October 2023. It started in Catalonia, looking out of a window at MANDARIN ORIENTAL BARCELONA. Oh the colour – above – out on the street. 8 a.m. and the day was in full swing.
Later it was Paris, and the joy of seeing how another great European city is also looking fresh and forward. The city was in Rugby World Cup mode and it is moving on, to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Those few days might be best avoided but the rest of the Summer will be jam-packed, Americans, Middle Easterners and Chinese.
And finally, to The Maldives, marvellous Maldives, where year-round luxury resorts are jam-packed, Americans, Middle Easterners, Russians, Indians and Chinese. Oh the colour, the blue of the sky, the deep blue of the sea. Fly over, in the seaplane taking you on from Male to your resort and you look down at a symphony of pale blue circles, shallows in the atoll. It’s marvellous and it’s magical.
