Wild Beauty
What I love about Cyprus is the rugged wildness – that mixed in with a very strong sense of family.
My beauty musts
Esthederm suncream, lavender oil, Laura Mercier cream blusher are my holiday beauty must-packs
Oldies but goodies
My holiday style staples are an old faithful swimsuit from Eres that’s great, and a bunch of cotton sundresses from J.Crew, bought a decade ago.
Happy families
I look for a sense of space in a holiday destination and the feeling of being properly away from home. At the Anassa I love the sea – and the stillness. The Anassa really caters to families with children and seems to genuinely like them. There’s a shallow pool, a fantastic kids’ club, they have changing tables and cots galore, all of the paraphernalia that comes with small children. The staff are incredibly sweet and thoughtful.
Toddler tips
Holidaying as a family has changed the way we travel. We look for stuff to create a structure to the day. Entertaining toddlers somewhere very remote in minimalism doesn’t really work. 
Time to relax
I guess the loveliest thing about a family holiday now is seeing my children excited by new things and places. Toddlers and holidays don’t really equate to relaxation – my husband and I took it in turns so the other could have a massage. A good children’s club is a godsend, and a really clever idea.
What I brought home
I was given a lot of dried oregano as a gift from a chef at the hotel, from his mum’s garden! I love all those local flavours and scents – jasmine, thyme, oregano, honey...
Flavours to love
In Cyprus the cooking is all about ingredients. I love the simplicity of charcoal cooked fish with herbs and olive oil, or a big bowl of yogurt with honey and almonds. It’s everything I love, that kind of cooking.
The great read
The perfect lazy holiday day for me is reading, eating and napping at will. It doesn’t happen any more! This holiday I did manage to read David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks though – extraordinary and brilliant.
My childhood summers
My childhood travel memories are of summer holidays with my grannies. One was by the coast in Sussex, the other in Cape Cod. Going to visit my mum’s mum in America involved a plane, a couple of buses, a ferry, and a taxi, and actually arriving was just the best feeling ever. Tropicana orange juice and Clorox washing detergent are forever the smells of summer to me.
Top notes
Travel Album · Issue 3 · Winter 2015/16