The perfect honeymoon

Planning a honeymoon is a huge decision. It's not just a holiday, it's got to be THE BEST holiday you've ever been on.
For six months before your wedding, it's one of the questions you find yourself answering over and over again; on the wedding day you answer it ad infinitum, and then for the six months after the wonderful day you're still answering it!
So the pressure is on. Jamie and I sure felt it. We toyed with tonnes of opportunities - safari followed by a luxury beach break, maybe a hut on stilts on an exclusive desert island, or a far flung adventure to somewhere tucked far away on the other side of the world!
So after conversation after conversation after conversation, we found ourselves deciding not on an exotic location, but somewhere we'd been before - Croatia!
We'd been to the Dalmatian Coast on holiday a few years before and fell in love with it. We even considered tying the knot there, at a beautiful restaurant on the island of Brac, off the coast of Split. So if we couldn't do that (didn't quite fit the budget!), where better than to go for our honeymoon.
Of course, it wasn't exotic, it wasn't a deserted island, it wasn't luxurious. In fact, it was a bit more like the backpacking we never did on the gap year we never had.
But neither of us would never deny that it was utterly perfect. Stunning scenery, hidden coves, sparkling clear sea, restaurants offering perfectly-executed food, and definitely a honeymoon to remember.
The islands off the coast of Split are a hidden gem. Forget the south of France, this is where the millionaires come to play.
Our first stop was Vis - furthest from the harbour of Split and well worth the trip. The island was only opened to tourists in 1989 and it definitely shows. Winding deserted streets mark Vis Town, the capital, while a short stroll led us to a secluded cove for long afternoons of basking in the blissfully hot sun.
A stunning array of restaurants introduced us to Croatian cuisine including fresh seafood caught that day, and the nation's own, beautiful wine. Many a long evening was spent working our way through a bottle or two.
We explored the island on the back of a shiny moped, checking out the deserted paradise, with trips towards the coast leading to rocky inlets, quiet beaches, and perfect places to relax.
The evenings saw yachts lined up as wealthy sea-goers looked for somewhere to moor up for the night.
It's mainly apartments on offer in Vis, including our own special little bolthole overlooking the stunning vista.
It was from the quietude of Vis that we moved to party island Hvar.
If it's gourmet cuisine, upmarket restaurants and bars, cocktails to-die-for and mixing with celebrities, you certainly get a taste of the high-life here.
We arrived the night after Tom Cruise was spotted in Carpe Diem, the island's well-known restaurant and bar - after sailing in on his superyacht. And there's plenty more bars and restaurants to choose from to provide the perfect romantic honeymoon meal. Imagine tucking into a luscious three-course meal in an outdoor piazza enjoying fine wine, fine food and he company of your new spouse.
Fresh seafood meets Italian influences of gnocchi and pasta dishes, while the nightlife will give you plenty of opportunity to wind down after a stressful wedding.
It is from Hvar that you take a tour to the Pakleni Island, a collection of dozens of tiny islands.
We hired a tiny boat and spent the day at sea - just the two of us - for the day. Snorkelling at little coves, lazing in the sun in hidden coves and lunch in a tiny restaurant. We could even have had our first jaunt onto a nudist beach but chickened out!
After the excitement of Hvar, we travelled to a third island, Brac - the home of our virtual wedding. A happy mix of Vis and Hvar, it's quieter than the latter, with more life than the former.
Again, it's all about days of exploring, resting, enjoying the Croatian weather, the warm welcome from its locals, and the vast array of activities, whether action-packed or relaxing, that the diverse island has to offer.
Harbour town Supetar has plenty to offer, including "the" restaurant, but a small jaunt further afield on the back of a feisty quad bike took us to tiny fishing villages boasting villas and luxury apartments perfect for a honeymoon, as well as the obligatory beautiful restaurants.
For a more cosmopolitan feel, Split itself is a stunning city packed with culture in the form of the historic Diocletian's palace, upmarket restaurants and bars, and a revamped promenade. A perfect evening was spent at the city's newest cheese and wine bar - local cheeses and chutneys paired with the country's best wines. Entertainers light up the ruins of Diocletian's Palace in the evenings and nothing was complete in Croatia without the obligatory "slastikarna" - that's ice cream to us Brits!
So, after a blissful two weeks, we returned refreshed, relaxed, happy newlyweds, already talking about the future holidays we'll have.
One day we'll do that safari, we'll travel across the world to far-flung places on amazing adventures.
But we didn't regret for one second choosing a honeymoon that was perfect for us.
Because when six months has passed - which it just has - and the questions have stopped, now it's just us, that's all that counts. The perfect honeymoon for us.

The tougher side of friendship

Friends are great - they bring us joy, love, support, fun and happiness when things are great, and tears, tea and sympathy when things are bad.
They're like a comfort blanket - they're there no matter what. They have to be. It's in the job description. We see it all the time - it's there in the soaps. Denise and Zainab always make up in Eastenders, as do Blair and Serena in Gossip Girl. There's countless films based on enduring friendship against all the odds. And where do we start with literature - how many novels have been written about this wonderful thing.
It's such a strong, great thing, that people marvel at it, want to re-tell it, want to show how fabulous it can be.
But when we love our friends, when we want to protect them, keep them safe, and stop any harm from coming to them, it's not always as easy a task as it sounds.
What do we do when they make decisions we think are wrong? When they go for that person we think is a mistake? When they do things we think are below them?
They say honesty is the best policy, but is it always? Maybe there's a time to hold your tongue, to take a step back. Almost like a parent has to (so I'm told!) when they know their child is about to do something they will regret.
At the ripe old age of 30, I've heard more than one person espouse?? the benefits of "saying what they think". According to some it's acceptable - courageous even - to say what you like, to tell people the "truth" about themselves, their loved ones, they lives, regardless of the consequences. It's the right thing to do.
Well, perhaps it is. What I'm not saying is that people should never have an opinion, that they should never observe, judge, even criticise. We all need that - some of the toughest, and most beneficial conversations I have had with my dearest friends have involved difficult moments of home truths, criticisms, and observations I perhaps didn't want to hear.
But is that license for someone to say what they want? To glibly steamroller through our sensibilities because they want to give their opinion. I don't think so.
Part of friendship is finding ways to say something that you think could help someone, whether they want it or not, but part of it is knowing when they just need to find out for themselves. Of watching what would be a bad move, and being there to pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong, with nothing but support and love.
As a child it was simplified to: "If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," but perhaps as an adult it's not quite so black and white.
One useful piece of advice is this: "A person is master to those words they don't say, and slave to the ones they do".
Put even more simply in another quotable quote: "Be careful with your words. Once they're said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten."
A salutary lesson to all of us, methinks....