Tag Archives: USA

Getting to Burlington, Vermont

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As summer finally came to Adelaide, I was setting myself for a predawn flight to Sydney before flying to Los Angeles and then onto Charlotte and finally Burlington, Vermont, my destination for the Schlessinger Grossman Family Business Competition, where I was coaching a team of MBA students from Adelaide University.

This trip was going to confound my basic mantra of Slow Travel. I was flying out early  on a Sunday and returning 9 days later with a collective 3 plus days of travel.

Step one was preparing to travel to the other side of the world where the weather is completely different. It’s a challenge to get your head in the mind set  of a freezing cold winter when it’s quite the opposite where you are.

How to pack, what to pack? Nothing too hot for my travel as planes are notoriously warm, but with the knowledge that when I arrive in Burlington, it will likely be freezing. Marino wool socks, my Scarpa Boots, jeans and trusty Ralph Lauren jacket. In my carry-on were my Adel Uni polar fleece, my gloves and beanie. My beanie was fleece-lined.

I booked Premium Economy for the Sydney – LA and return leg and was lucky to get an upgrade to Business for the Adel – Syd leg. It meant an extra carry-on allowance but I always take the minimum on to the plane. I have luggage in the hold so an extra piece of carry on is just a hassle.  I say this because I am paranoid about having my carry-on near. Using my backpack means that I can either store it directly overhead or under the seat in front. I know I could get more in a roll-on bag, but as I was to see more than once on my flights, roll-ons were required to be stowed and not accessible during the flight. That would have done my head in!

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The Diary of a Slow Traveller – A day at the beach (Venice Beach and Santa Monica)

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Venice Beach

We’d been to California only once before and that was with our children so it was very much Disney centric.  We had a great few days as Mickey’s guest but this time we had a chance to do a little exploring around the academic conferences that were the primary reason for our visit.

Based in Anaheim we decided that a Sunday at the beach in LA would be fun. The way the conference agenda panned out meant that I had pretty much a day free before a late afternoon session on my research area of interest.

Initially our thoughts had been a day at Disneyland, very convenient to our hotel but not at the top of my favourite person’s agenda and certainly pricey $238 for two tickets. Given the glorious weather and the fact that Venice Beach was home to my favourite person’s new favourite clothes store, Kit and Ace, it was a “no brainer”!

After a quick look through our Lonely Planet guide and Trip Advisor it was downstairs and into an Uber car and onto Venice Beach. Our driver was delightful, chatting about lots of  interesting stuff about living in California and after just over an hour we were dropped at the incredibly busy Venice Beach. The traffic was amazing, still it was Sunday a glorious day and it was LA where cars are King!

Venice Beach conjured up so many visions. Girls on roller blades, palms, street vendors,  ice cream, burly men and lots of people. It didn’t disappoint.

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After walking along the promenade adjacent to the beach for about an hour we decided to search for coffee before heading inland to Kit and Ace. Just off the beach we found a lovely little coffee shop where they had no trouble making the best coffee we’d had on the trip to date. Refreshed, we walked on to a delightful shopping strip so my favourite person could visit her favourite store. Continue reading →

The Diary of a Slow Traveler – who needs a travel guide when you have Kit & Ace

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The Golden Gate Bridge from the Marina

Before making our short trip (no slow travel this time) to California we had looked at the travel guides at our local bookstore and bought the Lonely Planet guide. It served us quite well as did our traditional “go to” websites, Trip Advisor and Yelp, however my favourite person discovered a really useful travel guide for San Francisco via her new favourite clothes store “Kit and Ace”. They have two stores in San Francisco, one in the trendy Hayes Street and the other in Fillmore Street, and their websites come complete with suggested places to go nearby – places they describe as their “neighbours”.

Their recommendations provided the basis for a late Friday afternoon in the trendy Hayes Street area and the starting point for a Saturday largely spent in Fillmore Street and the Marina.

Brass Tacks

Brass Tacks

We were told not to walk from Union Square to Hayes Street as it goes through a less than desirable part of San Francisco, so we caught an UberX to our first destination Kit and Ace, Hayes Street. After making a couple of purchases it was off to visit Kit and Ace’s neighbours. Being a late Friday afternoon that meant a bar and our first stop was Brass Tacks for a glass of wine and a relaxing seat at the bar right opposite a delightful park. We could have sat there for a couple of hours but decided to wander on up the street in search of more neighbours. A walk along Hayes Street includes a mix of new and old architecture and lots of interesting shops. We took Kit and Ace’s advice and stopped at 2 Sisters Bar and Books another little bar. From there we decided to walk back to our hotel. While my favourite person felt it was fine, I would have to say that I felt the ambience of the area change markedly as we walked back and was relieved to get back to Union Square where our hotel was located.

Union Square

Union Square

Union Square is home to many restaurants bars and lots of shops. So after a walk through Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue it was off to Del Popolo a new pizza restaurant. It was busy, so a drink at the bar entertained by the guys making pizza filled in the half an hour or so wait for our table. The pizza was great and would do Naples proud.

 

We had been so impressed with Kit and Ace’s recommendations  Continue reading →