How to Do Fall Cottagecore in Paris

In the mood for something cozy and pastoral for fall in Paris? Something “cottagecore” – internet slang for all that is effervescently au natural. Think gingham tablecloths, and cottages on rolling fields with cuddly donkeys. Think quaint bee houses in the Luxembourg Gardens, or a stroll through Paris’ accidental gingerbread house street. Fun fact: 31%…

Wet Hot Parisian Summer: A Lost 1930s Nudist Utopia

In Physiopolis, life was better in the buff. Or at least in a bikini, which was as close as one could legally get to public nudity in 1930s Paris. It was here, on an isolated sun-baked island on the Seine, that a titillating new naturiste-nudiste (naturalist and nude) movement sprang forth. Gone were the days…

Vacation Inside the Belly of California’s Whale House

There’s a sleeping giant in the trees of Santa Barbara, California. Some call it “the Whale House”; others the “the Snail House” thanks to its hypnotic curves, which camouflage so well into the trees that they’re easily missed. The mansion is like a portal into a 1970s SoCal fairytale for locals, and the occasional tourist, of…

Once Upon a Summer in Black Eden…

Today, the glory days of Idlewild feel a bit like a fever dream. Just ask any of the African American vacationers who made the pilgrimage to the Michigan resort from the 1910s-60s. “It was something that you’d never believe…stranger than fiction,” reflects one woman in Coy Davis Jr.’s documentary, Whatever Happened to Idlewild? In the midst of Jim…

A Pit-Stop in Japan’s Time Capsule Post Towns

We’ve got an achilles heel for places stuck in the past, and today on our armchair adventures, we’re stopping off in the sleepy streets of Japan’s cinematic post towns, known locally as Shukuba (宿場). What is a post town, you ask? Essentially it’s a pit-stop, albeit a very charming one lost in time, which popped…

The French Town on the Edge of a Giant Hole

On the lip of a lush cliff in Aveyron hides a place exempt from logic. Granted we’re not scientifically inclined, but there has to be some kind of sorcery bubbling under the bedrock of Bozouls, the ancient French village that’s been teetering on the edge of a massive hole – without totally crumbling in on…

Summer Is Short, Spend it on a French Farm

It’s easy to forget in the ever buzzing Paris, but France is, at its core, a country of farmers. They have more cheese varieties than they can keep track of, possess one-third of all agricultural land in the EU, and have a reality TV show called L’Amour est dans le pré – literally, Love Is…

13 Reasons New York isn’t Dead (& Could Never Be)

No matter the circumstance, “life finds a way” in New York City, to quote the wise words of Jurassic Park. This city always had an almost reptilian talent for regeneration, from the Great Depression to the rough ‘n tumble 1980s to that fateful day on September 11th. Now, Covid-19 is the latest crisis to put…

Surviving Summer in NYC with the Essential Ice Cream Bars

Come Summer, New Yorkers risk feeling like humans kebabs when they step out to the sidewalk, and we’ve concluded that the most reasonable remedy is to find an ice cream parlour. Whether it’s a zesty scoop from the Lemon Ice King in Queens, or behind the bougie doors of Serendipity 3, we’d like to rebrand…

Memories of a Summer on the Coast of Yugoslavia

Summer holidays on the coast of the Adriatic in Yugoslavia in the 60’s? An offbeat vacation spot that isn’t the Cote d’Azur nor Dirty Dancing’s Kellerman’s, but something in between. Mountains, beaches, shopping, midnight dinners, and more; these shots make us nostalgic for early photojournalism and magazine covers with smiling vacationers, vintage wardrobes, and the irresistible happiness that…