Spotlight :: Desert Decadence in Dubai

[trip style = luxury + beach + urban +sightseeing]

A few months ago I went to Dubai for a four-day, jetset journey into the Middle Eastern desert {see deets RE my direct Emirates flight from Seattle here}. Aside from sharing 30 photos in December, I never wrote much about the flashy City-State on TS, struggling to find the words to describe my experience and the mind-boggling town that turns sand into palms-shaped islands and concrete into cloud-skimming skyscrapers. Note: the below photo is taken from the world's tallest building on floor 124, looking up.

Dubai turns impossible into nothing---a mere petite feat that can be easily surmounted, like a small hill. Except that hill is Mt. Everest AND the odds of reaching the top unscathed are fraught with an army of skilled workers {a whole topic in and of itself}, and worldwide recognition. Looking at Dubai projects---an indoor ski hill, the world's largest mall, the world's only seven-star hotel and the world's tallest building---it's like the Emirate empire has conquered Everest 100+ times, on a Wednesday morning. And then went out for lunch.

The oil-rich town is the greatest destination marketing story of our time. The projects are big, blingy and boisterous; international experts are brought in to execute them, and the result is something that's landed on most globetrotters'  bucket lists. Fueled by curiosity and a desire for the exotic, travelers are seeking Dubai's decadent desert in droves.

Here's a starter kit to Dubai I wrote for Fodor's.

More Dubai
My Flight
My Hotel
The Spa
30 Photos

[photos by @tripstyler taken as a guest of emirates]

The Savvy Traveler :: Jackie

[trip style = urban + sightseeing]

I'm obsessed with croissants. I chalk this up to a longing in my heart {and stomach} for Paris. Paris is always a good idea, non? When I can't jet over to the City of Lights for a cafe au lait and croissant, I visit Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe, a recently-opened Vancouver bakery that turns pastries into poetry. Beaucoup and owner Jackie Ellis have a tight connection with France. After running her own design firm for several years, she closed up shop and set off for Paris to study pastry making at École Gastronomique Bellouet Conseil, and taste her way through Europe---for research purposes, of course! Cue blockbuster movie-in-the-making...

Just a few months after the Beacoup's opening, Jackie visited Paris encore {check out her snaps on Instagram} to take more courses and fill her foodie list to the fulleth by grazing markets, cafes and patisseries, as well as donning her finest duds at the fanciest Michelin-starred restaurants in town. With this, we're pleased as pie to welcome our latest Savvy Traveler, Jackie!

1/ Pick your top trip styles
[trip style = urban + sightseeing] I love discovering the history and local lifestyle of a new city through its cuisine and markets.

2/ The destination that stole your heart and why
Paris. I spent months there studying pastries and during that time, the city helped me to discover who I was and taught me to be passionate about life.

3/ Your favorite food abroad
This is an impossible question to ask a foodie! Right now, I have to say it is the Millefeuille Praliné at Pierre Hermé in Paris. I dream of it! It is a classic French pastry with layered caramelized pastry and cream. I love that it’s simple, and when beautifully done, the perfect contrast of textures and flavors.

4/ I can't travel without...
- A beautiful Maxmara or Dries Van Noten dress
- Music on my iPhone {I'm an old-school music girl. Right now I'm digging The Stones, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, The Beatles, Neil Young, Queen, Steve Earle, early Elton and Nick Drake.}
- Lots of restaurant reservations
- A dining guide like the Michelin Guide, Zagat or Gambero Rosso
- Twitter and Instagram to capture cuisine

Trip Styler Tip: If there are restaurant reservations you MUST have, make them before you leave so you aren't disappointed.

5/ Last trip
An inspiration trip to Paris. I toured pastry shops and restaurants for the latest food trends, taking a course on breads with an *M.O.F. boulangiere as well as a petit gateaux class to research new products for Beaucoup. I am always looking to taste the most outstanding food as a way to compare and challenge myself to create at the same level. I find traveling centers and focuses my creativity and passion. For me, inspiration comes from exploring the nuances of daily life in a city.

*The art of baking bread is so respected in France, the government awards a designation to the very best practitioners called Meilleur Ouvrier de France, given at the end of a grueling, three-day examination some bakers train for years to score a good grade.

6/ Destination on your radar
Turkey

More Savvy Travelers
Lori, A License To Move
Marc, Extraordinary Adventurer
Marissa, 30 By 30

{If you know anyone who should be featured in our Savvy Traveler series, drop us a line!}

[photo of Jackie from @BeaucoupBakery by @collectiveyou wearing @blush_bridal]

Grand Hotel - An Affair To Remember

[trip style = staycation]

Pop Quiz: where in the world can you travel, and stay in multiple iconic hotels at the same time? Answer: The Vancouver Art Gallery, at its just-launched Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life, April 13 - September 15, 2013.

Do yourself a favor; run, fly, sail, drive---or use any transport at your disposal, moped maybe?---to reach Vancouver, Canada this spring-slash-summer.

As the Vancouver Art Gallery's newest exhibition still had a figurative Do Not Disturb sign on the door, I peeked in last Thursday at the show's pre-open. To say I liked the exhibition is an epic understatement, in fact, it left me in a hotel high---higher than Dubai's Burj Khalifa {pop quiz #2...which contains the Armani Hotel}!

Nearly seven years in the making, the exhibit charts the evolution of the hotel from its origins as a utilitarian structure to a cultural phenomenon, tracking hotel trends through four lenses: travel, social, design and culture.

Chronicling game-changers from the 1887-built Raffles hotel to the 2010-built Marina Bay Sands {where people book a room for the sole purpose of perching in the surfboard-shaped SkyPark’s 150-meter infinity pool}, the multimedia show acts as a lab into hotel life.

Anyone obsessed with vintage or modern travel memorabilia will be like a kid in a candy store. {Dare we say it’s better than Pinterest travel porn?} Artifacts are everywhere, think: vintage travel trunks, an original Pan Am Airways poster {above}, or Richard Hutten’s Tokyo popup hotel room {below}, to name a few.

Speaking of artifacts, one of Trip Styler's FAVE hotel groups, Ace Hotels, is not only showcased in every major area of the expo, but they also have an Ace-exclusive popup shop featuring some in-room faves like the grey jersey Wings + Horns boxing-style bathrobe, or the near-iconic Pearl+ soap bars, plus some Vancouver-only products. Here's a six-second video I shot at the popup: {Can't view this video?}

Visiting Grand Hotel is a travel taster of international proportions. Warning: every step will extend your bucket list.

The Details

• The exhibition runs from April 13 - September 15, 2013
• An adult ticket is $21, but admission is by donation every Tuesday after 5pm
• If it’s sunny, take a break from hotel-spotting and sit on the Gallery’s cafe patio, a gorgeous urban space complete with marble tables and euro flair
• Find insider tips via the exhibition's blog, active since 2011

[photos by @tripstyler]

Fashion Friday :: Cycle Chic

[trip style = urban]

{Editor's Note: We will not be publishing on Easter Monday.}

Fashion Friday posts are published regularly by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

I'm heading to Amsterdam next month and recently a friend jokingly asked if I'd go to the red light district. I confess I hadn't even thought about it. When I think of Amsterdam, I imagine stylish cyclists on Dutch upright bikes with tulips in their baskets riding alongside picturesque canals. I suspect the same thing of Copenhagen, and I refuse to think any differently until I'm proved wrong. Part of this confidence comes from my faithful addiction to street style blogs and their sub genre, cycle chic blogs, birthed in Copenhagen in 2007.

There's something magical about cycling in a bike-friendly city, smiling at passersby, having moments of fleeting flirtation at stoplights with fellow cyclists, all while getting in some light cardio. Of course bike commuting is only magical until that moment when it begins to downpour, you're splashed by passing cars, yelled at by impatient cyclists and you knock down a whole row of bikes while locking up your own. That's when you go inside for a Heineken. Speaking of Dutch beer, I'll have to drink some and I'll have to go to the red light district. It would be disrespectful not to...right?!

More Fashion Friday Surfer Style Life’s a Beach Romantic Caribbean Cabin Fever

[street style photos via thesartorialist.com, garancedoré.fr, amsterdamcyclechic.com, thelocals.dk and jakandjil.com]

7 (+ then some) Girlfriend Getaways

[trip style = beach + sun + urban]

This week I compiled a list of seven girlfriend getaways for the feature article in Fodor's Travel, calling out how going away with the gals is often talked about and rarely booked (if only Dr. Oz would tell us it's vital to our health.)

Zeroing in on female-friendly map coordinates as "close" as Austin, TX and as far as Dubai, I highlight trip style = beach + urban destinations across the globe. Find out why these hot spots made my list: Montreal, Austin, Oahu, Jamaica, London, Melbourne and Dubai.

If I'd had an unlimited word count, these close-by beauties would have made an appearance: Whistler: Ski or hike, then top it off with a soak at this Finnish outdoor spa. Seattle: Urbanity beside bodies of water = waterfront stunner. Portland: No sales tax + the US's culinary and cocktail frontrunner. Palm Springs: Duh! Boutique, midcentury hotels galore recalling Hollywood's heyday. Phoenix: 330 days of yearly sun, pools and miles of hikable terrain.

What destinations top your "maiden voyage" list?

[photo by @tripstyler]