MORE ON FOUR CITIES THIS WEEK AND WHY....VENICE; PORTLAND, MAINE; LOS ANGELES AND BUENOS AIRES

Here it is the second Tuesday of the month,  the day we usually feature Camille Cogswell’s  ‘NYC/FINE DINING'. Poor Camille, though,  is under the weather so please check back next week for her post on The Simone, a wonderful new Upper East Side restaurant.  (It really does sound extraordinary!)

As sad I am to hear of Camille’s misery, this unexpected opening in the schedule does allow for a little follow up on last week's 2015 trip announcements.  The response to our trips has been amazing and we are tickled pink!!! Thank you to all who have been in touch.   We will be releasing full itineraries for each trip in December.  In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to share a little bit more on the ‘why…’ for these very special destinations.

VENICE AND THE BIENNALE  (JUNE 21 to 27, 2015) always seems to have a new level of magic during the Biennale, but it’s not just the timing that makes me particularly excited about this trip—it’s the talent of the Weatherspoon Art Museum Director Nancy Doll.  Nancy is that rare combination--exceedingly good at what she does and an incredibly nice human being.  This means that wherever she goes, she is likely to run into a friend. Take for example last year's trip to Venice; we bumped into Carey Lovelace at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.  Lovelace and Holly Block were the curators for the US Pavilion’s exhibition--Sarah Sze’s ‘Triple Point’.  Carey was kind enough to suggest that she give our group a special tour the next day—and of course we said ‘yes’!  Seems like the extraordinary is just what happens when you’re lucky enough to travel with Nancy!

A View of Sarah Sze' Triple Point at the US Pavilion in 2013

PORTLAND, MAINE (AUGUST 6 to 9, 2015) is something new for Studio Traveler—a culinary tour.  With a partner like Terri Maultsby of  think.eat.grow it just seems like a logical choice—and so does Portland as our first-ever destination.  A few words from Terri on why--

 Bon Appétit called Portland America’s "foodiest small town.”  Why?  Because there’s a cohort of talented young chefs hard at work there building an innovative “gastro-tourism paradise.” Collaborating with artisanal farmers, discriminating fishermen, and talented brewers and distillers, Portland’s restaurants are energizing a food scene where eating well is both easy and an exciting adventure.

Our trip will revolve around eating really, really well but also include some serious foraging, harvesting and ‘hands on’ cooking experiences.  Need a little more to whet your appetite then check out this article from this past Saturday’s Boston Globe "Culinary Boon in Portland, Maine'.  Talk about a ‘culinary epi-center!...’

The entrance to 'Fore Street'; the restaurant that may have started it all in Portland

LOS ANGELES  (September 23 to 27, 2015)—To travel with Benjamin Briggs of Preservation Greensboro, Inc., is to travel with an expert on ‘place’--what makes a city interesting—and how that relates back to our own surroundings   We have already traveled to two great East Coast cities—Philadelphia and Washington DC--as part of a series called ‘American Art, American Gardens, American Homes’.  Now we travel west with Benjamin in late September 2015 to the City of Angels.  For now, I’ll leave the final word on this to Benjamin who observes

From an East Coast perspective, Los Angeles often receives little credit for history and architecture. However, Angelinos found financial success around the same time as Greensboro (North Carolina) , and their architecture reflects the early twentieth-century Craftsman and Romantic Revival Period styles of Fisher Park, Irving Park and Hamilton Lakes. You are sure to gain greater appreciation for our Carolina architecture by exploring the homes and gardens of the Roaring Twenties in Los Angeles!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Storer House in the Hollywood Hills

BUENOS AIRES (OCTOBER 18 to 24, 2015)—Move over Cuba, Cape Town and Burma--Kristin Peterson Edwards and I say we are on to the next great destination.  Buenos Aires has it all.  Old World charm and New World energy.  European culture meets South American vibe.  The contemporary art scene is revving up to make a major impact in the next several years while the food scene has already exploded. Did we mention the hotels?  We’re having a hard time deciding between luxury and hip—but will probably just spilt the difference and go with modern luxe.  It’s all there in this one truly fabulous destination.

A streetscape of Buenos Aires's  fine Colonial-era Architecture

Our trips are small—8 to 12 participants—if you are considering one of these 2015 trips you may want to reserve your spot now with a $250 per person deposit. We do want to give you maximum flexibility however--2015 is still as ways off  and we know that things can change.  For this reason all deposits are fully refundable up to December 31, 2014.