Lately, I’ve been helping a lot of friends with their itinerary planning for trips to Europe this summer. It’s fun, and I enjoy doing it. There’s one recommendation, though, that never really seems to take off: Include time at the beach.
Admittedly, it’s a hard sell for those of us who don’t have a year to [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Paris'
Five Reasons to Include a Beach Day on Your Next Euro Trip (Like You Need Them)
June 29th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Novelty, Recommended sights, The point of travel
Tags:Basque Region·beaches·Biarritz·cultural exchange·France·Holland·Paris·Spain
Visiting Marilyn Monroe in L.A.
May 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Celeb spotting, Recommended sights, Urban archipelagos
Is it creepy to sightsee a cemetery, camera in hand?
I had a blast at Paris’ Cimetière du Père Lachaise (with a great interactive tour here), so it didn’t strike me as weird to bust out the photography when at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Marilyn Monroe’s final resting place.
The lipstick traces are fun. They reminded [...]
Tags:Los Angeles·Paris
Shop Talk: Favorite Bookstores, Part IV
May 4th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Blog posts by Lia, Favorite Bookstores, Recommended sights, Shop talk, Urban archipelagos
What’s a sign of a fantastic bookstore? How about these three elements:
Books piled high on square wooden tables, just calling out to you to browse.
An owner on-site, recommending books with careful consideration.
An enticing front door and window display (and extra points if it’s the perfect shade of red):
Welcome to the Red Wheelbarrow, a little treat [...]
Tags:books·bookstores·Paris
Way Beyond the Couchette
April 4th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Good design, Novelty, Transportation bliss
Betty knows I’m obsessed with train travel, so a photo slideshow on the world’s fanciest train cabins is right up my alley. I get excited about train stations and virtual train rides, so clearly some tricked-out hooptie of a private train cabin was going to take me to my happy place.
As I flipped through the [...]
April Reading List
March 31st, 2010 · 2 Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Celeb spotting, Reading List
While it would be better to be out traveling, unless you’re Andy Jarosz, you might be at home, like me, dreaming about your next trip. I get my at-home travel fix with the one thing I don’t want to lug around in my carry-on: Books!
Here are the four I’ll be reading this month.
Pagan Spain by [...]
Tags:Japan·Kate Moss·London·Madonna·New York City·Paris·Peggy Guggenheim·Spain
Friday Fail: Fugly Reversible Poly-Lycra-Blend Travel Dress Edition
February 26th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Blog posts by Lia, Fail 'o' the Day, Wary of the advice of others
It’s embarrassing, but I’ll admit it. I’ve fallen for this idea: the Travel Dress.
On my first trip to Paris, a black/grey faux-side-tie Travelsmith dress seemed like a good idea.
Even though I would never wear a polyester wrap dress in my daily life, I felt like I needed one for my trip. A dress that touted its wicking properties, could be washed in the sink, and was reversible…even though I never need any of these things at home, and happen to live in a city there, too. Why I thought Parisian hoteliers would recognize–or care about–what I was wearing escapes me still.
In other words, I fell into the dreaded reversible travel dress trap.
Snowy, Sleepy Paris
February 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Urban archipelagos
Environmental Graffiti has a wonderfully curated collection of photos of Paris in the snow. Spring has come early to us on the West Coast, so this seems particularly fanciful and magical to me right now. It’s worth clicking over to see the whole collection.
Google’s French-Themed Superbowl Ad…
February 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Good design, Novelty
…demonstrates why it’s our collective guidebook, travel agent, and translation software in one tidy, efficient package.
Hooray.
Peace and Quiet in Paris?
January 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Blog posts by Lia, Novelty
I had heard of the Hôtel Gabriel Paris Marais before this weekend’s review in the New York Times, which means someone in their PR office is doing a good job.
Despite the fact that it’s associated with Gwynnie “GOOP” Paltrow, the idea of a quiet sanctuary for €159 seems like a good deal.
