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5 ways to fully enjoy your vacation \ By Shiri Brook-Sagie How to plan a mindful holiday

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5 Create a travel journal Travel journals are a wonderfully creative way of memorializing your trip. Start by collecting souvenirs from each place you visit – a flower, a café napkin, a museum postcard, or a restaurant menu. Keep notes on your phone or in a notepad of thoughts and impressions, and once you are back home, put everything together in a travel journal. Google the term in case you need design inspiration and use washi tape to decorate and personalize – each time you feel like remembering the resort infinity pool or ski session in the Alps - you’ll be able to flick through your journal and be back on holiday for a mindful minute or two.

Planning is part of the fun!

2 Studies show that taking the time to thoroughly plan your holiday contributes to your overall feeling of emotional wellbeing, as much as the actual holiday itself. Make sure you collect information and knowledge about your chosen destination, perhaps think about joining guided tours or make a list of the museums you wish to visit. Use tools such as shared Google sheets or planner apps such as TripIt: Travel Planner or Wanderlog, to get your fellow travel companions to plan with you. Look for inspiration The Internet nowadays is awash with travel blogs and vacation content created by influencers. Admiring their posts is great for igniting inspiration, but why not deepen your knowledge by reading books connected to your chosen destination? Visiting Corfu after having read Gerald Durrell’s “My family and other animals”, or Paris after having read Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”, will add infinite depth of meaning to your holiday.

3 4 Make a holiday playlist Creating a playlist for your trip will add so much to the general atmosphere. Whether you are going on a family holiday or traveling

Make sure you “stock up” on flight activity ideas Most people prepare flight must-have lists, but not everyone remembers the importance of planning things to occupy the time with. Create a list of activity ideas and make use of the plane’s in-flight entertainment system, or download content ahead of time, in case you won’t have access to the Internet. A relaxing flight playlist is always good, as is stocking up on episodes of your favorite TV show or podcast. And of course, make sure you always have a book with you – digital age or not, it remains the ultimate essential!

with a bunch of friends, ask each participant what songs they’d most like to hear so that everybody feels included in the playlist. Everyone will be over the moon when their favorite song starts playing. It’s also best to adapt the playlist to the destination, i.e., French chansons are perfect for a trip to Paris and chill-out music is great for stays in the desert.

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ATMOSPHERE OCTOBER 2022