Spring Moodboard

People, places and things we’re excited about!

Clockwise from top left: Casa Lawa (photo by Alicia Waite), La Minerva, a drink at the Romeo Roma, Villa Serbelloni, matches from The Ten Bells, umbrellas at the Belmond Splendido, Pensione America, La Dolce Vita Orient Express, La Salumina, shoulder bag from Brady

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Moodboard, which was a regular part of our old Substack Intel newsletter. It’s whatever we’re into right now: who we’ve met recently, a book we can’t wait for, hotels that are opening, travel industry bits and bobs—and occasionally a transporting playlist. Hope you like!

As we were leaving our office to head upstate this last weekend, our friend Alberto, a Roman who shares our office, called out, “You should definitely stop at La Salumina, they make the best charcuterie!” I looked on the map—Hurleyville was only 15 minutes out of the way—but I was skeptical. How had we not heard about it before? Once there, we really couldn’t believe that there was this perfect little salumi shop, where the owners butcher their pigs and cure all the meats naturally, and have a superb edit of mostly Italian products, as well as some local ones. Once I posted it on IG, it became clear that I’m the one living under a rock. If you’re making a weekend in Sullivan County or heading to the Finger Lakes, add this to your route! I’ve just added it to our Upstate NY List. —Yolanda

Also upstate… If you’ve ever wanted to live in the storybook world of Brooklyn country home store, the Six Bells, you're in luck—Audrey Gelman (formerly: The Wing) is opening her cottagecore The Six Bells Inn later this year in the mid-Hudson Valley.

This past weekend we profiled Konfekt Style Director Marcela Palek’s travel favorites, and while I’m still working through all of her picks, I immediately ordered this shoulder bag, which was designed as a fishing bag—it’s well priced, timeless and super chic.

Rome is still on a new hotel opening bender. This spring, La Minerva opens in a 16th-century palace near the Pantheon—and owner Orient Express is also launching La Dolce Vita, a 9-carriage mid-century train designed by DimoreStudio making stops between Rome/Sicily and Venice/Tuscany. Newcomer Romeo Roma was designed by Zaha Hadid, with an Alain Ducasse ristorante and museum displaying Roman walls and artifacts unearthed during construction. The Hotel d’Inghilterra (one-time watering hole of writers and artists) off the Piazza di Spagna reopened last fall after a respectful refresh. Also imminent: Corinthia Rome in the 19c. Bank of Italy HQ, and Nobu Roma on via Veneto.

The cherry blossom forecast says they’ll be blooming across Japan in early April (a bit later in the north). For next year, though, it’s good to know that Plum Blossoms bud even earlier and don’t attract insane crowds.

If foraging on Mt. Etna, dining by the beach, and practicing yoga in an orchard between pasta workshops sounds like a good way to spend a week in Sicily (it does to us), the pasta retreat from April 22-26 at Casa Lawa—featured in the spring print issue of YOLO Journal—still has a few spots left! And if you book by March 23rd, you can use the code CASAWOMEN for 20% off your booking.

Some airline news…Carriers are finally getting that AirTags make our lives easier. American Airlines is the third US airline (after Delta and United) to enable AirTag location sharing—which will help cut down time to track down lost bags. Also, we’re into these new flight routes: a nonstop to Puglia—starting June 3rd, NEOS will be the first airline to fly direct from NYC to Bari. And in May, United will fly nonstop from the US (Newark) to Faro in southern Portugal.

A few new openings/refurbs that are starting to shape our summer travels: The Asticou, a 19th c. shingled beauty in Northeast Harbor, Maine; Gundari, set on 80 wild acres of Folegandros; the newly buffed up Belmond Splendido in Portofino (and its new stunning but très cher Villa Beatrice); Pensione America, a former diva of la dolce vita in Forte dei Marmi, from the family behind Collezione Em; the Lake Como Edition for a modern stay and the (nearby) ultra-classic Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni’s huge new spa; The Beach House Antiparos, being transformed by Athanasia Comninos from The Rooster up the hill; Romegas, a 500-year-old palazzo in the heart of Valletta, Malta; and OKU Andalusia—resort-y, but looks great for families, with a big outdoor playground and kids’ club that takes a Rudolf Steiner approach.

A program that’s been around for ages, but bears repeating: Volvo’s overseas delivery program will pay for your flights to Sweden to pick up your new car, so you can drive it around Europe and drop it off when you’re done, and then they’ll ship it back to you in the US.

Las Torres Patagonia is paying all travel expenses for 10 volunteers who want to spend a week restoring trails in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park.

Helping to nudge us into spring: our friend, the photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo, has a new book out next month called Roses in the Garden, an ode to this beautiful but fickle bloom through the lens of a dozen acclaimed gardens across England, France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, and Japan.