Podcast: A Lady Well-Travelled | World Travels & Savvy Travel Tips
Host: Shannon Bednarova
Release date: September 28, 2026
Listen on: Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Transcript:
[00:00] Shannon Bednarova: Hello and a very warm welcome to a Lady Well-Travelled.
[00:34] Shannon Bednarova: I’m your host and creator, Shannon Bednarova, and I’m really delighted that you’ve chosen me. If this is your first time joining, let me give you a quick map of where we’re going together today. This podcast is about exploring our magnificent world with eyes that are open and ready to learn. We talk about the places that captivate us and the people who make them unforgettable. The cultures that challenge our assumptions and the history that gives every destination a deeper story.
[01:11] Shannon Bednarova: We taste new foods. We wander down ancient streets. We explore civilizations that shape the world we live in today. And every now and then, we try to find a little bit of magic in the places that other travelers might simply pass by. And of course, I want to share the practical travel tips, the hard learned lessons, and the occasionally painful mistakes that I’ve picked up along the way, because goodness gracious. Wonderful travel should be meaningful and adventurous, but it all should be a little less stressful.
[01:50] Shannon Bednarova: My guest today is a gentleman who has a very interesting background and who came into the world of travel via the world of finance. And he advises clients on how best to invest their savings and retirement accounts for the future. Or at least that’s what he did do. Now, through his years as a financial advisor, he began to see that travel in people’s dreams and family were all tied together, and that making wonderful memories with friends and family around the world on trips was one of the best ways for people to really make investments in their own personal account of life.
[02:39] Shannon Bednarova: So he decided to take what he had learned in the world of investing in finance and start helping people turn their travel dreams into reality. Now, I’m going to let our guest fill you in on all the details, but I certainly hope I’ve piqued your interest somewhat. Ladies and gentlemen, I am so delighted to welcome to A Lady Well-Travelled. Our guest today, Paul Partridge. Welcome, Paul.
[03:11] Paul Partridge: Hey, Shannon. You’re right. I did spend almost 20 years as a financial advisor, and I know it’s a little bit of an unusual career jump. But a big part of my job was helping people prepare for life’s important moments, sending kids to college or retirement or paying off the house. And while doing that, I had another side of life too, which ever since I was in college, I’ve been a writer. And eventually I started getting paid to write about travel and shoot photographs.
[03:50] Paul Partridge: And I’ve worked for The Washington Post in Forbes.com and International Living, among other publications. And along the way, I started to see a connection between the two careers. And the older we get, I think the harder it becomes to get the people that we love in the same place at the same time.
[04:13] Shannon Bednarova: Absolutely.
[04:14] Paul Partridge: Kids grow up, parents get older, friends get busy. So I started thinking, what if for one or two weeks we could create a different world? One where everyone who matters is under one roof and everything else can wait. And we create the moments that make us feel something. The moments that become unforgettable, hopefully. And that’s why I started Travel Villa Guide. I helped families and close friends create one of those rare weeks that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
[04:46] Paul Partridge: A private world where families and close friends come together for life’s most important occasion, whether that’s family reunions or retirement celebrations or milestone birthdays and anniversaries or multi-generational trips. A place where everyone who matters is together and ordinary life can wait.
[05:09] Shannon Bednarova: I love that concept and I absolutely love your story and how you frame travel with those you love as a true investment in yourself and in your own life. So I couldn’t agree more with what you’re doing. How do you get the people with whom you work to begin to understand this concept of travel as an investment in yourself, in your family, in your friends? How do you get them to start understanding that? Especially as Americans, we’re all work work that’s all that matters.
[05:44] Shannon Bednarova: So how do you start building that idea inside of them?
[05:49] Paul Partridge: Yeah, I have a crazy idea and that is that the greatest luxury is time together.
[05:57] Shannon Bednarova: Yes.
[05:58] Paul Partridge: And I think in my own personal path and experience, I found that luxury means something different today than it did maybe 20 years ago. I think back in, I think for a long time, luxury was defined as having more, more fancy stuff, more amenities, more extravagance. And I don’t know about you, but what I want is more time, especially when I’m with my favorite people. I saw a study that some researchers at Harvard had done and they found that having more time can matter more to our happiness than having more things, not more stuff, but more time together.
[06:45] Paul Partridge: And what I’ve seen, whether as a financial planner or as a luxury travel group planner that no matter how much money you have, you can’t buy time, right?
[06:58] Shannon Bednarova: That’s very true.
[07:00] Paul Partridge: Yeah, so the way we look at it is we’re not just planning a vacation, we really strive to create a private world where your favorite people can reunite, disconnect, and share time together in a way that ordinary life rarely allows these days.
[07:19] Shannon Bednarova: I feel it’s never too early to begin making those deposits in your personal account, whether it’s learning that new language, seeing something new, eating new foods, drinking new wines, swimming in that new ocean, whatever it is to feed your soul in that way. It’s good for your health, good for your mind, good for your soul. So in my opinion, that kind of thing is much more valuable than money or other assets that you have, but of course you must have money to travel and to do those things that you like to do.
[08:00] Shannon Bednarova: So will you talk a little bit about your philosophy of using money to travel well, certainly, but also wisely?
[08:09] Paul Partridge: Yeah, yeah, no, great, I’d love to. I think back in my years as a financial advisor and my job was to help families build wealth. We focused on assets, we focused on growing assets and preserving assets and transferring assets, right? And those things obviously matter, right? But over the years, I came to appreciate really another kind of wealth entirely. And that’s having adult children who still want to vacation together or grandchildren who actually know their grandparents or friends you’ve shared decades of life with and still make time for.
[08:49] Paul Partridge: And I was mentioning that Harvard study a little while ago, there’s one called the study of adult development. And it’s the longest running scientific study of happiness ever created. And they reached a surprisingly simple conclusion and that is that good relationships keep us not only happier but healthier. And I don’t think that’s an accident because relationships don’t just happen, they have to be invested in too, right?
[09:21] Shannon Bednarova: Right, absolutely. [Unclear short phrase.]
[09:23] Paul Partridge: Yeah, so to me traveling together is an investment in the people you love.
[09:28] Shannon Bednarova: That’s true.
[09:30] Paul Partridge: And the way I think of it, Shannon, is that over time, those investments become heirlooms. And we usually think of heirlooms as things, watch or a piece of jewelry or something tucked away in an attic or a safety deposit box, something that you plan to leave someone you love and are carefully protected, but they’re rarely brought to life and into our daily lives. But travel heirloom is different. And there was some other research by a guy called Thomas Gilovich at Cornell that found that experiences tend to make us happier than possessions.
[10:12] Shannon Bednarova: That’s very true.
[10:14] Paul Partridge: Yeah.
[10:15] Shannon Bednarova: And very true.
[10:16] Paul Partridge: I think what he also found is that experiences become even more valuable because we relive them every time we tell the story.
[10:25] Shannon Bednarova: That’s right.
[10:26] Paul Partridge: So if you think about holiday gatherings, whether it’s Thanksgiving or whatever, and you gather around the table after dinner and people are talking and someone says, hey, remember when Nana tried flamenco dancing? Or in my family, it’s, hey, remember when Dad tried to swallow fire in St. Lucia?
[10:46] Shannon Bednarova: Wow, okay. Yeah, I wish I’d seen that.
[10:50] Paul Partridge: Yeah, so suddenly everyone’s laughing and then somebody remembers a detail that everyone else forgot and then maybe the grandkids are hearing the story for the very first time and they latch on to it. And then years later, they’re telling that same story to their kids.
[11:06] Shannon Bednarova: I love it.
[11:07] Paul Partridge: And these are the stories that become what I call travel heirlooms.
[11:11] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah, what a great concept that is.
[11:14] Paul Partridge: Well, thanks. Yeah.
[11:15] Shannon Bednarova: I love that too.
[11:17] Paul Partridge: That’s the idea is that the trip might last a week or two but the story can last for generations.
[11:22] Shannon Bednarova: Okay, and it becomes part of the family history and the family lore too.
[11:27] Paul Partridge: Exactly.
[11:28] Shannon Bednarova: Now, I love that you talk about getting people together who enjoy each other’s company, whether that’s family or friends first before you decide on a destination. So what brought you to that conclusion and running your travel company?
[11:44] Paul Partridge: Yeah, well, I’d say why do we travel in the first place? All right, usually most people say, well, it’s to see new places, right? Or experience new things. And absolutely, I love those things too. But the trips that stay with us are not about discovering new places. They’re about sharing them with the people that we love, right? Sharing the view, sharing the meal, sharing the laughter and creating those stories that hopefully will reminisce about years from now.
[12:12] Paul Partridge: And so when we think about a trip, our trips start with different questions instead of asking where are we going, we ask, who’s coming? And then things like, what do you want to experience together and is this the trip where the grandkids finally get to spend a week with their cousin? So are you celebrating a milestone birthday, for example? So once we understand that, matching the experience to the destination becomes much easier, because let’s be real.
[12:44] Paul Partridge: A family celebrating grandma’s 80th birthday is looking for something very different than college friends reconnecting after 10 years.
[12:53] Shannon Bednarova: That’s a really great way to approach travel too, is don’t put the cart before the horse.
[12:59] Paul Partridge: Yeah.
[13:00] Shannon Bednarova: Because you need to decide how old the horse is, first of all.
[13:04] Paul Partridge: That’s it.
[13:05] Shannon Bednarova: And where exactly is the horse pulling that cart? Is the horse going up a mountain or is the horse going down the hill? And I think that’s a really, really great idea. Now when you and I first spoke, we talked about the importance of having the right people together on a trip, certainly, and understanding how they could each do their own thing on a trip without having to be tied together at the hip. Nobody gets their feelings hurt if they don’t have somebody to do something with or everybody has on the same page.
[13:42] Shannon Bednarova: They understand that, hey, I can go to the beach while you go to the museum or while the other folks go and hike up the mountain and everybody gets together a little later on in the day. We all enjoy dinner together in cocktails or whatever it is. And we’re going to spend some great time together, but certainly we’re also going to have time to do what we all enjoy. You told me you have a travel type matching program and how you figure out how to put people together on trips so that everybody has a great time doing what they want to do, but also enjoying the adventures and the excitement of the other travelers as well.
[14:35] Shannon Bednarova: So tell our listeners all about that.
[14:39] Paul Partridge: Yeah, great. One thing, I think that’s obvious to anyone who’s ever traveled in a group is that people have very different ideas of the perfect vacation. For years, I struggle in trying to answer one simple question, which is, how do you plan one trip that makes 12 people happy? And to solve that problem, we came up with the travel type matching, which you mentioned. And what we found is that most people naturally lean toward one of four travel types and sort of like personality types, but in this case, we talk about it in terms of travel.
[15:15] Paul Partridge: So I’ll go through them with you and then you see which one you think you are.
[15:20] Shannon Bednarova: All righty.
[15:20] Paul Partridge: And for someone else that you want to mention is fine.
[15:23] Shannon Bednarova: Now, can I be more than one or do you typically just lean towards being one?
[15:30] Paul Partridge: I think that most of us are a combination.
[15:33] Shannon Bednarova: Okay.
[15:34] Paul Partridge: But what I found is that there’s one kind of predominant one.
[15:38] Shannon Bednarova: All right.
[15:40] Paul Partridge: If that personality or travel type is not satisfied in what’s happening on the vacation, then that person’s gonna be very frustrated and it leads to things like people coming home saying, geez, I need a vacation from my vacation.
[15:57] Shannon Bednarova: Right.
[15:57] Paul Partridge: That’s not something we want. We want people coming home refreshed and recharged and really excited about what they’ve done.
[16:03] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[16:03] Paul Partridge: I’ll give you the four types and then I can tell you which one I am and I’m curious to hear which one you are. So the first one is called immersers.
[16:13] Shannon Bednarova: Okay.
[16:15] Paul Partridge: An immerser is somebody who wants to understand the place inside and out and they’re voracious readers and researchers and they’re the ones reading every museum plaque and they’re asking the guide one more question. Everyone else is looking at their watch saying, it’s time for lunch. And they go, yeah, but I got one more question for the guide.
[16:35] [Uncertain speaker]: That’s the immerser.
[16:37] Paul Partridge: That’s the immerser. The next one is called the adventurers and those are folks who love activity and in fact, they come alive to activity. So if they’re not hiking or kayaking or climbing to the best view, they start to get restless and they’re the folks who are planning their activity and they say, [Unclear phrase] at seven a.m. and they actually mean it.
[17:00] [Uncertain speaker]: They’re going to be ready.
[17:01] Paul Partridge: They’re going to be ready at seven a.m. to get on the bike or get jogging or whatever. That’s the adventurer. The next one is called the experiencer and these are folks that rely on their five senses. They want to see it, taste it, smell it and experience it for themselves. And for a sense of what they’re like on vacation, they’re the ones who wander off and then come back later with a local fisherman who’s been invited to dinner.
[17:32] Paul Partridge: They are anxiously soaking up their environment and sometimes they can surprise you with what they might find. And then the last one is called the relaxers. This one’s pretty straightforward. This is the person that their goal is they found the perfect chair by the pool on day one and they’re still in the exact same spot on day seven and they’re delighted about that. They, whether it’s at the pool or at the beach, they look at it as once they get to the place, it’s a success.
[18:06] Paul Partridge: All right, we don’t have to think about anything else. We’re here, we’re going to just collapse on the beach. Everybody else is thinking, well, we just got here. What are the things that we’re going to do? So as you were listening to those or hearing those, is there anyone that stood out for you?
[18:21] Shannon Bednarova: Well, two of them really stood out for me. The immerser, I was a history major and I’m the one who’s always reading. If I’m not asking the question, I’m reading the plaque or the guidebook to everybody and everybody’s going, oh, Lord, when is she going to shut up? And then the experiencer, I’m the one who always wants to go to the new restaurant or taste the wine or try the food or have the cheese or hey, we need to go and do this class or whatever and learn how to make this art.
[19:00] Shannon Bednarova: So yeah, I would say those two would be my main thing. I do love adventure and I also love sitting at the pool, but I would have to say those two would be my first choices.
[19:11] Paul Partridge: Good, good, good. Yeah, yeah, I’m similarly, I kind of like to experience each of those different things during the course of a trip, but if I had to pick one, I am definitely the experiencer. I get the five senses and I want to sort of smell the flowers, so to speak.
[19:32] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[19:33] Paul Partridge: And yeah, so that’s me. The truth is, like I said, most groups include all four types.
[19:38] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[19:38] Paul Partridge: And the best trips give everyone something they’re excited about and then still bring everyone together for the moments that matter. So a lot of our folks that go on these trips, they’ll break into groups during the day. So like, because one of the things that we haven’t mentioned is that we try to, we try to use homes and villas, actually, rather than hotels. Because if you’re in a group of 15 people and you’re in a hotel, the hotels separate the group.
[20:10] Paul Partridge: You’re on different floors, you’re in different rooms, just trying to get people together for breakfast is a nightmare. You’re texting and, hey, has anybody seen [unclear name]? It’s just, right? It’s just.
[20:22] Shannon Bednarova: You know, I’m hungry and there’s Stephanie and them and I don’t see anybody and I’m ready for coffee. Where is everybody?
[20:32] Paul Partridge: Yes, even worse is when you’re at a resort or something and say, hey, let’s everyone go out to the pool and you go out to the pool and all the chairs are taken.
[20:39] Shannon Bednarova: [Unclear short reply.]
[20:40] Paul Partridge: And you’ve got 15 people standing there with towels in their flip flops going, now what do we do?
[20:45] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[20:46] Paul Partridge: So a house or a villa, let’s everybody be under one roof and you get to have coffee together in the morning. You get to sit by the pool whenever you want. The pool is all yours. Nobody who isn’t with your group crosses the threshold once you arrive. And you get to spend all that quality time together. And that doesn’t mean that we don’t break off and do different things. Let’s say we have breakfast together in the morning, then one group can go to the museum, one group can go to the beach, one group can sit by the pool, whatever.
[21:20] Paul Partridge: And then when you have get everyone together for dinner at night, first of all, you can sit around the same table. You don’t have to worry about, oh gosh, can we get a reservation for 15? We can. So you’re around the same table, dinner goes as long as you want and you can tell the stories of what happened in your day and share the different stories. So it just kind of makes it a different kind of trip.
[21:45] Paul Partridge: It’s a trip again about the people, right?
[21:47] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah, I love that. And you and I talked about what was the difference between using Airbnbs and Vrbos and the pros and cons of those and using villas that you personally and your company have vetted that makes your choice of staying in specific locations so special because things that set them apart from other rentable houses or villas. So tell me a little bit about that because I was intrigued when you were talking about the benefits of these villas that you have really gone out of your way to find for the people that you work with and what sets them apart from other rentable properties.
[22:40] Paul Partridge: Maybe the best way to explain this is imagine if you just rent a house, if you go, whether it’s Airbnb or Vrbo or whatever and believe me, I’ve rented plenty of both.
[22:52] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[22:53] Paul Partridge: You pull up to the house, everyone gets out of the car, someone finds the key. And as you slowly open the front door, yeah, I don’t know if you feel like me, I kind of have like one eye open, one eye closed kind of like squinting, trying to look in and I’m thinking to myself, please, please, please let this be as nice as the pictures.
[23:10] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[23:11] Paul Partridge: And I think that kind of is a familiar feeling that people have when they rent a vacation home online, everything looks beautiful in the photos because that’s easy, but there’s a big difference between looking beautiful online and actually working well for your group. I heard this story from another travel advisor, this family that they went to Tuscany to celebrate grandma’s 85th birthday. And when they arrived at the house, they were a little bit shocked to discover 53 steep stone steps between the driveway and the front door.
[23:53] Paul Partridge: And they had to try to figure out how to get grandma up those steps.
[23:57] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[23:58] Paul Partridge: And that’s the kind of thing, you know, you can’t tell from a listing online.
[24:03] Shannon Bednarova: That’s true. A lot of times you can’t.
[24:05] Paul Partridge: You can’t. So that’s why every villa and home that we recommend gets vetted and inspected beyond the photographs, right? The layout, the location, the accessibility, the privacy, the noise, what’s going on next door, right? Everything that matters, everything that matters, once your group walks in that front door, you don’t want any unpleasant surprises, you just want everyone saying, wow, this place is even better than we expected, right? That’s the reaction that we really want. And one other thing that I think that we do, that kind of, I say, it protects your vacation.
[24:43] Paul Partridge: And that is that we make sure that each property comes with local concierge support.
[24:52] Shannon Bednarova: Okay.
[24:53] Paul Partridge: So most people when they think of a concierge, they say, oh, well, it’s somebody who makes dinner reservations or maybe books tickets or arranges a car. And yes, they do all those things and ours do those things as well. But to me, that’s not where the greatest value lies, because to me, a concierge is like having a local friend who’s done all the homework for you, right? They speak the local language. They know the local customs.
[25:18] Paul Partridge: They help you get settled. And if something isn’t quite right, they’re there to take care of it. So if you’re the person who planned the trip, it’s always someone in the family is always the planner.
[25:31] [Uncertain speaker]: And sure.
[25:32] Paul Partridge: This person doesn’t get to enjoy the vacation because they’re always on call.
[25:37] Shannon Bednarova: They’re always, yeah, they’re always fixing the problems for everybody else, you know, the complainers, because they’re always complainers too.
[25:46] Paul Partridge: Right. Yeah, they’re arranging things to happen the next day or they’re trying to fix stuff that happens. I mean, if you imagine if you rent a house, especially this past summer, for example, imagine you rented a house in Greece in its July and it’s 105 degrees and you arrive and you go to turn on the air conditioning and it doesn’t work.
[26:10] Shannon Bednarova: Right.
[26:11] Paul Partridge: Now you’ve got 15 people in a sweltering house looking at you going. What’s up? How are you going to fix this?
[26:19] Shannon Bednarova: That’s right.
[26:20] Paul Partridge: If you’re an Airbnb or VRBO, you don’t even know who the owner is.
[26:25] Shannon Bednarova: Right.
[26:26] Paul Partridge: You don’t know where the owner is. I mean, that owner could be in London or Paris or Idaho, you have no idea. So number one, you have no idea. Number two, you don’t speak Greek. So it’s not like you can pick up the phone and call somebody for help. So that’s two strikes. And then let us assume that you can track down the owner and it’s Friday afternoon. That owner is not going to find anyone to come even look at the problem until earliest, Monday or Tuesday of the following week.
[26:59] Paul Partridge: And then they’re going to go back and forth between what needs to be done. Do I get the replacement part? Do I do this? Do I do that? Next thing you know, you’re six days into a seven day holiday. It hasn’t been fixed. Everyone’s been miserable. And you’re trying to figure out what just happened. So having somebody who you can say, excuse me, Judy, the AC isn’t working. We’re going to the beach. Can you have that squared away?
[27:28] Paul Partridge: So it’s working by the time we get back. It’s just nice to be able to let somebody else handle that and get that squared away real fast.
[27:38] Shannon Bednarova: Sure. And that’s a great benefit to have. It’s always nice to have somebody, at least, that you can talk to.
[27:45] Paul Partridge: I read an article in, I think it was Travel + Leisure last year, Shannon. And it was an interview with the CEO of Airbnb. And the question that he was asked was, what’s the number one biggest complaint from people who rent an Airbnb home? And to his credit, he answered, honestly, I can only assume that he said the number one complaint is this is not what we expected.
[28:15] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[28:16] Paul Partridge: Listen, I’ve had plenty of good experiences too. I don’t want to dwell on the bad.
[28:21] Shannon Bednarova: Far more good experiences than bad. I’m not badmouthing them whatsoever, but just kind of setting you apart for what you offer with your company.
[28:34] Paul Partridge: So, and I always say, yeah, me too. And the other aspect to it is what we’re talking about today is group trips.
[28:44] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah, absolutely.
[28:46] Paul Partridge: And that’s when it really comes in. I mean, if I’m just traveling, it’s just my wife and I, and we’re going somewhere.
[28:51] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[28:52] Paul Partridge: The hot water’s not working. Well, we can get over that. It’s perfectly okay. But like I said, when you have 10 or 12 or 15 people that are counting on you to, you know, to find, to have this place and bring everybody there, it’s a different story. You don’t, you just, you just want to make sure that you tilted the odds in your favor.
[29:15] Shannon Bednarova: Solidly.
[29:16] Paul Partridge: Everything’s going to be fine.
[29:18] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah. So that’s a great segue to my next question. What are the top mistakes that you see when you’re working with Americans that are planning a group trip abroad? A great big dream trip for the whole family or old friends from college?
[29:36] Paul Partridge: Yeah.
[29:36] Shannon Bednarova: What are the biggest mistakes that you see them making?
[29:40] Paul Partridge: Yeah, I think the three biggest ones I would say, I think we’ve covered two of them. One is planning the trip around the place instead of the people. I think that’s number one. I would say defaulting to a hotel instead of considering a home or a villa. And then the third one I would say is, is not leaving room for unplanned moments. I’m guessing you feel the same way. My experience is that the best moments on a trip are almost never on the itinerary.
[30:10] Shannon Bednarova: Right. Right.
[30:11] Paul Partridge: We can schedule a wine tasting or a cooking class, but you can’t schedule the moments that people are still talking about years later.
[30:19] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[30:20] Paul Partridge: And if I may, I’ll give you a quick little example of that happened with our family and a multi-generational heritage trip we took to Sicily and we were going to visit my mother-in-law’s ancestral hometown of Cammarata in Sicily. And our concierge connected us with a local guide who actually was friends with the mayor of Cammarata. So when we arrived in town, the mayor was there waiting for us. And he had arranged this incredible welcome.
[31:00] Paul Partridge: And he took us to the town hall. The local newspaper was there with a photographer. And he spent the entire day walking us around the village, showing us where our ancestors had lived and introducing us to people who still remembered the family name and watching our kids experience that part of their history for the very first time. You know, none of that was on the itinerary. And it’s impossible to manufacture moments like that. We can only create that kind of environment where they have a chance to happen.
[31:34] Paul Partridge: And when I look back on the best trips that we’ve helped create, they all have something in common, which is we didn’t necessarily create the memories. We created the space.
[31:46] Shannon Bednarova: Yes.
[31:46] Paul Partridge: A space to reconnect.
[31:48] Shannon Bednarova: Things to happen, yeah.
[31:50] Paul Partridge: Yeah, space to slow down, space to reconnect, space for stories. And conversations that just never seem to happen at home, right? Sometimes space for those moments that no one could have planned.
[32:03] Shannon Bednarova: I totally agree with that. I often say to people, don’t over plan. Leave yourself some time, sometimes just walk around. Some time to go sit in a cafe and watch the world go by and drink an Aperol spritz or just go meet people or go to a church and listen to the nuns sing at evening vespers. Those are the times where you’re like, wow, this is mind-blowing. This is life-giving and soul-changing. So, yeah, I think that’s great.
[32:40] Paul Partridge: You made me think of another time we had, we were in Paros, on the island of Paros in Greece.
[32:49] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[32:49] Paul Partridge: And the villa that we rented came with a chef.
[32:54] Shannon Bednarova: Nice.
[32:55] Paul Partridge: Yeah, which is amazing.
[32:57] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[32:57] Paul Partridge: It wasn’t anything that we ordered. It was just, if you get this villa, you get a chef. And he was a young guy. And amazing. I mean, we just, actually my brother-in-law, who was with us, is a very, very fine chef in his own right. And we were wondering, oh, is he going to like the other chef’s cooking? And he thought he was just fantastic. And we got along, enjoyed his meals, his company, and I don’t know, five, six days or so.
[33:28] Paul Partridge: He said, I have something I want to ask you all to consider. It would be my great privilege and pleasure if I could show you, bring you to my, our family farm.
[33:42] Shannon Bednarova: Wow.
[33:43] Paul Partridge: And he said, would that be anything you would consider doing? Are you kidding?
[33:48] [Uncertain speaker]: Let’s go. Let’s go. Yeah. Let’s go now.
[33:51] Paul Partridge: So that’s just like, and we had a great time there. It was fantastic. He was so proud to show it, and we were so pleased to see it. It wasn’t on the itinerary. It just, it just happened. And look, we’re still talking about it.
[34:06] Shannon Bednarova: Sure. Perhaps that’s a wonderful, unexpected pleasure that you were open to because you had the time. Now, if I want to plan a trip, but I’m unsure where I want to go. And I know that you said, well, we got to ask those questions and don’t put the cart before the horse and all that. But do you have a few favorite destinations that tend to please just about any group? No matter how old, how diverse, opposite in interests.
[34:44] Paul Partridge: Yeah.
[34:45] Shannon Bednarova: Do you have a few destinations that you could say, my goodness, I don’t care what you’re doing. These destinations will just ring almost any bell.
[34:55] Paul Partridge: Yeah. That’s a tough question because. Oh gosh, I just feel so lucky. I’ve just been able to visit so many wonderful places, but. I’ll tell you there are a few places that. We’ve never sent people to where they come back. Anything but love.
[35:13] Shannon Bednarova: Right.
[35:14] Paul Partridge: And I would say places where you can’t go wrong and that people just kind of melt when they get there. Number one is Italy.
[35:22] Shannon Bednarova: Of course. Italy is just.
[35:24] Paul Partridge: Yeah. Right.
[35:26] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah. I don’t care where. Just. Yeah. Exactly.
[35:32] Paul Partridge: And whether it’s the cities or it’s Tuscany, Umbria, or Perugia, or Puglia, or I happen to love Sicily, I just fell in love.
[35:42] Shannon Bednarova: The Amalfi Coast.
[35:43] Paul Partridge: Right. You just. You can’t go wrong. You can’t go wrong. And it just. You know, as you said, it just checks all boxes. But I would also say that. I feel the same about Portugal.
[35:57] Shannon Bednarova: Uh huh. Love Portugal. Love Scotland.
[36:00] Paul Partridge: Yeah.
[36:02] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[36:03] Paul Partridge: I would say. In Greece, Greece and Ireland were my last two that I would say.
[36:07] Shannon Bednarova: Okay. Got it. Love that too.
[36:10] Paul Partridge: Yeah. They’re all. They’re all just absolute 10 out of 10. And you can’t go wrong no matter what you like to do. We can find it for you there.
[36:19] Shannon Bednarova: Absolutely. Well, great suggestions. I love that. Now, if I am planning a group trip of a lifetime right now for my friends and my family, what would your top recommendations be for me. So that it’s truly wonderful and not a disaster.
[36:39] Paul Partridge: Yeah. So I think when people are planning these things, look, they’re, they’re considered investments, right?
[36:47] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[36:47] Paul Partridge: When I was a financial advisor, success was measured by return on investment. I mean, that was the, that was the barometer.
[36:55] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[36:56] Paul Partridge: And once that gets into your brain.
[36:58] Shannon Bednarova: To your DNA.
[37:00] Paul Partridge: Yeah. You kind of, I can’t get away from that. So when I think of a trip, I think about, well, what’s the return on investment? And it’s something that, again, that we’ve kind of invented. We call it the five year test. And what that means is that five years after the trip, are you still talking about it? And if you are, what are you talking about?
[37:22] Shannon Bednarova: Uh huh.
[37:24] Paul Partridge: And psychologists have done some fascinating research on this. Including a Nobel Prize winner called Daniel Kahneman. I don’t know if you ever heard of him, but he’s done a bunch of studies on this. And what they discovered is that we don’t remember every part of an experience the same way. And we remember the moments that make us feel something.
[37:45] Shannon Bednarova: Sure. That’s how people react to marketing to social media to everything. What makes us feel something.
[37:55] Paul Partridge: Yes. Absolutely. When you feel something, it leaves an imprint.
[37:58] Shannon Bednarova: Right?
[37:59] Paul Partridge: It leaves an imprint. And that’s what turns an experience into a memory. And over the years, I’ve noticed the same thing talking to clients. Whenever someone comes back from a trip, of course, I want to ask them, what’s your favorite memory from the trip? And no one ever says the Eiffel Tower, or no one ever says the Colosseum. Instead, they tell me about something completely unexpected.
[38:26] Shannon Bednarova: Yeah.
[38:26] Paul Partridge: It can be very simple stuff. It’s all what’s personal. It’s what made you feel something. One person told me it was running through Rome with his kids in the rain sampling different gelato flavors every few blocks. That was his memory that really made him feel something. Another woman said it was standing in the middle of the American cemetery in Normandy at sunset. When they lowered the flag and they played taps. She said that was just a moment that she’ll never forget.
[38:59] Shannon Bednarova: Sure.
[38:59] Paul Partridge: And I had another person recently tell me about being in a Irish pub in Galway. And the music’s playing in lots of laughs, good times as there are in pubs in Ireland. And suddenly the music stops and they shush the crowd. And everyone’s looking around wondering what’s going on. It’s like pin drop quiet in the pub. Then you hear the sound of a chair scraping against the wooden floor and a man stands up. Removes his hat and begins to sing.
[39:34] Paul Partridge: And he’s completely unaccompanied. He’s one lone voice singing a heartbreaking farewell song from a parent to a son that they may never see again. And you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck standing at attention. As you try desperately and unsuccessfully to blink away the tears. That’s the moment he remembered most. And what he’s still talking about years later.
[40:00] Shannon Bednarova: Yes.
[40:00] Paul Partridge: We remember what we felt. And just to tie it back together to me, that’s your return on investment.
[40:06] Shannon Bednarova: Absolutely. Well, this has been fantastic. And it’s been a time that’s flown by so much, Paul. So if somebody wants to get in touch with you to talk to you about planning their next or their first amazing trip with their family or friends, what do they need to do to get in touch with you to learn about your website and to reach out to you. Tell us all about that so our audience can find you.
[40:39] Paul Partridge: Certainly, certainly. So let me give you that information now. And then if I may, I have one last thought to share with the audience.
[40:47] Shannon Bednarova: Sure. That’s okay.
[40:48] Paul Partridge: So if something we’ve talked about today resonates with you, I’ve actually put together a free guide. And it’s called The Gift of Time Together. And it’s a simple three step guide to creating unforgettable trips and lasting memories with your favorite people. And you can download it for free at gift.travelvillaguide.com. So that’s gift like in a present gift.travelvillaguide.com. So gift.travelvillaguide.com. If that helps you create stories you’ll be telling five years from now, then it’s done exactly what I hoped it would do.
[41:35] Paul Partridge: So check that out. And while you’re writing that down, I’ll just share one final thought with you. And that is if you’ve been thinking about taking one of these trips, I would say don’t wait for the perfect time. The older we get, the harder it becomes to get the people we love in the same place at the same time. So if there’s a family reunion you’ve been talking about or milestone birthday or anniversary or get away with old friends or maybe a heritage trip you’ve always wanted to take.
[42:08] Paul Partridge: Start the conversation now. Years ago, I had a chance to visit the Galapagos with a group of friends. And I almost turned it down because I was too busy. And I’m so glad that I didn’t because I would have missed one of the most interesting places on planet Earth, by the way. And I also would have missed the chance to swim with sea lions. And I remember that. Talk about something where you felt something. I remember one sea lion swimming right up to me.
[42:40] Paul Partridge: I had goggles on, swim right up to me. Look me straight in the eye and like kind of did something with his head. As if to say, Hey, watch this. And then swam over to my wife jumped out of the water completely over her like something out of a Flipper movie and landed on the other side and came like up smiling. And it was so surprising and wonderful that everyone on the beach just burst into applause.
[43:08] Paul Partridge: It was just an amazing moment. And five years later, I’m still talking about it. You know, it’s not because I went to the Galapagos, right? It’s because I shared an amazing moment with people I love. And that’s my goal for you, right? A week or two where ordinary life can wait and we have everyone who matters under one roof and you feel fully present and fully alive and you’re in the middle of a story you’ll be telling years from now.
[43:37] Shannon Bednarova: Absolutely. Well, I am so delighted that you joined me today, Paul. Thank you so much. And I know our listeners have probably gotten more than they ever thought they would from tuning in today to A Lady Well-Travelled and thank you so much for joining. I hope you’ll come back.
[43:58] Paul Partridge: I would love it. And I really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed sharing stories with you.
[44:04] Shannon Bednarova: Well, thank you. And I’ll sign off now. And as always, you can find me on all streaming platforms. I hope that you’ll refer me to your friends and family and you can reach out to me at Shannon@ALadyWellTravelled.com. That’s Shannon@ALadyWellTravelled.com. That’s travelled with two L’s. And I will look forward to responding to you. And as always again, God created this big, beautiful world out there just for you. Now whether you’re off to the Galapagos, Portugal, Greece, Scotland and Ireland and my goodness, all the wonderful places Italy.
[44:53] Shannon Bednarova: God created all of those just for you. All you have to do is get off the sofa and book that trip and go see it. So until next time, until we meet again here. Bye bye.
