World's your oyster
They say that one of the most pleasant things about traveling is the anticipation, having something to look forward to, something to plan. I don’t mean the manic 48 hours before departure when you frantically take a work call from the travel aisle at CVS, searching for yet another set of adapters. I mean the weeks or months leading up to the trip when you’re researching restaurants and museums and spa treatments and looking at pictures online of beautiful views. Those dreamy days of ambitiously re-downloading Duolingo and texting anyone you know who lives anywhere near your destination.
So, considering that… let’s look forward to 2024. Let’s plan ahead. Starting with travel.
As ever, I’m working hard to develop the travel planning side of my work life, should you or anyone you’ve ever met be looking for a pro to help them plan…
On the personal side of travel, I’m considering a trip to Nevis in the early summertime (kid in tow) because who doesn’t want to hang out for a week on one of the Caribbean’s smaller-and-less-discovered-but-no-less-fabulous islands? Specifically looking at you, Golden Rock Inn.
On the professional side of things, the destination I’m booking the most these days is Costa Rica, by a long shot. It is no longer the place for only your crunchiest or most outdoorsy or most surfer-y friends. From the beaches to the jungles, Costa Rica’s appeal has broadened and there’s luxury (from the big & bold to the barefoot) to be found, just as much as animal encounters, conservation-tourism, spa getaways, …truly the works.
Personally, I have long wanted to check out Senegal and I’m hoping that 2024 is the year I make it happen. I mean, there are seven UNESCO sites to check out not to mention easy flights from NYC, Dakar is such a cool-looking city, Casamance looks like beachy paradise, I have a longtime love of Baaba Maal, a crazy popular Senegalese musician. I’m all in.
Professionally, I am seeing a ton of interest in Alpine destinations. Having just come back from the Dolomites myself, I’m a huge fan and understand the appeal. But it’s not just the Italian Alps drawing visitors. I’m getting queries for the Austrian Alps (Lech, St Anton) and Swiss Alps (Zermatt, St Moritz), too. To be totally candid, I am desperate to book a romantic getaway for a client, or many, to the Adler Ritten lodge. It’s heaven.
I’m seeing a lot more interest, too, in expanding our collective European radius. Greek and Italian cities and beaches got all of the attention last year and it was, in my opinion, to a fault. Not that those places aren’t idyllic! They are. But not when you’re shoulder to shoulder with sweaty crowds all trying to see the same painting or get onto the same ferry. There’s lots of interest lately (maybe as a result?) in Budapest and Montenegro and the republic of Georgia and the English countryside and Sardinia. Fun!
Other destinations I’m seeing more queries for, professionally? (Besides the classics.)
Domestic: Las Vegas (the Sphere!), Alaska, Santa Fe, and upstate New York.
International: Guatemala, Bali and nearby islands, India, smaller European islands like the Canaries and the Azores, New Zealand, and Uruguay.
A few travel tips, should you be en route to that travel aisle in CVS right now…
A great carry-on packing list from NYMag.
If you’re traveling internationally, I highly recommend downloading Airalo. It’s an eSIM which means your phone will act like it’s a local (to whichever country) phone but retain your number. Which means you won’t return to a $1,000 data roaming bill.
Lastly, some fun recs and links and shit
OMG the movie Past Lives is so good! Why did we all sleep on this?! (Or was that just me.) Also loving the show Colin from Accounts! More TV show recs. The movie I’m dying to see, but am also a little scared to see, is Saltburn. Has anyone braved it?
Watch this Chicken Shop Date with Cher. I won’t elaborate, just watch.
I will always do as Odette Williams says, so instead of a champagne tower, I am now prioritizing a vermouth service. (One minor hiccup is that I am not actually doing either as I have no plans to host a party. But IF I WAS…)
I really appreciated this take on how to respond when your kid wants to quit a sport (or any regular activity).
“The type of charisma that saves a holiday party.” (The Atlantic) I loved this, a quick and easy read.
Another really great read is Yasmin Fahr’s latest newsletter, which is a personal but extremely relatable take on the whole cooking-with-fat thing. If you, like us, were raised in the time of low fat everything, this will resonate.
Likewise, looking for a roundup of the year’s best rom com reads? Ali Rosen’s got you covered.
If you want your day a little bit ruined…
I’ll leave you with the below hot take re: Love Actually and head’s up that I’ll be back once more before the end of the year with more of a—*fixes monocle*—reflection on the year… plus links.
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Happy Holidays! Have a warm and fuzzy and relaxing and delicious time!
Signing off to watch The Holiday and Bridget Jones Diary and Something from Tiffany’s…
xoxo,
Nicole