Boarding Pass – Dorkys Ramos

Dorkys Ramos is a NYC-based magazine writer with a zest for travel. Her work has been published in Travel + Leisure, Time Out New York and Anthology magazine amongst numerous other publications, while her blog, Dry as Toast looks at anything from inspiring creativity to life in NYC, and her own travels. After her recent 23-day backpacking trip around Europe I've been dying to get inside her travel style and am so excited to have her on today's edition of Boarding Pass. Thanks, Dorkys!
A boat tour in Los Cabos, Mexico.

home town: New York City
where you live now: New York City
New York City from the top of the Empire State Building.

last trip taken:
A 23-day backpacking trip through eight cities in Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, and Italy with my boyfriend, A. about two months ago. During that time we went to Berlin, Prague, Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, and Rome. What made it even sweeter is that we figured out every detail ourselves. An overwhelming undertaking with just three weeks to plan it, but we were happy that it all happened without any glitches.
Prague, Czech Republic

Full moon over Florence, Italy

next trip on deck:
My friend just asked if I’d like to go to Montreal with her so I might be heading to Canada next. I’ve only explored Niagara Falls for a day and ventured into the Canadian side for a night so I don’t think I can truly say that I’ve traveled to Canada yet.
Looking down onto the streets of Montmartre in Paris, France.

one place you would go back to again and again:
Paris without a doubt.
Buying flowers and fruits on Rue Cler in Paris, France.

place you'd most likely recommend a friend go visit:
Costa Rica. I know my friends’ jaws will drop at the sheer amount of nature that can exist in one place. You don’t realize how powerful, rejuvenating, and necessary this is when you’ve lived in a concrete jungle your whole life. For honeymooners eyeing the Caribbean, I’d recommend St. Lucia.
Overlooking the Pitons in St. Lucia.

preferred method of transportation:
I always get this great rush (and the goofiest smile on my face) when the plane is speeding down the runway right before we take off to our destination. It just never gets old. And train rides are great to view the passing countryside and houses while contemplating and writing about how amazing and vast this world is. It makes you feel connected to everything and yet so small at the same time. Once I’m in the city, I like checking out the local subway system (to compare to NYC’s extensive one) and could walk for miles on end if you let me.
Dessert platter at Cap Maison hotel in St. Lucia.

Makeshift breakfast at our Paris Airbnb apartment.

place you've never been but dying to go:
There are still so many spots left on my list and since my previous position at Travel + Leisure magazine, it’s only grown more! Some are: Brazil, Greece, Egypt, and Japan.

Fresh berries at an outdoor market in Munich, Germany.

place you'd never go back:
Munich, but maybe it’s because we stayed in a hostel full of young college students right before the start of Oktoberfest when I’ve yet to acquire a taste for beer.Drowning in beer at Hofbrauhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany.

most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
Our three weeks in Europe in which I crossed off so many places I’d been dreaming of visiting in just one trip. I can’t wait to go on another adventure like that.
Getting my bearings at a rundown sculpture park in Berlin, Germany.

how do you prepare for a trip?
To prepare, I make way too many to-do lists like what to pack, what to see, where to go, what I need to get down before I leave, etc. I'm such a worry-wart so I like to have as much settled before I take off. Since our trip to Europe was our biggest one yet, A. and I created a Google Map for every city we were visiting and plotted out the things we’d each like to see. I also search for others’ itineraries and ask friends for suggestions. I’m such a last-minute packer though!
Raspberry sorbetto from Festival del Gelato in Florence, Italy.

how do you record your travels when you're traveling?
I take a lot of photos and carry a notebook to jot down thoughts, story ideas, streets and names of points of interests as we’re walking around. I also take along a map so I can remember the route we took during our walks. (Here’s the trail we took through Barcelona in one day and Rome on another).
Fresh fruit juices on La Rambla in Barcelona.

what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
Whenever I check into a hotel room, the very first thing I do is hide my luggage and whip out the camera so I can remember each accommodation. For the last trip, A. and I gave our thoughts on every hotel, hostel, and Airbnb home we stayed in - all 10 of them. I also love photographing scenes such as landscapes and city streets and close-ups of food. Unfortunately, the latter doesn’t happen as much as I’d like because my plate is usually halfway gone by the time I remember to snap a photo.
Hüttenpalast Hotel in Berlin, Germany.

Silken Diagonal Barcelona Hotel in Spain.

on an average, how many pictures do you take on a trip?
Somewhere around 200 or 300, but on our last trip we took more than 3,000 pictures! We bought our first digital SLR right before the trip so we went a little crazy on the documentation. We had a lot of fun getting to know the camera and testing out different techniques.
Cave Without a Name in Boerne, Texas.

what's in your "designer travel kit"?
I’m an old-school writer so I still function with pen and paper. Any notebook will do, but I’m a pen snob and only like the Pentel R.S.V.P. ballpoints. Now that I just got a MacBook Pro, I might take than on my next trip so I can get some blogging and freelance work done while on the road. Our DSLR is a Canon Rebel T3i with an 18-135 mm zoom lens and a 50 mm/ f2.5 macro. That thing makes everyone look good!
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
Sledding down the sand dunes at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

Zip lining over the forests of Costa Rica.

Wading through the Everglades in Florida.

what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
I try to blog about the trip and upload photos to share with friends over Facebook or a web album and try to do it as soon as I get back if not while I’m still traveling. Otherwise, life will take over, a month will go by, and people will still be wondering about those pictures. In fact, I only JUST made my Europe album on Picasa public the other day. I’ve also made scrapbooks in the past, but just haven’t had the time to sit and bang one out in a few years.
Chichen Itza in Mexico.

favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
I know I have too many already, but I love collecting notebooks and paper goods from little stationery shops. The only problem is that afterwards I think they’re too precious to actually use. I also like to bring back the folded, tattered (and free) maps we’ve acquired during our travels. As for souvenirs for friends and family, I have a “no useless kitsch” rule so I prefer to bring back sweet goodies or send out postcards from the road.
Souvenir shop by Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, Paris.

why is traveling so important to you?
Growing up, my parents took us back to their village in the Dominican Republic nearly every summer so I caught the travel bug early in life. Still, I always wished we’d visit someplace new, that we’d immersed ourselves in different cultures, geographies, and languages. Now that I can, I’m making up for lost time! I think seeing how others live can have a profound effect on how you view your own life and the people around and hopefully makes you less likely to perpetuate stereotypes and ignorant thoughts. To me, it’s food for the soul. I feel like I can bust through anything when I’m out there shedding fears and exploring new territory.
Mailboxes in Florence, Italy.

Links:

• blog: dryastoast.com
• Travel photos on Picasa
• twitter: @dorkysramos

Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel.

Venice Waterways

I've been anxious to wrap up my coverage of Venice, but then I decided rather than rushing through it all, I should take the advice of many of my Boarding Pass participants and use my photos as a way to extend my vacation and re-living it virtually. Next week I'll start with regularly scheduled programming (aka a brand new Boarding Pass!), and then interject some Venice posts between lots of great posts I've been hoping to share for awhile now. Have a wonderful weekend! I'm off to Lille to attend my first French wedding (I hear they dance until 4am - I can't wait!). For now, enjoy the bridges and waterways of Venice... and yes, it's true, the weather was perfect the entire trip!

HomeAway from Home in Venice

For someone who pens a blog about travel, you'd think I'd know how to take a vacation. For my own sanity (and just keeping up with emails), I prefer the working vacation, where I get away, stay on top of my work, and get rewarded by exploring a new place. When Margaret and I first agreed to take a trip to Venice our original plan was to meet up elsewhere and then travel to Venice together. With a heavy workload and trying to stick to a budget, I realized it made more sense just to go straight to Venice and "live" there for more than a day or two. Last November I won an apartment rental anywhere in the world from HomeAway in the GranTourismo travel writing contest (you can win my winning entry here). For GranTourismo Lara + Terence traveled to 24 cities in the course of a year staying in various HomeAway apartments along the way – it was part of the overall goal of the project to celebrate local travel.
After arriving in Venice by train, I exited the station and hopped on the Vaporetto water transport to Dorsoduro. Back on land I rounded a corner and had a view like this. I crossed a bridge and then came to the street pictured in the top photo (the apartment was mid-way down on the right). This was my home for the week. And little did I know at the time of the booking, but this neighborhood quickly became my favorite in all of Venice – great exploring, very local, and hardly any tourists – just how I like it!
Worldwide there are over 450,000 properties in the HomeAway rental system. For me it came down to three main requirements 1) Internet access (amazingly not a given these days) 2) a good sense of design and 3) budget friendly (yes, I wanted to be smart how I used my prize). Had I known more about Venice and the neighborhoods, I would have factored this in as well.
The way HomeAway works is that you browse properties online using various filters. When you find one you like, you send a simple email through the website with the dates you are interested in staying. Depending on whose home it is, the owner will send you a response within 24-hours. The first apartment I liked was a smaller studio, but when I found out there was no internet, that was a no go. Luckily that particular home owner had two other places available (and set me these photos too, which really sealed the deal). As soon as she sent the listings, I knew I had found my home. Because I was booking last minute I even managed to score a better deal. In hindsight, waiting to book the place a week before the trip may not have been the best plan, but it all worked out. My train was an hour late, but even that worked out and the home owner and I were in touch the key exchange and introduction to the apartment and the neighborhood was great.
The living room alone was bigger than my apartment so it was a real treat and getaway for me. The space was really multi-functional where the living room couches could become extra beds. And the kitchen and refrigerator were great to have for basic snacks (or a make-shift dinner) and an easy breakfast. The best part too is that I not only got my work done, but I got to share the apartment–and the experience–with a friend.

We stayed in Sunny San Basilio apartment, but visit HomeAway to check out their rentals around the world.

{Special thanks to Grantourismo and HomeAway for the great stay! The prize was valued at £500}

Paris to Venice, Overnight Train

My recent trip to Venice was inspired by two things 1) the apartment rental I won and 2) a trip on the Orient Express. Both felt like a wonderful escape from my everyday life in Paris, and a bit like I was living someone else's life. To prove it wasn't all too glamorous, I wanted to share my mode of transportation to get to Venice. Inspired by the OE, I decided that I'd make this trip an all train travel trip (for the final leg I took the Eurostar from London to Paris).
I was very excited when I purchased my ticket to Venice, in particular due to the fact that I purchased my first class ticket for cheaper than second class. The irony was that aboard my Italian train, the only difference between first and second was that I was in a room of 4 instead of 6. A nice Italian woman living in Brussels was the first to join me in the cabin, which was arranged for seating when we first arrived. Happy about my decision that I ate dinner before boarding the train I asked her if there was even a dining car or any communal car. She said no, and maybe there had been one, but since there was no one to repair it, there is no longer one. Later, I heard a cart come down the narrow hall, clanging against the walls - it turned out this was in fact a dining cart.

{funny to compare the shot above with this one aboard the Venice-Simplon}

The next thing she did was warn me about pick-pockets. I was happy to be on the top bunk so I could tightly pack everything away (all the books I packed would make stealing anything from me really heavy and awkward). I put a quick note about her warning on Twitter, and several people responded - so use this as your own warning, pickpockets on overnight trains to Italy are rampant.

{my bed was the top right one}

The train left around 7pm and I found myself mounting my bunk shortly after we started moving. I read for a bit, but felt sleep was the best way to pass the time. It wasn't the most restful sleep, fearing pick-pockets. However, it was actually the train being stopped for long intervals that woke me the most (and made me feel claustrophobic in the small cabin). Then at 4am the Italian police came on and woke us all to get one of the fellows on the bottom bunk. He did not have his proper papers and they made him get off immediately (they had collected our passports when we boarded). I did not understand a word, but the Italian woman in my cabin said they were quite mean.

{you enter Venice by rolling over water}

In the end I got to Italy in one piece, and just one hour late, and with all my possessions still on me. It was an interesting experience, and got me from A to Z, but one that I think I can check off of my "to-do" list of life. If ever given the choice between a first class Trentialia train, or being a stowaway on the Orient Express, go with the later.

The Joy of Work

As I type this post, I am looking at a more zoomed in version of what you see here, but with spectacular clouds in the sky. Last week Kate Pruitt, one of the fabulous Design*Sponge editors I work with (on a remote basis), featured my "Tech Set-up" on My Life Scoop, a site which is full of tips for a connected life. It was an interesting exercise to reflect on the ways I work and am settling into my ways as a full-time freelancer. Clearly from my lack of posting, things have been very busy lately. In addition to my new role as teacher, I'm learning ways to juggle work and life, and the business side of freelancing, and in French (hello, French taxes!). In any case, I wanted to share the little glimpse into how I work. I still have so much to share from my travels in Venice and I'm already in need of another vacation, so hopefully we can all travel vicariously over the next few days!
Clearly I'm a Mac junkie! Click HERE for the full post!

Train Living

Every Monday on design*sponge I help run the "sneak peek" column showcasing homes around the world. My favorite homes tend to be the small ones, as I discover new ways to be efficient with space. So I thought it'd be fun to wrap up my posts about my journey on the Orient Express Venice-Simplon (check out the first two here and here) with a "sneak peek" inside the living quarters.

Image above: In Calais, France, finally getting off the train we first boarded in Venice. For the Chunnel crossing we had to take a coach. Subconsciously Margaret and I wore navy dresses the day we boarded which matched the train quite well!
Inside my cabin. We were lucky enough to have a cabin suite so we each had a banquette where we could lounge, read, nap and look at the ever changing views out the window.
Magically when we returned from dinner, our cabins were converted into bedrooms. (The beds can be made into bunk beds in single cabins). We slept so well that night. When we woke up the train was pulling into Paris (some folks ended their journey there).
The wash basin in the cabin when we arrived (left) and in the evening (right). All the little things you hardly know are there when you first arrive.
Beautiful classic light fixtures.
Each time you walk down the train you notice the marquetry on the walls, and it's different in each car, making it truly unique.
Eventually you start to see the landscapes from outside reflected in the walls.

Despite being one of the more luxurious ways to travel, there are no showers on board and there is a shared toilet at the end of the hall (still quite nice). One of my favorite things was this convertible sink that ensured water wasn't wasted. On the left the sink is folded as when you enter and go to the bathroom. Then when you are ready to wash your hands you lower it, add a touch of water, and there is soap in the top compartment. When you're finished you lift it up and the water flows out the back. Truly ingenious!
Our sleeping car was car A at the very front/back of the train, depending on which direction we were going. In nearly every country we had to change engines with a local car and driver. I love this logo.
When we got to England, the Pullman dining cars became our home. We consumed high tea during the 2 hour ride to London.
Some of the beautiful wood marquetry in the fully restored cars.