They climbed glaciers, had snowball fights and spent hours rolling down hillsides. Coming home to warm up by the fire, sipping fine wines over a gourmet meal in our luxe accommodation was the blissful, crowning reward for the adults.
Together with complete strangers (our awesome guides), navigating through the fascinating organized chaos that is their city. We stopped at the various spots they had chosen as we dined on the most delicious street food with other locals. Our minds were blown.
Exploring this tiny Norwegian island on foot was like stepping back in time in a once-thriving west coast fishing colony. We had the place to ourselves, in a location that exuded peace, calm and beauty.
Our hosts welcomed us with open arms and invited us into their cozy kitchen, where we learned to make pasta from scratch, Arista alla Fiorentina, and a favourite dessert, tiramisù. We appreciate now the true meaning of a farm-to-table meal and we left the farmhouse feeling as though we had made new friends.
The mustard seed created an incandescent yellow patchwork in the green fields. The farmland was dotted with brilliantly-coloured saris of the farmers. Every small town we passed through was a thriving hub of merchants, and the children rushed out to wave us past, eager to have their photos taken.
It felt like a scene out of a movie. The scene under the moonlit sky and a canopy of sycamore trees was pure magic. And there we watched for hours, on a warm, breezy evening with musicians playing and all ages of the community dancing together.
We saw staggering snow-capped mountains and charming Berber villages. We stopped for a dreamy picnic lunch of sumptuous tagines, salads and fruit, set up for us in the desert, complete with a tented table, Moroccan, hand-woven carpets and linen tablecloths. It was a meal for the ages and one we won’t soon forget.
It was packed with happy locals. Someone stood up with a tambourine in hand and started to sing -- loudly! The melody was at first haunting, then turned joyous as the entire place was on its feet, singing and clapping along. The strains of authentic gypsy music typifies the heart and soul of southern Spain, and to this day reminds of this most memorable meal.
There were a dozen of these beautiful creatures, lined up in eldest to youngest formation. This was the site where one of their group had been killed the week before and they had come to pay their respects. One by one they walked up, bent over their friend, and swayed their heads from side to side. We watched in silence for over an hour, and it was a most pure and moving experience in nature.
"Bhutan is not one of those places where you can just book a ticket and go. With limited tourist visas available, forward planning and access to local contacts are key. Quench made sure that our Bhutan adventure was everything we hoped for. Our trip was unforgettable and we credit Quench with making it happen"
— L.S. (Richmond Hill, ON)