It’s the holiday summer season so we asked the #TeamDTW about their best & worst holidays, top travel tips and why we don’t miss the soggy camping trips of their youth.
When it comes to favourite destinations, most of the DTW gang take the Pet Shop Boys advice and Go West. Yosemite National Park, Barbados, Florida and California are the most popular choices although MD Chris rates Australia as his favourite destination, while designer Sarah Bibby loved Skiathos in Greece.
Not every holiday is a great one though. MD Chris had an interesting time skiing in communist Romania, while Social Media manager Guy wouldn’t go back to Riga in Latvia if you paid him “The only city I’ve ever been to designed on an etch-a-sketch”. Director Hayley Stewart endured a nightmare time in Ibiza with her young son – more concrete than beach – while Account manager Karen Westcott and Administrator Jan Tyler were both kept awake all night by boozy brits abroad in Barcelona and Tenerife respectively.
Brits abroad behaving badly is a recurring theme, Sarah once shared a hotel with a family from Middlesbrough in Greece who were so awful she pretended to be foreign so they wouldn’t recognise her accent and try to make friends with her!
The most explosive experience, literally, happened to Karen on her honeymoon in Hermanus, South Africa. The lodge she was staying in caught fire and burned down destroying most of their clothes and her new husband’s expensive new watch. They were rescued by the team from Jackass who were staying at the same place and kindly let them stay the night in their accommodation until help arrived. The charred remains of the watch are now framed on the wall at home!
We all have a lot of affection for the UK and holidays at home throughout the team though; even rainy camping trips in Scotland from our childhood are fondly remembered with the distance of time. The wide-open landscapes of Wales, the rugged coastlines of Scotland and Cornwall, the beauty of the Lake District and the relentless fun of Centre Parcs are all on our collective itinerary for this summer.
We’re a diverse bunch when we get to where we’re going to – designer Paula Dickinson likes walking and exploring the local sights, Hayley enjoys her pool and beach time as well as the relaxing evening meal as does MD Chris. Keen readers Jan and Sarah won’t leave the house without their holiday books or Kindles. Sarah read as many as five books on her last holiday while Guy likes taking in the local culture when he’s away – “going to local sports if any are on or even watching a bit of foreign TV to try and work out what the adverts are for”.
Happy Holidays from #TeamDTW!