Le Tub

I'm not much of a beach person at all.  I burn easily so I stay out of the sun and away from the ocean.  However, a quick trip to Florida is rejuvenating when it involves sitting in an air conditioned building with a view of the ocean.

During a recent trip I stopped at Le Tub, a restaurant on the intercoastal waterway just outside of Miami.  Their burger was featured on Oprah, during one of her roadtrips around the country with Gail, and it was also voted by GQ as the best burger in the country.  The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was absolutely charming.  The bar sits facing the water, and the entire restaurant was constructed from flotsam and jetsam floating in the water near the owner's jogging route.

Three weeks until Paris.

A video of Paris made from nearly 2,000 time-lapse photos strung together.

J’Adore: The Travel Edition

Christmas is next Saturday, and though the holiday is not about getting material things, it’s hard to resist choosing a few items to lust after.  There are a lot of people I know who have MAJOR travel plans brewing for 2011 (studying abroad, honeymoon, etc.) so I found a couple of things that any jetsetter would be happy to find under the tree.  Some are meant to make the flight less daunting, while others transform being a tourist from cheesy to chic.

It’s impossible to remember every single type of charger for every type of electronic needed on a trip.  And when traveling abroad, it’s a hassle to make sure to bring various types of adapters needed for the electrical outlets.  JuiceBar has created a multi-device solar charger that uses clean energy to fuel cell phones and iPods.  On a full charge it gives iPods up to fifteen hours of music listening, and can fully charge phones twice over.  It’s a great buy for under $50.

When I travel, I always have a checked bag because of the new carry-on rules.  I can’t travel without my specific shampoo and conditioner.  I’d be a mess.  For a long transatlantic trip, it might be useful to have a bag that’s larger than a conventional purse to store gadgets, books, magazines and a potential change of clothes.  Nancy Gonzalez has released her new travel collection, and though the crocodile teal rolling carry-on is astronomically expensive, just imagine how wonderful it would look to roll that through the airport.  For a more economical option, that is a large enough to fit a 14” Macbook, Mulberry’s Oak brown Bayswater bag can double as a purse.  It’s very similar to the Hermes Birkin, but a fraction of the coast.

I’m not huge on Apple products, but I did ask Santa for an iPad this Christmas.  There are rumors that the iPad 2 will come out this spring, possibly with a camera.  So if your loved one has patience to wait that long, I’d say hold off until spring.  If on the other hand they’re taking a trip before May, the iPad is a great substitute to lugging an entire computer around the world.  Not to mention the picture quality is extremely high, so watching movies on the iPad is preferable to the tiny screens on the back of airline seats.

The pale color of my skin should indicate that I avoid the sun and tropical places at all costs when I travel.  That doesn’t stop me from admiring the resort wear out for spring/summer 2011.  I just love Mara Hoffman’s selection of bathing suits and cover-ups.  The bathing suits are very Jonathan Saunders/Matthew Williamson, with the bright colors and geometric/psychedelic prints.  My favorite piece is the hot pink embroidered silk-chiffon kaftan.  It’s perfect for lounging by the pool, or trying to shade pasty skin from getting burned on the beach.

The Lomography Spinner 360° is a camera that takes pictures of an entire landscape.  The photographer pulls the cord attacked to the camera and releases it.  Upon doing so the camera spins in a full circle recording everything in sight.  It produces a collection of photos that are 4 times larger than a conventional landscape picture.  The Lomography website explains how to get the pictures developed and scanned to create a really unique image.  The camera costs around $150.