Last week my boyfriend and I went on our first overseas holiday together. We've been on a couple of short weekend breaks but this was our absolute first full-blown holiday together. And it was great!

Our day one smiles continued throughout the whole week

I've read a lot of things online - and talked to a lot of friends - that say if you can survive an overseas holiday together, you can survive anything. Long airport queues, jet lag, navigating a new city, being together 24/7 without any respite... all of those things can spell disaster if you don't go into the whole experience with a big smile.

We went to Queenstown for a few days on the snow which, in theory, was a great idea. In practice though I spent a fair chunk of the first two days falling over having never skied before in my life.

So while jet lag wasn't really an issue for us, what was thrown into the mix was the frustration my Type A personality couldn't help but feel at learning a new skill only somewhat successfully.

I won't lie, there were tears - and plenty of them - but even when I threw my goggles and gloves on the snow (yes, I may have had a small tantrum) and wanted to make a hasty retreat to the bar, my boyfriend kept his cool.

He could have easily gotten frustrated too and given up trying to help me master this new skill but his patience meant I was soon back on the snow, albeit the learner runs, and was able to rebuild my confidence and eventually take on some of the longer, more difficult runs.



It wasn't long before we were both having a bit of a laugh about my breakdown and I think that is the secret to any mature relationship - we were able to move on relatively quickly and see my little episode for what it was... utterly stupid.

A lot of articles I've read say travel can really teach you about another person, and sometimes things that you might otherwise have never found out. While I'm not sure either of us learned anything new in particular, what the whole experience did cement was that we make a great team and, in my opinion, that can only bode well for a long and happy future together.

Can't wait for the next one!