We at The They have encountered so many examples of incompetence that it has become ubiquitous. We feel compelled to respond and strike a stand! The escalation of skillful incompetence has risen to such magnitude it distracts and fetters the process of the important things; selecting the correct caviar pairing, determining where to spend winter, ferreting out which invitations to politely decline…. you understand.

For illustration, when recently booking a private aircraft while ours was undergoing maintenance the wrong aircraft was delivered. We expressly ordered a Bombardier BD-700 yet what was delivered was a Gulfstream G650.  When we brought this to the attention of the man wearing his name, he fumbled for words, rustled some papers, turned a few shades of rouge and then pretended to make phone calls. After an excruciating delay in which we were offered water in plastic bottles, the man with the name tag suggested we either take the Gulfstream or fly commercially.

Commercial flying? Like with people? We mean really! How ……common. This event was so trying that we were almost reduced to profanity!

Many rhetorical questions come to mind upon experiencing such rampant incompetence– why would one be proud of perfecting incompetence? Is that truly one’s highest aspiration? How does one reconcile incompetence with its partner… incivility?

Well, dear reader, fear not. We at The They were rescued by competence and quick thinking. Which as you can imagine was difficult given the circumstances. We decided to soothe our frazzled nerves by embarking on our yacht to the next destination. Our plane could meet us at there. As you well know, traveling by sea takes longer than travelling by air. This change of course created a tumult in our schedules. Appointments needed rearranging. Other persons’ people had to coordinate schedules with our people. It was a mess.

This debacle was totally unnecessary had people enacted competently.  This incident was the proverbial last straw in a long list of incompetence encounters. We will spare you, dear reader from the litany of atrocities in which we have been subjected. It might produce nightmares, and we could simply not bear that.

A nice martini aboard our yacht should help calm the nerves.

The craving for respite, the allure of relaxing and doing absolutely nothing thrills us to the core. With all of life’s distractions and stressors the solace that comes with being removed from routines sounds as divine as the whisper of pink diamonds against the skin. With these delicious thoughts in mind, we at The They are here to help, darlings.

We are sharing some of our favorite places for you to reconnect with your peaceful, happy inner self. These are spaces that are as private and luxurious as the feel of cashmere sheets.

BLOOMFIELD LODGE -Cairns, Queensland, Australia

THE CASTLE AT SILVER LAKE – Ocracoke, North Carolina, U.S.A.

DESROCHES ISLAND RESORT -Seychelles

HOTEL ARCTIC -  Ilulissat, Greenland

LONGITUDE 131° - Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia’s Northern Territory

MAGIC MOUNTAIN LODGE - Región de Los Ríos, Chile

MY TAILOR IS RICH - Arles, France

PALACIO DE SAL - Colchani, Potosi, Bolivia

PETIT ST. VINCENT -Grenadines

TERELJ HOTEL AND TERELJMAA SPA - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

THE ANDEAN COTTAGE - Casa Andina, Isla Suasi, Peru

THE WHITE HOUSE HOTEL - Herm Island, Guernsey, Channel Islands

UTTER INN -Västerås, Sweden

WINTERLAKE LODGE - Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.

WOLWEDANS PRIVATE CAMP -Namibia

You Can't Go Home Again by tlindenbaum

There is so much of the world to see.  Going home is tedious. Rounds of visiting family, acquaintances, and places only to relive sentimental memories of a bygone time. Nostalgia is tiresome.

Nostalgia is a tricky thing. Like a new lover it promises many things it has no intentions of fulfilling. It promises longed for golden memories.

For some it can be recollections of happiness or joy. Yet when most travel down reminiscent highway they realize those warm fuzzy feelings they yearn for dissolve into grief. The landscape may appear as remembered but disenchantment fills the heart felt yearning.

Why allow oneself to be so disheartened? Why suffer the self to experience bittersweet ghosts of a past lifetime?  There is a reason the past is the past. Rather than chase spirits of the past on some self-indulgent ghost hunting rendezvous, allow them to fade as the scenery dissolves in a rear view mirror.

rearview-mirror-mitchell-cateyes

Exorcise any demons floating through the head to return home. The only spirits anyone should allow around them should be the 80 proof kind. Have a cocktail, preferably a martini.

Relive memories while making new ones. Take your loved ones with you and see the world. Travel. See new things. Take your loved ones to a new clime, a new latitude. Watch the sunrise in Monte Carlo, the sunset in Monterey. Breakfast inFiji. Luncheon in Singapore.

Sip tea in Mauritas.

Savor supper inPrague.

We simply do not understand this “following” people. Darlings, we lead.