This narrative will explore everything you experience as you travel. Visiting a new location or a favorite hotel you have returned to over the years, there is much to be experienced and learned about in every neighborhood, village, or city.
But, and it’s an enormous but . . . this is really all about the people that make these institutions special.
The Caretakers of Your Trip
Today’s Hotels may have Lifestyle Managers or Concierges. At The Mill House we have Personal Assistants.
In the 17th century the term caretakers was in vogue; they took care of just about everything that defined a Trip Well Taken. All of these people are professionals responsible for your adventure.
Let’s use the Caretaker moniker as we discuss the anatomy of travel:
- Each trip is uniquely your own. It takes you someplace new and special.
- Trips promise adventure, mystery, intrigue, romance; they are your novel to author.
- Trains, planes, boats, hotels, bars, and restaurants are brought to life by the people you meet.
- Each destination allows you the opportunity to become a part of the local culture.
- Art, music, theatre, history, food & wine come alive with the guidance of your caretaker.
Please consider this the basic anatomy of a trip, one of many that will live in your mind forever.
Each one will bring a smile to your face whenever you recount the stories of your adventures. Tall tales and fish stories are always a part of travel! We are your caretakers, your Personal Assistants, and we promise to be your trusted advisors.
Follow Hemingway’s Example!
Ernest Hemingway helps me explain how much you as a traveler mean to the culture of a place. Hemingway is alive and well at two of his old haunts and a new one made to order for his legacy.
You, as well, influence the places you visit.
Hemingway was a writer who roamed the globe, a sportsman, fisherman, world-class drinker, an outlier, and a bon vivant. Papa’s spirit lives on forever. Today, he helps me explain how the traveler is the heart and soul of hospitality and breathes life into hotels, bars, and restaurants.
Think about your next trip, our suggestion . . . paint your name on the town and have a few cocktails for us!
Hemingway’s Legacy
Floridita Restaurant & Bar
In the 1930’s, The Floridita Restaurant & Bar in Cuba is where it all began.
Here, Hemingway is a legend whose soul still reigns at cocktail hour daily, along with a life-sized bronze statue of Papa. Try The Floridita Wiki for an English version of the story.
The Locanda Cipriani
Torcello, Italy is the home of the Locanda Cipriani that hosted Ernest Hemingway for several months in the 1940’s. To this day the spirit of Hemingway defines the atmosphere. It feels as if he authored a great novel within the historic walls and he did: ‘Across the River and Into the Trees.’
As with so many other small hotels, it is all about the people, guest and hotelier, and both hold a special place in history. The pictures above tell the rest of the story. They are of my wife Sylvia in 1960 at Locanda Cipriani.
So profound was the effect of several summers spent on Torcello that the mere mention of opening a hotel was met with an enthusiastic well yes, I can do that! I imagine the soul of a hotel lives within the heart of the hospitable hotelier, be they aware — or not — of tomorrow’s adventure.
The Churchill Club
Tihany Design, Churchill Club, Four Seasons DIFC Dubai
Rest assured the story of infamous world travelers and the Four Seasons Team are building the heart and soul of this legend in the making!
A Little Something Extra
I am establishing a signature Lagniappe [pronounced lan-yap]. It’s what Cajuns call a little something extra.
I have asked you to follow my story, as meandering as it may be; and with that in mind, I feel I owe you a little something in return. So each time I write I will link to a favorite . . . a cocktail, wine, food, music, recipe or someone that has captured my thoughts. Please do voice your opinion.
Lagniappe #1
A professional drinker’s resource, To Have and Have Another, details The E. Hemingway Special circa 1937 but I have fallen in lust with the Papa Doble. I guess Papa needed a bit more rocket fuel, circa 1947, with just a few alterations. I do believe his record was 18 Doble!
Start with My Rum – a combination of White & Dark Rum with Sour & Dark Cherries that steeps for 2 months . . . I make it by the gallon.
- 4oz My Rum
- 2oz Key Lime Juice
- 2oz Grapefruit Juice
- 1/2oz Italian Maraschino Liquor
- Blend with shaved ice
- Garnish with halved cherries
I believe I consumed 8 Papa Dobles one evening — not recommended for the rookie!
- In 2010 Kenny Chesney released Hemingway’s Whiskey . . .
- and of course there is always the Hemingway Suite at The Mill House Inn!
- May I suggest reading Islands in the Stream while sipping our black cherry rum grapefruit daiquiri?
- If it’s time to cozy up by the fireplace try HBO’s Hemingway & Gellhorn and another Doble!
Next week, we will continue with the story of helping you travel better, while keeping in mind John Steinbeck’s words . . .
‘People don’t take trips, trips take people . . .’
At the Millhouse Inn we believe in being excellent caretakers and trusted advisors for our guests! Call us or email us to book your stay.
