Fashion Friday :: Après Ski

[trip style = ski]

{Editor's Note: We're taking some time off over the Christmas holiday. I wish I could say time away as in staying in a glass-bottomed hut in French Polynesia, but not this year. We'll be back with regular posts January 4th. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!}

Friends of mine from California and Washington travel to Whistler every January. Unlike most mountain visitors, they don't ski and they don't snowboard - they "après". And these girls are serious about their après.

If you Google "après ski", you'll mostly find photos of women in ski suits and bikini tops. Unless you were an extra during the filming of classic ski films like Ski Patrol or Aspen Extreme, you've probably never seen these bikini-clad après skiers - at least this side of 1992.

There are a couple popular settings for après ski (which literally translates to "after skiing") - straight off the slopes on the patio, still in your gear, or inside the bar or hotel lounge, showered and changed into smart, casual and cozy clothes that will carry you straight to dinner. You want to be comfortable, but it's après, so you want to be noticed, right? Picture Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. (Just kidding.)

Now what to pack? (clockwise from top left) Aritzia Wilfred Free vintage fleece striped sweater, Aritzia T.Babaton silk cashmere tie cardigan, Vince sequin front sweatshirt, L.A.M.B. dolman sweater dress, Canada Goose kensington parka, Rag & Bone eleanor pants, Rag & Bone mallory lace-up ankle boots, Burberry double faced cashmere scarf, toque and gloves, Sorel torino waterproof boots, Super francis basic sunglasses (at Vincent Park), Free People cable beanie, Aritzia Wilfred leopard scarf

Note: Designers love coming out with moon boots or mukluk-style furry boots. Unless you'll be spending time in Moscow this winter, just say no. And while we're talking boots, yes - it is acceptable to wear Uggs on a ski vacation.

{Fashion Friday posts are published on the last Friday of every month and written by our resident fashion consultant Heather.}

Travel Treats :: November

Everyone loves a travel treat! Sounds fabulous, but what it is? A travel treat is a great buy you can't pass up, and over the next few months we'll be introducing more travel treats, published on the first Wednesday of every month. Yours is waiting! Whistler, BC [trip style = active & adventure] Take advantage of Whistler's La Nina (ie - a ton of snow) weather to ski by day and apres by night. One of my fave destinations at Whistler, the Chateau, caters to all ages in style. Details/Cost: Book by November 15th to save 40% on 4-night /3-day package and 3-day lift ticket. Starting from $499 per person per stay. Available on arrivals from November 26 - December 21, 2010. Book online or via phone 1.800.WHISTLER (1.800.944.7853). Alternatively, join the Fairmont President's Club (free) to access the once-monthly Fairmont deals that happen to feature rates at the Chateau from $109/night for stays during November and December. See you on the slopes! *See my review of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler here.

Sunshine Coast, BC [trip style = glamping] One of the closest and most luxurious glamping options near Vancouver, BC is just a ferry away! From now until March 31st 2011, The Rock Water is offering a great weekend storm-watching package for their tenthouses. Hit the spa apres the inclement weather to soothe your senses. Cost: $649 plus taxes includes breakfast, spa credits and other goodies. *Plus, check out this fall travel treat: from now until Dec. 22, pay $109/night for an ocean view room or one bedroom cabin. Includes Breakfast. Once you get there, if you absolutely 'must' stay in a tenthouse, you can upgrade for about $100/night.

Seattle, WA [trip style = urban] I experienced the Westin Bellevue last month with my husband and dog @nachoking. We booked our weekend getaway using the Westin's shopping package. This package is the essence of a travel treat, here's why: it's a nice hotel, beside amazing shopping and your $199/night weekend rate + free parking is really only $100/night because you get a $100 gift certificate (per night) to any of the shopping or restaurants in the area. If you just want the gift certificate as cash, buy an appetizer or coffe at one of the restaurants or coffee shops and get the difference back! *See my review of the Westin Bellevue here.

PS - don't forget about last week's launch of the groupon-like travel site Trip Alertz. If you want some tropical therapy this winter, check out the Bahamas' free companion airfare (book by Dec 1, travel by June 30th).

{Stay tuned for more travel treats the first Wednesday of Every Month.}

[photos by rock water, fairmont chateau whistler, westin bellevue]

Africa Month :: Safari

[trip style = active & adventure]

{Editor's Note: Today is the last installment of my trip style = active & adventure getting to, glamping and going on safari in the Masai Mara. If you ever have/take the opportunity to do a safari, it's awe-inspiring and other-worldly.}

Just landing on a dirt runway that had just been cleared from herds hanging' below in Kenya's Masai Mara was momentous enough, not to mention a five-day adventure roaming sun-soaked plains, getting up close and personal with lions and watching hundreds of wildebeest and zebra race across the Mara river.

Visiting in the fall is bliss; it's just before rainy season and during the great migration when thousands of animals journey up from the Serengeti. Here's a taste of my million-times-better-than-a-zoo experience in the Masai Mara.

A Kenyan Safari {We didn't see any lions or cheetahs on our first game drive, but we did have the opportunity marvel at this orangy, just-before-sunset, shadow-effect on our Land Rover!}

{Just a regular morning in the Masai Mara... This picture is taken standing a few feet away from the rhinos---beside guards with large guns. The guards were charged with protecting the last 6 rhinos in the region. Apparently their tusks go for $100,000 on the Asian black market. Very sad.}

{Yes, I did get this close and it was ba-na-nas!}

{Love how baboon babies hang on to their moms.}

{Giraffe: towering over trees.}

{It takes two to tango.}

{Last giraffe picture, I promise, they are just so elegant and stylish, aptly sporting this season's hot camel colour.}

{Male and female zebra with not-that-big (for the region) termite mounds in the background.}

{Apparently the yoga trend has caught on in the Mara too...}

{Don't get in the way of a lion couple's lazy Sunday afternoon and their dinner. Did you know the lionesses do most of the work and the lions just sit back and wait for their dinner to be served? Reminds me of Leave it to Beaver re-runs.}

{A lioness at her best.}

{The king, on his way to a royal meeting.}

{The dainty, yet viciously powerful (male) ostridge.}

{Momma and baby elephants.}

{Words can't describe...}

{Cape Buffalo: one of 'the big 5.' This picture looks like it belongs on a 'cheer up' greeting card.}

{The Mara's version of the fast and the furious: the cheetah.}

{After waiting two hours for the timid wildebeest and zebra to cross the Mara river, the frantic crossing took place. Did I mention that large, snap-happy crocs were lying in wait, monitoring just the right moment to create a raucous? Thank goodness there was only one casualty of war... }

{Here's a better picture (that I didn't take) showing the migration scene at the crossing.}

{Heading back to the lodge...}

{A picturesque end to our safari adventure. I got goosebumps the night I saw this sunset, and still do every time I look at this picture.}

{With our Safari guides Moses and Moses, ending our search for the Big 5 (lions, cape buffalo, leopards, rhinos and elephants). Leopards, who spend a lot of time in trees, are hard to spot. We didn't see one. Oh well, as if I needed an excuse to go on safari again!}

Safari Tips

• Off-roading in a Land Rover (or like vehicle) on the uneven ground can be a semi-rough ride. An old lady I met brought a pillow with her to lessen the impact on her behind! Also, I get motion sick on any moving thing including chair lifts, yet didn't get sick despite the bumps.
• Bring a hat and sunscreen.
• There's a reason why safari-wear is khaki: it's dusty and the light colour is good at warding off the mid-day heat.
• Bring warm clothes, it can be chilly in the early morning or late afternoon when there's no sun.
• Bring a good camera, we only brought a point-and-shoot Sony digi cam and I wish we could rewind and go back with a better camera.
• All lodges offer similar game drive packages, make sure you go on an all-day game drive---a highlight in terms of seeing more territory and animals.

Related Content Africa Month :: Glamping Africa Month :: Jambo

[images by @tripstyler & @nate_fri]

Africa Month :: Glamping

[trip style = glamping + safari]

{Editor's Note :: Every Friday this month, I'm featuring a different element of my trip to the Masai Mara. Last week: Getting There. Next week: Safari Time!}

The Baboon That Couldn't My face-off with a baboon only made my stay in a villa-like canvas tent more authentic...

As I was hurriedly getting ready to leave for the afternoon safari drive, I left the front zipper of my tent open. This is not a huge deal seeing as the grounds were safe and mostly secure, but that particular day a baboon decided it wanted to live in the lap of luxury too. I don't blame him (at least I think it was a 'he'), glamping is an experience.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him fast approaching the opening in the front of my tent, and in a feat gymnastic prowess I don't normally posses, I launched myself toward the zipper and lowered it in one fell swoop. With my heart pumping and knees bruised, the baboon and I stared each other down through the tent's heavy mesh windows.

I'm not sure what would have occurred if the baboon and I had shared the canvas quarters, but I'm glad the encounter was not intimate.

Glamping In The Masai Mara {After cleaning our faces and hands with the cool towels and sipping fresh mango juice, we checked into our glamping experience by way of the lodge, pictured above.}

{Loved the lodge's rustic-meets-high-end African decor.}

{A close-up of the artwork lining the wall in the last picture.}

{Walking past the lodge's pool to get to our tent.}

{My kind of tenting!}

{View to river below from our tent's deck.}

{Neighbors lurking below our tent. I wasn't aware that hippos are funny animals, but they are hilarious. They create a symphony of grunting, snorting and whistling noises to the point where you'd burst out laughing. At night the noise didn't stop. Ear plugs came in handy once you'd had enough comic relief...}

{The sitting area inside.}

{Apparently I was really excited about glamping. The bathroom and dressing area are through the hanging beads on either side of the bed.}

{The tent's bathroom and dressing quarters.}

{About to go into dinner in the lodge.}

[images by @tripstyler & @nate_fri]

Africa Month :: Jambo!

[trip style = safari]

The Masai Mara At this time last year my husband and I had the great fortune to go on safari in the Masai Mara---a continuation of Tanzania's Serengeti which runs into Kenya.

After attending a wedding in Nairobi, we hopped on a series of small, low-flying planes over the African plains... Nausea tried to set in, but peering out my small window at families of elephants running beneath seemed to remedy the motion sickness.

Overwhelmed by the experience, landing on a dirt runway did me in. Getting off the plane, tears flooded my eyes. Was I really in a land where animals I've only seen in zoos or read about in Nat Geo walk free? Whisked off to my lodge in a Land Cruiser, I was still in a semi-state of shock as momma and baby baboons trotted by...

Jambo An account of my journey from Nairobi to the Fairmont Masai Mara's grounds {see my hotel review here}. Each time I think of our arrival, the word "Jambo!"---"welcome" in Swahili---resounds in my mind. Every single time we entered the resort's front gates, the security guards would exuberantly welcome us with this warm and expressive word. What a way to begin a five-day adventure in the Masai Mara!

Every Friday for the rest of the month is about Kenya. This week: getting there, an adventure in and of itself!

Getting to the Masai Mara {Laminated Air Kenya boarding passes, the adventure started here. An hour later, we'd arrive.}

{Looking out the waiting area's window at our first plane....while holding my laminated boarding passes and reading about Air Kenya's safety record.}

{Boarding our first plane. Notice the UN World Food Program plane in the background.}

{When Air Kenya flies into the Masai Mara it's a milk run. Each party is dropped off at different runways coinciding with their resort's location. Here, our pilot is taking off for the last 10-min leg of our trip.}

{The quintissental tourist out-of-plane window shot, in anticipation of what's below.}

{No joke: the duty-free shop at our landing strip.}

{A special Masai welcome for my friend who just got married and was staying at a resort beside ours.}

{Arriving at our resort/home for the next five days.}

{Our transport/safari vehicle.}

{The resort's main entrance. We were greeted with warm towels and mango juice. So apropos.}

Tips for getting to the Masai Mara

• There are hundreds of resorts scattered throughout the Masai Mara.
• You'll either fly {up to a two-hour flight} or drive {six to seven hours} from Nairobi.
• If you fly, have your resort tell you the name of your specific airstrip. There are several, and you need to make sure you either a) book your flight to and from the right one and/or b) have your safari specialist travel agent book the right one.
• Depending on your final destination, you may take a few different planes and multiple small flight segments to reach your final destination.
• All flights for the Masai Mara depart from Wilson Airport {not Nairobi's International Airport}, about 20 mins from downtown Nairobi.
• It is advisable to work with a travel agent to book a secure, trusted transport to and from Wilson Airport.
• Travel smart in Nairobi: keep windows closed and doors locked at all times.

[images by @tripstyler and @nate_fri]