Enlarge Photo

This Week on Indagare:

India Style Trio

Community: Member Postcards

Just Back From…Lake Como

Shop Southampton Souk: July 19–20

Nantucket Update

Plus: Win a six-night trip to India. Enter here.

Dream. Plan. Book:

The ultimate Italian city-seaside combination of Rome and Capri. In Rome, families can take a gelato-making class, experience life as a gladiator and go behind the scenes in the Vatican. On Capri, days are spent in the water, while evenings focus on enjoying the stylish town and feasting on seafood.

India Style Trio

The imagination of the Western world has long been captivated by Indian style—the country’s craftsmanship and colors are vivid and timeless. Legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland once famously quipped that pink is India’s navy blue; more recently fashion designer Matthew Williamson called the place “a creative assault on the sense.” Indagare members and friends can enter to win a six-night trip to India, including airfare, co-sponsored by Qatar Airways, Greaves Travel and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. Read more about the prize and enter: India Sweepstakes. To start dreaming India—and about the wares to bring back—read about gem-shopping in Jaipur, the best boutiques in Mumbai and insider tips on Delhi: India Style.

Community: Member Postcards

Indagare members are constantly amazing us with their intrepid spirit, curiosity and motivation to explore off the beaten path. Recent enviable voyages include tango dancing in Buenos Aires, bear watching on Vancouver Island, trekking the Camino de Santiago alongside religious pilgrims, exploring Namibia’s Skeleton Coast and relaxing in an eco-conscious enclave outside of Cape Town. The dispatches are sure to inspire your next journey; contact our Bookings Team to help plan your next dream trip: Global Postcards.

Just Back From…Lake Como

Lake Como may not be the undiscovered gem it used to be (thank you, George Clooney), but the region remains one of Italy’s most fascinating thanks to its memorable dichotomies: it’s somehow both natural and civilized, decadent and low-key, enormous and intimate. It’s also incredibly convenient to reach, a short one-hour drive north of Milan. On her recent trip, Indagare’s Eliza Harris scouted the best hotels, most authentic restaurants, charming little shops and a villa reachable only by boat that’s “a place of secret passageways, terraces spilling over with geraniums, and impeccably landscaped gardens: the work of an unfettered imagination, just like so much of Lake Como.” Read Eliza’s Just Back From and contact our Bookings Team for help planning an itinerary that includes Como.

Shop the Souk: Southampton Pop-Up July 19–20

Our annual Summer Souk returns to Southampton with lots of seaside beach fashion and accessories, as well as a special pop-up store by Lazypoint, featuring clothing, accessories and books from Claudja Bicalho’s Amagansett shop. Bring along your friends and come to browse for exquisitely embroidered caftans, silk sarongs, airy summer dresses, handcrafted jewelry, stylish bags and more. The wares hail from all over the world, including India, Turkey, South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines, Brazil, Belize and more. The two-day event will take place at Indagare founder Melissa Biggs Bradley’s home in Southampton. Contact the Souk team for the address and details about the Souk Party on Thursday evening: Summer Souk.

Nantucket Update

Few places in the Northeast evoke lazy summer rituals quite as beautifully as Nantucket, the rugged island off the shores of Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. From clam bakes to walks along wind-swept dunes, the small pleasures of a vacation here have been the same for generations. But, as found Indagare’s Lizzie McGirr on a recent trip, the island’s seasonality also demands constant revitalization. This summer there’s buzz about a debut Inn by Nantucket’s most acclaimed resort, as well as new restaurants and boutiques that complement and enhance such well-established custom as brunch at Black Eyed Susan, ice cream at Juice Bar and bike rides to Siasconset. Read about the best of the island: Nantucket Update.

Also New on Indagare: Southampton’s new pop-up art venue and a review from Santa Fe.

Enlarge Photo

This Week on Indagare

Summer in the City: Paris

Spa/Wellness: Parrot Cay

Just Back From… Russia

City Getaway: Charleston

Plus: Save the date. Indagare’s souk is coming to Southampton, July 19-20.

Dream. Plan. Book. Our bookings team’s favorite trip of the week: A week at a working farm nestled in France’s Brittany region, near Caen. The family of four will have the opportunity to learn about daily farm life, as well as take excursions to local cheese makers and a caramel toffee producer. For help with your next trip, contact our team.

Summer in the City: Paris

The French capital is a poster child for summer fun; after all, it pioneered such outdoor extravaganzas as the Fête de la Musique (an all-night music festival) and Paris Plage (the Seine-side beach). Indagare founder Melissa Biggs Bradley recently spent a few nights in the city and discovered its best-kept secrets for this season, including monumental exhibits, a new bistro from a star chef, special Seine cruises and movie screenings in a Philippe Starck-designed cinema. Read about her finds and more: Paris.

Spa/Wellness: Parrot Cay

Indagare’s Eliza Harris had big plans for her recent stay at Parrot Cay in the Turks & Caicos: finally get to that stack of books and write a few articles. But soon after arriving, she understood why this special retreat has a loyal following of travelers seeking spiritual and physical renewal. ” My mental chatter silenced, I listened instead to the waves, the wind in the palms, the thrum of cicadas, the dry rustle of grasses,” she writes. Just a few weeks earlier, Indagare’s Henley Vazquez visited the resort with her children and had an equally successful—albeit very different, family friendly—experience. To talk to someone about the ins and outs of a Parrot Cay visit, contact our Bookings Team. Read Eliza’s dispatch: Renewal in the TCI.

Just Back From…Russia

Indagare’s first Insider Trip to Russia recently returned after behind-the-scenes touring in Moscow and St. Petersburg. “Intriguing. That would be the one word I would use to summarize my feelings about our magnificent trip,” raved member Hollye Jacobs; “I am mentally planning my next trip back,” wrote member Melani Wilson; “the questions that haunt me are ‘Why aren’t more people clamoring to come?’ and, ‘When can I go back?’ wrote Indagare founder Melissa Biggs Bradley. Aside from the fact that Russia is a superpower in a moment of major transition, it has been one of the West’s most influential empires for centuries. From touring the gilded splendor of the Catherin Palace to backstage at the restored Bolshoi Theatre with excellent guides, the group was able to really experience Russia in context—its past, present and future. Read the dispatches from Melissa and other trip participants (Just Back from… Russia) and contact Indagare’s Bookings Team for help with a trip to Russia.

City Getaway: Charleston

As a living museum of early American architecture, urban planning, social customs and art and furniture, Charleston offers a glimpse back into America’s early years. Boasting 18th and 19th-century houses along cobblestoned streets, gardens bursting with jasmine and magnolias and a culinary scene on par with that of New York and LA, the city makes for a fabulous (and easy) weekend getaway. Indagare’s Amelia Osborne highlights Charleston’s most charming hotels, coolest rooftop bars, trendiest restaurants and chicest boutiques. Read our destination report: Charleston.

Save the Date: Hamptons Summer Souk

Our annual Hamptons edition of the live Souk returns to Southampton this summer from July 19-20.

Enlarge Photo

This Week on Indagare:

Summer in the City: London Hot Spots

Cheat Sheet: Salzburg

Paris Dining: Q&A with Patricia Wells

Beirut Insider: Salma Abdelnour

Family: Summer in the Caribbean

Plus: Member postcards from Myanmar and China.

Dream.Plan.Book: Our bookings team’s favorite trip of the week is a ten day car journey through Ireland starting in Dublin followed by a stay at County Cork’s Longueville House. The family of four will then head to the Victorian Park Kenmare and end at the regal Dromoland Castle. For help with your next trip, contact our team.

Summer in the City: London Hot Spots

This is London’s summer in the spotlight, and the British capital is awash in magnificent Union Jack flags and patriotic cheer. Not only will these warmer months see the annual hubbub around Wimbledon and Ascot, but the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, honoring sixty years of reign, will lead straight into the 2012 Summer Olympics. Museums, theaters and restaurants are hosting special exhibitions and new features, and even the 150-year old underground train system is getting a new perk: free Wifi for riders. The Big Smoke is on fire, indeed. Read about the Hot Spots not to miss this summer: London Update.

Cheat Sheet: Salzburg

Salzburg sits like a baroque jewel at the Alps’ northern boundary. Shaped as much by its natural setting as by human creativity, the city has inspired Mozart, Strauss and Toscanini, amongst others. Every summer, the Salzburg Festival draws the greats of music and theater to the cozy Austrian town. Indagare’s destination guide details what not to miss when visiting, including the best garden restaurants, terraces with views and a venerable atelier for Trachten (traditional costumes) that also happens to run an incredible gourmet deli with Austrian specialties. Read more: Salzburg Now.

Paris Dining: Q&A with Patricia Wells

To Francophiles and foodies, the name Patricia Wells has been synonymous with culinary Paris for decades. Wells, the food critic for the International Herald Tribune until 2007, first published The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris in 1984. Today, this bible of French savoir vivre is available to the next generation thanks to the new Food Lover’s Guide app (for the iPhone and iPad). The app covers everything from restaurants and cafés to the best food shops and markets. Read a Q&A with Wells, including her thoughts on up-and-coming young chefs and favorite classics in Paris, as well as top summer restaurants in Provence: Food Lover’s Guide.

Beirut Insider: Salma Abdelnour

New York–based travel and food writer Salma Abdelnour’s first book is a memoir about rediscovering Beirut, the city her family left when she was nine. The evocative Jasmine and Fire traces Abdelnour’s year in Lebanon, focusing in particular on its food scene. “Whenever I take walks in any city in the world, I always have some kind of food adventure in mind.” Says the author. “The ones I went on in Beirut and smaller villages in Lebanon helped me find my way around, geographically and, in a way, emotionally too.” The book is full of wonderful culinary observations, restaurant recommendations and descriptions of Lebanese dishes, fruit and products so delicious that they might just inspire your next trip. Read a Q&A with Abdelnour, including her top picks for Lebanese food in New York City: Bittersweet Beirut

Family: Summer in the Caribbean

When it comes time for making summer plans, most of our members cast their eyes to Europe. However, that elusive combo of a five-star hotel, a big, gorgeous beach and fantastic family activities can actually be found much closer to home: at the Caribbean’s top resorts. And family activities don’t mean just building sand castles. For example, June kicks off sea-turtle nesting season at the Four Seasons Nevis, one of the region’s great family properties. Budding conservationists can help patrol the beaches, mark turtle nests during the night-time vigils and join a weekly sea turtle camp. Read more about Four Seasons Nevis, recently visited by Indagare’s Monique Brendel: Nevis. And travelers who don’t have this year’s holiday plans locked down should consider that there are still spots available at Nevis and some other coveted resorts. Contact our Bookings Team for help planning a trip.

Also New on Indagare: Member postcards from Myanmar and China.