Browsing Tag

Spain

What a difference a year makes

It’s been 12 months since I left my job at a consulting firm. My plan was to take a break for a year and think about what I wanted next. Well, that was as much of a plan as I had! And like all best laid plans, things didn’t quite go that way, but I’m very happy with the outcome!

In the weeks leading up to the end of 2023, I tried to gently recover from the loss of my dad and navigated that ‘difficult first Christmas’. Then at the end of January, we packed the car (including the dog) and drove 1400 miles to Southern Spain – and stayed until Easter!

The warm Andalucian spring was balm to the soul – and what a joy to live somewhere else for a while – be someone else – and redevelop my curiosity – for new places, new routines, new experiences. Even the food shop felt like a brand new adventure! (100% recommend, will do again).

Refreshed, still unsure about work, I spent a few months at home as well as taking a few trips. I went to the theatre on my own (Plaza Suite – brilliant!), saw some art, joined a gym (and kept going) and fitted in a few days in Mallorca and a week in Greece. And while I was lying on a lounger in Kefalonia, I (with Madge, obvs) decided to start not 1, but 2 businesses!

So fast forward, here we are. I’m back in Spain (just a week this time), sitting here as co-founder at 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, a consultancy that combines human-centred design and intelligent innovation to change the way services, experiences and products 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 are made and sold.

And as co-founder of 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, a sustainable t-shirt brand. A fun journey that began with a simple idea: to create t-shirts that we would genuinely love to wear – with designs that are inspired by the passions that fuel us.

I hadn’t planned on either of those things a year ago, but the space to let ideas emerge made me realise I don’t have to define myself by any one thing. I knew I wanted to do many, different things.

Which is why when I was also asked to take a fractional role as a co-Head of Creative at a personal finance management software brand I leapt at the chance. A position with a focus on elevating creative output, smooth running ops, AI-powered growth and developing high performing teams – yes please! I’m just back from California meeting the team and delivering a session on AI in Marketing – and excited about the next few months of making a difference.

What have I learned in the last year?

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆: Embracing uncertainty has led to unexpected growth in unexpected areas (sit in the liminal space – even if it’s uncomfortable!)
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Time to reflect on what truly matters sparked new ideas – not just about work, about everything
𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲: True friends (and good colleagues) shone through during tough times; I cherish them
𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝘆: Being open to change and new experiences is exciting – trust yourself, you’ve got the experience and the smarts
𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼-𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Partnering exposes the power of diverse perspectives and collaboration – embrace the balance!
𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆: Keeping active clears my mind and boosts my mood – it’s now a forever part of my lifestyle

To new adventures – and everyone who has helped me on this one 🎉

(this is a longer version of a post that originally appeared on LinkedIn)

2nd November 2024

Live

Embrace your comfort zone

When I was 13 I worked in a video shop on Saturdays. Every week pretty much the same people would come in and rent the latest VHS movies. Most customers wanted to watch the new releases, but what always fascinated me were the children. Rather than being tempted by the new films, the kids wanted to see something they’d seen before. Something they were comfortable with. Something they knew. Right down to being able to recite all the words. Epic tantrums followed when Mum or Dad tried to get them to try something different.

I didn’t know it then, but apparently this is not unusual. There are many and lengthy physiological explanations for why we are drawn to the things we are most familiar with, even from a very young age.

Fast-forward (pun intended) a few years and I’ve realised that actually, now that I am presented with more choice that ever, I also keep returning to the things I know and bring me comfort. We’re all accustomed to the the over-used term ‘comfort zone’.

I never thought I’d be ‘one of those people’ who go on holiday to the same place – yet that little piece of Andalucia that I adore to visit, with the restaurants I know and the beach club I love, brings me as much joy as any new adventure. The sense of peace I feel when I look at those familiar mountains, basking in the pink evening sky; the surge of joy when I see the beauty of the blue Mediterranean sea, the happiness of going back to places where we’ve had so much fun before is something I look forward to with something close to actual longing. It’s the place I go to in my head on a wet, cold Monday morning, and it’s the reason I go back there at least twice a year.

So, is this a lack of imagination on my part, an aversion to trying new things, or a genius strategy to make the best use of limited holiday time and budget? The truth is, it’s probably a number of things. A comfort zone is described as “a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress.”

Who wouldn’t want that on holiday?

But in truth, it’s not just holidays. I’m the same with books and films – I love to re-read or re-watch something I already know. I look up the ending of a film before I watch it. I have a set of favourite restaurants and tend to choose one of these for a night out. I love re-watching old boxsets, and I listen to much, much more old music than I do new. Oh, and I categorically hate surprises.

According to Psychology Today magazine, ‘ familiar things – food, music, activities, surroundings, etc. – make us feel comfortable. From an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense that familiarity breeds liking. Generally speaking, things that are familiar are likely to be safer than things that are not. If something is familiar, we have clearly survived exposure to it, and our brain, recognising this, steers us towards it.’

Makes total sense. Yet, paradoxically, I’m not against trying new things – I’ve moved house 13 times in my adult life, I’ve started a business (well, 2 actually), changed jobs multiple times, rarely stick to traditions, have a pretty variable daily life and have travelled all over the world. So, actually, I think that the peace and soul calming headspace I experience from a trip back to that familiar part of Spain is less about hiding away in the ‘safe’ and more about recognising that it’s nice to be able to rely on instant relaxation and a guaranteed good time. While travel undoubtedly broadens the mind, getting to get to know a place deeply – exploring it bit by bit and peeling back the layers brings a calmness and satisfaction that’s hard to beat. And it works brilliantly for a short break. I never get bored, because it’s never totally the same, and neither am I. A trip to that special part of Spain is a tradition I won’t ever tire of.

So for me, it’s about balance. A couple of trips a year back to Andalucia, complemented with new experiences and destinations is the perfect mix.

2nd September 2018

Travel

48 hours in Marbella

We go to Marbella quite often – at least a couple of times a year, and we’ve found some pretty lovely places to eat and drink and hang out there. Only 2.5 hours from Gatwick, it’s the perfect weekend destination if you want to get some good food and some sunshine. We keep mostly away from the very touristy times of year and any really touristy hang-outs, and we’ve got to know some great places to go.

Malaga to Marbella

We used to hire a car, but realised that it spent most of its time parked up in the hotel car park, so since last year we now always get the bus from the airport straight to the bus terminal at Marbella. A bargain at around €6 each way (a taxi is about €100), the bus departs from right outside the arrivals hall and runs regularly. The ‘directo’ bus uses the toll road, rather than the slower coastal road and takes about 40 minutes. You can either walk into town from the bus station or grab a cab from the rank to where you are staying. Buy your ticket online or at the ticket office in the arrival hall. There’s often a queue, so we found buying it in advance online the best option.

Accommodation

There are tons of hotels, villas and Airbnb places to stay, as you would expect. If you’re looking for reasonable priced without too many frills then the NH Marbella is a good shout. They have a small pool with a bar that’s open in high-season and an excellent buffet breakfast for the price. It’s also a good location, within strolling distance of Central Marbella and a nice longer walk along the beach to Puerto Banús (about 5km). It’s also handy for the beach and local buses along the coast.

Bars

My favourite stretch of beach is Copacabana – and the Trocadero Playa is a great bar for a cocktail at sunset or to while away an afternoon. It’s a bit pricier than other bars, but it has a perfect location so sometimes you have to pay a little extra for that!

My hidden gem is a sports bar called Boca Seca. It’s on the side of the road between the NH Hotel and the Puente Romano hotel and it’s a real locals place. The food is good, cheap and plentiful, they play the MotoGP race on a Sunday and are open late. It gets busy, but it’s worth waiting for a spot outside. The ensalada rusa, jamon croquettas and the pig cheek are all highly recommended!

Food

Wow – where to start? Well, my all time favourite is a Dani Garcia restaurant called Lobito Del Mar. A beautiful Hamptons Coastal inspired decor with a fantastic bar and a fantastic bar menu to go with it. I recommend sitting at the bar, chatting with the excellent bar staff and sampling a range of fishy delights over a long and lingering lunch. The martini’s are huge, and the clams are delicious.

There’s a newly-ish open organic restaurant opposite the Marbella Club Hotel called the Organic Market and Food and it serves amazing fresh ingredients, lots of veggie and vegan dishes, with a fresh modern decor and some outside seating. The food is excellent, but I have always (3 trips) found the service lacking. It’s worth going for the food, but don’t expect the service to be particularly friendly.

If you’re looking for tasty snacks in a busy buzzy environment then LeKune Bar de Pinxos in Marbella is the perfect place. Pinxo‘s are small snacks, usually served on bread with a drink. It gets packed, which all adds to the atmosphere and it’s a great place to pop into to fill up on tasty morsels. It’s quieter at breakfast time and it’s lovely to sit outside with a cafe con leche and a glass of fresh orange and watch the world go by on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Plus ++

A trip out of Marbella about 30 mins along the coast by bus to Laguna Village has two benefits – firstly the gorgeous Purobeach Beach Club. My idea of a perfect heavenly day is to arrive there at 11 and stay all day, hanging out, listening to great music and drinking cocktails. I’ve never had a bad time there. But a few doors down from PuroBeach is Camuri, where we always go for lunch if we are there. A Mediterranean-Asian fusion restaurant serving fresh quality ingredients. Ask for a table down the side of the restaurant. The service is better there and the view is ace.

There are tons more places to go, this list only scratches the surface, but if you’re looking for more ideas:

Italian food and people watching in Puerto Banús. Go at lunchtime when it’s not full of partying youngsters. They do a mean escalope milanese (ask for it with spaghetti pomadoro).
Drinks at the bar by the pool at the Marbella Club Hotel.
Sunday morning coffee in Plaza de los Naranjos in Marbella. Go to the cathedral and watch the well-dressed locals arrive for mass then get coffee in the square.
Hire a bike at the Marbella Bike Club and have an early morning cycle.
Dress up for lunch on the terrace at the Villa Padierna hotel.
Take a trip out of town, up into the hills of Ronda.
If you have all-day Sunday then a trip out to The Beach House is worth the journey for good food and daytime entertainment

Basically, 48 hours isn’t long enough, but that’s why we keep going back 🙂

13th May 2018

Live, Play

Oh Hai

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I wrote anything – 3 months! I’m feeling very rusty. It’s not that my ramblings cover anything particularly earth-shattering, it’s more that it is a stark reminder to myself of how long it is since I sat down with some time to spare and created something. It’s about the same amount of time since I picked up my camera, so I definitely need to get back into the habit.

There’s way too much to catch up on all in one go, so I might save the big things for posts of their own. But a whistle-stop tour of the past 3 months includes Christmas parties, Christmas lunches and a Christmas break to Marbella.

There have been some fun days and fun nights out, some cosy days and cosy nights in, my first bottomless brunch, my 4-year anniversary at work, and of course, some cocktails. There also seems to have been quite a lot of rain.

It’s been extraordinarily busy at work, but I’m hoping to get a little bit more organised and carve out some time again for doing the things I love. This quick post is dipping my toe back in, and reminding myself. It’s always easier when the weather is better, and at least coming into March we know that Spring is on the way. Just this really cold snap to get through first!

25th February 2018

Travel

Ferrocaril de Soller

Too soon our stay in Palma was at an end, and it was time to up sticks to Soller, a town about 40 mins away by car. But we’d decided not to go by car, instead taking the wooden narrow guage 105 year old train through the countryside to our destination. The Ferrocaril is a train that leaves from the Plaza de Espana Station in Palma, and heads to Soller with a few stops along the way.

We arrived and were able to buy tickets on the day, although it was very busy. We had a drink at the lovely little cafe, because, as usual we had arrived really early and then we went onto the platform to get the train.

It was pretty chaotic, with a bit of a bunfight to get on the train once it had arrived. It was impossible to know if everyone who was waiting would get on, and there was a bit of pushing and shoving – bit like getting on the Central Line in rush hour.

We managed to get on, but there were no seats left so we stood in the gap between the carriages. It turned out to be quite nice, I suspect we might have had the nicest view through the countryside and into the mountainous Tramuntana region – though it was a bit weird going through the 13 tunnels close enough to touch them.

The scenery is lovely and there is a stop off point for people to get out and take pictures. Definitely not the quickest way to do the journey but certainly an experience. There’s more about the history of the trainline on The Other Mallorca site.

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28th April 2017

Travel

Palm-a Sunday

I hadn’t really twigged that we were in Palma the weekend before Easter, and that meant that our decision to get up early and take a walk to the cathedral was extra special, as there were lots of Palm Sunday activities going on. We were treated to the wonderful sight and sound of the cathedral choir warming up, of all the women buying elaborately tied palms outside the cathedral, of a procession of children and adults in green, shops with wonderful chocolate displays and everywhere we looked were gorgeous buildings and people holding palms – all bathing in the wonderful Spring sunlight.

: Women buying palms

: Ready for the procession

: Palms everywhere

: Cakes

: Man resting with palms

: Girl laughing with plams

: Cholcoalte Easter chicks

: Palma street

: Outside the cathedral

23rd April 2017

Travel

Perfect Palma Saturday

We flew into Palma on Saturday, arriving about lunchtime. After all the stress of the week and Mum’s operation, it was great to be able to relax with a holiday and we didn’t waste any time once we got there – grabbing a cab from the airport to the Hotel Costa Azul, on the seafront. We’ve been to Palma before but about 10 years ago, and on a family trip – so this time, although we were not there long we were determined to get a good look around. The Costa Azul is a nice, modern, not expensive hotel. It wasn’t really hot enough to try out any of the pool or sunbathing facilities, but the room was good – large enough and perfect for our weekend in Palma.

After dumping off our bags and changing into shorts to suit the nice weather, we headed out. I was desparate for my first Aperol Spritz of the year, so we stopped off at a cafe a few blocks up from the hotel. ‘Cappuccino‘ turned out to be a bit pricey for a couple of drinks, but boy they tasted good. How is it when you get somewhere the first place you go in is always expensive?

Anyway, suitably fortified we headed off into town, walking along the seafront towards the cathedral. We spent a good couple of hours wandering around, intermittently browsing in the shops and stopping for drinks. Perfect Saturday afternoon shopping. I was particularly taken with the C&A, as we haven’t had one of those in the UK for years. It was like a trip down memory lane, and I got a really nice denim jacket 🙂

We stumbled across a cute looking restaurant, called Restaurante El Pilòn. It was a lovely looking small place, and it served a nice varitey of dishes. Everything seemed homemade and the service was very attentive. We had some traditional tapas and everything tasted good. The house white wine was a bit sharp, but the hospitality was top-notch and the bill very reasonable.

After an obligatory siesta, we headed back out, grabbing a cab into town and straight to the bar at the Puro Hotel for excellent cocktails, followed by stunning tapas at El Cuerno, which is just around the corner. The food there was fantastic – the best Pulpo A La Gallega I’ve ever tasted, and a welcoming homemade herbal alcoholic shot. The food, staff, drinks and ambience were all great – would recommend and definitely go back if I was in Palma again, and it wasn’t too expensive.

An excellent first day in Mallorca.

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18th April 2017

Travel

48-hours in Barcelona

We took Madge’s boys to Barcelona for a weekend. Lots of tapas, walking and a bit of sightseeing. The weather was really pleasant and it meant we could sit outside for drinks and chill out. The boys have never been to Barcelona before, so it was good to take them somewhere that was at least a little familiar to us.

We found an amazing sweet shop called Happy Pills – think posh pick and mix, but more fun.

We also drank fresh juice on the beach, and lit a candle in a cathdral.

I went and got my nails done and sneaked off for a cheeky plate of ham and glass of wine at the bar of a cool tapas place.

And of course we ate helados, one of my very favourite things.

Every time I go back to Barcelona there’s more to see, or new places to go. I love it, and will definitely be going back AGAIN.

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20th October 2016

Travel

Viva España

Just back from a wonderful 6 days in Andalucia. I love this area and could happily live there tomorrow.

Because Madge is doing the epic cycle from Venice to Rome in 3 weeks, he needed to get some cycling in during the week so after we picked up our car and got to the hotel, we went out in search of the bike hire place. Turns out the combinaton of an unknown car, on unknown roads, on the wrong side is a hairy combination so it took us a few goes to find the place, but once we did they kitted him out with the bike, leaving him to ride back to the hotel and me to find my way in the car. Once we got back I was happy to park the car up and start the holiday!

We stayed for 2 nights in the NH hotel just outside Marbella, which is a nice basic hotel with a lovely pool and a good bar next door, perfect for watching the MotoGP in while eating tapas and drinking cava. The best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

On Monday we got the bus into Marbella for a stroll around the old town and along the beach. We dipped our toes in the Med and had some lovely tapas.

We got the bus back, checked out and headed off to our villa, where we were staying for the next 4 days. We’ve been there before, so finding our way was easy and it was nice to go back to somewhere so lovely and so familiar.

We were straight into the pool, before heading out for dinner at Villa Padierna, a very nice hotel near by. On Tuesday Madge was up early for a cycle into the mountains, so I dropped him at San Luis de Sabinillas down the road and headed back to Puerto Banus for breakfast on my own.

It was lovely drinking cafe con leche and watching the world go by, and before I knew it it was time to leave to go and pick Madge back up. We had lunch back at the Villa Padierna and dinner out at our favourite Italian restaurant in Puerto Banus.

Wednesday was my Birthday and we had already made plans to spend it at the PuroBeach club in Estapona. We booked beach-facing pool beds and started the day with fresh fruit and water, followed by swimming in the sea, the pool and pre-lunch cocktails. We had a gorgeous lunch at Camuri and then spent the rest of the afternoon round the pool listening to the great music, drinking cocktails and snoozing, before heading home, getting dressed up and going out to La Sala. A brilliant Birthday.

The rest of the week flew by in a flash and before we knew it, it was Friday morning and time to leave to drop the bike off and head to the airport.

We finished our wonderful holiday with champagne at the airport, perfect end to a perfect trip.

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11th September 2016

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