Notventures Roundup
Get inspired for your next escape with NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual link.
Get inspired for your next escape with NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual link.
I was the girl sitting in the back of the old shiny black pick up staring up into the trees as we drove through Veracruz up into the coffee sanctuary… AMAZED. And constantly taking pictures of the spiky clusters covering ancient trees from trunks to tips… and upon closer inspection they are air plants! Bromeliads! Tillandsia! So this post is a special one for my mom… who somehow manages to keep my TINY air plants alive and flowering while i’m out of town, and somehow has hers flourishing and growing new bits all the time in her courtyard! And the species covering these trees are just like the ones that you will find hanging in little glass orbs, sold in lots of succulent centerpieces, and every where from trendy gift shops to nurserys… and here they are covering huge trees!
So all through the little hike in the coffee sanctuary, i was enamored by the sheer number of plants and how well they thrived, it was amazing the larger trees even stayed alive seeing how covered they were at times! And close up the tiny baby ones were SO cute. I kept imagining how they climbed their way up there… picturing those super slow time lapsed plant nature documentaries… seriously, it is mind blowing how many spiky clusters there were. And it was like EVERY tree. I guess the locals are used to it. In the little town of Coatapec where we were staying (bummed i forgot to take a pic! it was dangerous while in the middle of the street though!) i kept seeing growing tiny clusters of air plants around the middle of TELEPHONE LINES! Right in the center! Like where you’d see sneakers hanging… Anyhow! Check out some pics of them on the next page and see why i was so mesmerized ~ also take a peek at the adorable retro truck we rode around in!
p.s. if you want some, or just to estimate the amount of airplant value on one of those trees ~ Airplants4U.
Happy Friday! Here is your weekly dose of escapism courtesy of NotVentures. To find out about these great destinations, click on their individual images and check out NotVentures for more travel inspiration.
Adventures with Kahlua begin today, car came to fetch me for the airport when it was still dark… hopped on a plane to Mexico City, and the change in scenery happened so quickly… from Mexico City (awesomely mesmerizing circles at the airport) after a few delays… hopped a tiny plane to Veracruz (which had some crazy windiness, trouble landing, and ended up circling out in the Gulf of Mexico… check out the insane white caps in the pics!)… then hopped in a suburban for another 2 hours out to Coatapec near Xalapa… where we quickly joined the rest of the group who had been hanging out at the 150 year old Cantina for a good chunk of the afternoon. So before i pass out from quite the surreal travel day… take a peek at the latest Operation Window Seat! Still inspires and fascinates me to no end to see the world fly by far below, and all the patterns and textures and colors that emerge…
Beat the midwinter blues with some gorgeous travel inspiration from NotVentures. Where will your next adventure take you?
After embracing that 2010 was probably one of my most travel heavy years yet, i’m getting ready for 2011… and that included accepting a Mr & Mrs Smith GoldSmith membership to test out and help cut down on some of my travel chaos. From last minute changes, to assistance finding quality hotels for impromptu vacations, and more… i gushed earlier about their help regarding my recent stay at the XV Beacon and Bowery Hotel. Well, in addition to all the perks the membership allows, the welcome pack just arrived, and it should be no surprise that the packaging is beautiful. The same playfully elegant style that their site and branding convey… filled with surprises! While they’ve always hit my sweet spot of hand written scripts mixed with cleaner fonts… and gloss black on matte black… they just upped it a notch with their custom packaging from award winning packaging designers Burgopak… filled with some of their Hotel Collection books (which i adore reading, the way they present the stories of Mr & Mrs Smith vacationing their way through them is rather amusingly dreamy), membership card, In Bed With… CD, and Bill Amberg leather passport holder and luggage tag. Ready to see it all unboxed? Take a peek on the next page!
Just checked into the Morgans Hotel Penthouse… 1,500 square feet of hide away overlooking midtown to bring some fun folks together from around the globe to brainstorm a bit together and relax… and the first thing to grab me are the quote postcards they leave on your pillow. Fun, inspiring, nice clean typography, and the type of quotes that are perfect for the trouble we’re about to get up to! And as you’ll see, i had a bit of fun shooting them off the penthouse patios with the stunning snowy, glistening NYC backdrop… See all the Oscar Wilde, Mae West, and Woody Allen quotes from the The School Of Life’s IDEAS TO LIVE BY… postcard series for Morgans Hotel on the next page.
Where will you be escaping to this weekend? Find out about these great destinations at more from NotVentures.
Ack. It’s supposed to be the coldest night in a while here in NYC tonight! I guess it’s a good thing i just hopped the train down from Boston and got settled into the Bowery Hotel in NYC… definitely sounds like it ought to be a room service kind of night… lows of 5 degrees do not sound fun! Be it through laziness or busyness or indecisiveness, i’ve recently begun trying out the GoldSmith services of the fabulous Mr & Mrs Smith… it’s quite magical really, they’ll introduce you to your personal consultant who will take care of you when it comes to booking at any of their destinations as well as automatic room upgrades, airport lounge passes, loyalty plan and more… the part that has been the most fun so far, is it’s been far too fun emailing with my GoldSmith concierge, Jasmine. She’s made my life and inbox easier AND more amusing. While i’ll be testing things out more throughout the year, it’s already been a pleasure having them help me extend my stay in Boston last night at the XV Beacon (i’ve even ended up with a XV Beacon CD upon check out because of the Mr & Mrs Smith connection), and now they’ve worked out a press rate for me at the Bowery Hotel.
But i digress, back to the Bowery Hotel, my new home for the next few days, it’s adorable, and you simply must see the design details… i love their logo! And that they have a big calendar i can scribble on as i try to plan out the upcoming week… It’s so cold out, i totally got in and hopped into the comfy bed to work on the macbook air right now… SO cozy! And love the dark hardwood floors as well… go check it all out on the next page!
Today has been kind of amazing in socal, 70 degrees and sunny in LA, and the perfect day to cruise down to San Diego to meet up with Mercedes-Benz AMG… came down a few hours early wanting to skip rush hour and get some work done… but it’s hard not to relax when you pull into the world of Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in Rancho Santa Fe. So between conference calls and emails, how could i not share this HOUSE of a “room” i just checked into? So very california bungalow; comfy, cozy, and far too much space to have to myself! And truly, the perfect weather for what looks like it will shape up to be a glorious weekend to drive around with the new CLS 63 AMG. Take a peek inside my bungalow on the next page…
Happy Friday! Where will you be spending the weekend? Get some getaway inspiration from NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual image.
Freshly back from vegas, and already lusting after where to head next! Where will your travels take you this year? Get inspired with NotVentures. Click the pics to find out more, or share your inspiring destinations of choice too!
Our final 2010 roundup, comes from our newest site of all, and perhaps the most fun to help us look forward into possibilities for the new year… even though only 2 months old, NotVentures is my daily wanderlust, making it harder and harder to stay put when there are so many places and things to see in the world! I can’t wait to see what adventures await in 2011… and what wonders we’ll all find and share! Please feel free to share places that either spark your wanderlust or that you have visited and would recommend to inspire others!
Here are just a few of the beautiful destinations showcased on Notventures this week. Where will you be off to next? To be taken to each post, just click on its image.
Whether you’re after a wintry wonderland and tropical paradise, Notventures can inspire your next expedition. To find out more about each destination, click on its image.