TIM TANZ
Tuck these special items into your suitcase.
I READ RECENTLY that the anticipation of a trip can be as beneficial as the actual holiday. In other words, planning, researching and looking forward to a future destination can lift the spirits as much as the vacation itself.
Alternatively, almost everyone who travels for pleasure knows the letdown of landing home after a holiday and having to return to life’s obligations and routine.
I used to think it strange to start planning a future vacation before you’ve completed the current one. Now we’re always planning a vacation or two ahead because if you’ve already planned your next destination, you can start looking forward to that before any post-holiday depression sets in. TRAVEL WITH STYLE
It’s been said that travel today has lost its glamour. It certainly can be hard to feel glamorous as one waits in endless lines, herded like cattle, having to remove your shoes and belt and empty your pockets as you go through security checks. But with a few well-chosen accoutrements you don’t have to feel totally without style and comfort.
Here are a few items I always tote, to bring that touch of civility and calm to my summer holiday, be it to the cottage or Cannes.
Illuminate your senses: Travel candles in lightweight unbreakable tins create an ambience for your home away from home. These, by Michel Design Works, have garden scents that can soothe the stress >>
>> of travel, impart your suitcase with fragrance and help create fragrant memories.
Get Misty: Lavender calms and promotes relaxation, lemon basil revitalizes and peony creates a sense of well-being.
These four-ounce candles burn for 20 hours and are made of soy wax for clean burning. ($14 each at Write Impressions, Waterloo)
Lavender Hydrosol Mist, pure lavender distillate (floral water), is infused with geranium and rosemary to soothe and protect travel-weary skin.
Alonda Nichols, owner of the Thymeless Apothecary in Waterloo, creates the mist from the aromatic water that remains after herbs are distilled for essential oils. Use it on your face for its antioxidant, therapeutic and anti-inflammatory properties as well as a pillow spray to induce restful sleep. (Thymeless Care Aromatics Lavender Mist with geranium and rosemary $15, from the Thymeless Apothecary, Waterloo)
Take note : Experienced travellers know a travel journal can be your best souvenir. Charming “passport” design journals from Rifle Paper Co. come in a set of two and are small enough to keep with you at all times, enabling you to jot things down in the moment instead of relying on recollection.
Keep a record of memorable meals, expenses, sights and new friends made. The unlined pages make them ideal for sketches, maps and even business cards or postcards as well as notes.
(Passport Notebooks, $11 for a set of two, by Rifle Paper Co. http://riflepaperco.com or at Chapters in Kitchener)
Travellin' tea: These travel tins hold four “gourmet pyramid” tea bags of your
favourite tea in a pocket-size tin. Distinctly Tea in Waterloo can offer any variety, but the decaffeinated blends such as Decaf Breakfast or Tropical Sunrise Rooibos are perfect to calm the nerves in flight or before bedtime at your hotel.
Tim tip: Most hotels won’t charge for a room service pot of hot water and a cup – just remember to tip the waiter.
(Tea in tag-a-long tin, $4 at Distinctly Tea, Waterloo)
Luxe Luggage: When navigating through airports or at the hotel front desk, it’s your luggage that makes the first impression. Aluminum magnesium suitcases by Rimowa are sleek and classic, instantly recognizable by the “grooves” that harken back to the planes of early air travel.
Both stylish and practical, the Topaz model (pictured) features smooth-rolling wheels and innovative integrated TSA combination locks recognized around the world, allowing them to be opened by airport security while still enabling you to keep your belongings safe.
The case interior features a height-adjustable flex-divider system that can be altered to keep the contents in best possible order, and the lightweight yet sturdy housing also protects contents from humidity and extreme temperatures.
And did I mention that although the company is based in Germany, these cases are manufactured right here, in Cambridge?
(For more information and retailers, contact Rimowa at 1-888-RIMOWA8 or online at www.rimowa.com)
Return to sender: Luggage tags by Linnea Design are covered in durable plastic and have all your personal information inside and out of sight.
The “Golden Age of Travel” designs let you choose your favorite vacation spot to add a personal touch and help your suitcase stand out from a sea of look-alike bags. ($8 each at Write Impressions, Waterloo)