This past weekend I’ve spent in Biarritz with some beautiful friends from Australia. I was reminded once again, how important good friends are and how with great friends even though you may not have seen each other for an age, there’s no full-stop between visits.

But I realised something else. For many years, I’ve been ‘doing the right thing’. I’ve bought property and spent the required hours, days and weeks renovating, decorating and ensuring my investment is a good and well planned one. I’ve moved house; to move away from a bad relationship (in itself which had caused enormous stress); to be nearer ailing parents; and also change jobs to one with the promise of greater things.

What I didn’t do during the whole time was remember what really makes me tick… a simple life exploring and travelling. Always the next ticket is booked, an adventure planned or a new location sought. It’s never meant a huge expense but always bought me so much joy when I see, taste, hear or discover something new. I love nothing more simple than jumping on a plane to a new location and that moment when you touch down, the doors open and you can smell a new land. Or as you wander through the airport terminal, the new languages, dialect or accent.

A freedom that comes with exploration.

An admiration for architecture and culture.

A taste for a new sensation.

I forgot to do this for the past few years and missed out on something that I realise now was a ‘stress relief’ that I loved.

So this last month, I’ve been to Spain (Mallorca) and I’ve been to France (Biarritz) and I’ve plodded around London and the English countryside and seen new things, heard new noises, tasted new things and felt free.

But where will my passport take me next… anyone need a guest or a partner in crime?