Adult Playground Holiday Homes: A Closer look at the Supersized New Travel Trend

Some of us may dream of relaxing at a serene beach villa or a cosy little cottage nestled amidst a luscious landscape, but if a popular new category created for the Airbnb market is any indication of current travel moods, there appears to be a growing demand to vacation on what can only be described…

Vacationing with Wes Anderson: The American Motel Edition

Wes Anderson did it again with another eye-feast of aesthetics in “Asteroid City”, set in futuristic quasi-mid-century Southwestern United States, a barren desert setting reminiscent of New Mexico or Arizona. He’s made us want to pack some hard-sided suitcases, load up the station wagon, and get our kicks back on Route 66. After watching Asteroid…

The Bittersweet Story of the World’s First Motel

It’s as American as Apple Pie in all its neon-lit glory, evoking our collective cultural memory of 1950s road-tripping, film noir fugitive hideouts and the golden age of kitsch. The motel is as much a part of the American open road as the gas station and the roadside diner, an indispensable amenity to the roving motorist; the…

My Perfect Little Paris Attic

A nineteenth-century poet once described the Place Dauphine as the ‘vagina of Paris’, because of its erotic triangular V shape. Rumour has it King Henri IV modelled the place after the private parts of his favourite courtesan. Ah, French romance. Vaginas aside, it is one of my favourite squares in Paris, tucked away on an…

The Vault

Vacation House Hunting in the South of France

It’s becoming an annual tradition to take a summer trip down south with my girlfriends and this year is no different. We’re six friends with a similar budget (around 65 euros a night per person), looking for somewhere charming for one week with a pool, a good kitchen for cooking and space to dance under…

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Mother & Daughter Buy an Abandoned Chateau, Invite You to Stay as they Restore It

Back in 2013, we broke a story about a couple that bought an abandoned chateau and started a blog to share their journey. Widespread interest, longing and general FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) ensued on the internet. Several years later, we’ve found a similar fairytale: an architect from Austria, Elisabeth Herring, and her daughter Valerie, adopt a neglected 16th…

Check Out When You Die: Varanasi’s Death Hotel

Where is the best place in the world to die? According to Hindus, dying in the sacred city of Varanasi brings liberation –mukti– no matter your faith or religious denomination. If someone needs a place to stay before embarking on their final journey, they’ll find it in Mukti Bhawan, Varanasi’s “Death Hotel”. Varanasi is one…

100 Rooms and 70 Secret Doors: Washington DC’s Quirkiest Secret

When most people think of secrecy in Washington, DC, they probably think of the FBI, the CIA or the Pentagon. But just south of Embassy Row, nestled behind the façades of five row houses, there stands an icon of kitsch, African American history, and rock and roll: the Mansion on O Street. Is it a…

My Brazilian World Cup Cabana

So today is the day when everyone is about to lose their sh*t because the World Cup is starting. Personally, I’m a little less enthusiastic about football, but never one to miss out on a good vibe. Football fever is rising among us, but of course, the tournament’s host nation is about to spread some irresistible…

Vacationing with Wes Anderson

It’s been almost two years since our “Location Scouting with Anderson” post went nuts all over the internet, and with summer fast-approaching and travel on all our minds, I thought it might be time for a new round of Wes Anderson-worthy locations – the vacation edition. So let’s check in for the night with Hollywood’s…