Andy Jefferys

Andy was first introduced to the world of travel at a young age through family trips to the Balearic Islands, Spain and Portugal, and later as a teenage trombonist in Surrey Youth Orchestra, travelling to many destinations in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia as part of their summer tours. Picking up an electric guitar was a revelation, the trombone was forgotten and, as part of an unsigned band, further trips playing to bemused crowds in Denmark and Germany cemented his love of all things European.

Starting his travel career with stints at the Ministry of Defence and American Express, Andy joined the retail division a well-known UK airline as their Rail Supervisor and, while there, made weekly trips to Hamburg to see his German partner (now wife). After 9/11 he decided to leave the UK to live in the north-German city, where he remained for 18 memorable months before the proofreading jobs dried up and the money ran out. Coming back to the UK he settled in Colchester, and after eight years working as a business travel consultant, joined a European rail specialist to concentrate on bookings abroad. He also picked up his guitar again taking the chance to play in Rome and Paris as part of an avant-garde electric guitar orchestra, and holidaying by train to Hamburg, Barcelona and to his favourite destination, Nice, with its scenic side trips on the coastal railway to Antibes, Monaco and Cannes.