A Year of Not Being a Tourist with MessyNessyChic

It’s been a life-changing year for MessyNessy all thanks to four magic little words: Don’t Be a Tourist. So I thought I’d dedicate our “best of 2017” round-up to just that– not being a tourist. I’d like to make a New Year’s toast to thank you for being curious, independent, adventurous, and creative. Thank you for wanting to discover the off-beat and for trusting me to take you there. Happy New Year, friends, and here’s to many more adventures together…

Desperately Seeking Inspiration

• Location Scouting for Wes Anderson

• She’s been Drawing her Road Trips in Sketchbooks for 20 Years

• Meet the Belle of Provence 

• She Spent Her Life Hunting for Lost Wallpaper 

• She Paints Tiny Masterpieces in Her Empty Altoids Tins 

Abandonment Issues

• Who Will Rescue the Ruins of This French Fairytale Chateau? 

• Oh, Just an Abandoned Hobbit Castle Built for Sheep 

• All Aboard the Ghost Ship Hotel of Koh Chang

• Exploring a Ghost Village in Provence 

• Scotland’s Sleeping Castle 

Weekender Guides

• Don’t Be a Tourist in Scotland: The MessyNessy Road Trip Guide

• Weekend Like a Local in Paris 

• A Book Lover’s Guide to the Literary Bars of New York 

• A Cozy Weekend Guide to the Cotswolds

• The Fascinating Abandoned Island You’ve Never Heard of

Time Travelling

• Welcome to the Time Capsule Railway Hotel 

• Searching for a Lost Wine Village in Paris 

• Wish You Were Here: Saugatuck Art Colony, 1949

• These 1950s Jersey Shore Motels Sure Do Look Lonely in the Off Season

• Mumbai’s Time Capsule Cafés

Moveable Feasts

• Armenian Soul Food at a Secret Paris Restaurant 

• Gandalf’s London Pub That Launched a Thousand Ships

• A 19th Century Eating Tour of the Lower East Side 

• The Wonderful Lost World of Mr. Hendy

• The River Café Waiting at the End of a Hidden Valley

Curiosity Collector

• The Inexplicably Fascinating Secret World of Thomasson

• Postcards from a Seaside Village of Upturned Boat Homes 

• Here’s What We Know About the Mysterious Knights Templar Rabbit Holes 

• The Kneeling Boutiques of Bulgaria 

• A Secret World Hidden Beneath the Vineyards of Champagne

Pleasantly Surprised

• The Chateau You Should Visit Instead of Versailles

• Thousand Islands Is So Much More Than a Salad Dressing

• Secret Summer Cabins in the Sky for the Great American Road Trip 

• Disney’s Bizarre Sports Resort is Actually an Instagram Dream

• 10 Reasons to Visit the Only Country Where North Koreans Can Take a Permanent Vacation

See you in 2018, dear reader!