June 18, 2013

PALM BEACH, USA – With warming temps and crystal, clear skies ahead, we’re itching to switch out our wardrobe in favor of fun and playful pieces. And while snagging the latest designer labels often comes with a hefty price tag, some area retailers are getting a head start on their summer sales—even if the official start date of summer is later this week!

C. Orrico is offering its spring and summer women’s and children’s apparel and accessories at a steal. This green-and-pink boutique has been supplying chic, sophisticated looks to the oceanfront community since 1985. Expect Alice & Trixie, Trina Turk, Jude Connally, and other fashion labels marked down 25 to 40 percent. Ranging from flirty floral dresses to tropical print totes, C. Orrico offers plenty of summer-inspired gear to help you spruce up your wardrobe in no time at all.

In The Purple Passport to Palm Beach, we love the store’s impressive variety of preppy-beachy casuals:

Lilly Pulitzer’s styles are the epitome of Palm Beach cool, and C. Orrico has the best range in town–this is unquestionably the best place around to snag the local “uniform.” We like how there’s a well-edited collection of other beachy brands, too–everyone from your mom to your baby sister would be happy shopping here…[continue reading]

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There are a couple of reasons why celebrities (like Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney) are regulars in Los Cabos, the desert-meets-ocean resort playground located at the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula: The sun shines an average of 350 days a year, temperatures are typically a balmy 80ish (with occasional windy periods in the spring and steamier weeks in summer), and its resorts offer a combination of relaxation and pampering that lets you be social when you want to and secluded when you don’t. Here’s how to really get Los Cabos done right.

The Basics

You can fly to Los Cabos (the nickname for the neighboring towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo—the airport code is SJD) on American, Delta, United, Alaska, among other airlines. The airport is about 15 minutes from San Jose Del Cabo and 45 minutes from Cabo San Lucas. Shared shuttle vans (about $ 15-17 per person) are a popular transportation option, especially to reach resorts in and around the latter. Los Cabos is a generally safe destination, but if you’re looking for ocean swimming, it can be tricky as waves and undertows are powerful; the best swimming beaches are at resorts on the Sea of Cortez not the Pacific Ocean. And while Los Cabos does draw its share of the young party crowd, its many timeshare properties mean Baby Boomers seeking golf, tennis, and fine dining are abundant, too.

If You’re Feeling Social…

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On an April solo trip to Oregon, I drove a short 90 minutes northwest from Portland to the coast, in particular to two beach destinations I know my family would absolutely love: Seaside and Cannon Beach. My time in each location was fleeting — I had only enough time to get a general overview of these popular summer vacation spots. It was also bittersweet, as I wish I could have shared the wide, sandy beaches, kid-friendly accommodations, educational attractions, and pretty sunsets with my family!

Here are some of the highlights of my brief stay in the area — places and people I’d recommend for your family’s trip, and attractions I’d visit with my own family if I have the good fortune to return to the pretty Oregon coast, especially in the summer months:

Seaside

Shilo Inn: My home base in Seaside — Northwest Oregon’s popular oceanfront destination for more than a century — was the Shilo Inn, located right on the main drag (Broadway) and overlooking the “Turnaround,” where cars can pull around a traffic circle to view vast expanse of beachfront. Now, the Shilo Inn is by no means a luxury property; it’s a moderate hotel that frankly could use a bit of a face lift. However, you really can’t beat its central location right on top of the Promenade — a 1.5-mile-long, paved pedestrian walkway that stretches north to south alongside the beach. And it offers spacious, family-friendly accommodations: two queen-sized beds with a full kitchen (refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher), which is fabulous for budget-conscious families who might want to make breakfast or store picnic fixings in the room. Other hotel amenities include an indoor swimming pool, small workout room, on-site restaurant/lounge and free wi-fi.

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Road trips are a blast for so many reasons, but nothing enhances the experience like spectacular scenery. From the rugged coast of Oregon to the verdant shores of Lake Michigan, you’ll find an abundance of memorable vistas on these coastal routes.

Overseas Highway, Florida

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Philly is filled to the brim with historic sites and landmarks (see: Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Declaration House, et al). But the city is also home to a burgeoning food and drink scene, idyllic green spaces, and festivals galore. There are endless reasons to make the trip to Philly this year; here’s what you should pack.

Women

From City to Park

Head to the City Center area to grab lunch and stroll the downtown area in a purple maxi dress with breezy double slits ($ 168 by Anthropologie, a local company), styled perhaps with a long and louche glass pendant necklace ($ 38). Stick with flat sandals, like these silver and raffia ones by Loeffler Randall ($ 117), which will also go with a tie-dye gauzy blue button down from hometown favorite Free People ($ 108) and white denim shorts ($ 29.99). Slip into these sweet Liberty-print floral sneakers by Nike ($ 150) to check out Fairmouth Park. Keep it casual for an afternoon picnic in bleached skinny crop jeans ($ 210), white sleeveless eyelet blouse ($ 39.99), and gray oversize sunnies by DKNY ($ 79.95).

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June 16, 2013

GLOBAL – Summer officially arrives this week, which means the season for blockbuster movie openings is upon us (Man of Steel opened Friday by the way…just saying). Well, here at The Purple Passport, we’d like to announce a new blockbuster feature of our own: The Purple Passport Postcards site. The site is a collection of original snapshots from our team’s travels to exciting destinations around the world, featuring gorgeous, easy-to-navigate visuals of everything from New York to London and Abu Dhabi to Vietnam.

But the site isn’t merely a stunning set of photo albums. Like Superman, it’s got some unexpected “powers”: any of the photos on the site can be sent as a virtual postcard to friends, a fun feature whether you’re jetsetting or just armchair traveling. You can also use your favorite pictures to discover information about new destinations via direct links on each postcard to reviews on The Purple Passport, to blogs on The Diary of The Purple Passport, or to one of our full-form eBook travel guides.

We’re launching with 1,500+ photos and will quickly continue to build to 5,000+ visual postcards. By the end of summer, we’ll eventually grow to cover photos of 50 distinct locations worldwide. So, we may not have quite the global reach of Man of Steel (yet!), but hey−The Purple Passport Postcards site will way outlast the summer season.

I’ve visited many theme parks in the United States over the last few years as the theme park blogger for The Times’ Travel website, but this summer’s crop of rides already has me updating my bucket list. Here’s a look at some of the biggest new roller coasters, dark rides, live shows, water slides and themed lands planned for this summer at theme parks across the country.

More than 1,400 pinners around the world contribute to this insanely inspirational board. The classic idea of a travel bucket list is at work, including tried-and-true must-go destinations like Machu Picchu as well as more individual pursuits like the lavender fields of the South of France. No destination is off limits, as this group of pinners takes you from Madagascar to Paris and from Brazil to Montana. If you’re ever in need of a quick shot of travel inspiration, this board is your one-stop Pinterest shop.

Want to be our next weekly dose of travel inspiration? Follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and be sure to tag your posts #FodorsTravel so we know you want us to take a peek. Be sure to check back next week to see another featured Fodor’s follower!

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