Last morning of 2010

Stockholm is white, sunny and beautiful (-2) and no disruption at airports :)

Taken from my window at 9 am

The Strauss Orchestra at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm at 5 pm

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Traditions

The word tradition comes from the latin word 'traditio' which means 'passing on'.  Together with my son and our closest friends we have created a tradition to meet on December 26 at our place, to celebrate a long lasting friendship.

All set for guests to come. This year we served a meat fondue. It's easy to start or pass on traditions - you just need to be consistent...

Christian and me...it started as business 20 years ago.

Christian's wife Lena is not just a lovely lady but always a helping hand.

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Christmas Dinner in Oslo

Last week I enjoyed Christmas in Oslo with our lovely Norwegian Team.


They all wanted to eat very traditional Norwegian Christmas food, which was very interesting and I felt we were back to the 11 th century with a touch of the Viking history.


Pinnekjött, very salty sheep...Hmm..nice but a bit of a barbarian feeling..


Lutefisk is a traditional dish for Christmas for the Nordic countries. It's made from stockfish (air-dried whitefish). Its name literally means 'lye fish'. I'm sure the Vikings had this as well. They were very tall and handsome consuming large quantities of protein.

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Lifelines

It was lovely to come to office yesterday after all travelling and all difficulties with weather, causing problems for our clients, to find a Christmas lunch waiting.

So far we have managed to find solutions for all passengers, who have shown great appreciation to our staff.

A big thank you too British Airways and Lufthansa who have worked hard, rerouted and paid for new tickets for our valued customers. Thank you also for keeping the hotline open for Select!

My lifeline Hanna had set a healthy lunch for us.

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Staff accomplishment

This very wintry winter has caused problems at the airports around Europe, making our staff work hard to make sure our valued clients reach their destinations in time to celebrate Christmas. They have all done an amazing job and I want to say thank you to my staff in all offices!

Christmas party in Stockholm

Last night we had the yearly Christmas Party for our Stockholm Staff. This year we had assigned a Christmas Party Committe consisting of four people from our great staff. They did a wonderful job putting together a memorable night for us. The evening began with drinks in the Clock Suite at Berns, with the traditional Christmas gift swapping, and continued with a dinner in the beautiful restaurant at Berns.  



Max, Pat and Emma

Fredrik with a happy smile

Hanna and me

Asian Christmas buffet at Berns







One & Only

The hotel group One & Only hosted a lovely dinner at the well recognized Palm D'Or restaurant at Hotel Martinez

A beautiful presentation of foie gras as a starter.

Lisa Bovio Executive Director of One & Only Also a good friend since 19 years when I first started Select Travel.

Alan Liebman, the Vice President together with Olivier the GM from Royal Mirage in Dubai

Lore, the Director of Sales and our daily contact, here together with Christoffer from Germany

Kip from Atlantis in Dubai was my entertaining dinner partner.

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Luxury Feeling

I'm staying at Carlton Intercontinental in Cannes, my favorite hotel in Cannes and also part of our Select Collection

I'm pampered, having the honor to stay in one of the beautiful suites. I feel special. This is the feeling and atmosphere we want our valued clients to experience when they travel with us.

It's a great feeling to wake up and feel the sea and the palms of the French Riviera outside. Today it's plus 14 and sunshine :)

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Excellent meetings

Yesterday was the first day of appointments at ILTM trade show in Cannes. I had 15 very good meetings and here is just a quick update on a few.

Catching up with Anthony from Trisara who is not only the 'soul' and the most professional GM of the wonderful hotel but also a lovely friend.

Beautiful Elena from the most beautiful hotel in Athens, Grande Bretagne

Our true friends from Four Seasons

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I'm in Cannes

The last trade fair for this year is ILTM held in Cannes 6-8 December. I'm here with Fredrik, our Director of Products and Marketing and together we don't just find new products but we are always negotiating better contracts and deals, to benefit sales and give great added values to our clients.


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Finland's Day

Today it's Finlands Independence Day, to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian empire.

This day was first celebrated 1919

I'm born in Finland and I also light a candle today.

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Morning has broken...

Yeasterday morning was a bit warmer in Stockholm -5. Beginning of the week it was more likely -17. I think we tend to forget how priviliged we are, when we together with our valued clients can once in a while open the Select Collection brochure and pick a warm destination we fancy.

This is the view from one of my windows. The sun wants to come out and Stockholm is waking up.

Children enjoy the snow.

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London Gallery Shop open

I just received beautiful pictures from Collette, one of my lovely staff in London. The shop is stunning and it's just a perfect combination with the high level of travel we sell in our UK office on South Audley Street, Mayfair.

Just as we have handpicked the resorts on our destinations, I have also handpicked inspiring objects from around the world to sell in our boutique. The snake paintings in the background are hand made by a family company in Florence. According to the Chinese saying, if you have a snake in your house, you are never out of money.

This beautiful necklace is from Papua New Guinea

The wonderful brand of beauty products Sens de Marrakech has created a new line for men. We sell it in our UK shop. 

As well as these lovely scented candles from True Grace

The travel and gallery boutique now has a warmer and more personal feeling. In the front you can see our sand collection with sand from our resorts, which is significant for all our offices. 

Collette at her new desk

Up Up and Away

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Jose Mariano Lopez Urdiales, the man behind the idea of "Bloon".  The concept is similar to Virgin Galactic and many others about space tourism, but instead of spacecrafts, Jose's vision is to offer near space travel in Helium Balloons - reaching an altitude of 36 km above sea level, giving a perfect view of the Earth as a globe. The expected date of launch is 2013 with latest date being 2015.  The cost of a trip is 110,000 euro and if you are interested, Select Collection is of course able to pre-book this for you.

Here I am together with Jose and Trevor Thomas

Design of the Pod attached to a Helium Balloon

Thousand and one night

La Sultana was my last hotel visit in Marrakech. It’s our favourite boutique style hotel in the Medina and we have a long wonderful relationship with the hotel. I was meeting with Julie Boisseau, who is the Director of Sales and Marketing. She is not just a wonderful person but very professional and we have many great deals and added values coming up for our valued clients.

Stepping into 1000 years of history

Breakfast and lunch are served on the patio by the heated pool

The hotel has not only lots of antiques and art but really comfortable beds as well

A bathrom like a temple

Julie and me had a great lunch on the rooftop terrace. Here you have breathtaking views of the city and the Atlas mountains

Lunch at Dar JL

The last day day in Marrakech I had a lovely lunch with Lisen and John, the owners of Dar JL, and their family and friends.  

Lunch in the private olive garden

Dar JL provides guests with their own private space, pools and gardens.

The ambience of magical Marocco

Here at Dar JL our valued clients will always get attentative service and all the facilities of a small luxury hotel

A Sunny Breakfast

My last breakfast at La Mamounia by the pool was warm and sunny 23 C


Some guests were sunbathing and swimming in the heated pool. Mornings and evening can be a bit chilly this time of the year in Marrakech but when the sun is out it's very warm.

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Intimate Dinner

Last night I was invited for a lovely dinner here in Marrakech by Anya, Gary and Shaun working for one of our African suppliers called: & Beyond.

Restaurant Foundouk in the Medina

Warm greetings when entering

Great food

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Last day of trading

Today is the last day of appointments, which will be 50 all together, plus all the networking that happen in the evenings.

This was the second time I joined Pure and not the last. I have found many unique places, we might consider for the future inclusion in Select Collection.

Experiences from the North...

To the South...

Helge is our expert for Trips into Norway that has been a hit among our valued clients in UK. Have you seen the Northern Lights?

Finally I found my private little island in the Caribbean!

We work with a lovely person called Lisa who has the most beautiful products in Peru, Inkaterra

We cover most of the world

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