FAVOURITE | places of 2010

WE'LL BYPASS the intro on this one. You know the drill by now:

Vail, Colorado - Who knew skiing and all the hoopla around it was so much fun? Erm,  millions. I found out in December 2010 what a friggin' blast the whole ski thing and corresponding culture is. Plus, Vail and the surrounding area are breathtaking. Why winter in a frozen, hideous tundra (Chicago, Minneapolis) when you could do it on two planks of speedy goodness down the side of a snow-covered enchanted mountain? Followed by a hot tub soak, walk, apres ski drinks or any other number of fun things?

Hamburg, Germany - Sweet city with a central park that's packed with former Yugoslavs playing petanque even in a snow storm. Wander around and you'll stumble upon design studios that peer right out to the street on even the most residential thoroughways, wonderful beer halls, tiny cafes, coffee houses, hilly green spaces. I like it. A lot.

Blackheath, London - Live in London your whole life and you'll probably never see 80% of it. True story. I stayed with the wonderful BritishBeautyBlogger on Black Heath in October and the sweet village center was like Highgate Village, my former home... only better. Would move there with a young family in a heartbeat.

Savannah, Georgia, USA - Do everything from swill pina coladas poolside in a local's backyard while perusing the wares on offer at their Saturday morning garage sale to kayak with Dolphins in the Moon River. The old houses, Spanish moss and lazy pace of life are really attractive to anyone who lives a 24/7 life.

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA - Actually, it's just outside of Santa Fe that's best, specifically Ten Thousand Waves Spa and the Santa Fe State Park area. Japanese-style spa with accomodations in the same manner. Get up early for a soak before hiking up a peak just a mile down the road. Peaceful and removed from the super-touristy center of the town.

Vermont, USA - The US's best-kept secret, in my mind. Although the state can call everyone from the late Rudyard Kipling to Tata Harper residents. Still pretty wild and country, the towns are adorable, there's loads to do. Nature's almost totally unadulterated, even in the capital. Wonderful year round and most glorious during Leaf Peeping season in the fall. The majority of the state residents are transplants from elsewhere because it's just that alluring. 

Reykjavik (Keflavik) Airport - Probably the grooviest airport in the world. The cafe in the terminal is cooler and more stylish than any coffee shop I've come across in America and, well, probably the UK. And everything's more design-led too. There's even a shop dedicated to just design. Plus, the Icelandic woven wares on sale are hard to pass up. I would happily pass a multi-hour layover here over virtually all other airports.

TRAVEL TALES | Products you're not packing in your makeup bag but should be!

 

I'VE FILLED two passports with stamps over the last two years (My TV is from 1994, so, no, not rich. Just different priorities). That's a lot of travel. At first, I was shamelessly carting around bags of beauty crap. Multiple items of the same product, things I never even opened, full bottles of cheap shampoo I could just as easily pick up wherever I landed. What a waste! And so onerous. I was forced to be static by my heavy luggage, was constantly worried and a huge target (girl struggling up stairs of a station with two huge bags? Like a sitting duck). So, I've learned and honed and now have a makeup bag that's no bigger than a pencil case when I travel. I pick up cheap, bulky items (like shampoo/conditioner) when I arrive since I like raiding the local chemists anyway. And what's the point of carrying something that takes up 30% of your luggage real estate but costs so little? Doesn't add up. While this isn't my definitive list, it's one that I highly suggest for anyone who cares about what they like and feel like on the road.

SwissDent Pure Mouth Spray (£9.50)-- It's anti-bacterial so won't just cover bad travel breath (no, yours doesn't smell good after sleeping -- mouth dangled open -- in economy class for six hours either) but help prevent the reason for it. The tiny bottle is no bigger than a tube of lip balm but all you need is one spray for minty (tho not unnecessarily sweet), bacteria-free breath. Essential when on-the-go and meeting with people, drinking multiple coffees, all day long.

Deborah Lippman The Stripper To Go ($10 for a box of 6 mitts) -- Soon to be available at the new House of Fraser Apothecary concept boutique. Deborah Lippman has created a genius little finger mitt that fits over the tip of one of your fingers with enough non-drying remover to take off even dark varnish on all ten nails, without leaving stains. Plus the lavender scent is nicer than the usual Acetone odor. One or two of these tiny mitts take up no space in your luggage, weigh nothing and there's no chance of remover opening and spilling all over the contents of your case.

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TRAVEL TALES | Beauty at the bonfire

EVERY summer I look forward to camping season. It wasn’t always that way. Growing up, I protested furiously every time the van was packed for the weekend. I would take out the maximum number of books allowed on my library card and sit in the back of said van reading the entire time. I’d even sleep in there to the annoyance of my parents. As I got older, I pouted less and, what do you know? Camping was actually fun when I finally put down the paperbacks and gave it a chance.

As an adult, it’s still fun. Although, I get different things from it than I did when younger. Now it’s a welcome escape from daily life, from the trappings of the house, the city and all the noise that comes with modern life. I admit, it’s not always easy to just drop everything and flee to a campground. But you know what? You don’t have to go whole hog and become some wild cave woman (if you don’t want to), wild of hair, dirt smeared and grooming free. You can maintain some glimmer of glamour in your life even if your bed is a mat in a tent and you wash up in a bowl of water....

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