TREND TRAVEL

'Dreaming In The Sun' is a collaborative summer story by Prince of Sun  &  Arturo Bamboo . Prince of Sun is based in Barcelona and Arturo Bamboo switched city life in Berlin this summer for the islands of Formentera / Spain and Hydra / Greece - a sense of summer heat comes right at you when looking at this story. 

Two islands

Formentera

Spain

Hydra 

Greece

These small pieces of rock evoke intense emotions 

Autumn is our favorite roadtrip season riding through melancholic colors, from pine green, mustard yellow, orange terra, wine red to deep browns and the scents that seem to belong to a forest that slowly falls asleep after this Indian Summer ...
 
We discovered parc de la Ferté-Vidame by chance, with the magnificent ruin of the castle that appears to be made of cardboard when you look at it from the side. The castle is mirrored in the surrounding lake; a facade of lost romance perfect to celebrate the melancholy of the season. You can't help yourself fantasizing about the rustling of leaves and skirts strolling in the park in a secret rendezvous after the ball ...
 
Time seems to go slower in small towns like Bellême where the benches on the village square are overgrown by ocher-yellow mosses surrounded by a magisterial forest domain of more than 2400 hectares in the Perche Natural Park.

The domain seems to stretch as far as Rémalard, you can sleep there in the middle of the forest at a charming former woodchopping village turned hotel 'D'une Ile' run by Sofie and Michel, a magical place with unique sleeping places that each have their own touch.
 
The food in the woodfire warmed five table restaurant comes straight from the kitchen garden and from surrounding producers who often deliver their regional dishes exclusively for their kitchen.
 
The best news is that this place is to be visited until after the New Year's Eve while the rest of Basse Normandie seems to be hibernating...
 
Tatjana Quax
 
Photography family of Studio Aandacht; Ben + Raf Lambers + Zara Arif + Tatjana Quax
 
www.studioaandacht.nl
 
www.duneile.com

Contemporary art, classical Scandinavian design, and sophisticated, thoughtful interiors all come together at Stockholm’s newest luxury hotel, At Six. We spoke with Hannah Carter Owers of Universal Design Studios about the design motivation for the brutalist space, how they redefined the grand hotel concept for modern life, and how Stockholm and its citizens play a central role in its grand designs.

What was the brief for At Six Hotel's interiors?  And how did you implement this?

The brief asked us to create a desirable, vibrant destination, appealing to both locals as well as international guests, with the aim of becoming the best contemporary luxury hotel in Stockholm.

The building, a brutalist high-rise structure, was originally designed in the 1970s by Swedish architects Boijsen & Efervgren, and in our design we tried to humanise the imposing architecture, while also making its unique qualities part of the project. We wanted to make a hotel experience  that feels unique, distinct and memorable and but also at ease in the building and in Stockholm.

The hotel is large - 343 rooms in total and so the brief also asked us to look at a number of typologies and colour ways to create contrast and variation across the floors. We also had the existing building and a new rooftop extension to work with where the quality of spaces were really quite different demanding room concepts that could flex, scale and be modified to suit various architectural scenarios.

When we got into the detail we had to work though requirements for each room type, incorporating a mixture of traditional luxury elements (for example a wardrobe long enough to house a Nobel-prize gala dress) contemporary art (hand picked by curator Sune Norgren) and a mix of local and international elements and design.

We wanted every room to feel like a suite so even in the smallest of standard rooms we have clear hallway, sleeping and living zones. All standard rooms incorporate a full length marble credenza that doubles up as desk with a lounge seating area comprising a custom designed sofa and well stocked minibar and drinks area.

Universal Design Studio specializes in materials - research and experimentation - and crafted details. What materials were used in the hotel? And what is the motivation behind these choices? 

Working within a period building we felt it important to establish an interior that felt authentic in character and felt like it was built to last. The 'grand hotel redefined for modern day life' was a theme running throughout the design process and because of this we want the hotel to feel like it has a legitimate place in the lives of Stockholm's citizens and visitors. It’s a contemporary space, with an international outlook but we strongly felt that elements of the interior needed to draw their cues from the building and square.

In keeping with the period of the building, we specified lots of 20th century furniture pieces including re-editions of classic Scandinavian pieces (chairs by Nils Otto Moller, Poul Kjaerholm alongside other classic European design: Perriand, Albini, Scarpa) . We also commissioned or customized a number of pieces including a bespoke table hewn from a single tree trunk, bespoke lighting by Atelier Areti and Rubn and a customized marble Tobo Ishi table by our founding Directors Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

Our starting point for the Lobby, restaurant and bar interior architecture was the stone cladding on one of the other buildings in the square (Peter Celsing’s Riksbank). The monochrome interior contrasts shades of warm grey and highly textured natural materials (sawn stone, blackened steel, fine timber and polished granite) as  soft furnishings and classic furniture editions. The aim was to reinterpret the brutalist aesthetic of the building and the immediate architectural landscape of Brunkebergstorg Square in a way that felt relevant, comfortable and contemporary.

Upon first look, you can see that art clearly plays a big role in the space.  What was your role in the selection of the pieces? Did you work closely with the art curator? How did the interiors and artwork interact?

We kept a pretty constant dialogue with Sune Nordgren the curator* throughout the design process as we both wanted to build in a range of opportunities to showcase the art collection. Collectively we agreed on ideas for the larger scale pieces in the lobby and public spaces as we needed to make sure the architecture was accommodating but as far as the actual selection of specific works went, it was all on Sune who did a brilliant job. With the large sculpture on the staircase there was a fair bit of coordination as we needed to make sure that the materiality and detail of the staircase worked with the head (there was structural plinth cast into the stair to take the marble case of the head) and that the art lighting was correct. We also needed to consider the scale of the head which was a special commission – making sure that it worked for people viewing the piece from the ground floor, the first floor and how it felt to move around as people ascended the staircase.

All of the pieces are by artists already represented in the collection of Petter Stordhalen, the hotel owner so there is a personal connection.

Sune Nordgren has worked as a cultural commentator and art curator for over 40 years. He was Founding Director of BALTIC, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England and Director of Norway’s National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. Since 2006, he has been running Strawberry Art + Design, Petter Stordalen’s ever-growing private art collection, and was responsible for sourcing the art for AtSix.

Do you have a favorite piece of art from the collection?

We are very proud of the hotel in general. Even the simplest of standard rooms feel luxurious, considered and detailed. We have also managed to balance diversity and coherence in the public spaces so the experience as a whole feels tied together all the while offering variety and contrast.

I also really like the calming influence of Mar Whispering, Jaume Plensa’s 2.5 metre high marble head situated on our grand staircase. She brings a serene mood to an otherwise dynamic and bustling lobby, reception and restaurant.

What makes At Six special is that it stands out from the usual "Scandinavian design" interiors prevalent in Stockholm. It's very refreshing! It has a more "global" look, so to say.  Is this a conscious decision? What are your thoughts on this?

We find the Scandinavian design aesthetic very seductive and we certainly researched and referenced the work of Scandinavian architects and designers in preparation for creating the concept. However right from the start we focused on building a hotel that had it’s own unique aesthetic and in terms of design felt befitting for an international city which Stockholm is. We’ve been told that there is nothing that comes close in terms of contemporary luxury hotels in the city which we are proud of but by the same token we feel we have successfully created a place that Stockholmers feel very at home in.

You mentioned this concept of bringing together an international outlook and attitude while creating an experience grounded in the local area. Can you tell us more about the Stockholm elements in the design?

Some elements tie the hotel to the city and local area more literally – For example the Swedish leather from the Tarnsjo tannery to the north of the city wrapped around the staircase handrail and on the restaurant banquettes, the bespoke lighting by Swedish lighting company Rubn whose standard range of contemporary fittings evoke a sense of quintessential Stockholm design and the commissioned table in the wine bar carved from a single Stockholm Elm tree by local artist Lies Marie Hoffman. Where possible we used local suppliers and makers from the city. We also drew inspiration from the existing architecture of the square, in particular Peter Celsing’s stone clad Riksbank, and the ancient geology of the city when it came to selecting stone types for the floor and wall cladding of the public spaces.

In terms of function we wanted to public spaces to serve the local community of Stockholm workers/ creatives as much as hotel guests and tried to make the public spaces flexible, diverse and comfortable morning to night.

Angel Trinidad

hotelatsix.com

Angel Trinidad is the founder of Keen on Walls, a website featuring inspiring interiors, design and spaces. She is also the author of 'Scandinavia Dreaming: Nordic Homes, Interiors and Design', and co-author of 'Night Fever 5: Hospitality Design'. Based in Amsterdam, she works as a freelance editor, writer and creative strategist and have worked for clients such as Gestalten, FRAME Publishers, Victionary, Holland Herald KLM and Holland.com, among many others.

www.keenonwalls.com

Petros Koublis is a New York and Athens based photographer. His relationship with photography started in 2000, after having dedicated some years in painting. He writes for the US edition of The Huffington Post.
 
ανάμα [ana:ma] greek ~ nn ~ spring water ~
streams of tears / wisdom ~ communion wine
 
The eternal liquidity of form
 
The landscape of the Greek island of Tinos preserves, within the imposing austerity of its form, the memory of its primal, conscious experience. The strong winds whisper long forgotten legends, like this of Calais and Zetes, the winged twin sons of Boreas and Oreithyia, the two brothers who died in Tinos by the hand of Hercules. Their father, Boreas -who was the god of the North Wind- left his palace in Thrace and began searching for his sons, finding the truth only when he arrived in Tinos. He mourned, as he opened his bags and set his winds free. These are the winds that from that time to date strike the mountain and the entire island. The voices of his sons can be still heard, for they were transformed by the gods into winds themselves, and the pillars over their tombs in Tinos were said to wave whenever the wind blew from the north. Ancient personifications of winds, shaping a landscape both liquid and solid, elusive yet eternal.
 
The project was initiated by Athens based Talc Design Studio and it was commissioned by a local group of entrepreneurs. The idea was to project the unseen part of an island more famous as a religion center, with thousands of pilgrims visiting every year the shrine that hosts the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary. From the rough, weather beaten northern part of the island, to the milder south, the landscape opens a door towards an emotional interpretation of its form, in terms of a constant metamorphosis that started with the first awakening of consciousness of the first settlers of the island, thousands of years ago, and it continuous to this day through our very own eyes.

The doors that so secretly open to our intuition, they permit an introspection of our relationship with nature, the revelation of consciousness and the liquidity of form. This addresses our own primal experience, not as individuals, but as a continuous presence that witnesses the whole structure of existence, continuous within the ever changing forms of its illimitable manifestations.
 
In the heart of the Aegean sea, winds dominate the archipelagos during the summer months. In the island of Tinos, where Aeolus, the god of winds, was said to have his palace inside the clouds that embrace the summit of its highest mountain, half a mile over the stiff cliffs that were once known as Gyrai Petrai, back in the times of Homer. According to the myth, it was exactly here, under these rocks, that Poseidon drowned  young Ajax on his way back from Troy, punishing the hero for his acts. Their fleet encountered a storm at Tinos, for Athena entreated Zeus to send a tempest against them and many ships foundered. She threw a thunderbolt at his ship  and when it went to pieces, Ajax made his way safe to a rock of the island, util Poseidon smote that rock with his trident and split it and Ajax fell into the sea and perished, creating the landscape we see today.
 
An island shaped by its myths.

A landscape that is a myth of its own.
 
Petros Koublis
 
www.petroskoublis.com
 
Talc design studio

Have you ever experienced that? That feeling that you stumbled upon a place that gave you goose bumps right away? That had so much coolness that you had to catch your breath from excitement? That is exactly what will happen to you when you enter Montana Lisboa, a hidden gem at Lisbon’s seaside.
 
For those who have been to Lisbon before, might know the city is being named the new capital of cool, and the stunning graffiti art all over town has everything to do with that. So why do I start talking about graffiti when I introduced Montana Lisboa to you first? Because it is a multidisciplinary space in front of the Cais do Sodré, arise out of the Montana Color graffiti spray collection.
 
The Montana Color brand was founded in 1994 when graffiti art was still considered an act of vandalism, but artists all over the world were so enthusiastic about the paint that the brand was able to expand across the world quickly. Nowadays they are present in over 60 countries and have 15 official points of sale.
Although Montana Colors might be around for some time now, Montana Lisboa only recently celebrated it 4^th birthday. Moreover, it is well known by the people in the scene, but for most it is still a hidden gem in the centre of the Portuguese hub. This little creative hotspot therefor definitely deserves this spotlight.
 
It was only by coincident that I ended up at this stunning place, not even knowing that it would be this impressive. Walking along the waterside this seemed to be the only lunch spot which was open and moreover, had a terrace in the sun. The first sign of cool were the candles on the table, firmly put into empty spray cans. Secondly the menu gave a pinch of excitement away. When I got my food order, a very colourful and arty bagel with salmon, I was convinced, this had to be a rad place, so the exploration began.

“WE BELIEVE ART SHOULD BE PART OF DAILY LIFE” -Montana Lisboa-
Entering the venue, I was not disappointed at all. Montana Lisboa turned out to be an absolute stunner. It wasn’t only a lunch place, not even only a graffiti shop, it turns out that a creative workspace and a gallery named “underdogs” also keep house in this old port house. The different paintings on the wall immediately caught my eye, but what was really standing out was the interactive IPad art-wall.
 
On a city-map on one of the big industrial walls, IPads were featuring the cities graffiti art by showing visuals of the pieces exactly on the geographical location of the artworks. Not only a piece of art on its own, but also a way to promote the safari’s one can sign up for to see the city’s hidden arty urban hotspots.
 
Montana Lisboa is an absolute hotspot itself in the heart of a vibrant city, a place where the innovative and creative scene of Lisbon comes together to meet, create and innovate. Moreover, this hub is the embodiment of how we should be open for cross-sectoral innovations, for togetherness and for the creative scene that is earning his place in a new and open-minded society.
 
montanashoplisboa.com
 
montanacolors.com
 
Cecile Cremer

Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing. Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”.

www.wanderingthefuture.com

Be cool, Wear Yawanawa
 
The Yawanawa people are an indian tribe composed of 440 people that live in a village called Nova Esperança that was founded in 1992 and is located along the Gregorio River in Amazonia, Brasil.In Pano, the local language, Yawanawa means « white-lipped peccary people ».
 
The story between Yawanawa and myself started 2 years ago, when i was given one of their bracelets by a friend. I immediately fell in love with the bracelets and little by little started discovering the story and heritage behind them.
 
The curiosity became bigger and bigger so I finally decided to travel to Amazonia to discover their culture, their way of living and understand their heritage.
 
This journey allowed me to discover the Yawanawa people, their incredible kindness, the richness of their soul, their spiritual beliefs and their meticulous know-how, a blend of couture and craft!

I had the opportunity for 4 days to experience a different life in the middle of the amazonian forest, disconnected from the modern world.
 
Back to the bracelets, they are all handmade by the women, each one takes 3 days to be created and they are all unique.
 

The patterns created symbolize : the forest, the water, the fire and the animals. The story says that the one that wears it will be protected against the evil eye.
 
What was very cute, was to see that everybody has one (men, kids and women).
 
Touched by the know-how and the bracelet symbolism, I decided to help the tribe by importing their jewelry in Europe to present their culture and make them known in the rest of the World.
 
The idea is to help them, by wearing their culture.
 
www.yawanawa.fr
 
N.B. you can also find a beautiful review on this tribe in the latest issue of Bloom click here for more info 
 
Text by Charlotte Björklund

Photo by Sergio Machado

Studio Aandacht likes to drive to Berlin. All the way from Amsterdam. The journey is just long enough to forget about all ongoing projects.Once arrived at the parking lot of the Michelberger Hotel it almost feels like coming home in the überrelaxed lobby. You notice how big the city is and in fact how far apart the various hot spots are as you discover the neighborhoods by taxi and by foot.
 

Sitting in the backseat, driving through Berlin you can’t help hearing a David Bowie song in your head.
The city seems to house his characters; from the smooth dandy from ‘Let’s dance’ in the Mitte to Ziggy Stardust in re-emerging areas like Neukölln, still the hang-out of the punk scene.
All this effortlessly mixed together with the melting pot of Vietnamese restaurants, Turkish supermarkets and numerous galleries.
 

Many walls of the city are covered with the work of creative souls, as in the Kino-alley on the Rosentahlerstrasse where every centimeter is used by graffiti artists.
Drinking Kaffee is an art in Berlin and the tastiest in Louca & Oberholz, a special place with the motto ‘Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof. We prefer to go to the neighborhood surrounding the August strasse, browsing through the bookstore Do you Read where they really have all the magazines you can think of that you normally have to gather from different bookstores. If the weather is nice of course you have to go for a pizza in the garden of the Clärchen Ballhaus, and while you are there try to have a peak inside the mirror room on the first floor.
 

Because of the cold winter weather we opted for the former Jüdischen Mädchenschule where on the ground floor there are two restaurants; Mogg with bio food and the stately Pauly Saal a world in itself and worth to make a reservation for. Upon entering the Pauly Saal restaurant you seem to go back in time, the interior is classical with a touch of posh and in the cocktail bar beautiful green and styling wood put you in the mood for eating. In the great dining hall a huge missile cannot be missed and the tables all are covered with white starched damask tablecloths. Hanging from the high ceiling you see specially designed Murano glass chandeliers, the green fabric on the sofas is in starck contrast with the red stone brick walls. The young kitchen staff is just as surprising as the interior, so just order the chef’s menu and let everything happen. Not cheap but worth every euro. In the former girl school you will also find several art galleries with constantly changing presentations, but when we were there the installation of John Albers at the Michel Fuchs gallery on the top floor really catched our eye.Just around the corner of the August Strasse interior lovers should pay a visit to Room Capacity and also at 10119 DESIGN both in the Linienstrasse with vintage design and art, remarkable (kristal) glassware as well as accessories that will bring the Berlin touch to your home; if you do not spot what you want right away they also have a webshop.
 

Normally we do not like the ‘Mitte’, with its tourist traps and glamour shops, but tipped by friends we bravely ventured into the city center to eat at GoGogi, double brave as genuine Korean food virgins. We had no idea what to choose from the menu, but got served a great introduction to Korean cuisine by the team of three artists from Seoul that began here in 2015. They also had their hand in the interior, with lots of dark shades and original furniture coming from Korean homes and schools.Recommended.

Cafés, restaurants and terraces in the Oranienstrasse around the corner from the studio of Hella Jongerius, the Bless apartment and the almost hidden Voo store with fashion and objects of desire, note the Vibkov perfume and unique book collection. Voo Store has a seductive online store. Just some quick shopping at Bikini Berlin which is a convenient mall next to Kürfursterdam with many unexpected (design) brands under one roof adjacent to the zoo and across the Memorial Church; an imposing almost box like building with a breathtaking interior. Just go in and light a candle for love.
 

This year, Studio Aandacht is running for 15 years and we have been together as a couple for 25 years. To celebrate this we treated ourselves to the newly opened Hide Out apartment in the Michelberger Hotel; The apartment consists of a big white wooden house built inside a huge loft situated in the back of the hotel. In this white house is a bedroom and top of the stairs a smaller bedroom, but we let the children stay at home in order to fully enjoy the sauna, rain shower and bathtub, and o yes on the left we also found a build-in kitchen. So you could actually hide out here if you want. In stead we went on being hero’s in Berlin…

www.doyoureadme.de
 

www.ballhaus.de
 

www.moggmogg.com
 

www.paulysaal.com
 

www.roomcapacity.de
 

www.10119.de
 

www.gogogi.de
 

www.vooberlin.com
 

www.michaelfuchsgalerie.com
 

www.bikiniberlin.de
 

www.michelbergerhotel.com
 

Studio Aandacht is styling director Tatjana Quax, art director Ben Lambers and the people they surrounded themselves with since they started their studio for ‘commercial culture’ back in 2001. Both national and internationally reknowned museums, publishers, magazines, brands, designers and manufacturers choose to hire this creative couple to do their creative work.
 

Studio Aandacht is sharing with Trend tablet’s community their latest travel and « coup de foudre »
 

www.studioaandacht.nl

Do you know the meaning of “Serendipity” ? Of course you do … but do you know where this word comes from, who was the first to use it, when and why?

I found answers of all these questions this summer, during my “solo trip “ in Sri Lanka.

As Wikipedia says “The first noted use of « serendipity » (meaning pleasant surprise) in the English language  was by Horace Walpole. In a letter to Horace Mann  (1754) he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes « were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of. The name stems from Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka  (aka Ceylon)“

 
In this trip, indeed, I had a lot of pleasant surprises, unexpected situations, and some moments of pure wonder.

So this post is clearly not a guide to visit Srilanka, but it’s a short story in 5 chapters about travelling in a different way, without making plans, trusting instincts to find the magic.

 
Serching for Stlit Fishermen...

One of the most popular postcard of Srilanka is a photo of Stilt Fishermen (Steve McCurry shot a famous one). Fishermen in Sri Lanka use stilts to catch fishes: this is an old tradition practiced in southwestern-most Sri Lanka, near the colonial city of Galle. After a short research guided by a tuk tuk driver along the coast I found some fishermen. I was disappointed by the fact that they asked for money to “perform”. Maybe I chose a bad timing or maybe this is a kind of tourists trap (after 2004 Tsunamy Stilt Fishermen decreased a lot). I arranged to exchange a photo for a lunch of roasted fish in their makeshift “restaurant” on the beach. While complaining with my driver I saw a group of old women crossing the street, carrying pillows. I decided to follow them. I was really impressed to find the same kind of artisanal work that I found one week earlier visiting Aveiro (north Portugal) Indeed, Lace making was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese who colonized the island in the 16th century. This women had super fast hands and a big desire to tell about their work and their country. No tourist traps here! Only a bunch of good time to spend learning something.

 
A night waiting for sea turtles

When I was younger I used to spent summer nights on the beach with friends, watching at the stars so this experience reminded me a lot my youth but, instead of waiting for a fallen star I spent my night waiting for sea turtles. In Tangalle there is a Rekawa beach, about 10km north-east of Tangalle where the Turtle Conservation Project works. This is one of the most important turtle nesting beaches in Sri Lanka, where five of the world’s seven species of marine turtles come year-round to lay their eggs. I waited with almost twenty people that I didn’t know before, in the dark of the night (every light was forbidden, even the phone light), and after two hours we were losing the hope to see one of this giant turtle coming out from the water. But one came slowly on the shore, and started to search a place to lay eggs (a lot of … ). This was really emotional because it’s becoming so rare in our daily life to observe how the nature works… and understand how much this processes are in danger.

For evident reasons no photos for this chapter.

A train to Kandy

Travelling by car with a personal driver could be the best option to visit the country without big efforts but choosing local transport is absolutely necessary to experience local habitudes. The buses are often crowded and noisy (local music all over the time, high volume), trains are cheap but very slow. I took the train from Ella to Kandy. It took more than 6 hours to reach my destination but I really didn’t get bored. The main pleasure is to watch out the window to admire the incredible wild nature interrupted by tea plantations. The difficult part is to conquer a window seat! The tasty part is that every 15 minutes someone try to sell you some fried food made by rice, fish and spice, and It’s impossible to resist.

Esala Perahera

The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Esala procession of Kandy) is a big festival  celebrated with elegant costumes and is held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, which is housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. The procession consists of traditional local dances and elephants adorned with lights and rich garments. After my long train trip I decided to visit the temple: visiting time was ending but I insisted to enter because I had only one day to stay in Kandy. “Be quick, they said, the procession is starting in an hour!” I answered “ Ok ok, I will be quick” running inside where the first thing that I saw was a huge elephant being prepared for the “show” .. and then thousand of young boys getting dressed, a lot of people working and testing their dance steps. I was so fascinated by this spectacle of “backstage” that I barely visited the temple.

Sigiriya

In the internet era we think we know quite everything about everything. Being surprise is rare and exiting. Well I was very surprised when I first arrived in Sigiriya: I thought “how comes that I didn’t knew anything about this place?”

Sigiriya is an archaeological site located on the top of a massive column of 200 meters high rock. Crossing the gardens (the oldest landscaped gardens in the world), the rock appears so high that It seems quite impossible to climb in only half an hour. Surrounded by buddhism monks, cingalese students and some tourists I started to advance trough this enchanting ancient garden, to climb the stairs in a row, trying not to think of the fear of heights. In the middle of the climbing It is possible to visit a cave decorated with 1600 year old frescoes representing beautiful women of king ’s harem. Going on the top finally the scenario leaves everyone breathless: the ruins of a real king palace and a spectacular view of the area from the top.

Don’t’ allow to any stupid tourist armed with a selfie stick to ruin this moment. Find a quiet place to sit and observe the horizon before getting down.

Find your personal serendipity…

Chiara Apperti

 
Fashion Designer and trend researcher, Chiara lives trying to catch every kind of inspiration. Based in Milan, four years ago she founded a lifestyle magazine with her best friends.

www.modalitademode.com

Those who think of Dubai as a enchanted place are absolutely right. Those who assume it to be the embodiment of thousand and one nights, might be further off than expected. Dubai is the most innovative pearl of the United Arabic Emirates and although it might be in the middle east, it feels as Western as can be.
 
The astonishment regarding this city starts before setting foot on land, when one’s airplane slowly descend over the Palm Jumeirah with the majestic Atlantis Palm Resort as an omphalos. Impressive in daylight, out of this world by night. While moving on landward the city turns in to an arty pallet which unwittingly makes the heart beats faster.
 
As HH Sheihk Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of this Emirate, said, “Dubai will never settle for anything less than first place”. That is exactly the attitude this city breath, everything is bigger, better and more beautiful. Take the Burj Kalifha for example, with its 825 meters, the highest building in the world, but that is not enough, it also holds World’s highest nightclub and highest mosque. The largest shopping mall in the world, Dubai Mall, even houses an underwater aquarium, while another major mall, the Mall of the Emirates, turns skiing in the desert into a reality.
 
The metropolis is a combination of sun, sea and skyscrapers. Endless luxury, always bustling and never boring. It is difficult to not feel like royalty when strolling around the stunning range of architectural high lights, high-end shopping areas, paradise beaches and charming restaurants. You could be anywhere in the world when enjoying the waterside, staring into the sea but as soon as you turn your face to the city you feel that indescribable feeling of extraordinary clarity taking you over.

When the city gets a bit too overwhelming, the beauty of the deserts awaits one within less than an hour. This might probably be more towards the general expectation of the middle east. A bustling metropolis and a mythical landscape, Dubai just has it all.
 
It is unbelievable that only fifty years ago Dubai was mainly consisting out of sand and It was only for the discovery of oil in 1966 that this city changed beyond recognition. Now, so many years later Dubai is one big playground, a vibrant business-centred emirate which satisfies everyone’s desires. With the advent of this change a huge part of the authenticity of the middle eastern culture disappeared as well, but therefor made it more accessible.
 
Although the overwhelming glamour of Dubai doesn’t not necessarily fit our European Zeitgeist of self-reflection, mindfulness and possession as ballast, this city will make you forget faster than the blink of an eye. It douses you in a warm blanket of expressiveness and astonishment, it seduces you and makes you to never want to go home anymore. This city breaths opportunity, it breaths boundlessness, it even makes you dream bigger.
 
Cécile Cremer
 
Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing. Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”.

www.wanderingthefuture.com

The words “hostel” and “luxury” or « hostels » and « design » do not seem to go together, but a new generation of boutique hostels is aimed at travellers who seek style, but who are also budget minded. Please, forget nights in drab dorms, these well located hostels are clean and comfortable, with stylish upgrades in service, accommodations, design, food and beverages.Customers now expect to have the same features as hotels and only pay hostel prices. Hostels have recently attracted older adults, families and even junior business travelers.

One of the best example is Generator . The hostel chain have design-led hostels in 9 of Europe’s most inspiring cities: Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Hamburg, London, Venice, Paris and Rome.

We had the chance to interviewed Matt the founder of HotelGeeks a premium hostel branding awarding 5 Star hostels based on transparent criteria such as sustainability, and design.What they offer to travellers is a real sense of community with free guides and tips.
 
Why did you decide to propose Hostelgeeks as a new online service?

I wanted to build a website where travelers can find top hostel-style accommodation on a budget, based on transparent criteria that I feel helps them to stand out from the rest. I have been working in the tourism industry with a specialization in accommodation and hosteling for five years. With a steady increase of more and more booking platforms and websites for comparing prices, the competition has blown through the roof. Additionally, several more design-driven hostels were popping up all over the world. However, not all of these design conscious hostels were really great - maybe you could say it was a marketing coup from some investors. Finding a really unique and interesting hostel was getting harder, and maybe even overwhelming. I wanted to build a place where travelers can easily find the best hostel in their chosen destination. The users know that all the hostels at Hostelgeeks fit within a transparent criteria, we are not a booking platform, we do not recommend any hostel to simply earn some coins. These authentic reviews and recommendations, and our unique geeky guides are what our users appreciate.

Do you think there is a revival of Hostels and how do you explain it?

I don’t think that revival would be the best word for describing the current development of Hostels, although it may seem so from the outside. I would call it more an evolution. Many hostels used to be part of a network, run by non-profit organizations. This changed quite a while back now, and the hostel industry is adapting itself to the newest standards and requirements for their accommodation. In other words, hostels have, and are continuing to learn how to compete with others out there.

There are specific researches dedicated to the development of hostels, especially in Europe. Due to the financial crisis in Europe you can see the raise of Design and Boutique Hostels all over the place. Additionally, the competition for every type of accommodation, not just hostels, was growing when private house holds started to rent out their spare rooms. AirBnb had a deep impact on the market, for example. As a result of increased competition and the financial crisis, many hostel investors had to make a move. Uniqueness became a key factor for a hostels success and still is.

However, the market is still growing. The hostel industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry.

Who is using this kind of accommodation?

The travelers staying at Hostels are usually on a budget and tend to be younger, ranging between 18 and 35. As there are nowadays many different types of hostels on offer, it’s not unusual for this age to vary considerably. At a cosy, family-friendly hostel you will find different type of travelers compared to that of a party hostel, for example.

The travelers that use our service and stay at 5 Star Hostels are well-educated about their stay, and between 22 and 55 years old. This is quite a wide range which is due to the fact that all hostels at Hostelgeeks are open to all different kinds of travelers of every age. They are designed to bring people together regardless of the size of their wallet, where they’re from or where they are going.

Do you easily find 5 stars Hostels in all countries?

Surprisingly it is not as hard as you would imagine. There are many hostels out there that fit within our criteria without any doubt, but it’s only natural that just a small percentage make it on to the list of 5 Star Hostels. It takes a lot of research and it is quite time-consuming to understand a hostels philosophy, to compare their ratings, and the national sustainable standards. At first we compare one hostel’s quality with another in a destination and then we, or one of our contributors, visits the hostel to experience it first hand.

However, it is indeed not easy to find 5 Star Hostels in every country. The level of quality for hostels varies from one country to another, and unfortunately not every popular travel destination offers good or even average hostels. The goal of Hostelgeeks is to bring together the most outstanding hostels in the world based on the transparent criteria. But of course if a popular travel destination does not offer any great hostel that fits within the criteria, we simply do not list it.
 
You are currently living in Barcelona. Would you share with us your 5 favorites places in this city?

My pleasure, Cecile! Barcelona is my home, and also the home-base of Hostelgeeks. We created a Geeky Guide for Barcelona in which I included many secret tips and favorites places of mine. For sure there are more, so I am happy to share with you here my favourite 5 places in Barcelona, alongside the ones mentioned in the guide:
 
Plaça de la Virreina in Gracia - I love to sit in the shadow of the small church, having a coffee and chatting with friends. There is always something going at this very lively square.
 
Parc de la Ciutadella: This park next to the old town is Barcelona’s tiny version of the central park New York. Here you can come for a picnic, cycle around and sit in one of the hidden cafés.
 
Any roof top terrace: Many of my friends here in Barcelona have a roof top terrace, and we ourselves have one as well. It is perfect to have a BBQ up there, or simply to sit with friends. Many bars and hotels have a roof top terrace open for public and although they are usually a tiny bit more pricy, it’s worth it for the view.
 
Expendeduría Poética: They call themselves a poetic retail shop with an art gallery / poetry shop / poetic space. They have different cultural events here, and everything is always very interesting - even if you do not speak catalan or Spanish, it is worth stopping by to have a look.
 
The beach: It may be too cliché, but it is indeed an important part of my life in Barcelona. It is great to go to the beach, even if it is just to stop for a moment and say hi before carrying on my way.

Cecile Poignant
 
 
Geeky guide for Barcelona
 
Hostelgeeks
 
GeneratorHostels 

This time Studio Aandacht travelled to Denmark the happiest country in the EU and after 3 week criss-crossing around we fully understand why…

More than 20 years ago Tatjana Quax (styling director SA) went to Denmark for her internship for the academy of Arts in The Hague and wanted to share her memories of the inspiring cities and the stunning landscapes with her sons (14/18) who understood the love for Denmark completely; especially after meeting lots of beautiful blond girls all over the country….
 
This year the circle will be completely round because not only did Studio Aandacht visited Denmark again but very soon Sabine Noe Baech from the Skolen for visuel Kommunikation will start her internship at our studio in the Netherlands.
 
The photography this time was done by Ben Lambers (creative director SA) and Rafael Lambers (youngest son and student at the Media Academy Amsterdam)

In Copenhagen, the Norrebro district is by far the nicest area of ​​the city. After the global success of Noma, Copenhagen is a culinary mecca to be, with restaurants that are light years ahead creating surprising vegetables dishes and herbal taste explosions.Our favorite restaurant was Höst, no-nonese interior with a Piet-Hein Eekish look and feel and honest intens food that almost made us cry…

Relae, stands tall in the list of top restaurants, but honestly we found the (a little less expensive) restaurant-brother Manfred, right across the street just as enjoyable… they cook with the ‘leftovers’ of Relae but really delicious.

We don’t know why there were so many places with greeneries but we surely liked the little shops with cactussus all over Copenhagen.

Also a discovery; the zoological museum. With over 10 million specimens the museum claims to cover 10% over the global worldwide fauna; don’t miss the gigantic mammoth who used to live in Copenhagen!

Only 15 minutes from the city,Louisiana is situated at the coast with some inspiring exhibitions like from the artist Peter Doig and AFRIKA; architecture, culture and identity.

Peaceful and mind-blowing beautiful nature at the Daughan Vejile Fjord in an airbnb house in the middle of nowhere but with a tractor!

The Trapholt museum has most surprised us this trip, we went to the exhibition Fetishism of Li but were also caught by the original presentation of the permanent collection and an overview of all Danish Design classics and the new generation of female designers and and and… Highly recommended by studio Aandacht
 
Finally literally cool completely in the northern tip of Denmark, Skagen, where we met the worst summer in 22 years; but fortunately we had the finest ever airbnb apartment with a stylish Nordic interior with a fireplace!
 
Höst

Relea and across the street Manfreds

Museum of Zoologie

Louisiana

Trapholt Museum- Fetishism
 
Studio Aandacht is styling director Tatjana Quax, art director Ben Lambers and the people they surrounded themselves with since they started their studio for ‘commercial culture’ back in 2001. Both national and internationally reknowned museums, publishers, magazines, brands, designers and manufacturers choose to hire this creative couple to do their creative work.

Studio Aandacht is sharing with Trend tablet’s community their latest travel and « coup de foudre »

www.studioaandacht.nl

Anne S. Ditmeyer is an American communications designer, educator, writer and consultant based in Paris, France whose work strives to creatives across continents. Anne founded Prêt à Voyager on Bastille Day 2007 as a creative outlet to explore the intersection of travel and design. She has visited 46 of the 50 U.S. states, traveled to over 30 countries, studied abroad. However, for Anne, travel is not about where you go, but how you see the world.
 

Anne teaches Map Making, Basic InDesign and Redesign Your Résumé on Skillshare, with thousands of students around the world. Anne is the lead Paris guide on Vayable, where you can hire her for a custom experience the next time you’re in Paris. With 40 friends & family who visit her in Paris each year, she knows what she’s doing. Anne is the author of the Herb Lester map Paris Small Shops. This perfect pocket-sized travel companion or souvenir celebrates 40 of the best independent specialty shops in Paris!

 
Unlike most cities in the world, Paris is full of specialty shops that only sell one thing. A new visitor may wonder how all these shops can survive, but in fact they thrive through their expertise and niches. This map features shops that date to the 17th century along with successful shops that have only for a year or two, proving that specialty shops in Paris is alive and well.

We often think of speciality shops for food in Paris: boulangeries (bakeries), pâtisseries (pastry shops), boucheries (butcher shops), fromageries (cheese shops), poissonneries (fish shops), fleuristes (flower shops) but there are also the cordonneries (shoe repair shops), librairies (book stores), papeteries (stationery shops), retoucheries (tailor shops) and merceries (notions shops). This map features the most creative of the specialty shops Paris has to offer, from repair shops for dolls or umbrellas to shops considered entreprises du patrimoine vivant (EPV – living heritage companies).

The shops locations on this map were strategically selected for ideal exploration, taking you through secret passageways and scenic streets for additional discoveries. It’s just a taste of what Paris has to offer, so don’t be afraid to veer off course and keep exploring.

Available for £4.00 on herblester.com

Follow Anne as @pretavoyager on Twitter & Instagram

As philologist J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “not all those who wander are lost”. More than that, in a world where we seek for our own identity it is the drifting that makes us find who we really are. One of those breathtaking places, were you can wander around endlessly is Sa Pa region, a hidden pearl in the highlands of Northern Vietnam.
 
The City of Sa Pa is not different from any other city. As soon as tourists found this pearl and infrastructure improved, it became crowded. Soiled with Western needs, such as pubs and luxury hotels. But as soon as you leave the city and its main roads, it is as if you walk straight into another world. 

The silence takes your breath away for a fraction of time while you enter the tremendously green mountains of this paradise in Northwest Vietnam.
 
Although not everybody will agree, I believe this is the most beautiful part of Vietnam. The authentic winding paths through untainted nature are almost unbelievable. 

The deeper you get into the area, the quieter it gets and the more you feel alive. Slowly local tribes such as the H’mong and Dzao will join your every step. They are incredibly friendly and make the Sa Pa experience even more authentic. Although there is not a lot of possibility regarding a deep conversation, there is a sense of mutual understanding. A gracious smile, a hand that is being held and reciprocal respect is enough to communicate in a heart-warming way.

The stunning views are endless. A combination of rice fields, barren mountains, peaceful rivers and clattering waterfalls makes that not one aspect of Sa Pa is the same. It almost makes you afraid of blinking, as you do not want to miss a single moment of this ecstasy. And as the sun sets and the colourful costumes of the native tribes contrast with the natural colours of the surroundings, nothing else seems to matter.

Sa Pa region is the embodiment of nowadays dematerialization trend as it offers its visitors all the tools they need to turn back to basic and truly find themselves. Although Sa Pa embraces tourists it still kept its authentic vibe together with the native tribes true way of living their lives without external influences. Walking through the hills, connecting with the local inhabitants while breathing the pristine air of the mountains is the purest form of mindfulness.

If heaven on earth exists, it could easily be Sa Pa.
 
Cecile Cremer
 

Photos by Stephanie van Vliet

Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing. Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”.

www.wanderingthefuture.com

​Maine's enticing state slogan is "the vacation state". Even more alluring is visiting off season. Whether you visit the docks of the five fingers of southern Maine, where the fishermen begin to store their traps for the winter, to the inviting feel of a vacation sanctuary, partially abandoned to your own ambition. Going along with the tourist feel are the many breweries located on the water of the quaint city of Portland. The many sights just a short distance south and north, from Wiscasset to Brunswick, are breathtaking.
 
There is a certain indescribable charm of a tourist port city, half deserted, where shop keepers will greet you with their Irish sheep dogs and tell you about their Sunday special on Eggs Benedict. This charisma continues with the unprecedented joy of homemade pie from locally harvested blueberries and other seasonal fruits at the most delightful coffee shops on the cusp of the Atlantic Ocean.

The area's architecture alone is enough to engulf you into a world far away from the norm.
 
The local artisans are by far the most appealing attraction. From generational owned silver and jeweler smiths offering inspired custom designs, to darling fudge and sweet shops with their unique recipes not found in the typical East Coast town market, Maine's copious treasures are both refreshing and inspiring.
 
Maine's locals themselves have a warmth about them that make you feel as though you are a native. Forever there, and forever welcomed.
 
Casey Stuart

Chicago. In the collective imagination, the legendary Chicago. The difficult times of prohibition and gangsters: Al Capone and Frankie Yale, the Untouchables led by Eliot Ness.
 
But beyond the myth, Chicago is one of USA's most dynamic cultural centers and a showcase of the architectural revolution of the19th century. A city where European influences are deeply rooted and where one move from neighborhood to neighborhood as traveling through time. "The Loop", the financial district, "Wicker Park" and its bohemian atmosphere ... City of jazz, Chicago can be discovered at the rhythm of street music and savored at the any street corner in one of the many cafes of this great urban center oriented good food and cosy lifestyle.

This city prefers green spaces where creativity and art in general are prominent and flamboyant ... Chicago ends on Lake Michigan, where the water seems to absorb all the urban excitement to offer us a next day even more dynamic always oriented toward modernity and the pleasure of living.

Aurore Danielou
 
Aurore Danielou is a graphic designer,an illustrator, and a trend reporter. Her domain of expertise is Graphic Conception and Art Direction. She is based in Paris and Montreal where she works with trend studios as a colorist and lifestyle and design consultant. Her work consists of distilling that which is around us to gather the essential societal and artistic trends of today and tomorrow. Aurore loves to discover new cultures with a passion for travel.

auroredanielou.com

I touched ground, I fell in love. I have been in love with Ibiza for many years now. I have found and lost love here too. Ups and downs make me glow, being alive is a purpose in itself.
 
It is an energy, a vibe. Nothing one can define, or should analyse. It is. A Scorpio island that welcomes hippies, jetset, local farmers, beach tourists. A small micro cosmos. Live and let live is true here.
 
Ibiza is known for decadence, but I will tell you the tale of the beautiful countryside, the agroturismos, the retreats and spiritual stuff going on.
 
A hidden heartbeat.
 
Join me up north where the pine forests shines in green, the grounds smell of thyme and rosemary. Where the earth is deep red and nurturing olive groves and abundant fruit farms. Where the meadows bare colours of the rainbow and the jade eyed cats roam free in the night.
 
Sandy beaches, small coves, cliffs and everything in between. Naked and free I chose depending on how I feel. How I can find happiness on that particular day. That is what you need to tune into on the island, not only when it comes to picking the beach of the day. Accepting the constant changes, constant movements of energies and emotions.
 
Everywhere I find different people, nothing homogenous about this little place on earth. The farmers, catholic and mellow, treated the 1960ies hippies, escaping war and horror, with generosity. The rich land providing for all. Embracing.
 
It still does.
 
People live long here, get old, they live healthy. My raw food enthusiastic friend Anette Berg’s health improved miraculously since she moved to Ibiza. Joan Planells, my local friend and owner of the agroturismo Can Planells, sees it as absolutely natural when I ask him what he thinks of the whole idea of the island being a bit special. It seems that the fertile soil and the magnetic fields are, yes they just are.
 
Naturally magical.
 
Healers, shamans and yogis thrive here too. The island itself is a healer, you can feel it. And the goddess of this island is told to be fair but honest, so island life can be both sweet but also tough. Faye Reason who works with reiki healing says: “Ibiza amplifies my work because it is full of crystal, a natural amplifier, and can help to emphasise and direct energy”.

If you know your way around you can probably find more than a hundred healers on this island. All amazing at what they do, their particular skill.
 
Take a sharp left, pass a pink stone on your right, drive for four more minutes and through the small forest… I step out of the car and I see fifteen beautiful people shining, they are doing a massage clinic. Sharing knowledge from all corners of Mother Earth, from all walks of life.
 
It looks like a fairytale, north Ibiza. A handful of tiny villages, tiny dirt roads, tiny distances. Well-kept farms and spiritual pockets. Infinite amounts of energy and nutrition for your body and your heart.
 
Someone whispers in my ear that her concept for living spiritually is simple - stay in the heart, breathe into the heart, listen to the heart and feel with the heart.
 
Welcome to Ibiza.
 
 
Petra Dokken
 
Independent writer, creative editor and traveller, Petra Dokken is based in Sweden but has lived and loved in many big cities over the years. Working with fashion and travels. Telling stories. Interacting with minds in the cities and minds by the sea, feelings on the mountains and thoughts in the desert… 
 
More about Petra
 
Photos by Emma Andrea

One of the best kept secrets of Amsterdam Noord is café Modern, which is actually not a café but a restaurant with only a few guest rooms (from the people behind hotel de Goudfazant, which actually isn’t a hotel either). This is the place where studio Aandacht likes to get surprised because there’s only one menu with 5 or 6 courses prepared with the seasonal products that the talented chef’s choose for the day.
 
In a former bank building you feel the vibe of hip Berlin and the vintage no-nonsense look of style Meister Niels Wouters; the poldersofa by Hella Jongerius accompanied by a mini photo gallery by Annemarijn Bax seamlessly flows into the restaurant where making a reservation is the only necessary inconvenience, giving you the rest of the evening to sit back and enjoy.
 
Simple dishes with unexpected culinary combinations like this carpaccio of coquille St. Jacques with edible violets; to beautiful to eat...A peak in the open kitchen, on the right mussel and lobster soup with matching beer. During the daytime the restaurant is closed but also not closed because Jessica and Lieselotte are open for lunch between 12 and 14 o’clock and on sundays between 10.30 and 16 o’clock for a special brunch menu where tout Amsterdam takes a seat. To make the confusion even bigger the name of the restaurant isn’t café Modern but Jacques Jour.
 
On the top floors grows the mini-hotel Sweet Dreamz… The rooms are called after the first (celeb) guests who stayed here;  like Belgian cult writer Herman Brusselmans and his ex girlfriend Tania. the atmosphere in the rooms is as if the residents just went out to the city centre with the ferry because that is a 15 minute walk from Café Modern. Special attention for Flemish art, literature and cycling not only inside but also outside the room because you can take your bike to town. Again founding father Niels Wouters effortlessly combines clay furniture from Maarten Baas with a vintage carpet from the second hand store.

Icing on the cake is the bathroom, obviously with a TV and above the bath tub a lamp from designer Pepe Heykoop’s Tiny miracle collection. The second room was given the names of design couple  Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk. Important detail is that the famous guests left something behind in the rooms, so you are literary spotting design. You get the rooms multi eclecticism for free, just like the bicycle. Found it…! Bunny meets chicken by photographer René Mesman; rudimentary showering but with fashionable copper piping.

Tatjana Quax and Ben Lambers

www.modernamsterdam.nl

www.jacquesjour.nl

www.hoteldegoudfazant.nl

Studio Aandacht is stylingdirector Tatjana Quax, artdirector Ben Lambers  and the people they surrounded themselves with since they started their studio for ‘commercial culture’ back in 2001. Both national and internationally reknowned museums, publishers, magazines, brands, designers and manufacturers choose to hire this creative couple to do their creative work.

Studio Aandacht is sharing with Trend tablet’s community their latest travel and « coup de foudre » 

www.studioaandacht.nl

Tel Aviv is a buzzing and tempting city that is bursting out of a nutshell. The inhabitants themselves feed the inexhaustible source of creative energy, a source that is far for saturated. The tolerant mind-set of Tel Aviv derives from the gathering of the many different cultures and the thousands strong individual minds. The beautification of the edginess inspires, provokes opportunities and creates an intersection where two extremes meet each other and therefore become indefinable.

Contradictions upgrade the enchanting cultural and architectural landscapes. Residential buildings show consistency through their unpolished square shaped, beige coloured, masculine shaped constructions. Embedded verandas are used as an extension of social communal spaces where families in broadest senses dine together.

While the city boarders mark a town of a friendly and agreeable size, the many districts offer an immense variety of different atmospheres and make you often wonder yourself if you’re still wandering through the same metropolis. All neighbourhoods have two things in common: miraculous excitement and a rich experimental food culture. Exciting dishes are served on street food platters along the Rothschild Avenue and the Allenby with places combining French, Georgian and American cuisine with middle eastern influences.

The growing skyline at the boarders of the city functions as the compass, guiding you through neighbourhoods like the gallery area of Florentin and Neve Tzedek. More upwards the exotic park district HaYarqon offers an alternative to the lively coastline. The stretched shape of the city embraces the beach culture and interweaves the hedonistic lifestyle with urban chaos.

Impressive architecture and the settlement of international companies transform Tel Aviv into a hub for expats, however the centre of the city remains intact. Even the oldest neighbourhood Jaffa marked by ancient Arabic influences makes you forget any sense of time.

Within the Urban area of Tel Aviv a museum established since 2013. The point at which humanities and design intersect is a world with no distinctions, a place where one’s mind can extend beyond any boundaries, because in fact there are no boundaries regarding design. It is here that new opportunities may be provoked through innovation. For me, the Holon Design Museum encapsulates this idea. The strength of narrative and storytelling within the approach to exhibitions, ideas or philosophies is integral to the quality and humanity the museum is known for.

Willem Schenk

Willem Schenk, a young fashion professional. It’s the anthropological approach to fashion that fascinates him. Being able to see connections within society and distil the essence of the Zeitgeist brings meaning to everything we see and do. Therefore it intrigues him to investigate the reasons behind the way we act, create and dress ourselves. While finalizing the course Fashion & Management in Amsterdam, Willem has worked in Paris as a research assistant for MoBA13. Currently the UK is his new home, where he's continuing his studies at the Nottingham Trent University. 

Willem Schenk

Independent writer, creative director and avantgarde-nomad, Petra Dokken is based in Sweden but has lived and loved in many big cities over the years. Working with fashion and travels. Telling stories.

Africa is in everyone’s interest.

The first and the last.

Perhaps the first place we humans called home.

Perhaps the last continent to be exploited.

Definitely the last resort for the vast wilderness.

So. I travelled to Tanzania. So complex, so much to try and understand, and so beautiful.

Serengeti is mythical, the world known national park in the northern part of the country, over a million animals migrate around these plains. A full circle each year. As they always have.

I camp in the southern part of the park in January, the wildebeests walk and walk. They are all pregnant. Big beautiful bellies. I look at them for days.

I cry of admiration, they walk in endless lines. One for all. For real.

Their fur shining of silver. Small noises of communication, feelings of togetherness, of happiness, of hardship.

If the rain comes they will all start to drop. Even give birth as they run.

Run for their lives.

All is intricate. Who co-exists, when what happens. Every year they mate in the same spot, every year they move with the green grass. All year around so many lives circles this circle.

Tanzania has fish, trees, gold, gas, diamonds, minerals and animals… China wants this, many others too. All want. Things happen fast, big money is in motion.

Poverty but not misery, is no a possible choice?

A highway is talked and fought about, for more than five years now. It would ruin the migration.

Many conscious people feel that if we loose the Serengeti, all is lost.

We agree that the animals have to be worth more alive than not alive.

This is where eco-luxury safari comes in. Luxury lodges for photo safari creates money and motivation to save, to preserve and to conserve.

Even Jane Goodall agrees (a true hero she is).

The poaching for ivory is right now worse than ever – and the resistance is also bigger than ever. We want the elephants and rhinos alive and kicking.

Eco-safari is luxury and therefore can be green energy, organic and local food; and re-using materials, building bridges and raising awareness.

I see the fancy cars of an Arabic sheik, he leases land for hunting but the rumour says he mostly parties when he is visiting the property. An extravagant American in the area wants to build an airport so heavy machinery can fly straight to the Seychelles from the bush. Bush and beach you know.

Different interests and opinions.

Stargazing all night I hear them, feel them, smell them - treading the earth gently. Walking, walking…

Because they must, it is their purpose.

Each wildebeest matters.

Petra Dokken

More about Petra

Nomad Tanzania has mobile camps in different parts of the Serengeti, and a new permanent camp in the northern part called Lamai. The company makes luxury safari into something that puts the animals and nature first. Knowing that without a sustainable plan, they will be out of business all too soon.

www.nomad-tanzania.com

Léa is a Paris based freelance creative manager. She cultivates a taste for everything creative, good food and some odd traditions from her native Lorraine. After some quality time studying and practicing her craft in Brussels and New York, she settled in Paris to work and develop industrial design projects. She recently launched her own activity, collaborating with creatives whose work she’s been following over the years. Always on the hunt for new encounters and talents, Léa loves to share her finds, dibs and dabs. 

Babou Maramures is the project of a young Dutch couple, Eveline and Matthijs, who set up a camping place/ hostel in Breb, Romania.

Both always had a thing for Romania and especially the northern part of the country, the area of Maramures. As great travelers, creating a place for people alike was almost a natural fit. After reading William Blacker’s “Along the enchanted way: a Romanian story”, Eveline  wanted to visit Breb, a village located at the foot of mount Gutâi, 150 km from the Ukrainian border.

They literally fell in love with the place and decided to focus their research on Breb. Through word of mouth, they found the perfect land with a 7000 m2 garden and a farm now transformed into a hostel. Beyond hosting people, the couple wants to create a genuine immersion for the campers. Visiting Breb is like stepping back in time. Most of its inhabitants are farmers and craftsmen. Babou Maramures aims to connect campers with the locals to learn about traditions, crafts and their everyday life.

Eveline and Matthijs are themselves very eager to learn from their neighbors. They built the farm and all the facilities only with the help of villagers, which consider them as “real Breb people”.

During our stay, we discovered traditional Romanian cuisine thanks to Ileana, a neighbor that sometimes cooks meals for the camping guests. She welcomes you with a nice table under the wooden kiosk that her husband built. It is important to note that the meal was almost only homemade ingredients. Bread, vegetables, cheese and meat comes from Ileana’s farm.

Being self-sufficient and living more conscious about their natural surrounding is a goal for the couple. They are committed to develop and share”a more satisfying way of life”.

A journey at Babou Maramures, is a retreat far from a city and its fast paced activity. You can finally relax because the time you are probably usually running after doesn’t exist in Breb. The only rhythm shaping the day is the path of the sun.

Léa Munsch

baboumaramures.com

Follow Léa

The Convent San Francescu of Oletta, located on the island of Corsica, is a magical and poetic place. Dating back to the Eighteenth Century, the Franciscan convent was one of the most important on the island.

Left to ruins after its last restoration and reconstruction, artist Candida Romero spent 11 years to restore the compound to its current glory.

Minimal and bare,  San Francescu has a contemporary feeling while respecting the original functionalities of the convent.

San Francescu today has new life, where old nun's quarters have been renovated into stark rooms with dashes of color, the Baroque Church maintains a spiritual charm, the music salon is rife with harmonies, and a Renaissance and poetic garden envelop the stone building.

The convent is truly a unique place under the Corsican sun, where you can experience an ascetic lifestyle surrounded by Mediterranean natural beauty.

Text by Ryan Moritz

www.sanfrancescu.com

Aurore Danielou is a graphic designer, illustrator, and trend reporter. Her domain of expertise is Graphic Conception and Art Direction. She is based in Paris and Montreal where she works with trend studios as a colorist and lifestyle and design consultant. Her work consists of distilling that which is around us to gather the essential societal and artistic trends of today and tomorrow. Aurore loves to discover new cultures with a passion for travel.

Bangkok, capital of Thailand and the old kingdom of Siam, is a cultural crossroads between India, China, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The dual identity between tradition and modernity is surprising. Its cultural mix is reflected through its culinary richness.

Thai meals punctuate the day, this "sanuck" or "joie de vivre" around dinner on the street is a fundamental concept. Street food is an institution with nearly 1,800 "rot khen" or "street trucks" in the city, ready to deliver their culinary treasures. This type of food production reports an average of 300 million Euros a year. Street food is representative of a certain philosophy of life that exists in Asia, between heat and monsoon rain, a "rot khen" is never far away. Enjoy and bon appetit!

Some spots not to miss: Texas Suki Chinatown and Maturos Tous which offers fresh fruit, skewers, and a delicious papaya salad!

auroredan.wix.com

Studio Aandacht is stylingdirector Tatjana Quax, artdirector Ben Lambers  and the people they surrounded themselves with since they started their studio for 'commercial culture' back in 2001. Both national and internationally reknowned museums, publishers, magazines, brands, designers and manufacturers choose to hire this creative couple to do their creative work.

Studio Aandacht is sharing with Trend tablet's community their latest travel and "coup de foudre" 

This new story is extra special because for the first time the photography is done by father and son: Ben and Maxim Lambers !

Last October, Studio Aandacht & Sons took their car and drove down to France, to visit "d’une île",  a picturesque manor an hour and a half away from Paris.

Amsterdam couple Michel Mulder and Sofie Sleumer invite you to their extraordinary hotel in which nature, design, quality produits régionnaux and good people coexist in a merger of art and living. Medieval cottages, each interior uniquely designed, exquisite food and beverages and the soothing simplicity of nature. What was once a stable, is now a temporary artist’s studio; what was once an away cellar will be a wine-bar. Each apartment has a story of its own and in many cases the furniture is for sale. An isle in time, for they who wish to chillax .

The residential area of "d’une île" comprises 4 different buildings covering 600 square meters, housing 9 apartments with a total of 28 beds, and a café-restaurant.

Sofie (an interior designer) and Michel (apart from a composer/musician, a professional chef with a great love for the products of this region) restore furniture and design the rooms. Each room gets another treatment and therefore a different character. But not only the inside looks beautiful, also the surroundings are stunning; 7.3 acres of fields and forest, including 2 springs, a marsh and a creek.

This historic village is situated on the edge of a forested hillside of a big national park called Le Perche, in Basse-Normandie. The park is a conservation area with evergreen forests, hills and rivers, medieval castles, manors and villages.

This is the new romantic nomadism according to Studio Aandacht.

www.duneile.com

www.studioaandacht.nl

Sofie Brodén is doing her final study year in the field of marketing strategy and social media strategy. She is born in Sweden but her fondness of France has brought her to study and to work in Paris on three occasions. It has almost become her second home country. Sofie is interested in how fashion and art reflects cultural trends. She's a hobby photographer and find inspiration in structures, shapes and surfaces in the surrounding environment. Art is everywhere. For Trend Tablet she gives a glimpse of her current hometown, Stockholm.

"I love Stockholm for its contrasts and that you always have the water near by. From the vibrant city centre you reach the green oasis; Djurgården in only five minutes by tram (20 minutes by foot). There you can take magical evening walks in the Scandinavian summer light. For those who prefer house-spotting, the city's architecture covers all styles from the traditional red cottages to the more futuristic office buildnings. Every area has a different feeling, Vasastan with its pastel colors and relaxed atmosphere, Östermalm with the exclusive boutiques and SoFo (South of Folkungagatan), the creative, hipster area on Södermalm.

Find inspiration in the Josef Frank designed patterns at Svenskt Tenn and seek the modern style at Tjallamalla who sell vintage items along with new Swedish fashion designers. Stockholm is a city that appeals to everybody whatever your style is, and I'm sure you will find your favorite place."

Sofie's blog

Tjallamalla

Aarts is a restaurant serving eco friendly, locally produced food with a menu that changes with the seasons. There's a warm atmosphere and you definitely feel welcomed.

 Snickarbacken 7  A café, concept store and exhibition space all in one, in a building from the late 1800's that used to be stables.

 Nobis Hotel

Rosendals Trädgård

Svenskt Tenn

Urban Deli is an ecological concept store that includes a bakery, restaurant, groceries and even a sourdough hotel! (for those people who can't leave their dough at home while traveling...)

Independent writer, creative editor and traveller, Petra Dokken is based in Sweden but has lived and loved in many big cities over the years. Working with fashion and travels. Telling stories. Interacting with minds in the cities and minds by the sea, feelings on the mountains and thoughts in the desert… 

Moments above the passing clouds. Struggles down steep slopes, and up again… Nine times fall; nine times stand up (Buddhist saying).

It is August, sunshine and deepened colours of green and blue. Walking, hiking, trekking, climbing, dancing around the snow covered mountain of Mont-Blanc. Through France, Italy and Switzerland in six days. Six days and five nights.

Challenges not foreseen, cotton wet and heavy from salty sweat. Feet deformed with blisters. Knees like swollen balloons.

And.

Smiling faces, jumping hearts, oxygen shiny complexion.

Cold rain turning the colours psychedelic; clear and vivid. The silence when I let myself fall behind my group. The wind and me. Birds.

The power of now. Presence.

Hot sun. Slowly, slow movements, mindfully. One foot at a time. Left, right. Breathing. 

Then, left and right foot again. Repeating becomes meditative.

The groups breath becomes one. Deep inhale and long exhale, pranayama.

Eyes of life. Cow bells singing, picnic with views. Constantly changing. Extrovert and introvert merged in a beautiful, natural manner.

All revelations, enlightenments and eurekas were always, are still and will always be born here where the mind can see, and understand in peace.

No cars, no Wi-Fi, no iPhone. Aching hardened muscles and dreamless sleep. In reality we meet ourselves, over and over again… And this is, this is the true magic when wandering the mountains.

Travel facts: I started the trip in Chamonix, France with a guided group. "Compagnie des guides de Chamonix" is very professional and very Zen!

…END

Petra Dokken

www.chamonix-guides.com

More about Petra

Mona Kim is a Korean-American creative director based in Paris after having lived/worked in Milan, New York, and Barcelona. Her work is transdisciplinary, and it ranges from fashion advertising, to designing experimental and experiential spaces for museum exhibitions. Her work is about merging public space, technology, words, and images. She has a voracious appetite for traveling and has journeyed independently to more than 30 countries.

"Is there a large city in the world without paradoxes? A city, and its inherent fragmented nature, refuses to be neatly compartmentalized or summarized into one word or sound. These transversal visual bytes of Seoul provide a glimpse into the polarity of this fascinating Asian Metropolis.

Welcome to the artificial, mindful, schizophrenic, soulful, idiosyncratic, silent, synthetic, earthy, ppali ppali* Seoul @ 2012 ––same same, but different— than when I left it more than 30 years ago.

South of the river, a coherent manifestation of modern luxury, experimental architecture, designed, sparse, unaffordable. North of the river, a chaotic collage of the modern, the ancient, and the sleepy frozen-in-time dong naes of childhood memories.

Slick minimalism of the Cheongdamdong boutiques. Ascetic functionalism of historical palaces’ living quarters.

Futuristic retail dressed in grass. Ancient symbol covered in  recycled waterbottles.

Techno-LED cocktail truck night-parked along the sidewalks of Pan-Asian Itaewon. Mom & pop & grandpa bodegas with overstocked tumbling goods bathed in melancholic neon lights.

Street food stalls that come alive at night splashing violent steaming spicy food.

Generation-Z sales(young)men with head-microphones seducing you with velvety charm. Ajjushi’s clutter-on-4-wheels balancing an avalanche of every “thing” made of straw.

Billboard ads promising outrageous state-of-the-art plastic surgery. An earthy beauty who still dyes her nails with flowers from her backyard.

Modern/ancient,industrial/craftsman,spiritual/material,earthy/urban, confucianism/consumerism,soulful/artificial, 24/7…

Everyone and everything moved very fast. Yet, no one seemed to look tired or sluggish.

Could it be the polarity – rather than the harmony – that fuels this unrelenting energy of the city?"

Mona Kim's professional site

Mona Kim’s blog

Lili Tedde is Trend Union's agent in Brazil, she recently went for holidays in a beautiful, wild and hidden place located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast.She shares with us this secret location....Enjoy!

"In the state of Ceará, Brazil, there is a small village by the sea named Pontal de Maceio located an hour and 40 minutes from Fortaleza. In this small village there is a cozy hotel with only 15 rooms : Vila Selvagem.

The owner is a French young man who came to Brazil with his father to completely change their lives and, step by step change the life of the place.They welcome you with a freshly open coconut and a straw. Just drink the water from the fruit at the perfect smooth temperature, after two hours in a car you could not ask for anything more delightful.

Around you, there is nothing but the hotel and a few local "cabanas", where you can eat fresh fish while looking at the sea with your feet in the sand. It is a long and quiet beach, very windy, which invites you to kite surfing.

You cannot miss the typical tapioca, the locally delicious fish and obviously, the coconut water. Depending on the season you can have lobster as well!

Canoa Quebrada, a famous tourist destination, is just at a few kilometers.The beauty is not Canoa Quebrada itself, but the journey to go there through spectacular dunes, desert beaches, local donkeys, majestic aeolic energy devices, everything is under an amazing dreamy blue sky.You can also ride horse on the beach in a very cinematographic scenario.

At the nearest village you will find local women doing their "labirinto" : beautifully crafted towels, sheets and clothes, that you do not find anywhere else.

In short, an unforgettable getaway." Lili Tedde

www.vilaselvagem.com

Le Château de la Vespière, is located in Orbec, Normandy about an hour and 45 minutes away from Paris and is the perfect place to come and spend a weekend with your loved one and/or your family. Surrounded by 5 hectares of land, le Chateau beautifully sits on top of long lawns of grass, where simplicity meets luxury.  Susanne Bjorklund “la maitresse de maison” welcomes you to this beautiful bed and breakfast with open arms. During your stay you will be able to enjoy her fabulous cooking, a mix of swedish, french and italian influences. As you savor the food, you will be amazed at the flavor that can be extracted from simple dishes; Susanne believes that it’s the simple things in life that are the best. Whether you are a wine connoisseur or not, she will help you find a wine in her extensive wine cellar that perfectly suits the occasion and your meal.

When bed time comes, you will rediscover the beauty of sleep, most guests that have slept at le Chateau say they’ve never slept so well in their lives. Being so used to the hustle and bustle of big cities such as Paris and New York, you will redefine the word “quiet” in this peaceful paradise allowing you to catch up on all those sleepless nights. When the morning comes, breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs (hopefully on the terrace!), where you can enjoy your coffee while listening to the birds beautiful chants.

When it comes time to leave, you will regret not staying an extra day, but you’ll always have the option of coming back! This place is a must.

Text by Angela Biticci

www.chateaudelavespiere.com

Marion Chatel -Chaix is young french designer, she presents her work as  “Textile sensitive design”, a concept that combines colors, materials and images. This association between mediums is triggered and felt by the senses, and is linked to different design fields. One of Marion's talents is photography. She shares with us her vision of the city in which she is actually living: Paris.

"Paris is a journey…   You can travel from Bamako at metro Château d’Eau to savor the smells of New Delhi drifting down "Passage Brady", then enjoy the bazaar of "Faubourg Saint Denis". If you prefer going to Marrakech, drink a traditional mint tea in the Great Mosque of Paris, or go to Hanoi and enjoy a Bô-bun in rue de Charonne. Passing by the Rue d’Artois, you will encounter a small Japanese restaurant, Hyotan, that offers a taste of Tokyo..

But in Paris, you're still in Paris.

Along the banks of the Seine, we are always impressed by Notre-Dame, and charmed by its lights in the water. After admiring the "Nymphéas" by Claude Monet  in the Orangerie , under an umbrella between the puddles of Jardin des Tuileries.You can discover a "line of beauty" : from the Louvre 's pyramid to the Obelisk of place de la Concorde and further.

Then walk on the "Passerelle des Arts" between two banks, two worlds...

Let's go to Belleville or Montmartre, you will see the Eiffel Tower, as small as all the fakes ones around you. You can buy one as a keychain, or just look at the real, flashing, shining in the night. As a tall and elegant Lady, she stands in a dominant position in the middle of majestic avenues. Even if it's a cliché, you always feel something when you bump into her across a street. You feel in secret that you are part of this Paris.

By late afternoon,  go to the top of Beaubourg, with an endless escalator stucked between colorful tubes. You are at the best place to admire one of the most beautiful panorama of Paris: Montmartre, the hills of Belleville, the Invalides and the arrow of the Sainte Chapelle, they are all there on the horizon. Before gently immerse in this handkerchief that is so nice to explore on foot.

Yes, this is Paris !

Tourist one day, all the day a tourist, there is always something to discover, great and secret places at the corner of every street.

That's a shame that Parisians are too busy to take advantage of all this magic."

Car il n’y a pas qu’au parc Montsouris,que cette petite phrase de Jacques Prévert me revient en tête "à Paris, sur la terre…"

www.marionchatel.com

Cécilia Andrews is a visual artist, she worked in Paris for 20 years. She grew up in Santiago, Chile where she studied Fine Art. She shares with us her latest trip in South of India.

«This trip was programmed at the beginning for vacation and discovery of the textiles factory in south of India, it ended up very fast in an admiration of the indian culture : those colours, smells and textures….

In a period of monsoon, everything is more contrasted. The colours are vivid and the elements of daily life pushes us to concentrate, to smell and to hear by looking at all the details.

I walked during days, blushed by skin, clothes, eyes, smiles, gesture and the accessories were glittering in opposition to this incessant rain.

India is a country of contrast, i had already read and heard it a thousand times however it’s an indescribable feeling, it’s like you feel absord by a world without boundaries.

Under the rain that falls, barefoot, the coton absorbs the humidity ambiant which comes along the trip with us… fabrics  are orange, fuchsia, yellow, blue, green and white…

The smell of tea rythm the pauses, in India there is always a miracle that shows up in the middle of a chaos… the hundreds of variety of food, the colours and the perfumes invites you to hunt ; to taste the variety of sugarish food, salted, spiced or milderness. Have you ever tried to only eat with your right hand ? In India, you have to take the time…

It was an incredible discovering trip, under the charm of a brilliant universe.

I hope that these images will make you travel to this coloured country…» Cécilia

Cécilia's website

Cécilia 's blog on textile

A hotel with a view in Mumbai 

Nice cottages in Alappuzha

The Villa des Orangers in Marrakech, a riad with the Relais & Chateaux label, is an absolute delight for the eyes. Nested in the heart of the Medina, with its lap pool and fresh gardens in the scorching sun of the Red City, it is a peaceful oasis with immediate access to the souk and the monuments, for shopping and culture. The beautiful white spa is built in a traditional method with tadelakt (white plaster), as are the black bathrooms in the suites.

Each mosaic, each stucco, each tile pattern, each pottery or rug is a piece of history and aesthetic and is carefully chosen for an ensemble result of great elegance.

Great kindness in the service, which is the ultimate luxury...                                                     Text by Emmanuelle Linard

www.villadesorangers.com

Antwerp is the second home of studio Aandacht.

We don't know why, but it just feels like that. Maybe it has something to do with the extra attention for detail you find in restaurants, shops, museums and hotels.

With some of our favorite designers at a stones throw away from each other one doesn't have to step in and out of a taxi to do Xmas shopping. You just stroll along the ancient streets and visit the numerous antiques and bookshops.

Enjoy Antwerp, love from Amsterdam, Tatjana Quax

Photography by  Ben Lambers & Actionstyling by Tatjana Quax

www.studioaandacht.nl

Boulevard Leopold is the best bed and breakfast in town

Domestic, the take away around the corner

Dome the great & stylish restaurant

Labels Inc, Antwerp’s most famous vintage fashion store

The must see Concept Shop : RA

To buy the lovely products from Santa Maria di Novella

The secret store : Magazyn

In the early 19th century the granddaughter of famous French philosopher Michel Eyquem de Montaigne took residence in this home on the hill overlooking vineyards and flower fields. And now, when you stroll in the wild flower garden you can't help having some deep thoughts yourself, maybe it has got something to do with the excellent wines that are abundant in the region.With Bordeaux just around the corner and some of the best food on the planet for sale on the shelves this is the right place for a relaxing stay with family or friends...

www.lelieuperdu.therecollection.com

www.studioaandacht.nl

Photography by  Ben Lambers

Actionstyling  by Tatjana Quax

Binichic is a blog created to discuss the life, style and beauty of the Mediterranean. Susan Unger and Ona Villier both designers have Menorca (Spain) , one of the smallest or less concurred Balearic islands in their heart: they lived there for many years, and they still call it “home”. They invite us to a visit of the vernacular architecture on this beautiful place. The architect Reagan Rice who designed and renovated houses in this island shares with us his photographs of classic Menorcan farmhouses.

Those houses represent elegant solutions using a minimum of resources. Ironically the most ancient, primitive ways of building inspire modern architecture because they both come from the same principle: form follows function. The elegance they have in common is that they do more with less. As Reagan says : "Limiting the palette is one of the secrets to success of Vernacular Architecture”.

Having only few materials on the island to construct is what gave these structures their unique character. Limestone is found in the fields as well as quarried, and white wash, it is used to protect and to coat the stones.Tiles are made from red clay and used on the roof and on the floors. Wood is only used for window frames, doors, and beams.

The Menorcan farmhouse is a response to the natural conditions of this Mediterranean island.The farmhouses are oriented to the south. Larger windows with porches and patios provide protection from the wind while taking in warmth and light. Because of the wind, the windows are small on the north façade.The drinking water used to be stored in a cistern— often provided by the stones needed to build the house.The water collection systems are always very aesthetic, while doing their job.The whitewash over the years gives the stones plasticity and rounded shapes that change continually as the sun shadows the forms. It defines the paths on the roof where the tiles are set with mortar, allowing farmers to access the entire roof.It is an economical way to manage the roof.

www.binichic.com
www.reganbice.com

Binichic 's selection of nice hotels on the island.

www.biniatram.com

www.alcaufarvell.com
www.biniarroca.com

A rustic luxury in the Moroccan mountains of the Atlas at the Kasbah du Toubkal.

Ancient citadel, the Kasbah is nested in the village of Imlil, at the foot of the Toubkal, the highest summit in North Africa culminating at 4165 meters.An overwhelming feeling of dizziness seizes us and we realize that absolutely everything necessary here for human life and leisure is made by hand; as we enjoy design, food, architecture, and all things related to lifestyles, we suddenly become aware of the time, energy and dedication of the workers involved.

From the architecture of bricks, wall tadelakt (artisanal plaster creating these beautiful rounded surfaces so appealing to the touch), local hardwood and pigment colored tiles, through the walnut furniture and Berber hand woven woolen rugs, blankets and wall coverings, all sizes of terracota containers, the black soap to oint and clean our skin in the spacious yet simple hammam, to the varied oven flat breads, the tea infused with mint leaves, lamb tajines and dips of Amlou, a traditional paste of crushed almonds and Argan oil.

The soul of craftsmanship at the Kasbah du Toubkal.Text by Emmanuelle Linard @edelkoortinc

www.kasbahdutoubkal.com

Well-Being is the new niche for luxury.
Post Ranch Inn, a resort and spa 2.5 hours South of San Francisco, is a luxury retreat perched on a cliff over the Pacific in the natural park of Big Sur, California.
Quietly healing in tree houses between the ocean and the mountains. The spa offers deep tissue massages as well as spiritual treatments with therapists seriously trained in energy channeling. Intense rebalancing of chakras and bridging your two brain halves is taking place in the fresh and intimate individual rooms on the first floor of the spa in the Butterfly tree house. Water bottled at the property source are offered in a beautiful sturdy and thick clear design packaging. Light oils are used for in depths pressure.
Enjoy breathtaking views of the meadows sloping down the ocean at the main restaurant, where a deer and her spotted fawn will graciously visit and graze in front of you.

Post Ranch Inn has also a fine food reputation with a true gourmet four course tasting menu with perfectly sized portions that lets you try everything without overwhelming your stomach. Each course gives you several preparations of the same ingredient, which makes you feel that you are trying ten courses at least. Try the lobster meat and claw with risotto, and the beef combination of rib-eye, short-rib and foie gras in such small portions that it doesn't make you gain weight. All pleasure...

The ingredients are super fresh, the breakfast chef offers you a buffet of made-to-order eggs any style, pancakes and waffles, as well as all the usual fruits, yogurts, veggies and bread and pastries; try the carrot walnut and banana bread. Each meal truly re-invigorates you. House-made chocolate chips cookies are still warm in the cookie jar in your room when you check in; all snacks and drinks are at no charge in your mini-bar: a true bliss when you come back from your one hour gorgeous hike on Billy's trail or to the secret meadow, one of the 100 acres charming outdoors settings of the property, or when you come back from your 8:30am one hour yoga class in the contemporary yurt, or from a swim in the adjacent lap pool.

Enjoy sweet dreams as you overlook the forest from your large arched room window, feeling comforted in this cosy beautiful design nest.
The resort is pricy, but frankly worth it, as even in one night and one day you will be able to get the full experience.
Located on famous California highway 1, Post Ranch Inn is  a magical outpost on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. The perfect halt on your road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Text by Emmanuelle Linard @edelkoortinc

www.postranchinn.com

Shanghai, city like an ants nest at the meandering shores of the Bund river, where everyone seems to find his way and despite haste and stress still find time for each other... The most beautiful club ever was found by accident in the French quarters, the part where all the diplomats recide. The Yong Foo Elite is situated in a former British Embassy and it was as if the ghost of Mata Hari was roaming this imposing twenties building. Nightclubbing whilst relaxing in a vintage leather Gucci feauteuil, nipping your cocktail overlooking the garden with follies and original theatre pieces from
the Chinese opera house, you can’t help but to try the snake that’s on the menu later served by one of our five waiters. Shanghai, which means ‘by the sea’ is on the verge of eating up her own age old history by building ‘New York style’ skyscrapers, but still you can find food markets and street venders everywhere. The beautiful colours of the ceramics department in the Shanghai History Museum still dances in front of our eyes. With work from the Early 20th century, when local craftsmen started to work together with French designers.

But most of all we think back to the old man that was calligraphing on the pavement simply by using water, wise words definitally gathered in a lifetime; but mercilessly drying up in the bright sun. Since then Ben is called Ben Zen and studio Aandacht in awe.
The city that apperas to burst during the new year fireworks to scare away all the negative energy in one big bang... North-East-South-West everything thrives with a good karma.

Love from Amsterdam, Tatjana Quax

www.studioaandacht.nl

Photography by  Ben Lambers
Actionstyling  by Tatjana Quax

Marrakech, the city of 1001 nights, is the place where art director Ben Lambers had his renaissance as a photographer. Being a ‘beholder’ who sees beauty in lots of things, he surprised me with these pictures. From now on we will share our most special and colourful pictures made on different occasions and locations on Trendtablet. Since 20 years we learned to see as one but managed to keep our personal view in life and work. Marrakech brought us something that turned out to be the next level in Studio Aandacht.

 This week Studio Aandacht celebrates her 10th anniversary, that means puberty is around the corner... Still there’s a lot to learn and plenty of time to grow."

tatjana quax

http://www.studioaandacht.nl

photos by ben lambers - actionstyling by tatjana quax