Dream Getaway: French Polynesia – Tahiti, Bora Bora, trailing the steps of Gauguin, eating perfect tropical fruit and fish and wearing very little clothing. 

Last vacation you really loved: Marfa, TX. We flew out to El Paso and drove for three hours down an endless highway surrounded by mountains and the dessert. It was beautiful. Marfa is a gem with incredible art foundations, great little restaurants, super friendly people and the Texas sun. Of course, I ran into two people from Brooklyn that I know and saw the Dead Milkmen randomly at a house party. Our world is smaller than we think. 

When traveling I can’t live without: “Just in case” immodium. Let’s face it. Traveler’s “D” is no joke. 

Are you a nervous flyer? When boarding a plane, I’m always secretly a bit nervous. And this is silly, but I always look for babies because I think that no way would the universe take an innocent baby. So as long as one is on the flight, I feel somewhat safe and reassured. 

Travel tip: Always pack a bathing suit; one never knows when a hot tub might pop up! 

Worst travel experience: I’m a shitty outdoorsman. I tried to camp once at a campground in Malibu. Dear lord. We got there late, didn’t know how to pitch a tent, ended up sleeping on soggy ground for a few hours and then in the car. I also managed to get a UTI. Never again. 

Most overlooked destination: Ljubljana, Slovenia. It’s beautiful, cheaper than its other Eastern European neighbors and perfect for a few days of exploring. The best place to stay is at the Hostel Celica, a former prison, redone into a colorful, totally rad hostel with art work on the wall, a bar, and unique, incredible rooms in the very young, hip neighborhood Metelkova, a former prison barrack turned into squats and punk houses.

Favorite hotel: I would definitely recommend the Thunderbird Hotel. While it's a bit pricey, where else can you borrow a sweet cruiser to ride around town or a record player for your room?! Its minimalistic charm and the little touches of class in the form of Malin + Goetz bath products are perfect for Marfa, where it's located.

One place everyone should go: Most definitely Israel.  Not only is it the quintessential lesson in world history, religion, antiquity and world civ, but it has vastly diverse climate regions where you can go hiking in a desert or up in the mountains, or snorkel in the South. Tel Aviv is a great party city with a perfect beach. It's got cheap food, is small and easy to navigate, plus it's relatively inexpensive and close to incredible world wonders such at Petra in Jordan or the Egyptian Pyramids.

Recommended group getaway: A buddy of mine told me she once rented a boat in Greece with a cook and a skipper with a group of 10 or so friends. The boat took them to different islands and they slept and ate on the boat. Split 10 or 12 ways, it sounded pretty affordable and completely fabulous. 

Recommended travel read: Slouching Toward Bethlehem, Joan Didion’s collection of essay about California in the 60s. It’s not politically or emotionally charged and refers to a time so far in the past yet filled with such brilliant history that regardless of where you are in the world, you can completely understand Didion’s disaffected yet poignantly felt observations. She’s a brilliant woman who traveled the world and got paid to write about it. 

Favorite travel resources: Couchsurfing.com is a great way to find a free place to crash or at least meet friendly people eager to make friends with foreigners passing through their town. Once in Iceland, I stayed with an American girl who had just married an Icelandic man and would host people on her couch because she was slightly homesick for good ol’ American company and some peanut butter. Another time, I swapped an extra Belle & Sebastien ticket for a free place to stay in Amsterdam.  I'm still friends with the couple!

Meal you would travel for: A picnic in Provence. I'd drive to the local Boulangerie in Roussillon, buy a fresh baguette de provence (multi-grain) and head to the farmer’s market for local cheeses, hand cured olives, fresh tomatoes, radishes and herbs. I'd get some Rose too, then drive through sunflower fields, stopping at a farm along the way for some melon. Finally, I'd park and walk a few kilometers through a lavender field toward an almond tree, under which I'd eat this perfect, simple feast.

 

Happy travel memory: I once stayed at Mal Pais Surf Camp in Costa Rica. After a morning of surfing, beach and lazy sun naps, we came back to the hostel, which was really straw huts with simple beds, open but with walls and a roof in the middle of the lush tropics. That morning, the owners of the surf camp had caught a large tuna, which he cut up and served as the freshest sashimi I had ever tasted, complete and total mouth-melting perfection. 

Easy escape: New Orleans, which is only three hours away from New York, during Mardi Gras. People don’t realize that Mardi Gras is actually not “Girls Gone Wild” on Broubon Street. Mardi Gras is all about Carnivale: New Orleanians dress up in crazy costumes and attend impromptu parades put together by artsy kids in hip neighborhood like the Bywayter and the Mairigny.  They bring their own instruments – accordions, drums, horns – and tons of booze and just sing and dance in the streets.  You spend the day walking around, drinking by the Bayou, eating crawfish and cheap, amazing oysters, while at night people open their “shotgun” houses, basically a Southern version of a railroad apartment, except with big porches and yards, for parties and shows.  I usually stay with friends but the Garden District has some cute boutique hotels near beautiful colonial plantation homes.