The Spring Travel Edit
Howdy Travelers,
It’s been a minute and the Dipa bounty is plentiful. Fresh destinations, repeat trips, and things found along the way. For those of you who are new around here - welcome - and, at Dip A Toe we visit often and go deep on destinations we truly love.
Merida, Mexico. Wow. Merida is the capital of the Yucatan and a city with both buzz and charm. It is an architecture lover’s dream, with historic mansions lining a European-style boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods full of cute cafes and shops. Merida is nice. Like really nice. It’s a clean, polished city bursting with culture and soul. You can walk the whole city and do not need a car. And then there’s Antelar - oh dear Antelar. I have not loved a hotel this much in a long time. Seven glorious rooms, each one perfectly appointed. The focal point of the hacienda-style property is the pool. Antelar is smack dab in the middle of everything but on a quiet neighborhood street. It also now has a permanent place on the Overnighter.
While in Merida, I basically set up camp at a shop called Vernâculo until the cooler-than-cool husband and wife design duo agreed to sell me a batch of their denim collars which are now available to you on the dot com. Pair them with virtually anything, all year round, as the most versatile accessory that you didn’t know you needed.
I picked up a few other good things to help you kit up for Summer like this woven caftan and some hats.
For those of you heading to Iceland this Summer (which seems to be about 1 in 5 of the curious minded), we are becoming experts on the topic. The second edition of the Iceland guide is here for you.
In case we have not shouted it loud enough, or if you just need a friendly reminder:
We Launched a Line of Boots - LANKI
LANKIs are felted wool boots that pair with a removable rubber overshoe, making them perfect as both indoor slippers and outdoor boots. While the taller “boot” is best in Winter or shoulder seasons, the lighter “bootie” is great all year round. They are handmade in Nepal by female artisans. The rubber overshoes may harken back to your dad’s galoshes but lucky for you, they are designed in France and are the chic, modern version of.
All of this is a shocking reminder of just how long our email hiatus has been. We never even reveled together in the bliss of our Dip A Toe holiday Pop-Up at Frick Park Market (Pittsburgh!), that featured - yes, the launch of LANKI - but also oodles of home goods, handbags, clothing, and collectibles from some of our favorites around the globe. Lucky for you, the plan is to make the holiday Pop an annual tradition. This was the vibe in case you want to start your countdown…
We happily digress, anyway… if you follow Dipa in real time on the socials, you know it’s been a New Mexico kinda month. With oodles of new discoveries in the Southwest and the usual high volume of warm baths for soaking, the Northern New Mexico bag of tricks keeps growing.
The history! The art! The outdoors! The hot springs! Big New Mexico fans over here. It really does feel like an escape right here within the continental US and pretty perfect all year round - few places you can say that about. In Santa Fe, I have a thing for El Rey Court (hotel), the bread at the Bread Shop (straightforward!), the vintage at Double Take and Santa Fe Vintage, and in Taos, the warm mineral pools built into desert cliffs at Ojo Caliente, breakfast and lunch at Manzanita’s Market and So. Much. More.
I went to the Faroe Islands months ago and I am still not able to tell the story of this magical place. The words never seem big enough for it. I am planning to go back again late Summer in hopes that a second go will help the cause. Until then, one of 70,000 sheep, the still photo below and the live version of her on top of that cliff, minding her biz, living the good life here.
OK Dipas, much more to come and PS - THIS shiny, happy, braided leather Summer tote, designed and made in Paris.