Category: Travel

Eat, Learn, Move

People have gone viral crazy for the series of videos created by three dudes commissioned by STA Travel Australia. Rick Mereki, Tim White, and Andrew Lees traveled for 44 days, visiting 11 countries on 18 separate flights spanning the distance of 38,000 miles. Their travels were done in an effort to “turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.”

I am obsessed with them all.

A little bit of saturday afternoon viewing for all of you, as you explore the films by the 3 dudes who travelled the world. Hopefully it inspires you. At the very least, enjoy the very handsom Andrew Lees get his walk, dance, and eat on.

(1) EAT

(2) LEARN

(3) MOVE

Girl About Town: Miami Beach

Well, you see… this life I lead is a tough one.

I’m vacationing on Miami Beach with a dear friend from high school, indulging in everything I really can’t afford. And while debt isn’t sexy, Miami Beach is. So I’ll be here for the next week, drinking too expensive coffee on my balcony at the Loews Hotel (jealousy inducing view below for your viewing pleasure), eating $16 sandwiches because they are the cheapest thing on the menu, and pretending I’m as rich as my European, accent donning, speedo wearing counterparts at the Loews, because that’s what you do on vacation. The Simply Luxurious Life would be so disappointed.

Ciao!

How To Travel With Your Boo

I like to credit a lot of my wisdom to my Mother, who is the wisest mother anyone could ask for. She’s full of little tidbits, whether you ask for them or not. Some of my favorites have turned into posts in the past and this one is no different.

Over dinner at one of my favorite soul food spots in Harlem with my Mom and my girl, Larissa, Mom indulged in a few rules on how to stay sane in relationships. My favorites had to do with travel. Now, she’s on a cruise with my Father, and in the weeks leading up to it, she divulged in a few more tips.

So here they are, Mom’s Top Five Tips on How to Travel with Your Boo:

1. Just Do It
Yes, just like the Nike commercials, when it comes to travel, my mother’s rules are simple – just do it. She and her girlfriends have often found themselves proposing a travel idea to their husbands, only to receive answers like “I’m not sure I can take off work” or “I don’t want to go away for that long.” *side eye* The solution? Buy their ticket anyway. They’ll come around. This is how my parents took a romantic trip to Ireland, a couples trip to South Africa, a week visiting me when I was abroad in London, and it’s how they found themselves on a cruise right now. Works like a charm every time.

2. What You Packing?
In preparing for their cruise, Mom told Dad to lay his outfits on the guest bed for the trip. After weeks of peeking in on his progress, she found he’d only planned on bringing 4 t-shirts and some shorts. When asked to pick up a few items from the dry cleaner on the way home, Mom oblidged, and then packed the items in his suitcase under his 4-shorts and shorts. Instantly well packed!

3. We Dont Have To Fight
Eager to get everything started right – Mom noted that you never fight before you leave. It’s just bad manners. If you’ve got something to say, say it once your plane has taken off. Swiftly. Then order a glass of wine and settle in for the flight. Everyone will be all smiles by the time you land.

4. Keep it Freestylin’
Upon landing in New Orleans just before their cruise, my parents realized their airline (American) had lost their luggage. Given only two tuxedo t-shirts, Mom and Dad enjoyed their cruise in matching outfits for almost a full week. When asked how it was going, her only answer was “We’re cool. We’re freestyling.”

[via]

An obsession with palm trees

I find myself in Santa Barbara, California for work… and I find myself falling in love.

Not with a boy, not with a dog, not with a band, but with the lifestyle. I’ve spent time enjoying palm trees as far as the eye can see, terracotta rooftops, cactus growing like shrubs, clear skies and amber sunsets as a backdrop to a sandy beach, and smiles on every street corner. Everything moves at a slower pace because no one is in a rush to do anything. A man on a street corner on the phone with his colleague was a rarity, and even then his conversation consisted of things like “I’m going to enjoy lunch and will get you an answer after my break.” The owners of an adorable Wine Tasting Room at the highest point of a pier off the Santa Barbara boardwalk talked passionately about their lives: their winery, the berries, the fermentation, hints of blackcurrant, wet rock, and white floral. They tasted the wine with us, went on the journey with us, and handed over a handful of corks as a reminder of this casual moment within which we enjoyed each other’s silence.

It’s a lifestyle I don’t find myself having the luxury of living in a city like New York City. Everything is urgent; every pace is rushed like a speeding car racing to get there first. Vacation is a distant thought, maybe even laughable because who has the time to take care of themselves? Lunches are always for working: taken at your desk or on the phone or skipped all together. Small business owners seem few and far between. Not content with their “small business” but looking for ways to become bigger, better. It’s never about sustaining. It’s about beating. And silence is uncomfortable.

“This place, it’s like my home [Weston]… except on a beach!” I commented to my colleague over a glass of pinot noir as we watched the sunset over the water and squealed every time a pelican took a dive or a seal came up to play. Everything was idyllic. I left Santa Barbara longing for the free-spirited passion displayed by those living there.

We encountered numerous people talking fondly of “their years in New York” prior to moving to California. When asked would they ever return to NYC the answer was always an enthusiastic “No!” with a smile. The slower pace was calmer. Healthier. Easier.

As I sit on a Delta Air Lines flight listening to an album entitled “Peace, Love, & Ukulele”, I can’t help but wonder: despite all I have been awarded since moving to NYC (trips to London, Dubai, Jordan, Aspen, and now California), is there more? Am I missing something?

I’m on a journey to find out.

Suburban Girl Laments: Post Long Weekend Blues

Exactly.
I have two favorite parts of vacation:

  1. The moment you drive out of the city on the ever fancy Greyhound bus.
  2. The moment you have your first decadent appetizer (in The Cape, it was black truffle infused cheese).

 

I have one least favorite part of vacation:

  1. The moment you finish packing your Polo weekend bag, and zip it up to leave. Some may call this the “Vacation Blues”*

This past weekend was the loveliest of weekends. I spent two nights in my lovely little suburb with Mom and Dad. Our days consisted of coffee, shopping, talking, and acting like the Cosby Family. Unfortunately, there was no soul train this time, as my father reserves that for Christmas. Following my two beautiful nights with the fam, Mom dropped me off at my friend’s apartment in the South End (read: my dream neighborhood after Beacon Hill), where we said our tearful goodbyes (okay fine, tearful on my part) and I headed to The Cape.

While on there, I found myself relishing an unexpected silence: the lack of cell phone service and, as a result, the lack of that little “bing!” that sounds on Sunday evening to remind me it’s time to go back to work. Rather than my usual stance of clutching my iPhone, I found myself leaving it on the table and enjoying the holiday with friends and family.

Monday afternoon rolled around after too much lobster, too much black truffle cheese, and too many blueberries, and I found myself dreading** everything that I was set to come back to. Tonight, as I reflect on my day and consider the following, I have concluded one thing: thank goodness for four day weeks and summer fridays.


Footnotes:
*Vacation Blues is apparently a scientific term, as defined by Wikipedia. This fact makes me feel awkward.***
**Alexander Kjerulf, the self-titled Chief Happiness Officer, has drawn out this handy little chart for understanding Vacation Blues.
***WebMD also offers a number of tips to “bounce back fast”. Yikes.