wejetset - magazine - PAULINE EGGE

PAULINE EGGE

pauline egge

Petite Passport is a brilliant collection of locations by Pauline Egge, one of our favorite travel journalists. Since 2006 she’s written about travel hotspots for an impressive roster of magazines including Red, Glamour and Marie Claire. But, because print publishing lacks the speed and spontaneity of the web, she created Petite Passport to keep an up-to-date catalog of all the spots she’s been to, wants to go to, or generally finds interesting. As she describes it, “It’s my little black book full of addresses. It’s a wish list and also a review of places I actually visited.” Recently we caught up with Pauline to discuss travel and her fantastic site.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Anne Timmer

Australia – I was twenty and traveled to that far away land on my own. On the first night I was introduced to a wet booby contest on some rooftop and thought, ‘Hell no!’ This was not how I wanted to travel. So I bought a Let’s Go guide and it took me to the most fantastic places. That’s when my hunt for fabulous addresses started. In Australia I learned about living in the moment – waking up and thinking ‘What to do today? Should I travel to the South, travel to the North, or lay at the beach for the day?’ Another one of my favorite experiences was checking into the Ace Hotel in Portland. It was a dream come true. I really had to pinch myself like – you’re really here.

Rotterdam. It’s my home town and also home to one of the best architects in the world, Rem Koolhaas. It’s different than Amsterdam. Every tourist goes there, but Rotterdam is a true architectural gem. It’s only an hour by car (or train), so people should definitely combine the two when visiting.

If we’re talking hotspots I have to say London. It’s like the hotspot capital of the world. On my wish list I have the new Pizza East in Notting Hill, Dishoom Beach Pop Up and Kerbischer & Malt for the best fish & chips.

More recently I fell in love with Barcelona. It’s a city full of hotspots but also has two notable extras – beautiful weather and the beach. Everyone should check out Gallito where all three elements (hotspot, sun and beach) come together.

My MINI. I love taking her on road-trips to wherever. We’ve been to Paris together, and we want to see a lot more of Europe. The thing about driving a car is that it equals a feeling of freedom. You can stop where you want and the holiday starts when you open your door. When in a city I hate using public transport. Take Berlin for example, try to catch the subway from Mitte to Prenzlauerberg and it will take you ages. Hire a bike instead. And you can easily escort yourself from one hotspot to another and see everything in between.

essentials

Magazines. What’s the first thing I do when entering an airport? Buy lots of magazines. Always local magazines. It doesn’t bother me that I don’t speak Turkish, Spanish or German. If I see something nice, there’s usually a website underneath it. My favorite magazines at the moment are Monocle, Conde Nast Traveler and Spanish AD.

Everytime you come back home, book another trip. The world is there to discover; not only dream about. You don’t have to be a lottery winner. You don’t have to fly to far away locations every trip. I bet there’s a cool hotel in a city nearby where you can go for the weekend. Enjoy your trip!

—el fin

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