You can now kayak or camp solo in Antarctica with this cruise

It’s no secret: I am one lucky son of a bitch. I get to travel all over and write about it. Regularly, I will randomly pick up on a Tuesday and find myself in Bermuda, Kenya, Hong Kong, or Rome by Wednesday. Sometimes, I will even plan it. It is a complete 180 from where I was in my life before the pandemic. I was deep in the trenches of the Monday-through-Friday, nine-to-five lifestyle. I was eight rounds in on the bout with the Joneses and believed I could catch up with them if I only worked harder, saved more. The truth was, I was already putting in sixty hours a week and depriving my life of the things that would truly help. I discovered the hard way that, once I achieved the thing I was working for, once I bought the car, wore the suit, got the raise- I was still empty. I couldn’t figure out what it was that was missing from that life. Until the pandemic laid a side quest in front of me.

Once I was laid off from the law firm I’d put my whole self into for the previous four years, I was free. It was ten seconds of sheer panic followed by the largest weight I didn’t even know I was carrying disappearing from my shoulders. I could disappear myself, explore the world passing me by the last half-decade. So I did. I started writing full time and lived in Airbnbs for a month (or three) at a time in different cities. I discovered myself, discovered what destinations had to offer. I found the joy in my life. And it always came on the other side of a side quest. Can’t quit your job and travel the world? That is ok; I have tips you can do from home. Over an evening. Over a weekend. Over a week’s vacation. The point is that your life isn’t boring; you’re just in campaign mode and forgot the open-world model allows you to explore the world at your fingertips.

Just in time for holiday gifting, Travelpro is back with another elevated collection that will turn heads in the airport. Travelpro is introducing Platinum Reserve, its most elevated collection yet. Born from pilots and used daily by more than 220,000 aviation professionals, Travelpro knows that beautiful design has to hold up once a journey begins. Platinum Reserve brings that expertise to a more polished silhouette, pairing full-grain leather details with the smooth, controlled movement the brand is known for.

True luxury proves itself in motion,” said Lisa Cody, Head of Product & Brand Experience of Travelpro. “With Platinum Reserve, we wanted every part of the journey to feel effortless, from moving through a crowded terminal to arriving at your destination looking just as polished as when you left. Because true luxury isn’t replacing your luggage. It’s never having to worry about it.”

I’ll be honest. If I weren’t a writer, there is no way in hell I could have landed a 7:15 Saturday night reservation at Cafe Charmant just a mere four weeks after its opening. The most recent jewel in the buzzy Catch Hospitality Group’s crown, the glitzy eatery is the newest IT restaurant to hit the downtown scene, so chalk it up to one of the perks of the job that I could walk in, order a drink, and be ushered to a corner table for two in under 10 minutes.

Though the state of making prime reservations in New York City may not come as a surprise to many, I’m still not able to reconcile with the current velvet rope of so many of this city’s restaurants. Sure, the 90s and early 2000’s had their Indochine, Moomba (if you remember that one, we need to grab a drink). The Waverly Inn, but for the most part, you could easily make a reservation or even walk in and wait for a table with a cocktail in hand at most popular establishments. And, let’s be honest, half the people weren’t even eating, if you know what I mean.