It’s been an incredible year.  As I sit here looking at the Empire State Building and West Side Highway from our headquarters in New York, I almost can’t express in words the gratitude I am feeling for the growth in Galavante’s business, and for the lifetime experiences I have had through travel and developing new and innovative content for our media division.  This year, I have been in 15 countries so far, spanning from the Bahrain, Kuwait and the Seychelles in my beloved Africa where I celebrated country #80 in January, to most recently Burning Man in the Nevada desert.

Burning Man was quite the unexpected surprise, where of course I didn’t rough it.  I called Cirque Gitanes, from the masterminds behind Petit Ermitage in LA, home.  Cirque is arguably the most posh yet still down-to-earth camp that retains the core Burning Man principals of community, collaboration and respect for the Playa.  Besides having a gorgeous 200+ year old circus tent, gourmet meals, (my first was a Thanksgiving Dinner when I arrived) an air-conditioned room and an exquisite environment of antique chandeliers in the harsh conditions of the desert, Burning Man is where I was able to symbolically honor yet end a phase of my life under my terms. It is also where the desert, which is said to have an almost magical power of synchronicity, brought me to long-time friends for heart to hearts, unexpected adventures with new people and opened me personally to the future.  I will write about the solo mission I went on in the desert next year, but for now I am happier than ever. I have learned more and seen more than I can appropriately describe, and it has opened my mind and heart to be fearless and to just go for my dreams.

And while it has been an incredible year, we still have another four months left.  Expect to see lots of new content on Galavante this fall, along with our expert Tastemaker hotel reviews on the best insider spots around the world.  We are also launching our new lifestyle TV series, At Home with Galavante, where we bring the world to you.

I took my first vacation in 6 years of starting Galavante this summer in the South of France, and I can confirm that it takes only 72 hours in that beautiful part of the world to feel like a new person.  I walked away inspired with the idea to bring in the best experts to our home in NYC to teach us about everything from caviar and champagne from France, truffles from Italy and the best cocktail and bites inspired by Mauritius.  We can’t wait to share the world with you.

All the best,