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Why ‘Breakfast at the Beach’?

I can’t begin to tell you how difficult it was to come up with the perfect name for my blog. It was a bit like naming a newborn baby…..I had been nurturing the idea of a blog for months – years, even – and the name had to be right. All over my house are bits of paper with possible blog names scribbled down. Some are actually quite good! But none were right. None captured the essence of what I want my blog to be.

I hope my blog will be something more than just a series of travel memories and accounts of trips past and planned. More than just packing tips, restaurant reviews and hotel recommendations;  more than the occasional trips to restaurants and theatres, and days out closer to home (although all of these will feature eventually).

So what does ‘breakfast at the beach’ mean to you?

Of course, you can take it literally – you’re at the beach, and you’re having breakfast; duh! Sitting on the sand, eating a bacon butty and drinking a cappuccino from a paper cup.

But, to me, ‘breakfast at the beach’ means a feeling; it’s a state of mind, a sense of excitement, a feeling of contentment and happiness. It doesn’t have to involve food. Heck, it doesn’t even need to involve a beach!

But picture this:

It’s 8.30 in the morning, and the sun is already casting a warm glow across the wooden verandah on which tables are laid for breakfast. Across the street, a wide expanse of sandy beach stretches out to a deep turquoise sea sparkling and twinkling in the morning light. A gentle breeze catches the white calico sunshades, and darts through the rustling palm trees that line the road. You hear the soft clink of glasses being filled with freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee cups being stirred. The smell of bacon and fresh bread wafts from inside the hotel, and you catch snatches of murmured conversations in different languages among the other guests. You glance towards the sky, turning your face to the sun, and shield your eyes with your hand; not a cloud in sight. Later on, you’ll go exploring; perhaps a bit of shopping, probably a barefoot walk along the beach, stopping off at a little restaurant for lunch and ending the day with cocktails at a bar, where salsa music spills out onto the pavement, and people sit outside till the early hours of the morning beneath palm trees garlanded with fairy lights. Or maybe you’ll just sit by the pool with a book; or take a speedboat ride along the coast; or visit an art gallery…..it doesn’t matter.

You have the whole day ahead of you, and it promises all kinds of new sights and smells, new sounds and tastes. You can take it easy or grab it by the horns and run like the wind with it. You can plan it meticulously or just go with the flow. But the feeling of excitement, of anticipation, of sheer happiness at being ‘somewhere else’ – that’s what ‘Breakfast at the Beach’ is all about….

I hope you enjoy it!