I must have been on the receiving end of a hallucinogenic baked bean when I made THAT decision.
  
  But part of me can't wait. It's another dream I get to realise.
  
  Actually small faffy things are a gift. It means I'm taking action. It represents my striking out into the world and following my heart. Whether it's organising contracts with the hotels on the island in Greece or organising my hoover's new home - each task is as special and important as the one before and the one coming. Because they represent LIVING. Taking a deep breath and going for it.
  
  What a gift that is.

Come visit me in Greece at Serenity Retreat!