The comfy traveller's diaries

Author: anagrabovic18

How coffee can ruin it all
Have you ever stayed in a nice hotel but would never go back there because their breakfast coffee was just too bad? I have. And in fact, the coffee is a serious criterion for me when it comes to rating a hotel.

Shockingly, most of the places I would discount for future stays despite good locations and other good attributes for the simple reason that their coffee was undrinkable were located in heartland of coffee: Italy. A few years back, I travelled to Rome. I stayed in a four-star hotel that seriously only had a coffee machine, the kind of which you would find in a hospital lobby.

It was truly shocking. However, it was not the only such place in Italy I came across. I also managed to find another four-star hotel in Milan that was similar in that regard (the one close to the hair salon I told you about two weeks ago). The hotel was actually very nice, had a great location and nice staff, but I just could not get over the coffee. For me, my morning coffee is the most important event of the day. It is non-negotiable, and it needs to be a good, strong, flavoursome latte or cappuccino; and from a four-star hotel that charges a couple of dozens of Euros for breakfast, I also expect excellent foam on a barista-made coffee and not something I have to get out of a 1990s machine. Call me high-maintenance, but I really cannot accept that. It’s not like I am asking for champagne.

Another coffee-related ‘won’t go there again’ criterion I apply to hotels is the in-room coffee situation.

Don’t get me wrong, back in the day when I could barely afford a 3-star hotel or bed and breakfast, I was very happy if there was a clean kettle and a few sachets of Nescafé (or the local spin-off) in the room. It is completely fine and acceptable for that category of hotel and at least it woke me up. What I do not find acceptable though is when you are staying at a higher category place and you cannot even make yourself an espresso in the room. After all, you should get what you pay for.

Recently, I stayed in a four-star hotel in Mallorca – with a 5-star price minus the service – that offered exactly that. A kettle and an IKEA mug (the kind you find abandoned in the office kitchen) with one sachet of local Nes and no spoon to stir it in sight. I honestly could not believe it. Worse yet, when I checked out after having had my “big breakfast” as they called it, the lady honestly told me: “I see you had one additional coffee for breakfast [Yes, I tend to drink two, especially when there’s none in the room] … But it’s OK, I’ll gift it to you.” I was gobsmacked. I literally paid an arm and a leg for the night and here she was counting my coffees. It wasn’t the lack of service, the ineffective aircon, lack of toiletries or sub-par restaurant recommendations that got me about this hotel; no, it was the coffee remark that immediately made me think: Bye-bye, hotel, you will never see me again.

During that stay in Spain, I moved to another hotel the next day. Initially, because I had had a change in dates for my trip, but also because the first hotel I stayed at was just terribly overpriced. The second hotel wasn’t much better when it came to their coffee-rating. There was no facility, not even a kettle in the room and the breakfast coffee (yes, from the infamous hospital lobby machine) was so undrinkable (thin and sweet somehow and that’s your black coffee with no added sugar button) that I will not choose this hotel next time I go. It’s a shame, because many other aspects of it were actually good.

Isn’t it the simple things like that, or at least things I believe could be very simple that make or break a hotel stay for you? I really do not understand why so little attention is paid to this aspect of hospitality, especially in countries with an excellent coffee culture. For me, great coffee can easily take a hotel from 6 out of 10 to 10 out of 10 points and the bad coffee can do the exact opposite. In fact, it is so important to me that when I started upgrading the kind of accommodation I would stay at, I would check whether the hotel had an in-room coffee machine running on capsules and save on breakfast altogether, bringing a pack of oatmeal to get me going in the morning and shaving off a good 30€+ a night from the grand total. Just the coffee was the non-negotiable part in it. In most European cities you would anyway want to try the local bakeries and buy a croissant for less than a tenth of the breakfast charge while being happily caffeinated. It was the best deal for me at the time and one that allowed me to go to nicer hotels when my budget was tight.

As my employment situation improved and travel budgets grew out of the student years, I have become a huge fan of hotel breakfasts. They can really make you feel like you are truly on a holiday, but coffee still plays the biggest role in them for me.

And while you cannot know the coffee situation in the breakfast room before you book, you can scan the pictures and read the small print to find out whether there’s at least a machine in the room that will take you from sleepy to happy in the morning! Just don’t over-do it. You might be allowed only one 🙂
27.07.2025
It’s all about the location
Location is everything. It does not mean that you need to have a direct view on a sparkling Eiffel-tower. Or not necessarily. No, when I say location is everything, I am talking about a lot of different factors that make a hotel right for me. Location is what makes your stay comfortable in a way that serves you, your needs and the occasion. Christmas 2019 I spent in Athens with only one part of my family, as the other part could not make it to Europe that year. I went for the Acropolis view and proximity to the main cathedral and city centre, because it made sense for the occasion.

But, last winter, for instance, I took my mum on a trip to Istanbul, as it is her favourite city and she had just completed a serious milestone in her life that needed to be celebrated in style. I chose a beautiful, luxurious hotel with all the amenities we wanted. The room was spacious (with the twin beds at a nice far distance of each other! Not a given unfortunately!), the coffee was amazing and the food wonderful. The hotel had different restaurants, a fantastic gym and an indoor pool. Yet, the location was a disaster. Not because the view was bad or anything like that, but because it was so awkwardly located next to several highways looping up the hill, that there was no way it could safely or comfortably be reached on foot from the riverbank that was only a stone throw away. We were entirely dependent on taxis, which unfortunately sometimes proved to be more stressful than I like to recall, with most drivers unable to understand and speak English and one driver, after I had shown him the hotel address on a hotel business card about 3 times already, taking us down the highway to God knows where. It was a very scary moment, especially when you find yourself at the mercy of that driver who you cannot even communicate with. We were able to get him to turn around and eventually made it back to the hotel, but I would have preferred to skip this experience in my life. The take-away of that story for me was that I completely failed at choosing a good location and it won’t happen to me again.

Similarly taxi-related a.k.a. avoiding to have to sit in the car of a stranger is how I like to choose hotels in big cities now (through lots of trial and error). And this is why I want to share these tips with you. Some cities, such as Milan or London have an excellent tube or rail connection to the airport that will relieve you from having to be stuck in a taxi (and traffic) at an exorbitant price when you can just as well take the tube. In Paris, I can also recommend that when it comes to arrivals by train (Gare du Nord, for example); personally, I am not a big fan of the rail connection to Charles de Gaulle airport and try to avoid it where possible.

The key here is to choose your hotel location wisely, based on the metro lines. What you want to avoid is to have to schlepp your suitcase through different line-changes. It will not be comfortable and you won’t get there looking cute but rather like a sweaty mess, which is not a look I recommend going for under any circumstance. You’ll have to keep it basic. One line, no changes or a maximum of one change.

This works exceptionally well for me in Milan, London and Paris. It obviously does not work if you bring more than one big suitcase.

Another question you have to ask yourself is what you value most (unless you don’t need to look at price tags and can stay at the Ritz or Plaza Athene). Do you need a Duomo view in Milan or would you rather have a spacious room? Some years back, I travelled on a rather tight budget but was able to find a really good deal on a room of a four star hotel chain located somewhat far from the city centre. However, the same budget would have only gotten me something truly awful closer to the centre. So, I chose the far-out location instead.

There was a direct tram to the Duomo, and it was the beginning of September which meant the days were still reasonably long and I felt safe travelling by tram in the evening. Since I had no shopping budget, I also did not have the issue of having to leave things or bags at the hotel throughout the day. It was a wonderful choice. I saw so much of the city simply by way of the tram ride. I also enjoyed a beautiful, huge room, a fantastic hotel gym (not easy to find, I am telling you) and all the amenities of a good hotel normally out of my price league. It was great.

So next time you book, ask yourself what it is you value the most and start your search accordingly. If money isn’t an issue, go for it and get that Duomo view and a private car pick-up from the hotel, but if you enjoy luxury more than your wallet allows (like myself), you got to start somewhere and make smarter choices in getting the most out of what you can afford. And sometimes, it is truly not only about the money. For me, it has a lot to do with my peace of mind and I would take the tube/subway/metro ten times over having to sit in a car alone with a stranger.

It took a few years and trips, but for Milan, I have now found my perfect match: The Radisson Collection hotel in Santa Sofia with direct metro access (M4) to Linate airport in the front of the hotel, excellent breakfast and coffee, a reasonable gym, very kind and friendly staff, and located not too far from the Duomo (with a direct tram).

In London, I like to stay at the Royal Garden Hotel on Kensington High Street, as it is well connected to everywhere, including the airport, and right on the edge of beautiful Hyde Park where I like to recall my student days going for a morning run.

None of my recommendations are sponsored. They come from the heart and are the result of lots of trial and error.
20.07.2025
The art of dining alone
Chapter 2: Getting started

If you have followed my blog and read chapter 1 published the week before last you will have understood that for many years of travelling, I did not muster up the courage to go and dine out alone. I felt judged, stared at, or worse even: pitied.

Don’t get me wrong, at times these feelings still creep up depending on the environment I find myself in, but in general I have learned to just let other people mind their own business while I mind my own.

And this brings me to what I want to reflect upon today. In my opinion, the environment and circumstances in which you find yourself matter very much. For instance, I find urban dining much easier than say beach location dining. Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule, but I am just speaking about my own experiences here anyway. I have come to this particular realization after some not-so pleasant meals by the beach during summer vacations. To me, being in a more urban environment makes it easier, as dining is more of an everyday business affair rather than an event in itself which it often is when people take a break by the sea. I think by now, I have a few tips to share about how I managed to transition from in-room meals to venturing out and eating in a restaurant by myself.

If you are struggling with this situation, too, I think you need to start out easy and make it as comfortable as possible for yourself. My advice would be to start with eating in the hotel restaurant where you are staying. In my opinion, it is the easiest kind of “situation” because you don’t need to take transport, and chances are there are other solo diners owing to the simple fact that hotels have business travellers.

I had very good experiences at various hotels I have stayed at, but on the top of my head I can think of hotel Alfred Sommier in Paris and the Fairmont hotel in Amman, Jordan. The latter has an excellent steakhouse and a Lebanese restaurant.

Sure, going down for dinner isn’t much of a move, but this is the entire point. It will be a good starting point and much better than sitting in your room eating in front of the TV in your PJs.

Level 2 would be to stay local and try a bistro or restaurant close by the hotel. Usually, these places – in Paris for instance – are lunch and dinner places and very unfussed. If you are travelling in summer, most of them will have a terasse or a few tables out in front, where you can engage in some Parisian-style people watching, which is a wonderful way to make dinner for one more entertaining.

I can recommend a few bistros close to the Champs de Mars in Paris, such as le Café Picquet on Avenue de la Motte Picquet or Le Pierrot for that purpose, but generally speaking, there are so many similar ones in Paris – just give it a try. I only mention these here because I have been there, tried them, and liked them, not because they are particularly fancy, special or outstanding. Sitting on a terasse facing the street is in my opinion a perfect setting for a solo-dinner.

In the same vein I can recommend Zum Schwarzen Kameel in Vienna centre, which is a bar, bistro, restaurant with a rich tradition and equally a place for apéritif. It is basically open all day and has a beautiful outdoor sitting area in front.

You can go for breakfast, lunch or dinner as it is always busy and popular. Maybe you want to start with an afternoon drink and transition into dinner. I have been there on different occasions and it is very popular with the locals for after work drinks. You may have to queue for a bit, but to me that is just a sign of excellent quality.

Vienna is a safe and beautiful place to stroll, and I really urge you to explore the local options when you are there, and not just for cakes!

Another way of easing yourself into the habit of dining out alone is going to a mall. In Dubai for example, I have had great dinners in some of the many restaurants in the mall where you just join one of the other shoppers stopping for a bite. There are way too many options to list here, but one place I find very easy (no matter where) is the Japanese chain Wagamama, which is also a great option for London, Amsterdam or Copenhagen.

It can of course be daunting and boring to eat on your own, but I really think that it is an act of self-respect to put on some nice clothes and get yourself out there to partake in adult life instead of hiding in the room.
13.07.2025
Dear hotel, what is with the hair-dryer?
Unfortunately, my day job has not really elevated me to the level where I can stay in hotels that offer a top-notch hair styling device in their rooms. And even more unfortunately, it appears that even if your budget isn’t too humble, you are nevertheless perpetually suspected of stealing a hairdryer, because why else would most hotels still use these apparatuses that are attached to the wall? Whenever I see one of these, I am stunned. I thought we had out-grown the 80s. I mean, I might as well put my hair into an air-fryer. The other very popular variant is the slightly more advanced model with its unreasonably short and not very bendable cord that literally weighs 5 kg. Although I am into weightlifting, I don’t feel like that one-sided expander-style overhead hold for 30 minutes, because this is literally how long it will take to get my hair to the state of being dry. And the frizz will be real.

I have been wondering again and again, why it is that hardly any hotel I have ever stayed at had a semi-decent hair dryer. Do people really steal them? And don’t even get me started on the shampoos and conditioners. It really strikes me as a serious conundrum. The same is true for gyms actually. Why do gyms and hotels inherently suspect their clients and customers of kleptomania? And who advises these people? Let me tell you, I would be a much happier guest if I could wake up with good hair.

The consequence, of course, is that I stopped travelling light. I just do not appreciate a bad hair day. I always have to bring half a salon to get my dry, coarse and wavy hair (of which I have a lot) into somewhat of a shape. In some places, like Serbia for example, your best solution is of course to just go to a salon and get a blow-out. But in most western European cities and capitals that is just not a thing. I did it once in Milan and was incredibly happy with the result. I was actually just killing time until my room was ready and walked past a random salon in the neighbourhood. Getting a blow-out seemed like a perfect use of my time. So, one piece of advice would be to just go to a salon, but otherwise, just over-pack for your weekend trip like I do.

In fact, going to a hair salon in a foreign country or city is really enjoyable. I think these kinds of non-touristic everyday places really tell you a lot about the culture and people. The way people treat and blow-dry your hair really tells you so much about a culture and beauty standards in that country – something I find inherently intriguing. I loved my Italian blow-out, but nothing will ever come close to Belgrade, the capital of hair. You can walk into any salon and you will walk out looking like a Hollywood star getting ready for her red-carpet event. And it will just be a regular Saturday, because this is just how Belgrade rolls.

I also had some good hair moments in Jerusalem, however, they cost as much as a six-month subscription to a Serbian salon.

So, now when I travel (to anywhere other than Belgrade) – and very often these are long-weekends – I simply have to overpack just to accommodate my hair essentials. Over the years, I have, however, perfected the art of ‘what to bring’ and usually confine myself to my trusted hair straightener, and my own shampoo and conditioner and/or mask that can be used as a conditioner in a travel size package (check out my packing essentials reel on Instagram If you like). The latter is an absolute must, because I think unless you are able to afford the Ritz, you’ll likely be stuck with a 2 in 1 designed for male business travelers with thinning hairlines. And the straightener can usually fix the mess the sub-par hairdryers create.

Better yet though: next time you travel, just walk into a salon and ask for a blow-out. I guarantee you, you will love it!
06.07.2025
The art of dining alone
Part 1 – An act of self-respect

Here it is. Probably one of the most controversial solo-travel topics. How or if to dine alone. It is not only a controversial topic, but, in my humble opinion, also a very complex topic and definitely not one that I have fully mastered or conquered. A little disclaimer at the beginning of the blog post: I am not a psychologist nor do I pretend to be one. I am a just a human being, a woman in her early 40s who has experienced her fair share of dinners for one; and I am not talking about business trips or lunch (a topic I intend to tackle another day). I am talking about going out for dinner on hedonistic travel adventures.

I want to divide my many thoughts on this topic into different parts and blog posts and today, I decided to start with part 1, or chapter 1 if you like: The basics.

As humans, we need to feed ourselves on a daily basis. Typically, we divide our daily meals into breakfast, lunch and dinner. This applies during work days, but also, of course, while travelling. In fact, immersing yourself into a foreign cuisine and experiencing another culture through food is wonderful, yet I hear – and sometimes feel – it to be a daunting thought to walk into a restaurant alone. I would assume that this applies to both men and women, but, I would still argue that there is more stigma attached to a woman dining alone.

When I started to travel by myself, I think it was in 2010, when I got dumped by a boyfriend but did not see a reason to cancel my trip to Istanbul, I found it very difficult to muster up the courage to go and eat alone. I would confine myself to lunch – less weird, I thought – and stick to the touristic places nearby my hotel. Did people stare at me? Yes, they did; mainly women, mind you. Did I have a great experience? No, I did not. Did I experience the wonderful breadth of Turkish cuisine? Of course, I did not. Did I feel good about myself? No. Did I enjoy my dinner? Absolutely not. And you know why? Because I was obsessed with what other people thought; the waiter, the guests, the passers-by.

It is fair to say that, from this moment on, I dreaded dining out alone and I would rather sit in my hotel room than to ask for “a table for one, please”. For several years and many trips thereafter, I would buy something in the supermarket and eat it in my room, watching television. It was sad. But that’s what it was. Especially because I could not really effort nice hotels, which made the entire thing even sadder because the rooms were pretty basic and drab.

So, what changed? At some point, my mindset just changed. I had had enough of sad in-room dining and I thought: do I respect myself so little that I confine myself to the room just because someone could stare at me? So, what? Let them stare. I am a grown up, and who cares what people think about me. Do I ever really care what people think of me? No, I don’t. Will I ever see these people again? I probably won’t either. Why then should I deprive myself of the opportunity to go out, to dine and to experience the evening atmosphere in whatever place I am at? In my opinion, you should not give importance to what strangers – or in fact your peers – think about your dinner habits. Respect yourself, love yourself enough to understand that you deserve a table in that restaurant just as much as all of those couples and families do.

And you know what? I have also been told by friends who are in relationships how they think I am so brave to do that. Why brave I ask? Isn’t it sad? Do I need a second person to tag along to deserve a spot in a restaurant?

Sure, it’s nicer to dine with someone, because you can exchange experiences and talk about your impressions, but I have equally seen so many couples sitting in silence or staring at their phones.

It does not take a friend, a husband, a fiancé, a child, a niece, a parent or whomever for you to have permission to go dine. You simply owe it to yourself, because you are worth it on your own.

Go and ask for that table for one, and don’t accept the one in the corner next to the ladies room at the back. Claim your spot; one with a good view.

To be continued
29.06.2025
A little bit of Paris

The other day, my sister in-law asked me whether I would have some recommendations for food and pastries in Paris, since a good friend of hers was visiting the city of light very soon. I immediately jumped at this opportunity, although I was incredibly busy at work. But we are talking Paris. I’d drop anything to be reminiscing about Paris. In the last couple of years, I have been to Paris on a number of occasions and I also always preferred the Air France flight to Paris from Tel Aviv over any other flight that would bring me to Europe in summer. Arriving in the French capital from what felt like a nasty red eye, I loved strolling around a deserted August Paris, doing some sales shopping and enjoying the café culture. I have since left the Middle East and now tend to travel to Paris by train, but Paris still remains a constant travel destination for me.

As I was thinking about restaurant and pastry places, I realized that there are a few places in particular that I appreciate very much. Most of these are, however, morning/afternoon kind of places.

I haven’t really been dining out much in Paris, although there is a very cute Japanese Ramen place near the Opéra that I can highly recommend for a hearty dinner. It’s called Takesan Donabe Ramen on 20 Rue de la Michodière, just off Boulevard de Cappucine. They do not take reservations, so you’d have to just show up. Apart from the ramen being really nice, I very much liked the vibe of the place. There were all kinds of people and all kinds of age-groups at the restaurant.

I am very used to my early morning routine of getting up at the crack of dawn and working out before I do anything else in life, so by the time dinner time rolls around I have usually completed another 17 to 20k steps wandering around this beautiful city and ate too many pastries to justify a full-on dinner. That’s why I tend to have mostly pastry places and bistro lunches in my repertoire.

So, let’s start with the sweet things:

La Durée is kind of a must. I have been to the one just off Rue Saint Honoré on Rue royale and another opposite the Jardin du Luxembourg on 4 Place Edmond Rostand, off Rue de médicis – near the Luxembourg Metro station. If you only want to get take away, both of them are great, but if you want to sit in style, I would recommend the one on Rue royale, as they have a tea salon upstairs. I have been to the Luxembourg store in autumn, and got a take away coffee cup and my macarons on a paper tray even though I was sitting on the terrace, so it felt a bit like McMacaron and not exactly what I had in mind. (As a gym girl, I like to celebrate the calories I consume).

Apart from macarons, I also love a good tartelette, especially those with raspberries. I would even boldly claim that this is my all-time favourite French pastry treat. To be perfectly honest, tartes aux framboises are amazing from almost any patisserie, but I particularly like the ones from Eric Kayser patisserie. This is a chain and I have been to the Rue du bac and Rue du commerce shops. On Rue du bac you can also eat in.

If you make your way to Rue du commerce, I can also recommend the L’Atelier du Chocolat, which is a chocolate artisan; and in any event, Rue du Commerce is a beautiful, chilled street with a little square and its own Metro station. It is just worth going there for a bit of Paris atmosphere and shopping without the crowds. I would recommend starting your stroll down this street from La Motte Picquet/Grenelle metro station though.

I will keep my lunch and morning coffee recommendations for another day. So, please stay tuned.

At the end, I would just like to note that none of the above recommendations are sponsored in any way; they are just honest recommendations from a passionate traveller.

22.06.2025
Café con leche
Café con leche – probably the first words I learned in Spanish on a trip with my beloved late grandmother. I was 10 years old and she took me to the Island of Lanzarote, to a wonderful luxury hotel where I thoroughly enjoyed myself and stole almost all of the little soap bars we received from room service every day.At breakfast, she taught me how to ask the waiters for things and I clearly remember how she taught me to ask for a café con leche for her. It was a magnificent holiday. My first flight, my first words in a foreign language, reading paper maps in the car while directing her along the road; seeing volcanos and cacti plantations and her buying me my first pair of real Converse All Stars in bright green. I am still obsessed with Converse All Star some thirty odd years later on …

Days like these make me miss my gran very much. I loved travelling with her. Widowed in her early 30s after coming to a foreign country, she was the ultimate role model I could ever have hoped for. I wish she were here with me today, on another Spanish island, ordering café con leche.

I believe that people we love and admire as children often inspire us. And it is only recently that I realized how much my grandmother inspired me to travel and to explore. She was unafraid, interested in culture, food and exploring. She even travelled through Turkey alone, taking the overland buses in the 80s!

This time, I travelled to Palma de Mallorca on my own and because of some commitments, I did not get to explore the island outside of the capital. But what I can definitely say is that I will come back. I have been so pleasantly surprised by how well I was treated in the restaurants asking for a table for one. There was nothing judgmental or weird about it, contrary to many other places I have visited in the past. Nobody made me feel lonely, and that is a feeling that any woman travelling by herself knows how to cherish. I felt safe and comfortable and I am very grateful for that.

If you also love café con leche with maybe something sweet on the side, I can warmly recommend the very cute and old school Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo where the coffee was fantastic and the enseimada absolutely worth it.

I was told about this place by a local and he said I should try the ice cream with an enseimada or cuarto, but to be very honest, I did not love the ice cream. If you like sorbet, it’s definitely for you, but I am more of an Italian gelato kind of girl, so it just did not hit the spot for me. That said, I took strawberry – so maybe the chocolaty-nutty-type of flavours may be different. I will happily check this for you next time I go!
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15.06.2025
About this blog:

Hi there! My name is Ana. I am visually impaired and single. But guess what? I love travelling. I love exploring. I love taking pictures, and I love comfort. And this is why I have called this blog the comfy traveller’s diaries.

Everybody loves comfort, right? But when I am speaking about comfort in the context of travel, I am speaking about the good kind of comfort; not the kind of comfort that keeps you trapped on your sofa with your hand stuck in a bag of crisps.

And this is the entire point of my travel blog: How to leave your mental comfort zone in a comfortable way.

The kind of comfort I am talking about is probably more aptly described or synonymous with “well-being”. How do you travel well? Especially when you are on your own, and when you aren’t able to drive – and therefore – hire a car.

Travel should be fun and beautiful and should make you richer in experiences and memories.

As a (disabled) woman travelling on her own, I have quite a few thoughts about these concepts, as well as past experiences from which I learned in that regard.

So, when I talk about comfortable travel, I talk about making better choices in the way you travel.

Many years of solo-travel have taught me that you do not only pay for things in monetary terms. You pay with your time, your peace of mind, your stress and anxiety levels, your safety, your self-esteem, and yes, of course, with cold hard cash.

With this blog, I want to share tips and experiences on how to travel more comfortably. I want to share thoughts and impressions of my travels. As a solo-traveller, I have a lot of time and opportunity to observe, to learn, and to take in impressions. But being passionate about my travels, I also want to share what I learned.

I would love to be able to reach an audience that appreciates my travel diary, and I hope you are here to stay for that!

Thank you so much,

Ana.

07.06.2025