News of a new luxury treehouse resort drops into my inbox this week. The Treeful Treehouse Eco Resort is set to open next spring in rural Nago, on the north side of Okinawa Island in Japan, one of the world’s Blue Zone Regions. Think secluded private rooms with air conditioning, nestled amongst the jungle canopy. Tarzan never had it this good.
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This week… botany, boredom and British paintings
Something has definitely shifted but I’m not sure if it’s a sign of lethargy within the tourism industry or just my expectations. Lately, I’ve been receiving a few of the usual seasonal press releases about Halloween, and a trickle relating to the annual light shows for the Festive Season, but they feel half-hearted. The tourism industry is trying it’s best to run business-as-usual but it feels off-kilter. It’s like trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Halloween, for instance, pales into insignificance beside the terror of real-life at the moment. I find myself wishing that someone would come right out with their marketing and say “this is a crap situation, and you probably don’t feel like dressing up or putting up the festive bunting, so let’s do things differently.”
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This week… bling, boats and broken biscuits
You know how news bulletins always end with a ‘feel-good’ story? Well, this week I’m opening by shining a light on positive news, inspired by the contents of incoming emails recently focusing on paying it forward. Sometimes we’re not in a position to repay a kindness directly but a time will come, in the near or distant future, when we’re able to pass on that goodwill to another, and possibly in a different form. It might be as simple as passing on a theatre ticket you’re not able to use or a voucher for a complimentary coffee. It always lights up my day when it happens to me and I enjoy paying it forward when the opportunity presents itself.
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This week… tea, tunnels and Turner
The first thing I check out, when I check-in to a hotel room, is the bathroom. Not the view, the hairdryer or even the mini-bar. Whether I will be enjoying my stay begins not only by checking out the shower, the fluffy towels and guest robes, but also the layout and design, the lighting and the flooring. I imagine it’s very shallow of me but I simply can’t help myself. This week, I confess, I’m obssessed with the beautiful bathrooms at Nobu! There’s no hope for me, I have bathrom viewing compulsive disorder. Is that even a thing?
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This week… ode to autumn
Autumn is in the air. You can feel it first thing in the morning and late at night. There’s a particular earthy smell in the cool breeze. Leaves are beginning to turn here and there as the sap falls, and the trees prepare for hibernation once again. I’m hopeful that there will be one or two more days of sunshine but they will be fleeting dog days.
The seasons for me are marked in part by food, and at this time of year my taste buds change. Instead of eating unseasonal salads, this week I begin to make rich vegetable soups and spicy curries. I’m looking forward to English apples cooked with cider and cinammon, and fresh green walnuts.
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