Desired Destination: Morocco
01/10/2012 § 2 Comments
When the weather turns cooler, my wanderlust for warmer climates always picks up. I’ve frequently forgone the usual trip home for Thanksgiving in favor of a long international journey somewhere warm. Last year it was Argentina, two years before that I went to Egypt, and lately my mind has returned to North Africa. Morocco has officially made its way to the very top of my Desired Destination shortlist somehow, fueled at least in part by the images and inspiration I have been collecting on Pinterest.
My trip to the Maghreb probably isn’t all that far off with flights hovering around $1,000 and no annoying visa procedure for US citizens, but until that day comes, you can find me wandering among my pictures, wistfully wishing for the smell of fragrantly perfumed tobacco, oranges and coriander, the taste of mint tea and dates, the feel of crisp linen against my body and cool tiled floors beneath my feet, and the sound of the call to prayer at dawn and the souk at dusk.
The harbor town of Essaouira.
Dying to stay at L’Heure Bleue hotel in Essaouira…gorgeous!
Marrakech, the Ochre City.
YSL in Morocco.
YSL at home in Marrakech, what is now known as the Majorelle Garden.
Casablanca
All images via Pinterest.
Quite Continental Desired Destinations
~*~Travel Charmingly~*~
Louis Vuitton City Guides 2013: New York City
18/09/2012 § 1 Comment
It’s always a favorite time of year for me when details about the annual Louis Vuitton City Guides — and their accompanying video clips — start to emerge from the ether, but when the House of Vuitton decides to feature New York City first, it’s a double win. In its fourteenth year of publication, the Guides offer the discerning traveller expert advice on a select group of cities in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Kicking off the 2013 guides in a perfect marriage of travel and cocktailing,* we find ourselves in hot pursuit of a perfect Manhattan in Manhattan — a shaken cocktail that has shown remarkable staying power since its invention at the Manhattan Club in 1870 — we visit Jimmy at the James Hotel, Le Bain at the The Standard Hotel, The Summit Bar on the Lower East Side and Amor y Amargo in the East Village.
I don’t know about you, but my watch definitely just hit cocktail o’ clock.
*probably not a word, but should be.
New York Fashiongram
13/09/2012 § Leave a comment
Full posts to follow, but I just wanted to share a few of my
favorite New York Fashion Week moments, captured via Instagram:
Bill Cunningham at Suno
The rush at Monika Chiang
Lovely linen at Samantha Pleet
Misha Nonoo and Olivia Palermo at Nonoo
Lani en route to Fashion’s Night Out
The opening of Michael Bastian
Refreshments at Cafe Gitane
Postcards from Los Angeles
04/09/2012 § 1 Comment
Wanted to share a few of my Los Angeles moments before I head back to NYC,
as filtered through Instagram (quitecontinental).
Desired Destination: Las Calles de Borges
08/08/2012 § 1 Comment
True, I’ve already been to Buenos Aires. But there is something about the land of polo and Peron that keeps calling my name, not least of which was finding Ian Ruschel‘s gorgeous short film in which he follows a fictitious Jorge Luis Borges through the city. If you haven’t yet been, you must. go. immediately.
In the meantime: see my trip here,
find a few of my favorite places to antique in BA here,
and see my trip to the Argentine Polo Open here.
Quite Continental Desired Destinations
~*~Travel Charmingly~*~
Summer in the City
07/08/2012 § Leave a comment
In between cold beverages (there were many) and a little Olympics viewing (probably more than a little) and one well-deserved nap (definitely deserved), I kicked around Washington Square Park for a bit over the hot hot hot weekend. Understandably, because of the blistering heat, I did find the park somewhat emptier than usual, but nonetheless full of lovely, summery things to see. Sidenote: I’m not sure if I’m including the guy covered in pigeons…
Summer Storm
31/07/2012 § Leave a comment
A few pictures from this Saturday past. While a terrific storm was promised, it didn’t manage to dissuade us from our plans to venture out to the beach. And while there wasn’t much sunlight to be had, Mother Nature did present us with some strong waves and beautiful — albeit foreboding — clouds. It was a beautiful, foggy beach day, and by the time the sky opened up, we were safe and sound and already on our way home. A perfect day.
Summering with Patti and Keith
30/07/2012 § 2 Comments
This summer, Keith Richards and Patti Hansen invited Vogue to visit their private retreat at Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos, and the photos (taken by Bruce Weber, who is one of my favorite photographers) detail a lovingly chaotic Caribbean summer full of sun, sarongs, kids and grandkids — with a decidedly bohemian flare. But really, what else would you expect?
So. Much. Fun.
I’m hopeful my invitation is forthcoming…
All images via Vogue.
Rabbit Hole || Aviatrix Club
11/07/2012 § 3 Comments
With the 75th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance this month, my discovery of these cigarette cards detailing famous airwomen seemed positively apropos. Dating from sometime between 1923 and 1939 and part of an large collection of cigarette cards maintained by the New York Public Library. I was impressed to see the inclusion of these high-flying ladies in this set of 50, as the majority of the women included in the other sets were chosen because of how beautiful they were — “beauties of the world,” “beauties of the stage,” etc. — not because they were the first to fly a plane across the Atlantic, like badass Beryl Markham, above.
Pictured with their favorite planes, these ladies are the perfect mascots for my summer wanderlust — I also included images of the flip side of the cards, complete with their exploits and fancy titles. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
To see the whole set, hop down the rabbit hole here.
All images via the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.
Roughing It.
05/07/2012 § 4 Comments
Fact: I have never been camping.
Corollary: My mom will probably dispute this.
Who’s right? I suppose it depends on how broadly you construe the term “camping” — because if to you, camping means you’re in a sleeping bag in a tent in the woods somewhere, then I most definitely have never been camping. However, if you are like my mother, and think camping includes driving some sort of van or trailer to a “campground” and parking for a few days near some nature, then maybe you’ve got me there.
My parents did own a sweet Minnie Winnie in the late 90s. It was sort of an odd purchase for a completely non-camping family that was spurred by the experience of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. We did use it a few times, mainly for soccer tournament weekends, but also for camping at Lake Cachuma and the Kern River. We actually did Thanksgiving one year, turkey and all, entirely on wheels!
So while I don’t really count those experiences as camping, I do have plenty of great memories of those weekends, which were jogged when I came across this set of photos in the Life Archive, taken at various points around the country by Ralph Crane in 1970. Capturing different kinds of motor homes and trailers, and the folks who used them, they are a slice of Americana that seems perfectly apropos for the day after Independence Day.
Some of these images originally appeared as part of a special group of articles in the August 14, 1970 issue of LIFE entitled “Home, Home on the Road,” which details “Caravans on the open road. Houseboats on the busy waters. Youth in its frustrated festivals. Venturers abroad in trains.” If you’d like to read the article — and I definitely recommend it, mainly for some great pictures of a convoy of pretty aluminum Airstream trailers — you can find it here. Enjoy!
Bob Newcomb with his 12-member family in Hershey, PA.
Sidenote: Can I just say that I have NO idea how 12 people could coexist for any extended amount of time in a trailer. My family only numbered 5 and speaking for the kids, I know we regularly contemplated pulverizing each other when we “camped.” Newcombs, hat’s off to the lot of you, indeed.
Baby Newcomb in her bathtub bed!
The Wally Byam Caravan Club converging upon Hershey, PA. The club, named for the founder of the Airstream Trailer Company, still exists — and caravans — to this day.
Airstream owners and Caravan Club members, saluting the flag.
All images via the Life Archive.
Quite Continental 