"It's in the little things."
Ever met the "perfect couple?" We know a couple that not only lights up the room with the way they so obviously care for each other but whose job it is to make planning your travel as delightful as your trip.
Ziza Stojanovic believes, "At the end of the day, it's all about the little things that make you happy." Could that be the soul of romance? For our own summer of love, we asked them to map out a romantic adventure designed to make us all fall in love again. They picked Italy, and a full itinerary is online on Leesburg Lifestyle's Facebook page, but first, we thought you'd like to know in whose capable hands you were placing your heart.
Denis and Ziza Stojanovic met in the late '90s in the Balkans, formerly part of Yugoslavia. Both were in university, he working for a Canadian telecommunications consortium, and she, a waitress in a disco. She was born in Macedonia, he Serbia. When war broke out in 1999, they were separated while Denis worked for an American ambassador for an intergovernmental organization, after which posting he qualified for and accepted political asylum in the U.S. Years later, Ziza tapped him for help in getting a job with his former agency. But, even before their official postings for governmental or non-governmental agencies, travel was just part of their lives.
“Europe was our back yard, and our red passports opened doors for us around the world without a visa,” Denis says. Across the miles and years, the two kept in touch via email and Skype, Denis relentlessly flirting with an oblivious Ziza.
In 2011, a road-weary Denis invited her to meet him somewhere for a vacation. The pair picked Istanbul and enjoyed a week of sightseeing. During their last night together, over a dinner that lasted into the morning, Denis said he really opened his heart, “because it was like a now or never kind of thing.”
Ziza recalls, “We had a wonderful dinner overseeing the Bosphorous, and he told me everything he felt about me and I was like, ‘What?’” Blind to the empty restaurant, Denis finally ended the conversation with a laughing, “Too much to digest?” They parted to contemplate.
Back home, Ziza missed him immediately. “It was like all of the pieces of the puzzle fell together. Being with him felt right. I am myself when I’m with him, so I don’t have to pretend or be something that I’m not.”
She was 36, and he was 37. For the better part of a decade, they've worked together daily in the complex, “problem-solving” mode of personalized vacation planning and now watch over a two-year-old named Sophia. You might say the demands are incessant. In that rough and tumble world, what keeps the romance alive?
When they speak, they finish each other’s sentences. Denis begins, “I know her weaknesses, and she knows mine.” Ziza says, “Knowing when to back off and give each other space.”
Denis says, “It’s the little things. Maybe she brings me something, or I do something for her. If I go out for a quick errand, I have a tendency to buy roses,” he grins. “She loves roses.” Ziza adds, “Or I will say thanks for this, or thanks for that...”
“I would always pay her a compliment like, "Hey, you look great today,'” Denis says.
When it comes to catering to their often very meticulous clients, Denis carries that love of the little things into his role as the operations guru; he handles all the logistics. He provides all the “point to point” answers and makes every step available in a detailed, online itinerary. Ziza considers what celebrations may be in order and infuses details like a romantic restaurant, where to have a night out or where you can get an amazing gelato.
Imagine getting both a man’s and a woman’s perspective on literally everything!
“I just love working with him," says Ziza. "At the end of the day, it’s about our clients and how we work together to make them happy.”
“When you book with us," Denis says, "you will always get the right provider for your budget. The people we work with have lived in the places you’re going and they love it."
Their perfect customer is those who have some time to plan (six months to a year is ideal) and who will open their hearts to new friends and experiences and enjoy every minute, knowing every single detail has been handled to perfection. Because, when all the stars align, and all the puzzle pieces finally fit together perfectly, truly amazing things can happen.
Trip itinerary: 14 Nights, 9 stops in Italy
1 Rome, Lazio, 3 nights
2 Florence, Tuscany, 2 nights
3 Lucca, Tuscany, 3 nights
4 Cinque Terre, Riviera, 1 night
5 Modena, Emilia Romagna and San Marino, 1 night
6 Venice, Veneto, 2 nights
7 Ravenna, Emilia Romagna and San Marino, 0 nights
8 Rimini, Emilia Romagna and San Marino, 1 night
9 Rome, Lazio, 1 night
Ziza & Denis Stojanovic
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