Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 - February 2018 i International Traveller

A TALE OF TWO CITIES Marrakech and Paris were where the designer Yves Saint Laurent thrived. Paris was the creative epicentre of his career, his fame and legend, while Marrakech was the place where he found respite and repose. Now, two new museums have opened their doors in these divergent cities in celebration of the man and his craft. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech (museeyslmarrakech.com), located on the Rue Yves Saint Laurent (just a stone’s throw from the Majorelle Garden – the vivid blue Cubist villa and sprawling gardens created by painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1930s and acquired by Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé), is a low-slung terracotta building with Cubist tendencies of its own. Created by French architectural firm Studio KO, headed by Karl Fournier…

THE MANDRAKE Located in London’s Fitzrovia, The Mandrake looks more like a›tropical Garden of Eden than a West End bolt hole in the middle of the city. Within an award-winning building are 30 rooms, three suites and a penthouse rendered in vibrant shades, with an eclectic aesthetic that makes it a totally unique proposition. themandrake.com OVERLOOK LODGE BY CERVO, ZERMATT With OMG views of the Matterhorn, Overlook Lodge has just five serviced apartments housed in a traditional lodge, offering privileged peace and privacy to its guests. The alpine-inspired interiors combine texture with five-star elements like Swedish Hästens beds and Molton Brown amenities, and the extensive facilities of the neighbouring Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort are easily accessible. designhotels.com The Robey Hall, Chicago IN THE WICKER PARK NEIGHBOURHOOD, THE ROBEY HALL…

Climbing into a taxi at the Bellagio in the heart of Las Vegas’s famed Strip, the irony of my intended destination – the Neon Museum – doesn’t escape me. The whole city is a neon museum; on the way I pass the Flamingo, with its pulsating pink neon sign casting an eerie pallor on the faces of the frozen margarita-sipping Missourian tourists basking in its glory, and the Golden Nugget, which has enough bulbs screwed into its display to light a small yet plucky Central American republic. Opened in 2013 in the Downtown area, the museum is, in fact, as much about the unique history of Las Vegas as it is about the flashy artforms (some say eyesores; you say potato…) that characterise it. Sitting at the very beginning of…

GLACIER BAY, ALASKA EVER SEEN A GLACIER? IF NOT, YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT. A CRUISE TO GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK MEANS THAT, FOR A WHILE ANYWAY, YOU’LL BE PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM OF FLORA AND FAUNA THAT MAKES UP THIS FAMED UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. WATCH ON DECK FROM YOUR HOLLAND AMERICA LINER AS GIANT BLOCKS OF ICE BREAK AND CRASH INTO THE SEA – GLACIER BAY HAS THE MOST ACTIVE CALVING TIDEWATER GLACIERS IN THE WORLD. MCKINLEY CHALET RESORT, ALASKA Denali Square, nestled on our 60-acre McKinley Chalet Resort at the gates of Denali National Park, is the perfect place to celebrate Alaska. Dine, relax, connect, explore and be entertained in our private retreat as you join in the festivities with a commemorative gift and beer brewed especially…

Think Tokyo, think huge. The ever-present, remarkable technology imbuing everything from escalators to toys to toilet seats gives the impression that this megalopolis never stops to take a breath. Yet the lungs of the city – the much loved and surprisingly substantial parklands and places for quiet reflection – are plentiful, and keep Tokyo grounded. Not only that, but a mere three hours by super-fast Shinkansen train can take you to Aomori prefecture, a peaceful, nature-based region where blessed, green-tinged silence awaits even the most frazzled, time-poor visitor. DAY ONE Within the city of Tokyo itself – and about an hour by train from Haneda Airport – the lush Todoroki Valley awaits. The kilometre-long path, running alongside a peaceful waterway, is a favourite stroll for salarymen looking for a de-stress,…

ADDING TO its already impressive portfolio of more than 25 snow resorts, the famous resort group will be opening the brand new Club Med Massif Samoëns Morillon – in France’s fourth largest ski domain, where you can literally ski off the roof to the lifts – and the highly anticipated Club Med Tomamu (its second Japanese ski resort) in December, 2017. Club Med has also announced its first Canadian resort in Le Massif de Charlevoix, enjoying spectacular waterfront views among Quebec’s beautiful, pristine mountains. The difference with the all-inclusive Club Med experience is its commitment to offering the easiest ski holiday ever, so you can relax and enjoy more time on the slopes. From the minute you arrive, everything is taken care of, from your lift pass and lessons, to…

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Indeed, if ever you needed inspiration to get up and go on a journey, the destinations highlighted here, and the level of depth with which you can explore them, will be motivation enough. The Lofoten Islands of Norway – a walker’s paradise; yes, you can go there, do that. Outdoor Travel offers this and some other seriously aspirational trails for you to tackle. And you won’t simply be taking pretty images of Amsterdam’s canals, you can explore the city by barge and bicycle like a Nederlander with a new holiday offering from Outdoor Travel coming in 2018. It’s the exclusivity of the journey that counts; sure, the Great Wall of China is a must for many people, but this also makes it an overcrowded slice of Chinese…

ONCE UPON A TIME, two friends fell in love with Vietnam and resolved to live and work there by organising easygoing, small-group tours of the place. That humble idea, 24 years ago, became Travel Indochina, which then evolved into the even more widespread Insider Journeys. Now with offices around the globe and offering a veritable bucket list of destinations, Insider Journeys nevertheless retains its primary mission: to give its guests authentic, experiential travel – not just visiting the land but getting to know its people, seeing their home through their eyes. One size never fits all, though, and one traveller’s idea of luxury perfection can be another traveller’s not-quite-right, especially for those who relish a feeling of flexibility and independence. This is where Insider Journeys’ Footloose Tours come in. Set…

After many holidays spent sailing around Spain’s idyllic Balearic Islands, an archipelago of four main islands off the country’s east coast, Brenda Ooteman and her husband Roland Verbeek decided to do a deeper dive into the destination, setting off to explore the main island of Mallorca by motorcycle. The couple felt instantly connected to the breathtaking nature and picturesque villages they passed through on their travels. And then, in the heart of the island, they found their own piece of paradise on top of a mountain. They had to have it. “For as long as I can remember, I have had a deep connection with nature,” says Brenda. “I grew up in Africa with my bare feet in the sand, being one with the earth’s heartbeat, rhythm and scent. My…

AN INDIAN OCEAN ODYSSEY Insider Journeys has been changing lives through travel for 24 years with the ethos that travel is about more than a vacation; it’s about getting to know a country in all its glory, by meeting local people and seeing places through their eyes. With business class flights courtesy of SriLankan Airlines, Insider Journeys has teamed up with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts to offer this incredible prize. Spend two nights at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, located in a prime location by the sea in the heart of the business district. Explore the city with the help of Insider Journeys, taking a tour through the commercial area of Ford, the noisy bazaar of Pettah or Pitakotuwa and the Wolvendaal Dutch Church. You’ll then head to, well, paradise, and…

My first glimpse of São Miguel’s lush landscape makes it obvious why the island is affectionately nicknamed Ilha Verde or ‘Green Island’. I’m almost convinced we’re making a water landing when my plane gently bumps onto the runway. Outside I see nothing but blue – just blue sky dissolving into a blue sea – until a steady U-turn brings the tarmac into view. The cabin inhales a rush of humid air as we disembark, and my first glimpse of São Miguel’s lush landscape makes it obvious why the island is affectionately nicknamed Ilha Verde or ‘Green Island’. São Miguel, with a population of around 140,000, is the largest and most developed of the Azores’ nine-island archipelago that stretches across 600 kilometres in the North Atlantic. A two-hour flight from Lisbon,…

UNTIL 25 FEBRUARY DAVID HOCKNEY; NEW YORK, USA Celebrated artist David Hockney turned 80 in 2017 and this major retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – via Tate Britain in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris – is a worthy tribute to his career of nearly 60 years. The works presented span those decades; from his early depictions of Los Angeles homes and pools to double portraits of celebrated friends, such as curator Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, pictured, and recent paintings of woodland in his native Yorkshire.metmuseum.org UNTIL 25 FEBRUARY OPERA: PASSION, POWER AND POLITICS; LONDON, UK In collaboration with the Royal Opera House, the V&A presents a highly original exhibition about the time-honoured art form, which travels from its roots in late-Renaissance Italy to the present…

THE COMING YEAR is bringing the largest collection of cruising options ever available to Australians from expert outfit Cruise Croatia. There is a huge selection of ships, itineraries and departures across three categories – Deluxe, First Class and Traditional – offering a broad appeal for travellers looking for either a primary holiday in the crystalline waters of the region, or to include a cruise as part of a bigger Mediterranean or European adventure. Most cruises are eight days/seven nights and are on board intimate purpose-built ships that hold a maximum of 36 passengers. Also available are shorter mini cruises and themed cruises focusing on cycling and hiking, wine and food, and even yoga. The majority of Deluxe ships are less than three years old or have been newly renovated, and…

GREEN EGGS AND… The Village of La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) is the antithesis of California’s mega-mall mentality, perhaps helped by its artist-colony legacy. So while Porsches and exclusive specialty stores catch your eye on Prospect Street, it’s the boutique galleries such as Legends Gallery that glue this place together. Legend focuses on the most famous creative to have walked these sunny streets (in his pyjamas apparently): Theodor Seuss Geisel, A.K.A Dr. Seuss. On display is a selection of the doc’s classic books, drawings and a series of locally inspired paintings of ‘La Jolla Birdwomen’, an artful teasing of his fashionable neighbours’ charity-ball lifestyles. legendsgallerylajolla.com THE HIGH-TIDE FEAST San Diego’s food scene has been enlightened by the likes of Bernard Guillas. The French executive chef took over local institution The…

Driving into the Serengeti is the closest you’ll get to that scene in Jurassic Park when those colossal gates open to the dodgy dino world before Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum pass through them in a 4WD, not knowing what they’ll encounter. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be out on the vast savannah, the abundance of wildlife meaning that every minute you don’t know what you’ll see: a parade of elephants, a tower of giraffes, a pride of lions, a million wildebeest on the march. It’s a wildlife photographer’s dream. It’s also home to the semi-nomadic Maasai, their elaborate jewellery, intricate tartan of their cloth Shúkà, synonymous with the landscape. Tanzania has dedicated some 38 per cent of its surface to wildlife conservation, an embarrassment of riches including…

Moments after entering our room, my friend and I exchange a look before bursting into fits of excited giggles. We survey the space, taking in the black lacquer beds with their embroidered canopies, the strawberry pink walls embossed with roses and the view of azure waters filling the window. It’s like being in a palace. Perhaps the French Riviera’s most famous hotel, Le Negresco is packed with enough antiques and artworks in its 124 rooms and suites, hallways and restaurants to fill a museum. The hotel’s signature pink dome has dominated the Promenade des Anglais in Nice for more than a century. Opening in 1913, it was commandeered as a hospital during the First World War and struggled to survive the post-war downturn in Riviera tourism, before it experienced a…

BALI Going to Bali is a safe bet – it’s warm, it’s beautiful, the temples are breathtaking and the food is out of this world. Whether it’s for a wedding, a honeymoon or a chilled-out break with friends, it never disappoints. For the ultimate in seclusion you can really treat yourself with a private villa at Conrad Bali. Or enjoy uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean, not to mention some seriously gorgeous, golden-tinted beachfront, at Hilton Bali Resort in Nusa Dua. Late night arrival? Stay at Hilton Garden Inn Bali; it’s right next to the airport providing you with a good night’s sleep before exploring the best Bali has to offer the next day. JAKARTA Jakarta is a multicultural city bursting at the seams with excitement, vigour and incredible food…

STEAMBOAT One moment she guffaws about the story of a cowboy who was tasered after riding a horse through a bar, the next, a sorrowful solitary tear rolls down her cheek. Erin Simmons Nemec is a Steamboat Springs local now, gifting her privileges to re-tell homegrown legends, even (especially) if she wasn’t there. She upped sticks from Vancouver in 2003 to move to the Rocky Mountains town to further her boardercross career; one of the most perilous sports known to humankind. Erin continues the (true) tale; two cowboys and one cowgirl ride their horses down Steamboat’s main drag, Lincoln Avenue, and try to get into a pub (yes, still on horseback). The cowgirl, the supreme rider among them, negotiates her steed up a narrow flight of stairs. The barman is…

Canada is one of the most diverse countries you can travel to and it’d be easy to spend months exploring the majestic landscapes, pristine lakes and thriving wildlife. But the best way to immerse yourself is to do things a little differently. BEAR LODGES Get up close and personal with the local wildlife by staying in a bear lodge. There are a number of lodges only a short boat or float plane ride away from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Be spoiled with the untouched landscape, daily tours with knowledgeable guides and the chance to sit back and relax in the wilderness. NORTHERN LIGHTS There is nothing more exciting than driving away from Whitehorse to the Aurora Viewing Centre and getting your camera ready to capture this natural phenomenon. As soon…

The fact that Tamburlaine, the new luxury hotel that opened its doors in Cambridge in March, is named after a Persian emperor in one of dramatist and Cambridge alumnus Christopher Marlowe’s 16th-century plays is enough to give it a sense of place in the university city. But add to this rooms distinguished by academic terms – Fresher, Scholar and Dean – instead of size, a well-stocked library and a pastel-and-floral-drenched Garden Room, and it couldn’t be more Cambridge if it tried. The layered references play out throughout the hotel, according to designer Bryan O’Sullivan. “The aim was to create an interior scheme that sits well in the historic surroundings of Cambridge. Persian influences were taken from the play Tamburlaine, and the five public spaces in the hotel each reflect a…

WIN A THREE-DAY, TWO-NIGHT STAY IN A NUSA DUA ONE BEDROOM POOL VILLA AT HILTON BALI RESORT FOR TWO, INCLUSIVE OF VILLA AND EXECUTIVE LOUNGE BENEFITS, VALUED AT $1650 Situated in the south of Nusa Dua, sitting atop a 40-metre cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean, Hilton Bali Resort offers 389 well-appointed rooms and suites and 19 luxurious private pool villas. The resort is famous for its breathtaking sights, secluded beach, recreation facilities, lush tropical gardens and warm Balinese hospitality. hilton.com/Bali Q. What’s the first thing you would do›when you get to Nusa Dua? WIN A NIXON MISSION SS SMARTWATCH VALUED AT $679.99 To celebrate the launch of the world’s first action sports smartwatch with an all-new stainless steel band, Nixon is giving away a gold Mission SS. Built smart and…

JOIN THE CLUB Architect Peter Marino, Michelin-starred chef Tasuku Murakami and Major Food Group have pooled their considerable talent to create the new underground Japanese restaurant, The Lobster Club. Tucked away in the New York landmark Seagram Building, this is the first restaurant project in North America for architect, artist, and author Marino, whose work for clients like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Zegna and Bulgari is dotted across the globe. The resulting space is ‘extravagant and boisterously elegant’, with Marino overseeing everything from the uniforms to the floors to the fanciful ‘hanging’ banquettes. Meanwhile Tasuku’s menu will showcase his incredible skill and love of sushi and Japanese classics, with fish brought in from Tokyo’s Tsukiji market. BEYOND SEOUL FOOD The port city of Busan in the south-east of South Korea…

style crush: ULURU It’s almost impossible to compete with the scene-stealing presence of Uluru, the hulking red behemoth that inhabits a near-mythical position in our collective psyche. So Longitude 131° doesn’t even try; instead it venerates and celebrates the rock from every possible angle. With views interrupted only by the surprisingly verdant undergrowth and abundant wild flowers during the spring months, every one of the 16 luxury tents, as well as the central Lodge and restive new Spa Kinara, are positioned to impress. And then there’s the new Dune Pavilion, where the vista from the bed – or the bath – literally takes your breath away with its otherworldly beauty. longitude131.com.au…

The sight of a cruise ship anchored in Sydney Harbour is always a spectacle: its enormity will make it appear so immobile (until it slips with stealth out past the Opera House), and spying its›passengers high up on deck as they survey today’s new port conjures a feeling of faraway places. When the ship in question is the Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s famous ocean liner, all this is evoked and more. Here, with 18 decks and weighing 151,400 tonnes, is the ‘Golden Age of Travel’ embodied. It brings with it from Britain a sense of occasion, and memories of a time when – before the jet age arrived – ocean liners were the common way for passengers to travel›between continents. Not a bad place to start for my first cruise,…

DAY ONE 9AM – Arrive in Reims (pronounced rass for some mysterious Gallic reason) after a 45-minute TGV journey from Paris and dump your bags at Grand Hotel Continental, just a three-minute walk from the train station. 10AM – Grab a coffee and head out for a two-hour tour of historic Reims. You can join open bus tours via the Reims Tourism office (reims-tourism.com) or opt for a more sedate walking tour via Paris Champagne Tour (parischampagnetour.com). From 1914 to 1918, Reims endured a barrage of artillery shelling as the Germans lobbed all manner of exploding objects from the surrounding hills, obliterating 80 per cent of the city’s buildings. Rebuilding Reims was a Herculean task. Four hundred architects and 12,500 workers took a decade to rebuild the city, the reconstruction…

Ninety minutes north of San Francisco, the Russian River area is home to towering redwood forests, summer camps and hamlets filled with old-fashioned diners and small wine bars showcasing the Sonoma region’s finest drops. It’s also the venue for a new luxury trailer park, AutoCamp, not afraid to lay the nostalgia on thick. Satisfying the growing thirst travellers have for recapturing the simpler times of America’s golden age of motor travel, modern-era trailer parks have sprung up across the USA everywhere from Texas to Arizona, and now California. I make my way to AutoCamp’s clubhouse to check in. As a multipurpose space used as a reception and chill-out area, the clubhouse is clearly channelling the log cabin vibe with decorative wooden logs adorning the exterior and an indoor, smoke-free faux…

There’s almost a Tom Jones effect that happens when you tell women of a particular age that you’re off to visit England’s famous potteries region. My mother, for example, starts shaking me with an excitement I’ve not seen before or since, begging me to ‘tell her all about Wedgwood – one more time’, while her friends demand (with an almost frothy frenzy) that I find out why ceramics are so unaffordable when it’s really all ‘just a bunch of clay’. And just as I’m beginning to get excited about my trip to Stoke-on-Trent, my English husband says, “Stoke? Why would anyone want to go to Stoke?” Spoken like a man who left the country a good 20 years ago. Admittedly, Stoke-on-Trent – an industrial city teeming with decrepit warehouses and…

GONE ARE THE DAYS of stereotypical coach trips, when travellers would spend their holiday searching frantically for an umbrella-waving tour guide; be content posing for a few happy snaps before being whisked off to the next tourist attraction; or ticking off 15 cities in 10 days in a bid to say they’ve ‘done’ Europe. Nowadays, travellers expect more from a coach trip. They want to immerse themselves in a new culture and experience new destinations through the eyes of a local (away from the selfie-stick holding tourists). These travellers are looking for real, authentic experiences that allow them to escape the constraints of day-to-day life, but with the comfort and security of travelling with a local expert. Travellers don’t want to pass through the underground Turkish city of Cappadocia, they…

AT WENDY WU TOURS, we pride ourselves on knowing every vibrant, fascinating and incredibly rich corner of Asia. That’s why we are Australia’s leading specialist Asia tour operator. Since 1994, when Wendy personally escorted her first tour to China, her ever-growing team of passionate travellers have been perfecting and diversifying the range of tours to capture the very essence of Asia. Today, over 23 years later, Wendy Wu Tours takes tens-of-thousands of travellers to 25 countries throughout the continent. For us, your journey begins from that very first enquiry. You can trust that we will expertly guide you through your Asian adventure with exceptional customer service and expert knowledge of your destination. Wendy Wu Tours has now expanded into new magnificent regions of the world, taking travellers to South America…

Standing atop the Jeep in a safari-style jacket and white surgical mask, a man is lobbing apples at the head of a lion sleeping outstretched underneath the shade of a tree. Thud, it sounds as one hits the lion’s jaw. Thud, sounds another as it makes contact with the lion’s forehead. “Sir, would you please sit down and stop throwing apples at the lions,” his guide hisses from the front seat, no doubt amazed he’s ever had to utter those words at anyone, but surgical mask man is also perplexed; after all, he didn’t pay his money to come on safari to photograph a sleeping lion, he spits. “I want to get a photo of it awake.” In a deafening silence only occasionally broken with birdsong and hyena cackle –…

We visit the tiny village of Itilleq with its rainbow-coloured houses – some with strips of meat drying on lines like washing. It ’s not every day you can breakfast with celebrated author Margaret Atwood, lunch with Arctic explorer James Raffan and then dine with astronaut Charlie Duke, one of just a dozen men who have walked on the moon. But it’s all in a day’s travel for me. Its big-name rollcall is one of the (many) things that recommended the Arctic expedition specialists Adventure Canada to me. Following a two-hour private charter flight from Edmonton, my cruise begins in Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) in south-west Nunavut. The Ocean Endeavour, a new vessel for the season, can cater to up to 198 passengers in 10 categories of comfortable cabins. Our company…

WHERE ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM? The UK: I [Louise] grew up on a farm in the West Country, while Ian is from South Wales. However we moved to Sydney (1) in 2000 and spent 13 years living and working there as a food photographer and food stylist team. We became citizens in 2004 and still have property there. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW? In a tiny rural hamlet in the Charente in south-west France (2). The house is a 300-year-old converted barn. It was converted before we bought it and has had large doors and windows put in, so it’s light and bright, similar to our home in Sydney. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE? We have been in France for four and a half years, and in this current…