Luggage
Who remembers the days before luggage makers discovered the wheel? Many of our first recollections of travel involve our dads manhandling brown plastic Skyways off the carousel and onto a trolley, hoping the metal clasps held. But now, friends, the glory days of luggage are upon us! We can have style and substance. We’re all gliding through terminals with four-wheeled lookers in a monogrammed millennial pink or anodized aluminum or marble- effect polycarbonate. Charging our phones with our carry-ons. Monitoring our bags with Bluetooth trackers. Upstarts like Away, stalwarts such as Rimowa and Tumi, and a host of better-mousetrap luggage companies are making it a great time to get packing.
Life on Style
“Your clothes become part of your travel story. Don’t forget that you’ll be wearing these clothes in front of the Eiffel Tower, in the pictures you’ll share and look at forever. It’s worth it to take the extra time with packing!”
Life on Smart Shopping
“At the end of the day, we all figure out, ‘If I would have just spent a little more money, I would have gotten a much better quality suitcase that would last for a much longer time.’
Air Travel
Humor those who pine for TWA’s style and Pan Am’s elegance – a quick taxi through the past two decades proves there’s never been a better time to fly. Take the Concorde, says Jack Ezon, a Virtuoso travel agency founder. “It certainly got you there in a jiffy, but, truth be told, it was a claustrophobic cabin with upgraded premium economy seats.” During the Concorde’s final years, he notes, British Airways rolled out lie-flat seats, and the battle for the front of the plane was on. Celebrity-chef-planned menus, Wi-Fi, flat-screens, designer amenity kits, in-flight showers, Emirates’ in-flight suites – the sky is no longer the limit.
Forks in the Road
Another Luxe Report finding: Some travelers make restaurant reservations even before booking flights. Local food experiences are on the rise too. (At Maine’s White Barn Inn, guests can spend a day on a lobster boat and visit a market with a chef before a six-course lobster-themed meal.) And kids are making macarons in Paris and topping pizzas in Italy, says Lindsey Prumers, a travel advisor: “Cooking shows, particularly those involving junior chefs, have stirred up a trend.”