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Hey PMStylers…

It’s April, and I’ve got Spring / Summer travel on the brain. I love travel more than anything in the world. It’s my hobby, my burning passion, my dream career, my “in a previous life” soul. (I once asked Santa for a foreign accent.) I love to write about travel, dream about it, talk about it, research it, and give advice about it. Some women buy jewelry, others beach houses. I vacation big, that’s my “save up and splurge”. Seriously big. I’m stealth at finding insane hotels (not the corporate type, more boutique) and sublime places and eats. Plus, I spare no chance to pick the brains of our famous faces at QVC bc I figure they have the 4-1-1 on all things “sick” (translation: amazing) when it comes to R&R getaways.

Joe and I are taking his sis’ to Italy in June. I can’t wait. We are doing 4 days in Rome, then heading to Sicily. I’m a big believer in spending dough on hotels because they become your sanctuary while away. Some top 10 tips for traveling…

WHAT TO PACK - I always travel with a carryon bag that can double as a “take it poolside with all our loot” bag. In past that bag has been a Longchamp nylon shoulder tote, but I’m a little deflated on how mine hasn’t held up and so I’m switching to Dooney’s Italian nylon tote, (For shorter weekend getaways I typically travel with a Vera Duffel). 

In our pool bag I always have: 

Julep Creme to Powder Blush Stick (Moonlit Sand) - I use it on my lips

Coola and / or SuperGoop Sunscreen

Olive green fringe Sarong wrap

Joe’s baseball hat (not for sale at QVC LOL)

My cheap straw fedora from Paris

Spare set of sunglasses 

USE A TRAVEL AGENT - He / she can score you complimentary room upgrades and free daily breakfast, even resort credits. The room upgrade is the best. It’s how we scored a room with a plunge pool in Puerto Rico for the price of an entry level room. Score!

PACK SMART - Joe and I travel with Heys hard sided luggage. One tip is to roll your clothes like burritos, instead of folding them flat. You will get more into your suitcase. I also highly recommend using resealable bags for cosmetics and liquids in case they break open in flight. And just in case your bag doesn’t make it there with you, I recommend packing the toiletries you can’t live without for a few days along with your bathing suit, one outfit, and medication (if you need) in your carry on. (And plastic hanging dry cleaning bags help prevent wrinkles if you pack hanging items in them.)

THE HOTEL - Joe and I prefer smaller hotels, under 75 rooms. The service is more personal, and the experience is less touristy. We avoid hotels that advertise weddings and conferences on their homepage because that typically means crowds. Smaller hotels also have charming, cool amenities and features. Like the hotel I stayed at in Italy for my 40th birthday that offered a complimentary daily wooden boat tour of the Amalfi coast. It was free, gorgeous, and stunning. 

AIRPORTS - I love them. I love the smell of jet fuel, and the feeling that everyone is going somewhere. Plus it means if I’m in one, I am going somewhere. 

Chicago O’Hare - Despite the complaints of delays bc of it’s size, I love it. A modern shopping mall. A sushi restaurant, a MAC store. You can buy a Coach bag while you wait for your row to be called. C'mon! 

Munich, Germany - It’s a Europe thing I guess. Nonetheless it was weird to see Camel-cigarette sponsored smoking chambers, freestanding, glass enclosed, throughout the terminal.

Palm Springs - The most picturesque airport I have ever visited. 

(PS: 24hours before your flight, check in to see if a seat upgrade is available. Sometimes you can get into business class for $100. Hashtag, worth it. Meals, free drinks, real silverware, and they heat up the nuts before they serve them to you. That’s how a splurge vacation should start or end.)

HOTEL BATHROOMS - Is it weird that I love them? I could seriously live in a bathroom at some of the hotels we’ve visited. It’s amazing what you can do with a bathroom. TV’s in the bathroom mirror and showers outside in the tropics, are two of our coolest finds. (Plus, I do hoard and stash the free bathroom travel samples bc at great hotels they are usually gift worthy and amazing. #DontJudge) In Puerto Rico there was a palm tree growing through the public bathroom, and the bathroom attached to the spa (where I got a massage in a treehouse) was fierce…

SOUVENIRS - They don’t have to cost money. I have brought shells from Turks, rocks from Florida, (the aforementioned toiletries from Italy), charming room keys from Europe (which I will deny if ever asked) and even the room “Do Not Disturb” door hanger from Puerto Rico, home (In the Caribbean, it was in the shape of the cutest tropical owl) Plus, In Greece at a beachside lunch spot, they served us wine in a small clay pitcher. Somehow that made it into my suitcase. (The restaurant actually told me to take it. I swear. It never hurts to ask.

BE SMART / THINK AHEAD - One of my true gifts is that I am not a worrier…I am a “catastrophizer”. I trust no one, and I assume the worst so I can avoid it at all cost. Tips: Don’t sightsee with your passport. Leave it in the hotel safe, every hotel has them in the room. Men, carry your wallet in your front pocket not back. And don’t take all of your credit cards with you for the day, you only need one if you plan to shop. (Make sure you have the 1-800 numbers for the cards saved in your phone or written down). Let the card companies and banks know when you plan to travel so you don’t get there and have your card rejected because of fraud protection flags. And in many cases it's cheaper and easier to take money out at foreign ATM’s then it is to exchange US currency for foreign at a currency window. Plus better still, you get the best exchange rate.

If in Europe, take a scarf or shawl with you if you plan to visit churches. Bare shoulders are frowned upon. Don’t eat in the tourist district either. The food isn’t great and the prices are high. When in places like Greece and Italy, don’t bother ordering name brand wine unless you have the discerning palette of a Sommelier. Table or house is normally delicious and fine. And if locals approach you for directions, money, or offer to take your photo, I would pass. Often that’s a scam of distraction. 

SHOES - Have cute walking shoes, and I don’t mean sneakers. Vionics, especially the Bella 2, are my pick. They go with me on every warm weather trip. They can do poolside or “dinner and a maxi dress” beautifully. And they treat your feet during long days of touring. Since shoes weigh down your suitcase, try to choose pairs that go with multiple outfits. If you’re gone for a week and plan to take a pair of shoes that only match one thing you’re taking, bad move. Waste of space. I also recommend wearing your heaviest shoes or toughest to pack, on the plane. In winter, I wear knee high boots on the plane because they are a sin to pack. Sneakers you can tie to the handles of a carryon bag if you don’t want to make room for them in the suitcase.

TAKE ONE AMAZING OUTFIT - You never know what could pop up. At the very least, Joe and I live for at least one killer meal that’s a "splurge of splurges” while on vacation. But I’ll also never forget visiting my brother in England, touring the Royal Mews (horse stables next to Buckingham) and bumping into an American guy and his Mom who invited me to attend the Royal Ascot with them (England’s version of the Kentucky Derby) I didn’t go, I had nothing to wear. 

BONUS TIP: Talk to people at the hotel, poolside, or at the bar, guests who look like they know the travel drill. Ask them where to eat, or where to avoid. You never know the cool things you can stumble on by picking the brains of people who have been staying there longer, or who have been there before. That’s how Joe and I found out about a boat rental place in Portofino that took us on an amazing afternoon ending in a sublime lunch of pesto pasta atop a cliff, overlooking a local beach inlet. 

Bon Voyage!

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Bottom line ..... let's keep in touch! 

xo