Ms S

England Guru

Many of the moments I hold dear from my time living, working and travelling in England are times where I’ve met lovely people and discovered off-the-radar places. I loved walking, shoulder-to-shoulder, with a native Londoner – a leader in the design world – through hidden neighbourhoods and gardens listening to her impressions of the juxtaposition of new and old in London design. I’ve hiked kilometer after kilometer of the Cotswolds Way – in all sorts of weather – uncovering villages where the only folks at the pub are locals having a ploughman’s lunch and a pint. Up North, in the Lakes District, I joined a historian and illustrator exploring Beatrix Potter’s England to gain a greater understanding of her inspiration and work.

On the trips I plan for my clients, I always try to introduce them to real “insiders” along the way – people who live and work in the areas they’re visiting and can show them the heart and soul of the area. My travelers always want to see the highlights of London, the English countryside, and the Lakes, but they want a different vantage point, a local one. In London, for instance, I know photojournalists and editors, chefs and designers who can expose my clients to places and share experiences that they never would have discovered on their own…including behind-the-scenes access at some of England’s top restaurants.

I was on my first plane at the age of 5 months: a journey from my native Iran to Scandinavia on holiday with my family. Since then, I’ve lived on four continents and traveled to more than 35 countries. I’ll never forget taking a small boat to Italy’s Aeolian Archipelago where you can bathe in sulphurous mud and hike along gorgeous coastal footpaths, my recent safari through East Africa, a family-friendly road trip in Sweden and England, or the idyllic week in a Majorcan villa…travel is in my blood.

After graduating from university with a degree in Commerce & Economics, I was recruited by a Canadian public accounting firm. Soon after obtaining my Chartered Accountant’s designation, I crossed the pond to London and from there on to Cape Town, South Africa on a four-month work project. When I returned to Canada, I took on senior management positions before leaving the corporate world to become Director of Operations and CFO at a luxury tour operator. Since 2003, I’ve been a travel writer and columnist for some of Canada’s top news publications and lifestyle magazines.