Last year my wild and wonderful travel schedule had me boarding 76 flights! My lord, I just think about the number of hours I’ve spent loitering in airports and it makes my wrists limp. I whisked my way through last years calendar and quickly added up 28 destinations visited in 2014. Adventures which would have me zooming from Tahiti to Texas and Ireland to Israel.
I’m used to people asking me questions about what’s life is like as a food and travel writer but I’d say the most frequent of all relate to luggage. I’m always amused by folks who are most concerned about how someone like me lives out of their suitcase for over half the days of the year. I love watching the shock on peoples faces when I tell them, “I traveled through Turkey and Dubai for over two weeks with nothing more than a carry on.”
Ask any frequent traveler and you’ll find they all have the same advice. Count your underwear. Don’t overpack. Roll your clothes don’t fold them. Stuff stocks in your shoes. Ensure your luggage has all of the features you need on the road and most importantly travel with a carry on to avoid additional baggage fee’s, lost or delayed luggage and lengthly lineups at the baggage carousel.
This New Years I celebrated by welcoming a new addition to my dobbernationLOVES travel essentials, Rimowa’s Salsa Deluxe Hybrid in Oriental Red. Rimowa is one of the leading premium brands worldwide for cases made from aluminum and the high-tech material polycarbonate and is one of the few manufacturers of travel luggage still producing in Germany. The company dates back more than 110 years and consistently produces exceptional luggage using outstanding materials, brilliant technology and extraordinary product design. For decades now, the identifying feature of the collections, which are being continually optimized, has been the elegant and unmistakable groove structure of the case shells.
This past Fall I flipped through the catalogue and tried to find a Rimowa luggage line that spoke to me. I was sold on the Salsa Deluxe Hybrid:
- First and foremost she is stylish. I feel so oddball saying this but I actually feel sexy strutting through the airport with her at my side.
- Rimowa’s multi-wheel system allows the case to roll over any terrain so she can stand up straight on four wheels or you can tilt her and run to your connecting flight on just two.
- The TSA approved combination lock allows airport security to open the case without causing damage.
- Inside two flex dividers allow for more organized packing.
- The cases come equipped with easily accessible front pockets made of durable Keprotec, reinforced with Kevlar. This particular feature is a must have for me as I want to easily be able to grab my wallet and passport (which I store in the top pocket) as well as my MacBook and Kobo e-reader (which fit snug in the larger pocket bellow).
My Rimowa went on her first flight with me in January via Porter Airlines to Quebec City. The theme of the trip was Hot Meets Cold and I was not worried in the slightest for her well being as she can withstand temperatures that range from +125 C down to -100 C!
I flew over with HBO Canada to attend their DVD launch party for Game of Thrones Season 4 which took place at world renowned ice castle Hotel de Glace. Celebrating its 15th year, the management at Canada’s most famous ice hotel expect to host thousands of curious visitors who will whisk their way through 40 jaw dropping suites, sip boozy cocktails from ice chalice via frigid bar and enjoy a thrill while zooming down the lobby’s slide (which you guessed correctly, is also made entirely of ice). Overnight guests are given a 30 minute tutorial on how to survive the evening which includes hot tips on warming yourself up at the al fresco spa via Swedish sauna and hot tub, how to change your socks without freezing your toes off and how to zip yourself up for the night in your sleeping bag (squirm like a worm).
The following morning I slithered out of my sleeping bag and hopped in a cab bound for the city’s historical Old Quebec quarter. I spent the next two days at the toasty warm boutique property Hotel 71, located in a prestigious building that was once the National Bank of Canada’s first head office. The buildings facade is a stunning example of 19th century neo-classic architecture while its interior featuring 60 contemporary rooms and suites offers sweeping views of the St. Lawrence River and Cap Diamant.
I figured if my new Rimowa could survive Quebec City’s slush filled streets, frigid ice hotel and toasty warm boutique suite we’d have fallen in love by the time I got home. And so it was that I returned to Toronto seriously swooning…
