Cheap Travel Tips: Champagne Travel on a Toast Budget

I have been liaising with a lovely reader who is interested in the inaugural Flowers, Frocks & Horticultural Fantasies Tours. (AKA The Grand Botanical Tour – link here; we're still workshopping the title.) She's been investigating flights. She's rather keen, bless her. I've been helping her with airlines – even though we've not even finalised the itinerary yet. (So it's a little like putting the wheelbarrow before the gardening spade. But that's never stopped this writer from dreaming and scheming and scheduling, nor should it stop anyone else. I'm all for a well-organised tour.)

This lovely reader has been investigating Business Class fares to London. She received a quote from Qantas for A$12,000. (US$12,000) Some seats were even $15,000. Premium Economy was $6,500. That is just CRAZY.

Qantas, what are you THINKING?

{Image of Andree Putman's slick steamer trunk for Poltrona Frau. Which possibly costs more than Qantas' fares.}

As this charming reader and I wept at the horrors of Business Class prices (I'd hate to think what First would cost), I thought I would do a post on affordable travel. I'm sure more of you would love some travel tips. Many of you may even have some of your own to contribute.

Someone has already recommended this gorgeous, newly restored place to me (above) – the St James Hotel in Paris, created on the site of the first ever hot-air balloon airfield in the city and decorated with witty hot air balloon motifs. It's the only chateau hotel in Paris but the interior has a carousel-style lightness and charm to it. It also has a website that opens up like a doll's house. Just beautiful. Just a pity the prices are chateau-ish as well. But at least the public areas are free. (Another tip: If you can't afford the rooms, go for breakfast or lunch instead.) www.saint-james-paris.com

We travel to New York fairly regularly for work – last year I went three times – and rarely do we pay more than A$1300 for a return fare. (US$1300.) That's Melbourne/Sydney to New York. Non-stop. (Okay, an hour in LA.) For $1300. We often upgrade to Premium Economy seats too, for just $150. London can be just as cheap. One year I flew for $800 return. I know! I even got a seat for that price!

(For non-Australians, this is a good deal. Don't forget we're a 24-hour flight from London. For those who don't know where Australia is, we're down near Antarctica. A geography lesson will be forthcoming.)

This is how our family travels. The Frugalist's Way.

1. Subscribe to Travel Websites.
Then, when specials are advertised (notifications are sent by email), you can jump on them straight away. The best travel sites double as stylish online magazines, most of which post regular articles about new hotels and interesting destinations. And not just those they're affiliated with.

These are the ones I like.

Tablet Hotels

Until recently, Tablet offered great last-minute deals on many of the hotels they represented. I've booked top New York hotels for $200/n through the site. Suites, too. This seems to have slowed / stopped. But it's still a fantastic source for good deals. (Look up their specials page.) Not to mention inspiration, ideas or just travel porn. (Their articles are really witty.)  Oh – and their photos are so luscious, you'll want to book on sight. Tablet, you're such a tease! www.tablethotels.com

Mr and Mrs Smith

Several years ago Mr and Mrs Smith jumped on the Hip Hotels bandwagon; a slicker-than-slick book-and-travel-website business model started by Herbert Ypma. Herbert seems to have fallen by the Avenue Foch somewhere. Mr and Mrs Smith, in contrast, are sprightlier than pilot taking a suck of the oxygen mask. It's sophisticated, informative, intelligent and full of pretty pix (what we want, really). I've not yet used it to book hotels but I've heard of people securing great deals. And the reviews are entertaining in themselves. This was the description for the Saint James – a place "to wear smoking jackets, chic Chanel monochromes and inky Christian Dior silks (monocle/cigarette holder optional). Packing tips: Flying goggles and headscarf – should the hot-air balloons in the grounds decide to head skywards, you’ve come prepared. Alternatively: leopard-print scarves or stilettos and sexy smalls for your grand boudoir". Gotta love an engaging tour guide. www.mrandmrssmith.com

Best Flights

An Australian-based online operator that always offers great deals. One year I flew to London for $800 return. At the moment, they have an outstanding Cathy Pacific offer: ALL flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris and Rome, inclusive of taxes, for $1599. That's EVERY DAY from now until March 2013. Pack your bags people! Cathy Pacific is a nice airline, too.  bestflights.com.au

2. Prepay where possible.
I love pre-paying. That way, you don't have the shock of the hotel bill at the end. You can just toss some spare notes down on reception for the mini-bar chocolate and waltz on outta there. But why I really love prepaid deals is because they're always cheaper. I go through Priceline.com. In May this year, I paid for 2 nights at the beautiful Gramercy Park Hotel. In prepaying, the room was half price. I could have never afforded to stay there for the rack rate. New York, I miss you.

3. Fly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. 
I've spoken about this trick before on The Library. Never fly on a Monday morning. It's when the business travellers fly, so they hike up the airfares. Or a Friday night. (When they all fly home again.) Tuesday is a dead day. Fly Tuesdays and you'll often get flights for 50% less.

4. If you're flexible with dates, book city hotels on weekends and country hotels during the week.
City people often leave cities on weekends for a break. Business travellers leave, too. Hotels want bookings on weekends, so they'll lower prices. If I'm going to Paris on a reaaaallly frugal budget, I'll stay in Versailles from Monday to Thursday and commute into Paris on the 30-minute express, then check into a Paris hotel on Friday for the weekend. Strange, I know. But my Versailles hotel is A$90/night or so. Where can you get that in Paris? Then on the weekend, my preferred Paris hotel - Trocadero Dokhan's - is staggeringly cheap. AND there's nobody staying there!

5. Don't be loyal to airlines. 
Do you think they're loyal to you? No. They're worse than a hooker on Sunset Boulevard. They'll swing wherever the business is, baby. So don't choose Qantas simply because it's meant to be a good airline. It's not as good as it was. AND it's expensive. Try other carriers – Cathy, United, Lufthansa. And be wary of some. Singapore is the Rolls Royce of airlines, and charges accordingly. It's not cheap. Virgin is like the Volvo of carriers, but still charges like Rolls Royce. (It's shrugging off its 'Cheap Airline Tag', so watch out prices.) Both Singapore and Virgin have their merits, of course – Singapore's First Class sleeper beds are like nothing on this earth, and Virgin's flight attendants are lovely looking – but don't book them just for their names. Or their pretty faces. Shop around.

More travel tips soon. Cheap travel tips for Business Class travellers too. Oh, I'm giving myself itchy feet just writing about it all!

Vogue Living. Just Beautiful.

Isn't this beautiful? It's quite possibly the most beautiful cover of Vogue Living I've ever seen. If the frighteningly big 'Kitchens and Bathrooms' line wasn't there, it could be a magazine masterpiece.

It's the Sydney home of interior designer Cameron Kimber. This house was formerly a shoebox-sized, 1880 cottage tucked down a gritty, inner-city laneway. The original interior, according to Cameron, was "ugly, brown, plastic and hideous". A real 1970's mash-up.

Now look at it. Cameron has reconfigured the rooms and removed the dirty brown decor. Amazing what a switch of living spaces and a crisp, clean black and white palette can do.

Here are some more images, via Vogue Living and my archaic scanner. {Above 3 images via the lovely Bumble At Home blog. See link below}

    

Love the coco-cola coloured leather on the Louis XVI chairs. So modern. And the gilt frame. I do love a bit of Versailles-style gilt. Especially with black to temper it.

And the mahogany bureau that's been transformed with black lacquer. A huge expense, but look at the difference.

Love gingham and checks. They should have never gone out of interior design fashion. I suspect they're coming back in. (Just hoping out loud there.) On second thoughts, if they're in Cameron's house, they probably ARE back in interior design fashion.

Unfortunately, I can't go into detail on the furniture and changes Cameron has made as I'm a little behind deadline, but do look out for the Vogue Living on your newsstands. It's a beautiful issue this month.

Oh – Some more details of this interior can be found on the delightful Bumble At Home blog - here.

A Last Botanica Post, Then A Breather...

"Gardeners are the most good humored, courteous, curious people.  I go to the big Seattle Garden Show, and others too, and I am always amazed at the good humor as they stand in line. They never cut or push, and they can always start a lovely conversation. I usually learn something new while I wait."

This touching line was part of an email I received at 3am last night while typing replies to all of you lovely people who've put your hands up for the proposed garden tours. (If I haven't yet replied to you, please bear with me. I will. There were a LOT of emails!) The note was from a delightful woman who lives in Seattle. A great part of the world. It just shows that gardeners are the most beautiful people, aren't they?


I remember standing in line for a water bottle at the Trade Secrets Garden Fair in Connecticut earlier this year. It was almost unbearably hot and my poor man had gone off to sit under a tree in the shade, where he could sneak glances at the cute volunteers. I was in that hot line for 30 minutes. There were 50 of us. And not once did any of us grumble. On the contrary, we exchanged tips on hydrangeas.

You wouldn't see that at a NASCAR race.

Gardeners. I just love them.

Here's another line that touched my heart, from another engaging woman in Colorado.

"This trip would be a gift to my mother, who taught me to appreciate everything lovely.  Mom is a sprightly and young 72-year-old who belongs to the Botanical Garden in Chicago and has an eye for interior design.  I could never do enough for my mother to show her how much I appreciate all she has done for me."

What a wonderful gift. Your mother is very welcome. We'd be honoured to have her.

This tour is shaping up to be very special. A group of charming, witty, kind, gracious and good-humoured people. People with manners, who stand in line and swap gardening tips to pass the time.

People are enquiring about the cost. I'm just trying to cost it all now and will email everyone as soon as I know. It will be affordable though. I promise.

Single travellers needn't worry either. There are single rooms, which are cheaper than doubles and suites. Or you can share a twin. We'll help with that too.

Well, it's 3am here and I've spent most of tonight, and most of last night, trying to reply to everyone. I finally went bed last night at 4.30am. So I'd better leave you now or I fear, like this mossy beauty at Heligan, that I'll go to sleep and never get up again,

Look forward to meeting you all in 2013.

The Books of Our Lives

     

I don't know about you lovely readers, but we're very fond of books in our family. Newspapers too. But we're really fond of books.
      

My parents, who were both schoolteachers, force-fed us books from birth. I'm so glad they did. My frugal mother encouraged us to borrow them from the library because they were free. We borrowed piles. Piles. They used to topple over each other around the house, their aged pages bent from borrowings over the years. I always received library fines because I forgot to return them. Or perhaps I didn't want to? I even loved the smell. Old books. They should bottle that scent.

I still miss those cardboard pockets in the front for the library cards. Remember those? The Browne System. Seems centuries ago. Even Wikipedia didn't have an entry for the Browne System until recently. I'm not sure if that's ironic or not?

Such is the love of literature in our family that it's no wonder I became an author. I couldn't get away from books. A new book is my idea of A Good Time. (Writing them is a different story, but I won't bother you with my personal issues.) Ironically, my partner hates books. I've been trying to get him to read Hemingway's Boat, but he looks as me as if I've offered him a dirty handkerchief. I explained that it's about fishing, and hunting, and manly pursuits, but he's not convinced. "It's quite thick?" he says, doubtfully. He's very clever, but he obviously didn't get it from books.

(On a little aside, I was chatting to a head librarian at a literary breakfast last week. She said they had 40 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey, and 1200 people on the waiting list. Does anybody else think this is disturbing?)

At the moment, I'm writing a book about Picnic at Hanging Rock, the haunting Australian novel about the disappearance of a group Edwardian schoolgirls at the turn of the century. Hubster tries to be supportive by offering cynical helpful suggestions. "You could organise a bloggers' tour of Hanging Rock?" he says. "The Where-Is-Miranda Tour? People could be given the novel, and a GPS. Some of them may also disappear, of course. That might be awkward."

He's not read Picnic at Hanging Rock. But that doesn't stop his attempts at being a witty literary critic. Everyone's a critic now, it seems. Even those who don't read.

If, like some people, you have an aversion to anything with paper, a title and a spine, I'd like to help. Really. Let's call it therapy. Here are some beautiful books. Books that will make you think, and linger on pages, and even cry over lines. You may even read them twice. You may even get a library fine.

These are the books that have defined my life. Have you ever thought about the books that have defined yours?

John Steinbeck | Travels With Charley In Search of America

Half a century ago, John Steinbeck set off on The Great American Road Trip, travelling along the bumpy back roads in a nostalgic effort to find freedom, fulfilment and meaning. Heavy with the weariness and cynicism that comes with age and life, he was intent on searching for the America he remembered from his childhood, and perhaps also for his soul. Steinbeck’s expedition, which eventually became the book Travels With Charley in Search of America, would end up being one of his last. He was dying, and, according to his son Thom, he knew he was dying, and he went out to his country "to say goodbye".

Half a century later, Travels With Charley is still one of the most moving travel books I've ever read. It is the journey many of us wish we had the courage to take: the journey some of us find the courage to do, even if, like Steinbeck, we know at the outset our journey may not end the way we would like it to. I first read it when I travelled across America on my own road trip, to find my own soul. I now re-read it every year. And each time it resonates in an unexpectedly profound way. We are all on a lifelong pursuit to find happiness, quiet horizons, harmony and a place to feel at home. Sometimes we find them. Other times it takes a circuitous route to realize, like Steinbeck and his dog Charley, they might have been back where we started, all along.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

Few books move me to tears. This required an entire tissue box. It's an epistolary tale, a novel of letters between a book editor and the people she meets on the island of Guernsey after the war has destroyed their idyll. But it's more than just a collection of lovely lines. It's an ode to books. And to people who love them. That's why I cherish it. The truly tragic thing though is that its author, Mary Ann Shaffer, died before the book achieved success. She was an editor, a librarian, and a bookshop assistant. This was her first novel. I hope that, wherever she is, she knows how much her small novel has moved so many readers.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Many years ago, I attended a girls' school, where I met a girl who became a close friend. One year, she invited me back to her family's beautiful house for Easter. While there, she told me that her great-grandmother had gone to a girl's school too – with the author Joan Lindsay. She also told me that her great-grandmother had once told her that Joan's novel was true. Or a surprisingly significant part of it, anyway. 

Since then, I've always been fascinated by this book, which has become one of Australia's most famous novels. 

A few years ago, I started researching the background behind it. Three years on, I've finished writing my own take on the tale. Some of it is indeed true. But what is really haunting is the story behind it all. It involves the history of Hanging Rock. And what happened there a century ago.

Last week, I met a girl at a literary breakfast. A spiritual soul. She took me aside and quietly told me she knew I'd been profoundly affected by the book. It's true. Our lives have been overshadowed by the things I've discovered. When I'm finished editing it, which will be soon, I want to go away and wash the ghosts off somewhere. Possibly on a remote beach. Far from the horrors of Hanging Rock. 

Despite this, it's still a beautiful book. And more brilliant than most people realise.

The Great Gatsby

It's a literary cliche, but for good reason. It's F.Scott Fitzgerald's best. Forget the crazy nonsense of his life. This book shows he did indeed have talent.

As I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.

The tragedy of this story is almost unbearable. It's a study of much more than just class, and society. It's a study of dreams. They say you can have anything you want in life, as long as you're willing to sacrifice everything else for it. I've learned this in my quest to become a writer. Gatsby knew it, too. Sometimes, though, the things we sacrifice (children, family, a life) are more than we can bear. Reading the last page of this book gives me chills, every single time.

The Grand Botanica Tour, Part 2

I'm overwhelmed. Who knew there were so many passionate, garden lovers out there? Over the last few days The Library has been inundated with emails accepting or enquiring about details of our inaugural Garden Tour. Initially, I thought we might be lucky to fill a 20-seater bus? It now appears we might have to run 2 tours. Perhaps more, if the response continues. I fear we'll be spread-eagled in the herb beds of the Physic Garden (above) by the end!

Emails have come from everywhere: Vancouver, Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Seattle, Washington DC, Brisbane, Adelaide, and even gorgeous little country hamlets in Australia. From garden designers. Interior designers. Academics. Even lawyers. (They'll help keep us out of trouble.) Thank you. We'll love having you all. The more diverse the demographics, the more interesting a group it will be. Don't you think? The only requirement is a sense of humour. But if you're used to dealing with Mother Nature, it's likely you'll be a well-adjusted, come-what-may kind of soul anyway.

(Oh, and someone asked about the "dress code". How gorgeous. Tip: Don't bring the Chanel. You'll lose it – or have it ripped off you in the craziness that is the Chelsea Flower Show.)

You may have noticed that the name of the has changed? (Although still a working title.) This is because we wondered whether the 'frock' part was sexist? There may, after all, be a gentleman or two on the tour and unless these gentlemen like to dress up in Priscilla numbers and sing to Mamma Mia, then we really ought to make it welcoming for both sexes. (Of course, these gentlemen may love a frock, and if they do, we'll embrace them for it.)

A lovely friend, Miss Millie, who writes a famous blog about life, interiors, gardening, architecture and family at The Laurel Hedge (even the name is fitting) is keen to help lead the tour. She's a seasoned world traveller with a great sense of humour and an eye for interesting places. She's lovely. You'll like her. (You probably know of her.) Together, we'll show you the glorious secrets of London and England in summer. And if you've never been to London before, don't worry. I'll look after you.

Price. That's what you're wondering, isn't it? Well, I hate over-paying for things and so some of the quotes I've received from travel agents I've contacted have made me cough. ($12,000 for 10 days?) I'm still costing it (it has to be affordable for me too), but I should warn you: The Grand Botanica Tour is not an Orient Express-with-Louis-Vuitton-luggage kind of tour. It's going to be a Frugal Tour. It's a tour for people who haven't been able to afford the $12,000-a-week tours. That's doesn't mean we're sleeping cheap. Or eating on the steps of the V&A. Oh no. Trust me. I know the most beautiful little places that go under the global radar. (Oh, and don't take the Vuitton luggage either; people pinch it from airport carousels. We don't want you to be bereft.)

Here's another glimpse of the itinerary. Do email me your personal email / details if you're interested, to janelle.mcculloch@bigpond.com, and I'll put you on The Royal List (as we're calling it). Highgrove, Sissinghurst, Hidcote, and a dozen other magical places. Bring the camera. You'll love it.

The Romantic Garden

Many gardens want to be Sissinghurst when they grow up. But sadly, few of us have a spare crumbling 16th-century brick wall hanging about. Sissinghurst has been the inspiration for thousands of gardens in the world. The White Garden. The Walled Garden. The Writer's Tower. It's all here. Sadly, the creators, writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband, the author and diplomat Harold Nicholson aren't. But their spirit still is. Just stand inside her turreted writer's room and see if you don't feel a small chill. Tip: Read a few books about it before you go. (Portrait of a Marriage; Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History.) It will help you understand the significance of this place in gardening culture and indeed literature and the English countryside.

The Charming Garden

This enchanting garden belongs to a famous Australian, a woman who marketed the Sydney Opera House for years before she retired to her garden. Her extraordinary home near Sydney was the focus of countless gardening programs. (I think even our Monty went there?) Now she's moved to England. Where she's created another horticultural masterpiece. Look. Even the chickens get their own chinoiserie henhouse.

The Victorian Palm House 

If you haven't been to Kew, come on this tour. We'll be trundling down to Richmond and Kew. (And yes, the Petersham Nurseries too.) Kew's Victorian Palm House is one of the wonders of gardening architecture. It's so beautiful, they do fashion shoots in it. There's lots of other marvellous gardenalia in this grand royal garden, including an exquisite little palace, so we won't rush you. You may be here for an hour or two.

The 18th Century Orangerie and Secret Walled Garden, London

I used to love going here on a sunny Sunday if my husband was working. I'd grab some lunch from the nearby M&S and wander here to sit in the sun. I'd take friends to the gracious Orangerie too, which was designed as a royal greenhouse for Queen Anne to potter around in and is rather grand. It's one of the loveliest afternoon teas in London. My choice is normally Earl Grey Blue Flowers. The royal roses are pretty here, too.

The Secret Rooftop Garden

A short walk from the Orangerie is another secret garden, a rooftop one that looks out over the beautiful terraces of Kensington. It has three themed sections: the Tudor Courtyard, English Woodland, and Alhambra-inspired Spanish Garden. Four flamingos used to roam the premises. Can you imagine? Four flamingos in the middle of London? I suspect they've taken them someone safer. The Lost Flamingos' Home, maybe. (Note: We can walk to all these lovely urban oases.)

The Garden and Interior Design Museum

This is a marvellous museum. One of London's best. And it's free. FREE! (Told you it will be a Frugal Tour.) It displays the evolution of British interior design from the beginning of the 17th Century with a series of period rooms charting the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian periods. But the really cute part is the garden, which also charts Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian planting schemes. It may inspire you to create your own Downton Abbey/Edwardian garden when you get home.

The Private Gardens of London

Here's the real treat. During the week(s) we're there, many Londoners open their private gardens to the public for the Open Garden Squares Weekend. One £9 ticket buys access to more than 200 gardens, 120 of which are private. The list includes the garden in the film Notting Hill, several of the private gardens normally reserved for the residents who live on the squares around them, and some rather large estates too. There are so many, you'll have to choose in advance what you see. But don't worry. We'll give you a full list. (Image of the Draper's Company garden. Photography by Drew Bennelick)

The Gardener's Garden

We'll also do one of London's most serene gardens, a tucked-away place that's right next door to the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm not been here, despite walking past it hundreds of time during the years I lived in the neighbourhood. So it will be a treat for me too. It's a highly regarded garden. Founded in 1673 as the Apothecaries' Garden, with the purpose of training apprentices in identifying plants, it's London's oldest botanic garden, and a real gardener's garden. A serious garden. Along the with new Garden of Edible and Useful Plants, there are more than 5,000 different edible, useful, medicinal and historical plants, all in beds with signs displaying their use. I like the psychiatry plants. I suspect we'll need a few of these before the week of concentrated horticulture is out!

More details will follow in the next few weeks. There will likely be 2 tours.

• One from May 22-30, which takes in the 100th anniversary of Chelsea Flower Show and the Sloane in Bloom gardens that accompany it, plus a line-up of wonderful country gardens in the Cotswolds and Kent.

• And one from June 1-9, which takes in the Open Garden Weekend in London and an array of more wonderful country gardens in the Cotswolds and Kent.

Each tour will be limited to a certain number of people. Just so we don't lose anyone in the peony beds.

We'll try to see some gardens that are outside of the Cotswolds and Kent too, such as Chatsworth House and Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey. But bookings will be limited, as some of these gardens are only open on certain days of the year. (Highclere Castle will be on the second tour.) We may not even be able to secure a spot as tickets are so difficult to come by. But we will try. Promise!

So do email your interest. We'd love to see you. Cousin Matthew would too.