hotels Posts
Living the good life at Olive in Windhoek, Namibia
After spending 4 nights in a typical convention-type hotel, The Hilton in Durban, a stone’s throw from the site of Indaba, a trade show about Africa, I craved a Virtuoso-style property. You know the kind I mean, right? A place in which you feel comfortable, pampered, and where you can, in one deep exhale, blot out the memories of any irritations—welcome to our suite at the Olive, a boutique hotel in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek.
Our accommodations could easily be featured in Dwell or Architectural Digest—contemporary, clean lines, natural materials and fibers, shallow pools by the front door and a lounge area and plunge pool in the rear. I’m sitting on a taupe leather sofa, the pieces sewn with purposely unfinished edges and my feet are propped up on a gnarled tree root table. Enough, though, of my words—you have photos to tell the story. TTFN—I’m off to luxuriate for the evening!
Vacation photos are so worth it!
Vacation photos really crystallize those wonderful memories. A few days ago while doing some Great GetawayS graphic design, I searched for a vacation photo to go with the text I had written. I wanted to add a vacation photo from one of our journeys, an image that conveyed both darkness and light. What a wonderful experience I had!
I began with the most recent vacation we had taken and worked my way back through the years. I’d find a photo – a sunset while have cocktails in the bush in Kenya, an early morning shot from the balcony of Esprit St. Germain in Paris, a group of people praying in Lhasa, a mountain gorilla feeding her baby in Rwanda-and think, “That’s the perfect photo!” Then I’d keep searching, just to be sure I had the very best choice. Finally, I picked a photo taken by Michael on a trip to New Zealand (the photo below).
This art project became so much more—-I enjoyed a pleasant few minutes of time travel, of recalling those experiences I keep wrapped as memories in my heart, of enjoying each journey again and again. The moral of this story: Take lots of photos of your travels and of you enjoying your vacation. It is so worth it! Even when you want to scream, “I don’t want another photo of me”, put a smile on your face and say, “Cheese!” You will be so glad you did!
What is your Travel Dream?
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© 2013 Virtuoso, Ltd. | 505 Main Street, Suite 500 | Fort Worth, TX 76102
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Romantic Destinations to say “I do!”
Destination weddings are always in season. He proposed and you accepted. Now what? Where to get married? Where to honeymoon? Consider combining the two events and plan a destination wedding.
The world is, as they say, your oyster and your options are almost limitless. How do you choose? First, establish a budget. Next, decide how many people you want to join you. This is the point you ask yourself, “If I want friends and family to participate in my destination wedding, what destination is easily accessible?
One wedding destination we adore is the island of Kauai. Rarely can you find a place with so many options for a dramatic backdrop to your wedding vows – the moody lush North Shore, the sunny, swaying palms of the South part of the island, the mountains, even outside the bar made famous in “The Descendents”.
Speaking of destination weddings, read Michael King’s planning tips on page 16 of the February/March issue of Virtuoso Traveler (see below). I love it when we’re featured in a magazine!
World’s Best Hotels 2013 Guide
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