Three days away from home...

Conference time
So, I went to a conference that demanded two flights going there. As always I longed home, already before I took off. And as always, I really enjoyed myself being away, meeting former colleagues, current colleagues and new contacts. I was inspired by new input and I got to go away and focus on something else than my mission at work.
I got time off from leading, for three workdays and I liked the taste of it!

The ancient town on an island, is still surrounded by the very old stone wall.

Impressive.

On the other side, you see the little town!

We were lucky with the weather!

In the middle of the town there were more old buildings.

Distracted by beauty

In this gorgeous place the old beauty distracts you totally. 

It's impossible not falling in love with the town and it's impossible to think about work when you take a photo walk here!

As this very blog is a way for me to get balance in my everyday life (work-life-balance), as have I learned that even a conference experience needs balance. Therefore I visit most of the seminars and lectures (if they're of interest) but not all of them. I sneak off to enjoy the surroundings, to photograph them and I always sneak off to rest and take the time I feel I need to iron evening clothes and do my make-up.

That makes the experience just as invigorating as I think such a trip ought to be.

It's easy imagining how things were, a long time ago...

Gorgeous.

Tranquility. The kind that you catch, seeing it.

See that spectacular light??!!!

I suddenly saw two suns!

I walked with two friends, who are also colleagues, to a nice place for a drink.

I just adore this narrow cute little house!

I didn't long home, at that time ;-)

Experiencing 

Let's cut to the chase: experiencing things alone is not the same as doing it together with the husband and sons. That was apparent where ever I walked eagerly carrying my camera! 

To be able to say:

-Look at that view!

-Wasn't this tasty?

-That looks almost like....

-Can you feel that wonderful scent from that cherry tree?

Can't be overestimated. I felt it intensely.

It felt like walking in a fairy tale for sure.

Moments like these, lasts a lifetime in the memory bank.

The part of the wall that's facing the ocean.

Standing by the beach with the ocean in the back, you see the whole cute little town!

This duck mommy, lay on top of her eggs all day, every day here in a huge pot outside the congress building.

A brave loving mommy. You go girl!

Needing both worlds

So, going there I didn't really want to. 

Being there I enjoyed, I remembered things better and I missed the ones back home.

Getting ready for the second - and biggest - party evening with dinner and dancing I felt I'd rather go home. 

Being at that dinner and dancing and mingling evening, which was absolutely like pure and utter magic, there's no place I'd rather be, I felt, and I was moved by all the great "wonderful seeing you" that I got from a whole bunch of different people.

So, it hit me again that I do need both things for a complete life. 

I need to go away, to get new input, to spill my work heart out to other leaders and my private heart to a hand full of other leaders that are also my good private friends. I need fancy dinner and dancing in a spectacular environment and I need to be face up, on a couch in our living room. 

Both worlds. They complete each other.

Can you see why I state that we have two "the most beautiful town" in our country and that I live in one of them and that the conference was situated in the other one? They sure look alike also!

That narrow cute house by day.

Missing hubs and boy, I got ready for the party evening.

I was game...

Conditioner for the heart and soul: dear sweet friends! The evening sky over the ocean, as a backdrop.

And the house, by midnight, as I walked back to my hotel feeling perfectly happy.

It's a weird thing this equation: family, work and time. 

The longer I'm away, usually, the less I long for the loved ones. The first day I longed home, like crazy, the second day I wanted to go home and then the third day.... I kind of felt like staying a bit longer. Weird - and weird is good, weird is quite OK!

Nice sightings everywhere.

The best speaker of the conference was the key note speaker. Can you guess where he's from? 

USA, of course. I'm not surprised!

Conclusion

I can conclude that being paid to collect input and ideas, to meet interesting and fun people, to be in beautiful places and enjoy great food, ain't half bad.

Neither is coming home afterwards!