A WANDERLUST FAMILY

Ever since I was little, there was something about holidays that felt so magical. I distinctly remember having those flutters in my tummy the night before we were due to fly. Not being able to sleep, the excitement and adrenaline almost pulsing through my veins. Something that never really changed as I grew up, the more I saw the more I wanted to see.  I've been fortunate, with my parents having the foresight to see just how valuable travel is, and ensuring they passed that wisdom onto us by giving us passports littered with stamps. They set the bar high, but I want to reach it. I want to see new countries and cultures through my sons eyes, there isn't much that can beat watching tiny toddler toes pad through the sandy dunes for the first time, or seeing their chubby hands pressed up against the cabin windows, peering down at the world beneath them. They are magical moments, and we want to experience them over and over again. If travel were a bug then we are truly bitten by it. 

Mark Warner are searching for a new ambassador, and whilst I told myself I wouldn't enter, and made every excuse of why I couldn't enter - here I am completely succumbed to the thought of sunshine and memories to make, in one of their beautiful resorts. Whilst I've been busy pinning till my hearts content, the deadline has been looming and with just a few hours to spare, I'm hoping I can squeeze this in. They've asked us to think about where we want to visit, and those thoughts are easy, with pins in our map and circles on our globe. We already know where we must go.

I don't just want to visit Morocco, I need to visit Morocco. Whilst European cities feel like a home away from home, I don't want to be sat in the centre of my comfort zone, nothing ever flourishes there. I want my boys to wade through the hustle and bustle of the souks, absorbing the chaos and lapping up the attention. To return to our hotel room with the spicy scents still lingering in our clothing. Morocco has soul, energy and vibrancy, every quality that I see in my sons I see too in Morocco. I can only imagine the show and tell that month for Noah at preschool, talks of snake charmers and magicians. I adore the bartering on foreign markets, growing up with the firm advice from my Dad 'you have to be prepared to walk away', working wonders and always resulting in a firstly somewhat despaired mother that she wouldn't be owning the silky kaftan of dreams, but secondly a win, a successful deal and the most important part - a happy wife.

Turkey was a large part of my childhood, I've lost count how many times we visited and just how many belly dancing outfits I conned my parents into buying. I'm not sure if it were the gold sequins, or pink chiffon that drew me to them every time, because I know for sure it wasn't my knack for dancing - that leaves a lot to be desired. Even at the age of 8, it was clear I wouldn't be the next Shakira. Visiting Turkey as a child didn't just allow me to see their country, but it helped me see beyond ours, and visiting Ephesus was the pinnacle moment for me. Until that moment I'd only ever read about Romans and ruins, to experience Ephesus first hand was something that could never be put into words. To begin with, I think my parents selected the hottest day of our two week stay to visit, in the middle of a Turkish summer - timing hasn't ever really been their strong point. Standing in that amphitheatre as a child, taught me two things; the world was a much bigger place with far more lifetimes behind it than I could ever comprehend and steps were built a lot steeper in the 'olden days'. I often wonder to myself what revisiting would be like now, seeing those sights through the eyes of someone almost twenty years older. I'd be a liar if I didn't say that holidays as a family of four, don't always feel exactly like a holiday, chasing two children around in a new environment is every bit as exhausting as it sounds. When I heard that Mark Warner are opening a new resort, Phokaia in Turkey, my heart jumped a little. With an on site childcare centre for all ages, giving us the opportunity to dive into all the water sports on offer whilst our boys are in the greatest of hands, the resort is practically calling our name.

Cuba emits a vibe that cannot be bottled, should it ever be attempted, it would be worth more than it's weight in gold. I was a teenager when we landed in Varadero, with more annoyance I'd been forced into holidaying with my parents, than excitement for what was ahead. First world problems, if you please. Cuba isn't all about rum and cigars, though that is a large allure I'm sure, for me it was the endless white dunes and the deep aqua waters. Reflecting on our first ever evening in Cuba, me, my younger brother who was around five at the time, and my Dad went off to explore the beach - under strict instructions from my Mum to keep clean as we were heading to the restaurant once she'd finished unpacking. Easy enough, one may think. Wrong, within thirty seconds of hitting the beach my brother had hit the water, shortly followed by the sand, and a grand total of five minutes and twenty one seconds after we left the room, we returned, with our very own sandman. A look on my Mums face I will never forget. Cuba gave me so many experiences, a crab running over my feet in a restaurant, hoiking my brother onto my shoulders to grab coconuts from the trees, and a penchant for fruit punch mocktails - something that at the age of 13 meant I was the height of sophistication.

Though our bucket list isn't jammed full of trip advisors top destinations, it is packed with pieces of my heart. All places that mean a thing, or hold a memory, that I want to experience again. I'm a whole other person now, with two sons under my belt and a life partner on my arm, it would be turning full circle to revisit as a person I never envisaged I'd become. Having a child at 21 pushed a thought into my head, that suddenly my life wasn't mine anymore and any plans, dreams or aspirations I had weren't to be fulfilled. How wrong could I have been? Sure I might be packing calpol sachets and baby wipes in my bag, and two pieces have firmly been replaced by a swimsuit, I'd never want it any other way. Travelling the world is extraordinary, but travelling with children, now that's something else. 

*This post is my entry to the Mark Warner ambassador programme. I told myself there was too much competition this year, and entering was just a one way ticket to failure. But both of those notions were far outweighed by our lust for travel, and our eagerness to visit their incredible resorts.