‘I had beautiful adventures’

Pack your bags and go out into the vast world: one should not think about it, the other it is a dream. For example, Lars Bruink, 40, sought adventure and traded his home port of Eindhoven for Spain and eventually the United States. “I’m not really nervous about taking action. I ‘ve felt healthy tension before.“

Lars worked as a broker at Eindhoven until 2009. After the crisis, he was ready for a new challenge. “I already came to Barcelona regularly and thought it was a fantastic city,” he says. So why did I think that? If this turns out to be disappointing, I can always go back! ”

From Spain to the United States

In Spain, Lars met his wife, Cristina. Both are an adventurous couple. “We saw many places in the world from the van. After four years in Barcelona, ​​we were ready for something new. We decided to go to America. There we can go to Christina’s brother. He had a Volkswagen van and we lived until my wife got a job. In the meantime I helped out on the farm. It was a beautiful summer! ”

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Alcohol travel

In the United States Lars and Christina discovered their interest in alcohol. “Christina found a job at a company that focuses entirely on wine tours. The more we talked to the winemakers, the more we realized that there was more to going into a bottle than we thought. We planned more and more of our trips around the famous wine regions and decided to follow the training on it. Six years ago someone suggested Paso Robles, a well-known wine region in California. We fell in love! In 2017 we moved to Paso, and a year later set up our own wine tour company: Toast Tours. ”

Corona in the United States

When the corona virus broke out in the United States, it was a very difficult time for Lars. “This is one of the most stressful years I can remember. We have been locked up here for almost five months. In the end, we can not complain. Many people traveled domestically this year, so we were very busy.”

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Sierra

Lars enjoys a lot of adventures and beautiful moments in America. “I married a wonderful woman, we set up a successful business and made long road trips through a beautiful country. But the best part was the birth of our daughter Sierra (and it’s a bit clich).”

Crochet sandwich with mayonnaise

So Lars is in the right place in America, but he does not completely reject Eindhoven. “I may come back one day. Especially now that we have a daughter: the Netherlands is a wonderful earthly country to grow up in. “In addition, Lars loses Eindhoven. “I especially miss my friends and family, but it also feels like a croquet sandwich with mayo or fries chutney.”