Benvenuto! Bienvenue! Welcome!

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Salut, and welcome to UrbanTravelGirl, a blog featuring my thoughts on black women living globally through international travel. I’m a passionate believer in the ability of travel to not only transform the way we see the world, but ourselves.  As an African-American woman, I’ve developed an even stronger sense of who I am by visiting nearly 35 countries and territories — and by living outside the United States.  From 2012 to 2013, I lived in the charming French village of Samois-sur-Seine, an hour south of Paris — and earlier spent nearly one year working as a freelance Travel, Food and Lifestyles journalist and communications consultant in Florence, Italy.  I don’t believe in letting other folks define ME — and you shouldn’t, either!

I hope to spark conversation among African-American women who love (or WANT) to travel abroad, who are never happier than when we’re in new and challenging foreign environments. I want to hear your comments about my trips — and I want to hear about yours. Wondering whether it’s cool to travel solo to Paris, or how you’d be received as a black woman in Rome? Put it out here and we UrbanTravelGirls will jump in and give you the scoop. Looking for some fab, locals-only restaurants and boutiquesin Florence, Barcelona or Buenos Aires? I’ll dish about it and hope other chicas visiting here will also share.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, hit the road, discover your own global bliss — and let’s chat about it!

Hotels get female-friendly with women-only floors and amenities

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Appropriately termed "Duchess Rooms" when transformed for female guests, those like this one at the boutique-chic DUKES London Hotel in Mayfair pamper women with women-sized slippers, makeup mirrors, lifestyle magazines, and fresh flowers.
Appropriately termed “Duchess Rooms” when transformed for female guests, those like this one at the boutique-chic DUKES London Hotel in Mayfair pamper women with women-sized slippers, makeup mirrors, lifestyle magazines, and fresh flowers.

As a woman who used to travel solo for my work with a global corporation—and who’s done the same for pleasure to countries around the world—I’d try to plan my trips with an eye toward comfort and convenience. When traveling for work, I’d often stay in large, plush hotels that catered to their guests’ every need. Even when I was footing the bill, I looked for bed and breakfasts that offered more than just a bed and breakfast, but where owners offered personalized service, helping arrange restaurant and tour reservations and off-the-beaten-path advice.

But I never thought to ask for special services—or stay in a particular place—specifically because I’m a woman.

These days, more and more hotels have decided female business travelers and tourists are a niche market they need to reach—and articles have cropped up on newspaper, magazine and travel websites detailing this new approach. USA Today recently published a piece about Washington, D.C.’s Hamilton Crowne Plaza and the special bath salts, magnifying mirror, and manicure accoutrements they make available on their female-focused floor. “In other words,” wrote Nancy Trejos, “you’ll get pretty much anything you need to pamper yourself.”

Then there’s the DUKES London Hotel on chi-chi St. James’s Place, with its aptly named “Duchess Rooms.” Rather than setting aside a specific floor for female guests, this Mayfair boutique property can transform any of its rooms by adding smaller slippers, makeup mirrors, female-friendly magazines, and fresh flowers. USA Today and Condé Nast Traveler’s website also dished about the women-only perks at Vancouver, B.C.’s 4-star Georgian Court Hotel, which include female-only floors awash in “curling irons, yoga mats, and satin-padded hangers.”

From a marketing perspective, it makes sense. Marybeth Bond of GutsyTraveler.com reports that a whopping 80% of all travel decisions are made by women, regardless of who they travel with, who pays for the trip, or where they go. No wonder hotels the world over have trained their sights on us.

I suppose there are SOME things we women consider differently than men do when we’re on the road—and one of those is likely safe transportation. When I travel—and especially getting around by myself—I generally scout around ahead of time for affordable get-from-the-airport options such as shuttle buses that drop you off in the center of town, such as the $15-to-$26-one-way fares on Les Cars Air France in Paris.  Or I’ll choose easy-to-navigate city trains, such as the $5 Blue Line “L” from O’Hare International in Chicago or the $21 Leonardo Express from Fiumicino Airport in Rome. But since I’ve never mastered the art of packing light, even after all these years of hoofing it all over the world, that means a LOT of schlepping suitcases, purses and laptop bags.

Female travelers who want to roll like rock stars--or at least pampered VIPs who don't have to schlep their own bags--can splurge and opt for Blacklane chauffeured service in major cities around the world.
Female travelers who want to roll like rock stars–or at least pampered VIPs who don’t have to schlep their own bags–can splurge and opt for Blacklane chauffeured service in major cities around the world.

And since I’m a woman who likes to travel with all of her stuff (it’s hard for me to leave things I know I’ll need at home), it’s sometimes nice to spend the extra cash and know certain perks and conveniences will be waiting when you arrive at your destination. While I rarely splurge on a car service, those like Blacklane—which offer rides in luxe, grown-up vehicles in some of my favorite cities, including New York, San Francisco and Paris—start your trip off an a classy, stress-free note. Talk about making a girl feel like a rock star when she arrives at the airport late and exhausted, with multiple bags in tow.

If you’re traveling on company business and can write off the cost, such a service can be worth its weight in gold. Rather than hoping to hail a taxi or navigate an unfamiliar large city and its traffic-choked streets, hiring an hourly chauffeured service like Blacklane’s to transport you between appointments can be a smart business move. And for women who occasionally like to roll like a “Sex and the City” gal in a Lincoln Town Car or Mercedes E and S Class sedans, it’s the way to go. Even we independent women (and we are those!) appreciate a bit of pampering now and then.

So tell me—would you be jazzed or just ticked off by female-only amenities and hotel floors? Would such conveniences encourage you to patronize businesses or hotel chains that specifically target you with services because of your gender—especially if it makes you feel safer and more secure? I’m curious to know what you UrbanTravelGirls think about this “trend.”

Planning an international getaway is (more than) half the fun

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Ahhh... can't get back to the lovely French Riviera town of Villefranche-sur-Mer next week. Planning my return to this charming place has been a pleasant trip in itself!
Ahhh... can't get back to the lovely French Riviera town of Villefranche-sur-Mer next week. Planning my return to this charming place has been a pleasant trip in itself!

Does this look serene, or WHAT? I'll have a view like this out the window of my Riviera Experience flat in Villefranche before I know it....
Does this look serene, or WHAT? I'll have a view like this out the window of my Riviera Experience flat in Villefranche before I know it....

For some international travelers, NOTHING compares to the moment of arrival, when they touch down in a new place and are ready to check out the scene. Others love arriving back HOME, posting their photos on Facebook and Flickr, sharing their travel memories with family and friends. But for me, a pseudo-obsessive Type A, what I love most about travel is the PLANNING that goes into crafting a trip.

Take my journey to Europe early next week. A wonderfully thoughtful friend in the south of France owns several beautifully furnished Riviera Experience vacation rental apartments and had a vacancy in one that overlooks the breathtaking Bay of Villefranche. During an e-mail exchange, she invited me to come for a visit. I thought her offer was far too generous and started to decline, but finally graciously accepted, as I’d LOVE to see her and return to one of the most gorgeous places on earth. And for me, a planner to my heart, that’s where the fun begins!

Because I’ve visited to the Côte d’Azur town of Villefranche-sur-Mer twice before—including a solo trip that rang in my 40th birthday—I know how to get there from the nearby Nice airport. I know my way around Vieux Nice (Old Nice) and how to get to glitzy, jet-set Monaco. But there’s still so much to do and see on the French Riviera and beyond. My head is nearly swimming with the possibilities. Hang out inside the adorable studio apartment or in its private garden and write? Grab my shades and camera and stroll nearby towns? Or merely open the seaside window and nap to my heart’s content?

But since I’m going to be this close to Italy—less than an hour from the border, in fact—could I dare not set foot in bella Italia? And where to go? I STILL have yet to make it to Emilia-Romagna, the region many Italians admit has the best cuisine in the country. Should I make a stop in Tuscany, to stop in Florence where I lived for too short a time? Or head way south to Rome, the only city that rivals Paris for my undying affection, and visit my many friends there? Eventually, Rome won out, although I’ll only be there for three short days—not nearly enough time to spend leisurely catching up with folks. But three days are better than none.

For me, NO trip to Rome is complete without a swing past the Colosseum. No matter how often I see it, I never cease being amazed.
For me, NO trip to Rome is complete without a swing past the Colosseum. No matter how often I see it, I never cease being amazed.

As I’ve been planning this south of France-to-Rome getaway for the past several weeks, many questions have crossed my mind: Head to Paris—my favorite city in the world—for a few days after leaving Villefranche? Take an overnight train and take in the romance of the rails on my way to Rome? Since I can’t get directly to Rome from Villefranche on the train, hit the road in a France rental car and pick up that overnight train in Dijon? Decisions, decisions!! (I finally decided to just take an hour flight to Rome to conserve my precious few vacation days… but you can bet I’ll be taking that overnight Artesia train on my next trip from France to Italy!)

I’d love to hear from you UrbanTravelGirls: What’s the best part of a holiday for you—the planning, the actual vacationing or the reminiscing? Perhaps I’ll become a convert!

UrbanTravelGirl talks about being a sister living abroad on “The Traveling Eye” radio show

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Standing in front of Rome's famed Trevi Fountain is my brother-in-law Dave and fellow former Italian expat friend and now-best-selling New York Times author Kelly E. Carter. This February 2005 photo is from my living-in-Italy days, during Dave's and my sister Monetta's visit.
Standing in front of Rome's famed Trevi Fountain is my brother-in-law Dave and fellow former Italian expat friend and now-best-selling New York Times author Kelly E. Carter. This February 2005 photo is from my living-in-Italy days, during Dave's and my sister Monetta's visit.

There’s nothing like reliving old memories—especially those that have shaped you into the person you are today. And last week, thanks to a fabulous Chicago-based Travel radio show, I got the chance to reminisce about my sistagirl-living-abroad-in-Italy experience from five years ago!

The hour-long show, which airs from 11 a.m.-noon U.S. Central time on Fridays, is called The Traveling Eye, and its programming is especially designed to appeal to upscale African-American consumers and travelers. It’s hosted by two dynamic sisters: my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., soror and Chicago radio legend Bonnie DeShong and travel specialist and Advantage International President and Founder Ja’Vonne Harley. Listen to THEIR show and before it’s over, you’ll want to be online or on the phone booking some fabulous getaway. And some advertisers don’t believe that black folks travel—and travel in style? Along with WHUR-FM in Washington, D.C., Bonnie and Ja’Vonne are leading a tour of nearly 100 folks to Egypt and Dubai in February—and this nearly two-week trip is SOLD OUT!

During last week’s show, Bonnie and fill-in host Gene Harley asked me and a super-bad American expat sister named Tiffany Zunker who’s lived abroad for half her life to share thoughts on why we first got interested in living abroad. (In my case, listening to tales from my world-traveling aunt Sophenia and visiting my friend Javan on a U.S. Army base in Germany during grad school.) What I felt when I first stepped off the plane in Florence, Italy, as a new resident and not just a tourist. (Totally excited and ready for the adventure!) Whether I ever felt lonely. (Now that’s hard to do in Italy unless you turn yourself into a recluse, as family-oriented Italians will embrace you and often treat you like an extended member of the family!)

How I dealt with my hair (got my two-strand twists hooked up regularly in Florence by a sweet Nigerian stylist in the back of her brother’s barber shop) and (far more of it in Florence than in the States, that’s for sure!). As I joked, sisters often head to Italy believing the adage that “Italian men LOVE them some black women!” The reality is that Italian men adore women period—which is a way-welcoming thing to black women, who don’t always feel celebrated in American culture.

Want to hear the whole show? Click here! (Skip the lead-in newscast and start listening at about 3:15.)

Dishing about my fabulous adventure made me homesick for Italy, and longing for another live-abroad experience. You know me—have passport, will travel!

If you want to catch TODAY’s “Traveling Eye,” listen to it live on Fridays from 11 a.m.-noon U.S. Central time on the WVON/1690 AM The Talk of Chicago” website and click the flashing “Listen Live” icon.

Tips for sisters on ‘hooking up’ their hair when traveling abroad, Part Deux

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Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.
Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.

During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!
During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!

Late last month, I wrote about the “hair issues” we black women often face when traveling abroad—and promised to offer some tips about handling these when you’re overseas.

When I first traveled to Europe in the late 1990s, visiting a friend who worked on a U.S. Army base in Germany, I was doing the relaxed hair thing, toting multiple curling irons and assorted lotions and potions in my always-overstuffed suitcase. But once I started hitting the road with friends, all those curling irons became a royal pain. What a hassle to constantly be plugging in, moving irons from one room to the other, waiting for them to cool down before you could pack them, etc. And then there was always the issue of “what if it rains?” 

Now that I’ve been wearing two-strand twist extensions for most of the past five years, that’s no longer a concern. BUT, I have gotten overseas and much to my dismay, realized that I forgot to pack my favorite olive oil sheen or softening lotion. This, my friends, can be a challenge—especially since overseas trips tend to last for more than just a weekend. 

But if you find yourself in a city—especially in Europe—and have arrived sans products, I’ve discovered that black folks and Arabs (who frequently have similar hair textures as ours) often live near the city’s main train station. Perhaps it’s the “immigrant effect,” the fact that newer arrivals to a place often live close to the vehicles that bring them. So if these folks first arrive via train, inexpensive housing in the surrounding area might be their first stop.

When I lived in Florence, Italy, between 2004 and 2005, I (mercifully) found the Nigerian-owned barber shop/salon where I got my twist touch-ups done a couple streets away from the city’s Santa Maria Novella train station. (My young stylist Nina would hook up my twists, while her barber shop-owning brother took care of the African and Arab bros in the adjoining room.) I know that Africans live near Rome’s massive Termini station, as I once found myself strolling through the ‘hood in search of an Ethiopian eatery.

And when visiting the south of France last spring, I didn’t pack my Organic Root Stimulator olive oil sheen spray (as usual, my bag was too full and something had to give). But I figured that once I got to the more cosmopolitan town of Nice, surely I’d use my limited French to find some black folks and some hair spray. So after leaving the city’s main train station, I walked half a block to an Internet café with an Arab guy at the counter. Grateful he spoke some English, I asked, “Where can I find a salon for people with hair like this?” as I gently fingered my twists. OF COURSE, there was one right around the block—and hanging out nearby on street corners were African and Arab men,  just as brothers often do here in the States. It was like I’d never left the South Side of Chicago.

Not only did I find a salon owned by a kind African woman, but she directed me down the block to a black hair-care supply store where I found EVERYTHING I needed, and then some. I’ve made a mental note of the salon’s and store’s street so next time I’m in the south of France and need a hook-up, I am SO there.

Which leads to my next point: do some research BEFORE you leave home. You aren’t planning to find yourself in a massive rainstorm on your next trip, but what if it happens and you aren’t adept at wielding a flat iron and fixing your OWN ‘do? Might be wise to have the name and phone number of a salon in the place you’re going. Think of it like stashing just-in-case antibiotics or a first-aid kit. If you’re headed to Central Europe, EbonyPrague.com can take care of your hair. If you’re going to the UK (thankfully, with black folks galore), check out ItzCaribbean.com for a host of hair salons throughout the metro London area. And if you’re traveling elsewhere in the world, BlackGirlTravel.com, where founder Fleacé Weaver creates and leads customized tours for groups of African-American women to countries around the world, you’ll find salon listings from Amsterdam to Hong Kong to Dubai. Talk about hooking a sista up!

And just as our moms always told us to use a clean bathroom whenever we found one (since the next ones might be few and far-between), if you’re strolling down some foreign street and see a either a black/ethnic hair salon or barber shop, drop in and ask for a business card. You may not be planning to get your “hair did” in Madrid, but if your curling iron suddenly blows out or a downpour trashes your bob, you’ll be glad you know where to get your ‘do back on again. Think of it as “hair insurance.”

I’d love to hear YOUR tips—as well as about your overseas hair experiences and how you handle your tresses on the road. Feel free to share!