Alberobello: Staying in an Italian Hobbit Town

The Vatican, the leaning Tower of Pisa, the canals of Venice, Pompeii– you might think you’ve seen all Italy has to offer already, but have you heard about the town built with a style of architecture so old, it predates written Italian history? Welcome to Alberobello, a small town with 11,000 inhabitants in Puglia (in…

Free Wine & Cheese! The Ultimate French Road Trip in a VW Camper

I had you at ‘Free Wine & Cheese‘, didn’t I? If you’ve been umming and ahhing over what to do this summer, I might have an idea for you. Through the grapevine (mind the pun), I heard about France Passion, a society of more than 1,750 friendly private wine-growers and farmers across France that invite…

The Last Palace of the Champs Elysées: A Courtesan’s Secret Alcazar

Hiding in plain sight, you’re looking into the eye of the last remaining example of the magnificent private mansions that once lined the Champs Élysées in Paris. Hotel de la Païva was built by a famous 19th century courtesan who came from humble beginnings in the ghetto of Moscow. Esther Lachmann, aka La Païva, became…

Inside the Secret Parisian Warehouse where the French Presidents Go Furniture Shopping

Picture an IKEA warehouse – but make it chic – and add an inventory of priceless furniture, textiles and objects that date as far back as the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, who indisputably raised the bar on what we’ll call French ‘power decorating’ for centuries to come. A sprawling Art Deco reinforced…

This Guy (Almost) Convinces us to Go Freight Train Hopping Around America

Freighthopping or trainhopping, the (usually illegal) act surreptitiously boarding and riding a freight railroad car became a common means of transportation following the American Civil War and continued to be widely used by those unable to afford other transportation, particularly during the Great Depression when the jobless took to the rails to find work. The practice is less common today, but a…

When Injury Killed His Humble Dream, He Built a Whole Miniature World Instead

Death seemed to stalk Michael Zoettl from birth. His mother died when he was a child. He nearly drowned, then almost burned to death. When the Asiatic flu pandemic swept through Europe in 1889, killing 1.5 million worldwide, Michael fell ill and developed permanent heart palpitations. Zoettl was 14 years old when, in 1891, the German…

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Getting Your Groove Back in New York: A Spring & Summer Guide

New York is finally getting back into the swing of things and as always, we’re here to accompany you with a little inspiration on where to go and what to do. As of May 19th, museums and institutions can opt to open at 100 percent capacity, which is subject to the six-foot social distancing rule in…

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Did Jesus Escape to Japan?

Greetings from Shingo, a rural village, 650km north of Tokyo that is believed by its inhabitants to be the last resting place of Jesus Christ. Make the pilgrimage to its quiet hills, and you’ll find yourself in a veritable slice of the Twilight Zone where the Christian prophet led a double life as a garlic…

This Abandoned School became his Personal Mansion (but you’re invited)

Okay, this probably sounds creepier than it really is. In Japan’s Iya Valley, considered one of the country’s most beautiful but unexplored regions, a remote elementary school was abandoned for nearly a decade, before Yohei Aoki came along and made it his home. Since 2017, the former office worker has also been welcoming off-beat travellers…

A Pit-Stop in Japan’s Time Capsule Post Towns

We’ve got an achilles heel for places stuck in the past, and today on our armchair adventures, we’re stopping off in the sleepy streets of Japan’s cinematic post towns, known locally as Shukuba (宿場). What is a post town, you ask? Essentially it’s a pit-stop, albeit a very charming one lost in time, which popped…