Gatsby-inspired cocktails for time travelers

Share cocktails and a little tête-à-tête at The Milestone. Located across from Kensington Palace, The Milestone – one of London’s finest boutique hotels – is a proper, plush little gem with the best high tea in the city.

The Milestone

The Milestone

The movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby is coming out this spring, and The Milestone is embracing the spirit of the times. The Milestone’s old-timey Stables Bar and their all-glass cocktail room, The Conservatory, are introducing Gatsby-esque drinks and snacks to their ‘Roaring 20′s Menu’ to add a little zest to their historic, elegant and super glamorous atmosphere.

The Great Gatsby selection at The Milestone

The Great Gatsby selection at The Milestone

‘The Daisy’ – A simple brown spirit-and-ginger ale highball was a common order during the 1920’s. The Milestone Hotel recommends mixing your favorite bourbon with a ginger beer. Created for drinkers to capture their inner independent spirit, just like Daisy Buchanan.

‘The Gatsby’ – Using gin and vermouth, this Martini is impeccably styled. Add a dash of maraschino liqueur, bitters, and dose of absinthe, and you have yourself The Milestone Hotel’s version of ‘The Tuxedo.’

Guests can also try the ‘Flappers Platter,’ a dish that showcases a few unusual 1920’s favorites: Crab Stuffed Mushrooms with Parmesan, Waldorf Salad, Rinktum Diddy (this dish includes onion, tomato and cheese with paprika, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce are all mixed together with two beaten eggs and cooked on low heat.)

High living.

Stables Bar

Stables Bar

The Conservatory

The Conservatory

Or, high tea.

High tea_The Milestone

High tea at The Milestone with views of Hyde Park

Also at The Milestone:

“A selection of speakeasy events will also be unveiled by The Milestone Hotel to further celebrate the styles and flavors of the 1920’s including a dinner with leading Fashion Editor Hilary Alexander on June 27th on fashions of the 20’s and their comeback. On July 4th, The Cocktail Lovers will host a cocktail tasting and master class on 1920’s cocktails at a reception at the hotel.”

The Milestone is my favorite hotel in London – if you travel there, you absolutely cannot miss their afternoon tea. Promise?

The magnificent colors of Zion

A grand display of God’s art in Zion National Park, Utah

Utah_Zion

Fatali and his 'old-fashioned' camera in just another gorgeous USA location

Fatali and his ‘old-fashioned’ camera in just another gorgeous USA location

To see some incredible photography of special and sacred spaces in the Southwest, take a look at photographer Michael Fatali – he calls himself a “light recording artist.”  I stumbled into his gallery, Earthscapes, while I was Park City, Utah.  I spent a few hours in there staring at the photographs, each one more colorful, vibrant and spectacular than the last.  Fatali is a national treasure, capturing the best of the American Southwest for over 25 years.  His camera is absolutely enormous…but hey, I guess everyone has their thing.;)  Click here to see Fatali’s ingenious work.

Travel, ancient history and style spurs creativity

Jewelry designer Lele Sadoughi travels around the world and creates collections by connecting each piece’s design to the place.  Her Spring 2013 collection is influenced by Ancient Egypt: scarabs, sundials and scepters.  The use of crystals (instead of diamonds) and enamel makes Sadoughi’s jewelry affordable, with most pieces in the $75-$300 range.  She writes a blog about how her travels inspire her work – the image below shows her “sundial inspiration.”  Pretty cool huh?

Egyptian style is pretty distinct.  I bought a necklace in Israel (that conveniently doubles as a headband) and every time I wear the shimmering black and gold dainty piece on my head I hear “Tracey, you look so Egyptian.”  Essentially, you know Egyptian style when you see it.

Scarab Earrings

Scarab Earrings

Scepter Necklace

Scepter Necklace

This Scarab Bracelet looks like it’s part of a museum collection.

Scarab Bracelet

Scarab Bracelet

Travel inspires everything!

Tel Aviv is where the world goes to party

After spending a few weeks in Israel, Tel Aviv quickly became my favorite international city.

View of Tel Aviv from Old Jaffa

View of Tel Aviv from Old Jaffa

Israel’s 65th birthday is coming up on May 14th!  May is one of the best months of the year to travel there – not too hot, mainly dry, and super sunny.  You can cover the whole country in only a couple of weeks.  From beautiful blue Mediterranean beaches to snow-capped mountains, or rocky desert to bustling cities, Israel is truly a dynamic destination.  It really is a special place.

Here’s a link to my recent Forbes article about Tel Aviv, the greatest party city in the world (if you can think of a better place to party, tell me where!).  Click me.

Around the world in 13 gardens

Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Botanical gardens from all over the globe, via Condé Nast Traveler.  They left out Singapore Botanical Gardens (my favorite…the most divine place on earth) and the immaculate Bahai Gardens in Israel, but the rest of the roundup is beautiful.  Click me to see the gallery.

Next stop: South Africa

Motswari Private Game Reserve: “In the evenings the outdoor life is the order of the day, with cold gin and tonics, meat sizzling over hot coals and hyenas calling in the distance.” Wow.

Motswari Private Game Reserve

I leave for South Africa in a few days, and I’m gunning to see the ‘Big Five.’

The term ‘big five’ was coined by big-game hunters in Africa who determined through experience (yikes) that these five animals were the most difficult to track down while on safari – and the most dangerous.

The big five: leopard, rhinoceros, lion, African elephant and the Cape buffalo.

I’m pretty excited about the awesome eco-luxe lodging at the Motswari Private Game Reserve. It looks gorgeous and a bit rustic, with thatched roofs and outdoor showers. (By the way, showering outdoors is one of the most exhilarating experiences you could ever ask for, so if you haven’t tried it yet, put it on the list).

Eco-luxe

Motswari’s eclectic lobby

Travel time!

A front row seat to ‘God’s Light Show’

The Northern Lights.

Via NYT

Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway. Via ‘God’s Light Show’, NYT

While I have traveled all over Norway, I was there in the summertime, so I never saw the Northern Lights.  This photograph is from a particularly beautiful essay about a traveler’s first time seeing Aurora Borealis.  Read it here.

Northern Lights gallery.  Click me.

On my list: Baobab Alley, Madagascar

Baobab Alley, Morondava, Madagascar.

The flowers on baobab trees emit a sweet watermelon scent that attracts mouse lemurs, the world’s smallest primate.  Mouse lemurs feed on the aromatic nectar, which helps to pollinate the flowers.  Some of the trees in the Baobab Alley are over 800 years old.  Phenomenal.

Video: Mouse lemurs pollinating baobab trees. Click me.

Baobab Alley, Madagascar

Travel sustains worldwide economies

One of the most pivotal moments in my career occurred at an Orient-Express Hotels event in 2011.

Hotel Ritz Madrid

The Hotel Ritz Madrid

I was still working full-time for Forbes Media and one of the lifestyle journalists sent me an invitation to an NYC luncheon for the Hotel Ritz Madrid, a very famous hotel in Spain. Of course, I decided to attend; I wanted to become a travel writer and I knew nothing about travel writing or the tourism industry.

At the luncheon, the GM presented a Powerpoint that showcased the exquisite Hotel Ritz in all of its splendor. As he talked about Spain’s tourism, I was floored by the following statement:

“Tourism is the second largest industry in Spain, after gasoline.”

“Whaaaat??” I thought to myself at the time. Ah. Tourism is political because it has significant economic power. Finally, I found my niche in the tourism industry. I suddenly realized its importance: tourism builds economies, and countries all over the world depend on the industry for survival. Now I’m excited.

Before that moment, travel was simply a luxury and lifestyle topic in my mind. Upon realizing that travel had a legislative side, I began to figure out my passions and my destiny.

Tunisia is a perfect example of a country that needs tourism to sustain its economy. The passages below are from a recent article titled “Tunisia to tourists: Never mind the Salafis, feel the warmth”, by A. Craig Copetas, via Quartz, qz.com:

Tunisia tourism

Tunisia’s turquoise waters

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it,” was Rudyard Kipling’s foremost recommendation to adventurous 19th century tourists intent on visiting troublesome locations like the ruins of Carthage in the French Protectorate of Tunisia. Some 150 years later, Tunisia’s prime minister, Hamadi Jebali, recently told holidaymakers that the new prime directive for enjoying a vacation in his roiling Islamic North African nation is ”not being afraid of the beards.”

Calling all travel agents: Tunisia needs tourists, and Jebali’s proclamation is the latest salvo in a global marketing campaign launched last summer called Tunisia, Where Dreams Come True:

“The jihadist nightmare engulfs the entire region,” says the Maghreb nation’s ambassador to France, Adel Fekih. “We must fight this internationally. This is not a local brawl. Our development as a nation is linked to tourism.”

Read the rest of the Quartz article here, at qz.com.