Category: Wanderlust

Stylish RVs: T@B Trailers

I love camping with Ian and our dog Isabel.  We go “car camping” to various provincial parks in Ontario.  I love being outside and having a campfire, but I also need a few creature comforts (oh come on, bringing a blowup bed and duvet to a campsite is NOT prissy.  It’s comfortable).

I’ve been fascinated with camper vans and RVs – they seem to take camping to the next level.  Camping and road tripping?  Sign me up!  I would LOVE to camp in some of the big parks in the US (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Tetons…).  Too bad most camper vans and RVs are disgustingly ugly, expensive, or hard to pull behind our small SUV.

Then Ian told me he saw a T@B micro-RV parked in someone’s driveway.  How cool are these?  They’re small enough (and light enough) to be pulled by our car, and have just enough space and functionality to go for a long camping trip.  Perfect for two people and a dog.  I have no idea how much these cost, but it really doesn’t matter.  I don’t have a place to keep one (no garage at our Toronto house).  So for now, I have to just dream…

Life Envy: Rosie Brown

I’m having a serious case of life envy right now.  No, not in the Single White Female kind of way – more in line with admiration and inspiration.  It’s all for Rosie Brown, a Scottish designer and stylist.  I read about her on Design*Sponge in 3 different posts (which also define why I think she’s the coolest and kind of want her life):

1. Sneak Peak into Rosie Brown’s gorgeous home in Edinburgh

2. Sneak Peak into Rosie Brown’s gorgeous home in rural Scotland, where they moved to after leaving Edinburgh

3. A recent feature on Papa Stour, an online shop run by Brown, featuring the best of Scottish contemporary design.  Just look at these awesome Scottish items. I love the posters with taglines from Scottish treats, like “Taking Over Teatime” from Tunnock’s Teacakes.  Or “It’s the National Treat” from Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers.

Oh, and while perusing the Papa Stour website, I noticed this – they’re renting out their holiday cottage in the Highlands.  I’ve seen this cottage before – I keep coming across it when I’m daydreaming of trips to Scotland.  Could this be a sign?  Am I supposed to rent this cottage in Scotland?  I just might have to…

Shelter Island Retreat

Oh wow, don’t you wish you were here?  I found this vacation home on Shelter Island, New York, on Dwell Magazine’s website.  View the slideshow here.

I love this building, and how the architect owner designed the entire thing around the location.  It doesn’t need air conditioning, due to the smart placement of windows to take advantage of ocean breezes.  Each bedroom was designed to be within earshot of the sound of the waves outside.  And just look at that shower (above).  Even it was designed for optimal natural light.

I’m having a HUGE case of vacation home envy right now.  Sigh.

25 Travel-Inspiring Photos

With this oppressive heat we’re currently experiencing in Toronto, I wish I could be anywhere but here.  I know, I know… this is the weather we pay thousands of dollars for in the middle of winter, when we’re all escaping on Caribbean getaways.  But that hot weather comes with a swimming pool and a beach!

Anyway, here’s a round-up for 25 travel-inspiring photos from Budget Travel Magazine.  Enjoy, and keep cool!

Vacation Rentals: Airbnb

I think I’m a bit late to this party… I just discovered the Airbnb website.  Here’s a description:

Called the “Ebay for space” by Time Magazine, Airbnb is an online marketplace allowing anyone from private residents to commercial properties to rent out their extra space. The reputation-based site allows for user reviews, verification, and secure online transactions. Listings include vacation rentals, private rooms, entire apartments, bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels, castles, treehouses, and many other traditional and non-traditional accommodations.

I’ve been poking around the site, and have noticed two things:

1. Next time we’re on holiday that isn’t home exchange, and we’re leaving our house empty, I’m definitely putting our place up for rent.

2. There are some amazing properties here – really cool, non-traditional vacation dwellings.  Like the airplane-turned-hotel in Costa Rica, a house shaped like a boot in New Zealand, two different castles in the UK,  and a mushroom-domed cabin in Calfornia (pictured above).   See the Top 40 coolest listings on Airbnb here.

Travel Search by Price and Location

Kinnon forwarded me this from the blog kottke.org, and I couldn’t resist posting here.

Kayak, the travel index website, has launched a feature called Kayak Explore.  You go to this webpage, set some parameters (starting point, price range, activity, etc) and it will give you a map of destinations, overlaid with prices.  I dream of travel all the time – I often don’t even care where I’m going, as long as it’s someplace new.  I’m limited by my budget though, so this is a great tool for quickly checking where I can afford to fly to.

Headin’ to the Desert

We love travelling through home exchange.  We swap houses with other people around the world – they stay in our house, and we stay in theirs.  It’s free, and a great way to travel.  If you saw the movie The Holiday, with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, it’s like that.  We organize our home exchanges through a website: HomeExchange.com

Ian and I have done 2 previous home exchanges (to Vancouver Island and Mexico), and have just confirmed our 3rd.  In September, we’re heading to Palm Springs, California.  We’re so excited – our exchange partner has a gorgeous condo with 3 swimming pools and many other nice amenities!  It’s like going to a resort, for free. (that’s a photo of the place up there)

We’ve never been to the desert, so we’re pumped to explore the surrounding area, including Joshua Tree National Park.  Fingers crossed it won’t be too hot (30-35 degrees is not unusual in September).  And Palm Springs has a large concentration of mid-century modern architecture and furniture – it’s gonna be like living in Mad Men.  So excited!

Luxury Travel for Stupid Cheap

I was reading the Globe and Mail on the weekend, and saw a little blurb in the travel section about a website called Off & Away.  It’s a hotel suite auction site, where you can bid on 5-star luxury hotel suites for ridiculous prices (bids start at $0.25). A recent package for a 2-night stay at a posh hotel in Chicago went for $100, and 3 nights in a gorgeous suite near Cancun went for $60.  Insane!

I’ve been watching the site for a few days now, trying to figure out how it works, and trying to figure out what the catch is.  The catch is this – if you want to bid on a hotel package,  you have to “buy” bids.  And bids cost about a dollar each.  I’ve watched a few auctions, and the winner has used anywhere between 20-100 bids to get the deal.  Not so bad if you’re the winner, but if you’re the runner-up, you basically lose that money.  Of course, Off & Away says you can use your losing bids as a credit towards booking hotels with them, but I’m assuming those aren’t the cheap ones.

If you want to try it, read the “How It Works” section of the website, watch a few auctions to see how it’s played, and then jump in there and start bidding.

Update: You can now buy bids on Off and Away from Canada.  You couldn’t previously.  Thanks Hilary for the tip!