Boys, balloon rides & Baklava – A holistic holiday challenge

1. Pile o’ fez

Holidays – everyone loves ’em and, in a few days I’m off, up-up and away on vacay. Even though I travel extensively and almost daily around the globe for work, the excitement of taking an actual vacation never, ever grows old.

This time I’m off to the English countryside to visit my Beastie for a few days of clean English air, endless cups of tea and long walks around the grounds of our local palace.
I say! Jolly good! Then, myself and my house-mate extrordinaire are setting off to explore the magic and mystery of Istanbul and Cappodocia. After mastering the bloccos, boys and teeny bikinis of Rio Carnival and the calamity of the Vietnamese night trains, we are both eager to find out what misadventures await us in Turkey.

Food is always a feature on our holidays together – we both love amazing food! We flourished on delicious street food all the way down the Vietnamese coast and in Brazil, we ate our weight at a local churrascaria. Neither of us are the sorts to turn down an invitation to party either and there has been more than one occasion when we’ve sipped from brightly coloured buckets filled with mysterious liquors despite the warnings of almost every travel guide. Individually, we are both a little nutty, but the two of us together on holiday… well, we are actually truly and uncontrollably insane. But that’s what holidays are for, right? Fun, adventure and immersing yourself in a new and exciting city, country and culture. And we manage to do all that and so much more….

Our dilemma now is this – we both have some amazing reasons and inspirations to ensure that this trip we remain as holistically healthy as possible. A little holiday “happy weight” is not an option for either of us this time around. Plus I’ve spent so much effort repairing and restoring my body in the last few months in the wake of my health scares, I can’t afford to see all that I’ve achieved start to slide.

But – and this is the BIG question –  is it possible to holiday holistically, outside Thai detox retreats and tantric chanting in the Tibetan highlands, without jeopardising our enjoyment, overall experience and penchant for madness too much? And if so…. how?

We have a few ideas, and balance is obviously integral to our success: whilst on holiday, one needs to be able to have their cake and eat it too… we just can’t eat as much cake as we’re used to. That said, we are both packing our gym kit and a skipping rope to share, and during the five days we are there, we’re committed to at least two high intensity interval (HiiT) workouts from the comfort of our rented apartment (I ♥ Airbnb). Of course there’s also bound to be lots and lots of walking as we explore these enchanting cities. We’ve also allowed ourselves a daily glass of vino (and by that we mean a rather large two glasses), at any one of Istanbul’s famed rooftop bars. However, together we do solemnly swear, there will be no buckets of anything no matter how handsome the man offering it to us is. Our reward if we succeed when we succeed, is a holistic afternoon of traditional Turkish luxury in one of the city’s famous hamams. Culture, history, luxury and reward all rolled into one… Clever, no?

When it comes to food though, we start to falter in our planning – Turkey it seems, is one delicious gastronomic wet-dream. From kebabs and fish sandwiches to mountains of meze, freshly baked breads and pastries served alongside shots of sweet, strong coffee and – of course – pretty piles of delicately flavoured, Turkish Delight. We’ve decided on a few non-negotiable culinary experiences though and are trying to limit them to one a day, but I’d love to hear some of your ideas, hints, tips and suggestions for how to stay holistically haute while on holiday…

So share the love Hotties! What’s you favourite way to stay healthy on vacay? Here’s a little thinking music to get you in the mood…. (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.)

Big love,

Kristina
xx