wish i were there

roughing it in the hamptons?

i know, it sounds like a contradiction.  but according to this recent nyt article, there are two campsites worth a look.  the first, hither hills, situated between montauk and east hampton, seems preferred, with a "more genteel" crowd (at least when the author was visiting) and a lovely location by the beach.  cedar point, located at the northern point of east hampton, is more wooded in atmosphere, and less crowded.  either one is close enough to enable visits to the shops and restaurants that make the hamptons glamorous, so you can get a taste of what the high life is like, and then head back to the campsite for some miller highlife, if you are so budgeted.  check out the article for more details.

gateau basque museum

dorie greenspan, the famed pastry lover/cookbook co-author, has a blog where she recently detailed a trip she took to the gateau basque museum in the french basque countryside.  if you don't know what a gateau basque is, i'll let her explain:

Time out to describe a Gateau Basque: It's a double layer of dough, more like a thick tart crust than the word "gateau" would lead you to believe, encasing a layer of either vanilla pastry cream or dark cherry jam, a local specialty.

um, consider me interested in eating many of those, in every variety.  the woman practically planned her trip around visiting this small museum, and it definitely sounds like it was worth it.  so sign me up!

update - came across this tiny inn - you can rent a room in a farmhouse in the town of sare, nearby the museum, if you so desire.  beautiful views, and a great price! (starting at 280 euros/week!)  and the guggenheim bilabo is only an hour and a half away....

heading to stockholm?

if you're heading to stockholm, be sure to check out design blogger emma's well assembled guide.  it's a good way to see the city like a local!  a quickie compilation of her recommendations includes:

• skansen museum
• kid's clothing stores under, uni, and birka baby
• shopping for grownups - head to the SoFo area of Sodermalm, to check out grandpa, tjallamalla, nudie jeans, kunigunda, lisa larsson secondhand, under, coctail, acne jeans, uni, and nakkna.
• lasse i parken, vurma, cafe string, and cafe tubby for small bites
• the restaurants berlin, pet sounds bar, matkultur,
• street, stockholm's only street market
• cajsa warg, an organic grocery store (i always like checking out grocery stores in another country, even if it's just to look at the packaging)
• modern design shops asplund, granit, designtorget, ahlens, and stockhome.
• to stay?  hotel rival, hotel birger jarl, and clarion hotel

NYC greenmarket

even if you come to new york from a haven of farmer's markets - like me, in southern california - where i think it is possible to go to several farmer's markets daily in lieu of ralph's if you were so inclined - you really should still go check out the legendary greenmarket in nyc's union square.  it is a special experience in such an urban setting - this is not only a destination, but a place that many people simply must pass through in their efforts to get elsewhere, so it provides for wonderful people watching and a truly new york experience.  clearly, things must keep moving in nyc at all times, as you can see from this video of alice waters explaining how she shops the greenmarket.  that other customer just cannot wait for her fruit, she must get in there! she must get her berries as quickly as possible, cameras be damned!  hustle bustle, hustle bustle.  don't be confused by the lush array of vegetable and plants -it sure is new york city, after all.

here's the print article (with recipes) in case you can't get the video to load.

not exactly travel related, but somehow sprinkled with wanderlust...

 

i love love love maira kalman.  she is indescribably amazing, and i just discovered that she's created a blog for ye olde new york times which is unfortunately on hiatus, but fortunately archived.  (check out november - it's all about paris.)  if you don't know about her or her late husband tibor, then you need to start clicking and reading. 

please watch this!  it's just so nice.

happy english shop

shelf looks like a fabulous place to pop into while in london... i heard about it on the blog of the fabulous laura normandin, who makes lovely illustrations and delicious hand-crafted goods.  there are more pictures on her site... 
(secret confession - when i was working in a tiny shop in soho a few years ago, i think i accosted her when she came in and made a purchase.  i was just so excited to meet the person who had drawn the cover art for sufjan steven's michigan album, of which i was obsessed at the time, that i just couldn't help myself.  awkward!  anyway, nice to see she's continuing to make more good things.  oh yeah, and speaking of good things, she's also one of the amazing crafters that makes martha fabulous.)