IT was a week which saw the world come to Newport.

Leaders from 61 countries descended on the city, including US President Barack Obama.

He said during the summit how much he had been impressed by Wales and Newport and that he would recommend that other Americans come and visit.

Did the summit have that affect on you? It made me think I'd like to return Obama's recommendation and visit the USA.

Although I've travelled widely, I've never been - there have always been other places which pushed it further down the list.

But an occasion like the one we've just had in Newport tends to open your eyes - and your heart - to different parts of the world.

The nature of the summit and Nato itself made it the most international of events and it couldn’t help but bring a taste of abroad - even if it was no more than having a nibble of the food from Nato countries at the celebration in Newport before the summit.

It wasn't just the spectacle of Obama stepping off his plane, and later visiting a school in suburban Newport, or of exotic US aircraft hovering across the city. There were protesters too who came from across the world - from Michigan, Belgium, San Francisco, and Italy.

The summit also brought home how the parts of the UK can come together and reminded us what those parts were. The coppers in St Julians from Hampshire, the motorcyclists from Scotland in Caerleon or the City of London mounted officers at Rodney Parade – for me, all brought thoughts of visits past or to come to the New Forest, the Highlands or the capital.

The way we welcomed them made me very proud of the city – and I know now when I go abroad, there’s a good chance people will have an idea where Newport is.

One of the many delights of this crazy week we've just lived through - when the focus of the world turned on us - was that ours turned outwards to them.