Most memorable journeys

During the pandemic many travel addicts like myself were suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms but as the saying goes, an addict will always find a way... In the fall of 2020 an app called Clubhouse was founded, a place where people could meet and talk in different virtual rooms. Klaus Derendorf knew what his tribe was missing, he knew that an airport lounge is what we needed and he created a...

I always wanted to be a flight attendant and despite making most of my dreams come true, I never was. After the pandemic, when all airlines were desperately looking for staff, my best friend Ruth told me to apply but, hello, I am 62 years old. Even though I knew that I wasn't going to do it, I still did a little research, googled a little here and there and found this amazing young lady: Noémie Fr...

Inspiring conversation with these two beautiful people from Australia who decided to go "walk about" later in life. They are both on their second marriage and have 4 married adult children and 7 grandchildren - so far. Being active and healthy is a priority for them. Leanne is a walker and tries to do some Pilates and Yoga and Lyle is a swimmer and swims at least 1.5km most days. Lyle and Leanne s...

I met Dr Olivier Seiler at an International travel insurance conference to which I accompany my husband Hector every year. In a restaurant in Athens he recited parts of the Odyssey in ancient Greek and I was impressed, not only by the ancient Greek but by his kindness. For nearly 30 years, Olivier Seiler was the Chief Medial Doctor of REGA, which is a private, non-profit air rescue service that pr...

When I walked into a conference room at a hotel in Dubai recently, a very kind and beautiful blond lady smiled at me and said hello to me in Swiss German. I knew that I had seen her before, and we were debating about where this could have been until she told me that she used to be on a TV program called "Fenster zum Sonntag" which can be translated as "Window towards Sunday". It turned out that I...

On a recent flight from Dubai back to Cyprus on Emirates Airlines I watched the documentary "The Last Tourist" which points out that travel is at a tipping point. In the movie, various tourism expert reveal the real conditions and consequences of one of the largest industries in the world. One of the cast members of the above documentary is Dr Rachel Dodds, who is the Director of Sustaining Touris...

I met my soul sister Leila during my master coach training in Dubai and I felt very drawn to her from the very beginning. She is a beautiful soul and has a beautiful smile and that fact that we can converse in French made her even more attractive to me. She studied Microbiology in Algeria but due to political instability and unrest in her home country she moved to Abu Dhabi nearly 25 years ago and...

Tatiana Stupak (piano) started learning the piano at age five, studying at the Special School of the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, and after that, for a further five years, continuing at the Conservatory itself. She is the winner of international music competitions including the Leipzig Bach competition. Tatiana is very well known in Cyprus, having played piano at more than...

Gil Antolin founded Luxury World Traveler as a way to share his passion for travel with the world. What started as a hobby by creating an Instagram account in 2013, has now become much more. Antolin visited Uganda, Africa ten years ago as part of a mission trip. While there his group spent time volunteering at an orphanage, help fund the school and take to the needs of the children. Antolin became...

Traveling without insurance is a gamble. Nobody knows that better than my friend Dick Atkins, owner of Dick Atkins, Esq. an attorney from Philadelphia who specializes in assisting companies and individuals on legal issues in foreign countries. He is an owner of International Recoveries, LLC and lectures at travel insurance conventions. He is on the Board of Directors for the United States Travel I...

I met Monica in a Facebook group of Swiss living abroad because I wanted to talk to someone who was born in my homeland but grew up in another country and so I asked in the group if someone would be interested in talking to me. Monica came forward, not only was she born in Switzerland but also in my hometown Lucerne but only until she three years old and I wanted to talk to her about a recent trip...

His Instagram handle is @aptraveler and we met on Clubhouse. He has explored 107 countries so far and loves the world. His Swiss roots come through when he talks about punctuality, correctness and being polite. As a cancer survivor, Andre has realised how precious our time on earth is and has decided to see it all and savour every moment. His stories are heartwarming and colourful. His pictures ha...

I met Irene in a Facebook group of Swiss Women Abroad and loved her positive and joyful manner. In September 2018, my kids and I travelled to Canada and started a road trip from Calgary to Vancouver through Banff and Jasper National Park. On this occasion, we met with Irene for dinner and she gave us lots of great tips for our tour. When I asked Irene to be my podcast guest, she was a little hesit...

I met James Hammond because he invited me to be his guest on his travel podcast "Winging it" where he talks to travel aficionados about anything to do with globetrotting. Originally from the UK, he is currently based in Vancouver, Canada but he has plans, big plans indeed. So far he has visited 50 countries and talks about his experiences and the different kind of travellers he has met. James has...

Martina Kwan is an International Best Selling Author. Born in Hong Kong to a German mother and Chinese father, Martina Kwan was destined for a life that was different. She spent her childhood in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, but credits living in war torn Beirut, Lebanon between the ages of 8-10, as an experience that defined much of her fearlessness today. Her unique path in life has shaped...

Did you know that Veronica Tan was an arms dealer? (only joking but in fact in her first job she worked for a company that was selling arms. Her first long distance flight ever was from Singapore to Athens (Greece) which is very near me and I hope that she'll visit me in Cyprus soon. Veronica co-founded Success Resources with her husband Richard Tan in 1992 and little did they know that their comp...

Jennifer K. Hill is a successful entrepreneur, author, speaker, TV & Radio host, and thought leader. She has written two books, and has authored two popular white papers. In this episode, she shares many travel stories, covid adventures with us and how she moved to Lisbon. Hill built and sold her first company by the age of 38 to Marcum Search LLC (a subsidiary of Marcum LLP), where she became...

I love talking to Caroline and we zoom quite often, this time we recorded our conversation and turned it into a podcast episode. She gives great natural heath tips and makes every exchange valuable. Caroline is a trained Master Herbalist, Naturopath, Nutrition Consultant, Holistic and Behavioural Iridologist with over 25 years of experience in the natural health field. We are talking about how she...

I am talking to Paul Lambis who is an award-winning screenwriter, author, playwright and director, born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Educated at the Johannesburg Art Foundation, he is based in Cyprus and is the Founder and CEO of Silver Thespian, an independent theatre and film production holding company. As an established and award-winning playwright in Cyprus, Lambis has written, produced and...

Dimitris Pierides is 85, an absolutely charming gentleman of the old sort with a beautiful mind and a heart full of amazing stories. We talked about Art, cars, Cyprus and life, definitely worth listening to. He is the son of one of the most emblematic families of Cyprus, born in 1937, luckily in a house that mostly resembled a museum and belonged to his grandfather Dimitirs Pierides, who also bore...

I met Tatiana because of the Global Woman Club when she joined a speakers campaign and then realised that she also lives in Cyprus and here is what she says about herself: “The more you give the more comes back to you”. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but it is absolutely true. I give the following metaphor/analogy when I teach children about giving back: “ Imagine you have a big cup full of goodie...

I met Sami at the Global Woman Summit in London and he is one of the most approachable and kind people I have ever met. He immediately agreed to do this interview and I so enjoyed talking about life and the world and listening to Sami singing :) Sami Zeidan is an award-winning journalist who for more than a decade, has anchored, reported and executive produced with some of the biggest names in tel...

Ajay Goyal is a global entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and writer. He is the founder and owner of Europe's first five star yoga themed sustainable resort hotel Zening Resorts and he invested millions of Euros in Cyprus during the financial crises in 2013. Unfortunately he came across some unethical people and had to deal with many bureaucratic obstacles as a foreign investor. Even though he...

I met Jay Noland on Clubhouse and liked the sound of everything he said but I also liked the sound of his voice. He grew up on a hog farm in Kentucky with his grandparents. The wealth his grandparents had was not in their bank account, but in the lessons and values they instilled in him… INSTILLED in him as was the determination to succeed. He was naturally gifted in sports and mostly as a basebal...

Savvas Perdios was born and raised in Nicosia and has been the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus since January 2019. He studied Accounting and Finance at Warwick University (2002-2004) and International Hospitality Management (BA, 2004-2008) at the École hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland In this podcast episode we talk about how lucky Savvas considers himself because he can pra...