The Flip Flop Forecast // 11.24

Confession: Now is probably a good time to reveal I am actually Crocs > Flip Flops kind of gal.

Nov 27, 2024

Congratulations, you almost made it through November! People will start mentioning the C word soon and I can’t promise not to in next month’s edition. This month I am mostly focusing on the F word - France.

But first! I have just been on a pilgrimage to the home of the Flip Flop, Brazil where Haviannas stores are everywhere! They even had a shop at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain? Whilst in Brazil we stayed at a Flip Flop hotel I had to mention just in case anyone needed to go to paradise anytime soon.

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O Sitio, Ilha Grande

My dream hotel. A family holiday home transformed into eight basic but divine bedrooms that are dotted amongst the gardens of their home right beside the sea and backed by the jungle. Breakfast is fresh eggs, cake and fruit from the island. There are paddle boards, kayaks or hiking maps and plenty of advice on how to navigate the trails around the island. The beach is perfect, with the islands best restaurant perfectly located at the other end and the main town of Aarabo just a 25 minute walk or 10 minute water taxi away. If Jack Sparrow wanted a honeymoon, you would find him here.

From £175 a night Bed & Breakfast

OK, let’s return to a continent of more Aperol Spritz, less Caipirinha

A Love Letter to France

Our unique neighbour where the food is better, the fashion chicer and the seaside sunnier. I love France. When I take the Eurostar I feel like a wealthy woman whose accounts are in order, grazes on green leaves for lunch and her choice of husband for supper. How did she get so rich to take the train and not a RyanAir flight from Stansted? No one will ever know.

This Flip Flop is dedicated to France and a new feature piece - FOR EVERYONE.

For Everyone: France for £250

Let me explain. Travel is all sorts of things to all sorts of people but everyone has a driving force behind why they might want to go somewhere. When I was 18 it was a heady combination of cheap flights and cheap wine. When I was 25 it was sun, sea and cheap wine. Now I am 30 it is hiking, practising my 43 day streak on DuoLingo, sun and cheap wine.

BUT! I have friends who love surfing, a boyfriend who loves golf, a best friend so pregnant I fear she might burst, an old friend who loves galleries and yes, I have that friend who knows everything about wine.

So this is for everyone, an inclusive showcase of a country you might wrongly or rightly think is just snails, garlic and super yachts. All hotels referenced are in and around £250 a night Bed & Breakfast.

For Sea & Small Town - Cassis, Maison9, Hotel Liautaud

For Babymoons - Corsica, Hotel Moderne // Casa Santini x Roc Seven

For City & Sea - Marseille, Tuba

For Nature Lovers - Haras de La Cense, Le Barn

For Off the Beaten Path Countryside - Camargue, Les Bains Gardians

For Off the Beaten Path Coast - L'Île-d'Yeu, La Mission Hotel & SPA

For Surfers Dudes - Biarritz, Regina Experimental

For Art Buffs - Paris, Hote Caron de Beaumarchais

For Bubbles - Champagne, Le Chateau d’Etoge

For Red Wine & Countryside - Burgundy, Le Clos Sainte-Marguerite

For Red Wine & City - Bordeaux, Manoir Laurette

For Rosé - Arcachon, Hôtel Ville d'Hiver

For Chateaux - Loire Valley, Chateau de la Haute Borde

For People Watching / Celeb Spotting - Nice, Yelo Jean Médecin

For Coastal Town Hopping - Cannes, MOB Hotel

For Superyachts & Sea - Antibes, Hotel Le Sud

For Hikers - Corsica, Refuge on the GR20

For Foodies - Lyon, Fourvière Hôtel

For Romantics - Provence, L' Escale du Ciel

For Ski - Megeve, Cœur de Megève

For Slow Local Life - Gers, Castelnau des Fieumarcon

For Historians - Normandy, D'une Ile

For Atlantic Coast - Brittany, Le Nessay

For Golfers (boyfriends request) - Montfort-l'Amaury, La Minotte

2 & 3 Days Annual Leave

In my opinion, there are only two trips worth taking with 2/3 days annual leave left and that is the Eurostar or a (hate this term, will gift someone Afternoon Tea at Claridge’s if they can come up with something better) STAYCATION.

First Eurostar Hols…

So, I added some frills, bulk and new additions to the Amsterdam Budget, Boutique, Blowout. Plus, any day now you will receive my ULTIMATE Paris Dossier. Hotels, restaurants, where to walk, how to speak Parisian coffee language, croissants and shopping. I’ve chummed up to 5* Hotel concierge and sweet talked local experts.

British Pubs with Rooms, £200 or less a night

Second, stay-cays. I actually cannot believe how generous I have been with the below. I toyed with trimming it down so I didn’t just bombard and overwhelm but honestly if I had a copper for every time a friend asked for for a tip on this, your girl wouldn’t be toying with the idea of a paywall in the middle of the night.

Cotswolds

The Bear of Rodborough / The Lamb Inn / The Royal Oak Ramsden / Wild Rabbit Inn

Cumbria

The Hare & Hounds Inn / The White House