A roof terrace. Sunny embrace. Quiet morning. The world is hidden beneath a roof-top horizon. Our Moroccan hostess is stepping lightly, caring a tray of food and greeting us generously with a smile: “Bonjour, tout va bien?”. The day begins, not yet inclined to reveal its mysteries, delighted at our eager anticipation, but like a welcoming host as well, it is inviting us to follow with a vivid gesture. And we are ready to follow, wherever the day may lead. Through the colourful souks, through the dusty roads, through the crowds of warm hearted people, through the age old history of the old medina. But before we start, our senses are bathed with sumptuous delights: fresh orange juice, mint tea, Moroccan pancakes, flat bread, eucalyptus honey, orange marmalade, dates, home made yogurt. A heart-warming breakfast for a heart-warmth seeking traveller. Morocco always delights!

There are some moments in life, when one just wishes to turn a back to the day-to-day reality and drive away to an enchanting castle. Opening a new chapter in our life and embracing a new carrier challenge which may soon require extensive travelling abroad, we decide to spend some time together in a beautiful hotel near Frankfurt am Main. Schlosshotel Kronberg is an unusual place. Build in 1893, it was originally intended as a private royal castle. Owned by the House of Hesse to this very day, stepping into the hotel one feels more like a guest to the royal family rather then a visitor to an average hotel. With a unguarded access to the specious library, the fire-lit, art-decorated medieval living room, the royal banquet hall breakfast and dinning room one can settle easily into the castle and set about to explore the place.

To our delight, there are not many other guests at the hotel. Our imagination is quickly carried away: could we dare to envisage this castle as our own royal get away, or perhaps imagine that we are authors seeking source of inspiration for a historic novel? The clues to any story we may wish to imagine are readily available at our doorstep, making our stay here even more auspicious once we notice Francois’s family initials boldly engraved on the building’s garden facing facade. Could this be possible… Being half German, does he really know his family ancestry? Did I unknowingly marry Prince Charming? For the Prince Charming part, I am pretty certain with or without the castle. Still, the sight of the magically beautiful scenery is giving our hearts a pause.

Schloss Friedrichshof is today one of the most impressive German castles and offers its guests living history to touch and feel. Exclusive furnishings and an impressive collection of antiques and paintings from the private estate of the mother of the last Kaiser convey the authentic ambience of a castle from imperial times.

In a fantastic location overlooking the bay of Cologne and providing wonderful views of Cologne Cathedral, the Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg certainly knows to fascinate all visitors – may it be on a business trip, a city break to Cologne, or a wellness weekend.

Travelling abroad for a romanic weekend, always offers rest and enchanting adventures. Visiting, seeing and experiencing something new is as equally exciting as it is tasting something new.

During our stay at the Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg, just a few kilometres out of Koln in Germany, we had the unexpected pleasure to feel transported to the Mediterranean for a moment by treating ourselves to a few indulgent hours in one of the acclaimed hotel’s restaurants, the Trattoria Enoteca.

The warm colours, authentic aromas, finest ingredients and select wines together with perfect service provided a setting for an unforgettable visit. The food was surprisingly delightful, offering experience of the full range of the Italian cuisine — hearty dishes from the country kitchen, light dishes from the coast, and irresistible home-made pasta.

It is summer and our spirits are longing for an adventure. Longing to be touched by beauty, to be surprised, to be revived and invigorated. Longing to disconnect from the daily routine and simply to take the car and drive away. Should we drive north, south, east or west is always the question. East from home is located our favouring city in Germany, Aachen. South is the ever inviting Paris in France. West is our colourful London. North, The Hague and Amsterdam. Our minds made up, we quickly pack the car ready for a weekend drive away and start our trip to the Netherlands.

Our first stop is The Hague and a charming stay at the boutique Bed & Breakfast Maison Indochine. Our residence is shyly tugged away in a small antique shop street right in the centre of the city.

It doesn’t take us long to be amazed at the humble beauty of The Hague.

Art Nouveau architecture elegantly stretches along side the city centre, speaking volumes of the grandness of old days gone by. Yet, underneath its beautiful surface a much older and wealthy fairy tail begins to sing its song. We stop in front of the shop of an old violin maker, looking through the windows into two hundred years old story of passion and love. Around the corner an old antiques shop catches our eye displaying the most stunning jewellery I have ever seen. Ruby hair pins, yellow diamond ring, sapphire tiara, matching emerald bracelets, pearl earrings, exquisite floral golden broach… And then, we are not thinking of the Art Nouveau period any more, but we remember the time of the Dutch East Indies and the splendour of the riches in front of us start to make sense. Unfortunately, no rubies and diamonds for me today. But luckily, I don’t leave the antique headquaters empty handed. I buy a beautiful old print of Sir. T. Lawrence’s The Countess of Darnley’ just for five Euro, as a vivid reminder of this beautiful city.

They say that Aphrodite was born from the purest white foam of the sea, swept ashore by Zephyr’s gentle breeze. It is easy to forgive the naivety of the ancient Greeks, attributing the origin of this myth to a mere poetic inclination, but not until one sees the vast expanse of endless azure of the Mediterranean sea, teasingly changing colour from the lightest of blue to the darkest of green, feels the tender warmth of the soft wind caressing lightly the skin and wonders at the playful purity of the white foamy waves, curvaceously stretching along the Cypriot coast, that something steers deep inside the soul making the Aphrodite myth sound true.

We were lucky to have our summer holiday hotel, right on top of the hill overlooking the birth place of the goddess of love – the Aphrodite Hills.

The view was splendid… By day, an endless sea blue, barely distinguishing the line of the horizon. By evening, long and leisurely stretching shades of a dying sunset, bathing the scenery in passionate orange, deepest of pink, uncompromising red and conquering purple. By night, an open invitation to dive deep into a starry sky, gazing in mystified glee the endless folds of the universe.

It is early in the morning and we are excited to step on the train heading south to Paris.  Only one hour away, we have never been so thankful and glad for high the speed train and modern technology. There are so many places that may draw one’s attention while visiting Paris. Should we climb the Eiffel Tower and soak in the breath taking view from the soaring hight? Should we explore the numerous museums, getting dreamy and letting our souls be touched by all the art history spread like sparkling jewels throughout the city? Or shall we simply take the road up-hill on Montmartre and walk in the food steps of Modigliani, Picasso, Degas and their modern day contemporaries? Paris has so much to offer, and while we are eager to take it all in, we are cautious of not missing the little things waiting for us around each corner.

This time our visit does not target the touristing sites. Well, maybe it does in a way, yet heading towards Galeries Lafayette, we are not thinking of tourism, we are only thinking of discovering something new, something beautiful that we have only heard about but haven’t seen before.