February 04, 2008

Next week I am heading to Ireland for a couple of weeks followed by... I'm not sure. Perhaps Amsterdam, Luxembourg but definitely France (all I know is Paris for four days). I'm a little overwhelmed at all the last minute planning so if you have tips, places to go, places to stay, people to see, I'd love to be let in on your secrets....

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June 17, 2007

I've talked often about how I don't give actual gifts but instead the gift of time. For my mothers birthday, I decided to give her the gift of travel and took her back to Denmark with me to celebrate both our birthdays (which are two days apart). I arranged for us to fly into New York first, stay a couple of days to discover the city (and say a hullo to some of my dear friends) and then fly out to Copenhagen to take the city by storm (only we did not know it would be so literal...!). For two weeks we drove all over the country; saw old homes, old friends and family. There was a lot of family I'd never met but they welcomed me just the same. Each time saying, "you are so like your mum." This made both of us smile. I fell in-love with Copenhagen all over again. I fell in-love with girls in dresses biking in the dead of winter. I fell in love with coffee at 10PM and the candles all over. I fell in-love with being snowed in, my cousin's cat, and that feeling of hygge that is just so Danish. We spent the last night at the Hotel D'Angeleterre - Denmark's finest. Somehow we stayed in the H.C. Andersen room - someone I greatly adore and secretly wish to be like (but without some of the messy bits, thanks). It was a fitting farewell and we were both sad to...

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February 12, 2007

I was surprised at how quickly and easily I fell in-love with New York. Especially since just the day before, in Santa Monica CA, I began the process of looking to buy a condo. But even though I love Santa Monica there is a lot I don't like about L.A.. But it's familiar; I know how to live here. But then being here, in New York, I wonder how I can go back. Perhaps it's the fact I can walk anywhere or hop on the subway as I've been doing all morning. Perhaps it's because New York is such an "up" city - tall buildings that just beg you to keep looking to the sky. Perhaps it's because you're anonymous here - even in a bright coloured jacket. People just do their thing without wondering how it looks. Perhaps it's the diversity; women in furs shopping alongside punk kids with $2 to their name. Perhaps it's the energy - everything is moving and you can see it. People, cars, subways, it's all going on. Perhaps it's because people just don't work in the city, they live here too. Dog parks next to subway stations and famous landmarks. Perhaps it's a strange sense of community that happens when you don't expect it. My friends Felicia and Summer who I met up with yesterday (along with Sara - finally!) mentioned this. And I didn't quite understand it until today. But somehow, despite being solitary and anonymous, there's community. LA it's everyone out...

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January 31, 2006

The sun has just set in Vancouver, I think; the rain has been hiding it all day. I went out only for a little to walk the streets to my favourite restaurant for brunch where I lingered for hours (I always do, here, far too cosy to leave especially if you ask for the table by the fire) followed later by coffee where I flipped through some glossy magazines for as long as I could. This trip has been particularily busy, so much so that I extended it by two days just so I could have some time off. I've come to realise over the past few months I've been terrible about doing nothing at all. Each moment has been filled. Since September I've been working like a mad woman on so many different projects (movie production, a seasonal gig, getting ready for my gallery showings, travel writing, etc) that I literally have not stopped to rest or catch up with my life. So many things became indulgences that I just couldn't do; reading, tea drinking, visiting, playing, napping. And living in Santa Monica where the sunshine is always out, people are always busy and plans are always being made, it's been hard to slow down. The fact that my flat feels so exposed with windows of sunlight that pour in, light furniture and walls doesn't seem to help matters either. Currently I'm on the top floor (31st) at the Westin Grand Vancouver in a suite that's made up like...

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November 07, 2005

Currently I'm holding down several jobs; there's on-set movie production, a real estate venture, a gallery showing of my work to prepare for and a two-day a week seasonal gig at my favourite store so that I can buy some pretties at 40% off. Each day I'm in several locations with no days off and it should stay this way until the new year. One very tired girl does this situation make. So yesterday when I surprisingly found myself with some time, I took a 90minute drive east to a very small apple town of Oak Glen. 99% of the orchards on the four mile strip of road had unfortunately become rather commercial - selling goods and wares without letting you actually be in an orchard. The crowds were too much (I escaped the city to escape them) but luckily near the end of the road I came across the charming, simple, and pretty Willowbrook Orchard - a family run affair complete with dog named Fox. Picking my own apples, making my own cider, eating a caramel apple in the cool fall sun was a welcome change of pace. Driving around the winding roads, looking at the mountains and valleys, clicking the camera like a mad woman, well, it was good. I relaxed, I smiled, I felt 8. When the sun began to set I knew it was time to make my way back and with apples in hand I headed home. The drive seemed so long, due in...

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September 27, 2005

On Tuesday afternoon she arrived in simple jeans, t-shirt and flip flops and I with tired eyes and a drained personality. Little did we'd know that this trip would change us both enormously. The first order of business after leaving the airport was to fuel ourselves at Whole Foods for lunch before hitting the Pacific Coast Highway for our two nights in Santa Barbara. After with drinks and snacks in tow, it was time to roll the windows down, crank the music and begin out week long chats and laughing as we cruised alongside the ocean for the next couple of hours. Arriving at the wonderful Hotel Andulucia just before dinner, we had only a few minutes to quickly change and prepare for what was supposed to be a tour of the farmers market with the Chef of 31 West. Truthfully, though, we weren't in the mood to meet with him for driving, sunshine and too much time apart had us far too giggly for public interaction. Luckily it turned out that the Chef was too busy for us which gave us time for something much more important - Emily's first trip to Anthropologie. There I was her personal shopper; picking out clothes upon clothes that had her modeling for hours. I pushed her out of her comfort zone (something she wanted) and showed her that a skirt can be just as relaxed as pants. By the time the store closed, she agreed, carrying her pretty Anthro bag with...

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December 27, 2004

I write a bit weary this evening; the sleep last night was rather bad as I tossed and turned terribly which caused me to wake earlier than I'd like. I was also up later than expected because I had cable and could catch up on a few shows I always hear about (I learned that MTV really does not, in fact, play music). The boy, the cat, the fish and I once again packed into the truck. It was my turn to drive and I must confess I was nervous. I have once driven a tourist bus when I worked for tour company at age 21. The driver thought it would be funny to see a wee thing trying to manueveur a bus. It was amusing - and scary to oncoming traffic. The truck wouldn't have been so scary were it not for the fact it was carrying everything we owned and towing our only car. But I did rather good and for the next several hours enjoyed driving it - feeling like a trucker and even giving myself a trucker name (10-4 this is Eager Beaver. Oh my, how that entertained me for hours). With only an FM radio, we sung badly to very bad music and had very long discussions about everything. Although a lot of the time we just sat and marvelled at the beautiful scenery of southern Oregon along I-5. Rolling hills, little towns, lakes and in most parts, snow. Covered entirely in snow. We had...

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September 22, 2004

It has been a few days of luxury; last night was a fabulous stay at the highly recommended Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica. We would have stayed there but a seconed night if it were not for them being fully booked. The little suite we had held our Whole Food groceries wonderfully and was located across from the ocean. It's warm golden colour scheme combined with punches of blue reminded me of the chic botique hotels in Souther France. It was heavenly. Today we checked into the very exclusive Hotel Casa del Mar where, upon check-in, a man brushed past me and said, "Excuse me" to which I paid no attention. After registering I went out to the car in which the concierge informed me it was Tom Hanks who had just walked past. It didn't hit me until Chris mentioned he had been watching him (as Chris was a couple of feet away) before he jumped into his Toyota Prius. At least I knew those enviromental ads Tom makes are legit and that the hotel was going to be pretty nice. Our room overlooks the ocean, which I could hear as I ate my supper in the room. The ipod is hooked up to a fabulous stereo and I've been rocking out whilst getting ready for company tonight. Oh, the sunshine, the smiling faces, the pretty Anthropologie and palm trees. I think I've fallen for this town....

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September 18, 2004

It looks as though my mountain retreat will have to wait as it's been decided today to go to Los Angeles tomorrow - by car. Things are happening in beautiful, magical ways. It started when I decided to listen for answers instead of just always asking questions. I had forgotten how to be still, to wait, to trust. These last several years in America I've always felt that I had to move, make things happen, control. It got me no where. So instead, I visualised what I wanted and when I wanted it to happen and then offered a little effort combined with a lot of listening for clues. And here I am. Heading off tomorrow to find out how real it will all be....

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July 31, 2004

Last month we took the long way home, meandering along back roads instead of the highway. Although we had made this trip over a hundred times, slowing down and taking the time to look allowed for a little adventure and a whole bunch of discoveries such as a charming cafe that served far too big sandwiches, parks in full bloom and a tiny little flower and garden shop that would become my favourite. The shop was so small but I lost myself in its outdoor space, spending what seemed like hours petting the resident cat, smelling the lavender and oogling over beautiful glass balls. But what really did it for me a little table sunning itself as though it couldn�t take it any more sun. When we saw it, we knew we wanted it even though it wasn't like any furniture we owned. We didn�t stop to think if it would go with our simplistic French style because we were smitten with the way the twigs twisted. There was something about its simpleness, it's organic roots and the knowing that somewhere, someone made this. With the readymade lifestyle that seemed ours as of late, this little table felt needed. It didn't come home with us that day however; we decided to wait to pick it up on our way home from celebrating our 5-year anniversary at Harrison Hot Springs. This way, it would be a gift to each other and would go along with the 5th year gift of...

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May 09, 2004

Tonight at 5PM I called the bus to reserve and pay for a seat on the last shuttle from Vancouver down to Seattle. They took my credit card information and gave me a confirmation to hand to the driver. At 7:35pm, 5 minutes before the bus was to leave, I listened to the driver argue with two students and their mother. They didn't have proper student ID to board the bus on their pre-paid student fares. Despite showing birth certificates that said they were school aged, the driver was to have none of it. I shuffled back on forth on my feet, then looked up to the sky waiting for the argument to pass, it did. Then it was my turn. He asked for my last name. "Beauchamp," I said. Neither of us could locate it on his printout of reservations. "It's not there," he said in his very thick Indian accent. "That's a very bad sign." "Try this confirmation number," I encouraged. He couldn't find that either. "I made the reservation at 5PM" I said, "perhaps it didn't get printed in time." "This," he said in a very serious tone, "is the latest data. The very latest data. This fax came to me at 6:30PM. I am the driver and this is the information I have which is the latest information. You are not on the current information." "No, the fax came in earlier," I said, noting the 3:51 time stamp on the fax. "and I called after this...

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April 05, 2004

Good things: The Hip Traveller launched today, a fabulous travel web site with an article from my portfolio in it. Also, Small Sprial Notebook's first Print Edition is now out. This is terribly exciting for me as it was the first magazine cover I've done (which I wrote about here). I believe in the cycle of support and not in the worry of competition. I believe if I want to continue to have a career in writing and in art, I must support it with either time, donations, work or purchases....

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March 25, 2004

This weekend past I felt the need to get away; I had been ill, had a family loss and the work had piled up. Not being able to take a lot of time away, I decided to take as big as break as I could in twenty-four hours. My search for some peace came by way of a three hour drive north to Vancouver, where I checked in early in the morning at the fabulous (and secret) boutique hotel, The Wedgewood. Its charm and luxurious feel greeted me as I entered the lobby. I was quickly whisked away to their terribly sweet (and small) spa where, for an hour I received a Lavender Bliss Body scrub and massage. That took the bit out of me and allowed me to relax for my next treat � afternoon tea. For two hours I sat and dined in a cosy and elegant restaurant that had those tall, half circle purple velvet couches that you see in glamorous old movies. The tea was beyond amazing; each cup being brewed in your own private glass tea press, allowing you to choose multiple teas at will. The tea sandwiches, baked goods and jams accompanied by the most amazing conversations with my husband and the hotel director had me relaxing and forgetting everything that had been going on around me the past few months. I was in my own world. Afterwards, I visited my best-friend Emily and her husband, spending another couple of hours eating, talking and...

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March 02, 2004

A little story with photos of my trip to France....

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February 17, 2004

At 11am, we walked into the Four Seasons Henri V with our backpacks in tow and checked into a very large, cosy and terribly elegant suite. There were two things that surprised me with this room; the first was that within minutes of our arrival a maid in full uniform (including hat!) knocked on our door to ask if we needed help unpacking our clothes and laying them in the room (a separate closet). I had to keep from smiling as I said no, I think we could manage. The second surprise was when I walked deeper into our suite, I noticed a small table by the window in which there was a bottle of champagne chilling and two delicious looking pastry sweets, as well as very fine china and silverware. If you're going to celebrate a 30th birthday, this is the way to go. The champagne was popped open and the desserts eaten and already I felt wonderful - and it wasn't even noon. We decided to wander about Paris. As it was my birthday and I was still recovering from being quite ill the day before, all I wanted to do was hop from cafe to cafe, which we did. It was a rather lazy afternoon and around supper we strolled back to the hotel where I headed down to the guest-only spa. A rather stout madame massaged any and all cares away and afterwards I sat curled like a baby in the quiet room; a bed with...

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February 08, 2004

From the web site, I understood it was a first class hotel and would be something unusual but I wouldn't realise how truly amazing it was until this morning. La Cour des Loges is situated in the old part of Lyon (2 hours SW by high speed train from Paris). We arrived in Lyon about 21:00 and thought finding the hotel should be easy enough, especially since maps are Chris' life and I always get feelings about direction. Yet, we wouldn't arrive at the hotel until 23:00, despite the hotel being only 1/2hr from the train depot/car rental. Part of the problem is that the hotel is located in a walking-only district which isn't mentioned on their map or information. We circled the area below the hotel, looking for access to it. Finally I got out and decided to ask someone for help and saw a man who looked friendly enough. "Pardon, monsieur, mais ou est La Cour des Loges?" I asked, pointing to my map. He told me he would take me there and asked me where I was from. I told him and he told me he was from Ireland, teaching in Lyon for the year. "Teaching seems to be the way to get into France," "Yeah, and into their pubs," he said. Ah, a true Irishman. An easy walk and we were at the hotel, checking in, handing the keys to the car to the bellman who would tuck it away somewhere in the village. We were...

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February 07, 2004

I've flown a lot of airlines in my day but I only fly British Airways when going between Europe and Canada/America. Oh, there are often faster and cheaper ways of flying but I've remained loyal and this trip reminds me why. Two years ago when I last flew, there was the standard one screen on the plane which always left me not being able to see the picture; often I didn't even want to see the picture. But now BA has introduced small video screens on the back of each seat where you control what you watch (17 programs in World Traveller, 47 programs in First Class). This allowed me to catch up on some movies (School of Rock, rocked!) and also allowed me some sleep (the individual sets don't interfere with your own lighting). Also, the flights tend not to run full, ever, and so we had a row of 4 seats to ourselves which allowed me to lie down and sleep. I noticed on this trip, however, the tea was served in plastic tea cups and before they'd always been real. Ah well, plane tea is never fabulous in any event. I'm currently waiting at Heathrow for a transfer to Paris; Heathrow is still a crap airport but at least there is now a Prêt a Manger (in terminal 4) which makes great, fresh, and fabulous sandwiches and drinks that are relatively inexpensive. It's a long travel day; already 10 hours with another 6 to go. Thank goodness...

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February 04, 2004

Au Revoir until March, when I return a little more bulbous in the belly (from eating far too much), a little more relaxed, and a little bit older....

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May 10, 2003

It's just after midnight and I am sitting in a robe and slippers in a top level suite on the "Club Level" at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. The room is over 900 square feet with a private bedroom and sitting area as well as two washrooms. Because I'm on the Club Level, I have access to a private lounge which is just for eighth and nineth floor guests; this means we get free wine, food, chocolate as well as continuous ass kissing. When I was first told of the room that I would have my first instinct was to gather friends to come over to it - not to show off, but to share. Although some of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had have been on my own, there is something said about dividing your happiness with someone else. Tonight, I did just that. Rock star Andrea, her dreamy man Matt and their friend Judd came by to celebrate my score at the Ritz. What I had is far too much and having extra people helped to make it feel wonderful instead of overwhelming. We hit the private lounge where we sipped good wine, indulged in chocolate treats and talked of how flies hold the meaning of life. It was a good night. After all the dishing and drinking we headed out to see a Andrea's friends band, Above the Orange Trees, perform and then headed back to the hotel to unwind. There, I took my private time...

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September 12, 2002

Coming home, I thought of all the moments I had on my trip. I realised that life is just that – moments. It can’t be defined by weeks, days or even hours. It’s all about the moments. For me, I had beautiful moments such as the one where I opened up the door to my suite at the Banff Springs and realised what makes a room $1,500 and felt completely spoiled that I was paying less than 10% because of what I do. I had a special moment at 3am when I woke up and saw the glow of the fire play on the ceiling while I snuggled in the quilt with a smile. I had exhilarating moments such as riding my horse through the mountains, only to be charged by a 4-pointer bull elk near the end of my ride. Following that was a moment of feeling unusually calm and collected as I realised what was going on and soaked it in, and then turned my horse around and ran off while watching the bull elk chase me from behind. After that was a moment of relief as I realised what could have happened and then a moment of just feeling completely cheeky because it didn’t. I also had crap moments such as checking into a hotel and being told I was staying in a fantastic suite. The anticipation of seeing some fabulous room was built up until I opened the door to a bad looking 70’s style porn...

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March 27, 2001

Coming back from vacation is always hard. You're leaving your stress free time behind, your lack of responsibilities, you're tired, the plane ride always seems that much longer and you arrive to no drinkable milk in the fridge for tea. Our time in Maui was beyond perfect. From our hotel to our activities, to just having the time to be with each other. It was amazing. The night of our arrival, we sat outside and laid in the hammocks by the beach. Content under the stars and moon with the sound of the waves crashing we laid content for a few hours. That alone was enough. We laughed, we played in the sand, we romanced, wined & dined. We did it all. That's what vacation is, right? We were there because Chris won an Employee of the Year award from his company and they sent us away for a deluxe 5 day vacation. However, everyone we ran into thought we were there for different reasons: Honeymoon. I suppose it's because we smile a lot, we hold hands, we talk so much and respond to each other. But to me, that's what happens when you adore someone more than you can say, not just when you honeymoon. So the first couple of times people said are you honeymooning I was taken off guard. Oh no! I'd say, "we've been married almost 2 years, together for 5." "Ahh" they'd say back disappointed. It got to the point where we figured, why not...

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