My brain is always going with event ideas. Always.
Reading. Researching. Dreaming.
My friend once said, “Joya, you’re always hatching something up.”
While I traditionally host strategy days for women working on their thought leadership in cities, I’m increasingly craving the quiet of the countryside. I already live in a hectic city (New York) and my 50 year old self is seeking more calm.
A big piece of of the 3-day, 2-night itinerary is the cultural immersion piece. I love the inspiration that comes from ejecting women out of their day to day routines and changing contexts. I love the whitespace that’s created for new ideas to bubble up.
So the experiences that accompany the strategy days have to match the level of inspiration I’m looking to stoke in the client.
While I’m in Paris, I’m taking a 2 hour+ train ride to Bordeaux St. Jean to scope out a new retreat location for a future strategy day. I first read about the Caudalie spa in the vineyards of Bordeaux in this article in Vogue. Then I met Meghan Donovan at Dumbo House and read about it on her Instagram.
Cities are easier to navigate for my American clients. But transporting folks to the countryside comes with added challenges. I always scope out the location ahead of time to understand what the challenges are. Here are the steps I took to visit Les Source de Caudelie.
