Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VACATION HOUSE RENTALS
relax in a home away from home
THE UNITED STATES & ABROAD
The global affliction of the hurry virus has afflicted every corner of the
planet.
—Carl Honoré, author of
In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Move-
ment is Challenging the Cult of Speed
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It's bad enough that we work so hard at work—an average 9.5 hours a day for the typical
American employee—but woe is us for letting it seep into our vacations. We attempt to cram
in as much fun, visit as many guidebook sites, and eat at as many four-star restaurants as we
possibly can. Even a relaxing spa vacation can quickly turn into a frantic nightmare of jump-
ing from the Stairmaster to the yoga class to the mountain berry facials to the—well, you get
the picture.
The problem with this work-like approach to a vacation is we don't take time to decom-
press, to reflect, to enjoy what we're doing.
So why not join the new slow travel movement? Instead of playing tourist, play house.
Instead of visiting every site the guidebook insists is must-see, take a long, leisurely afternoon
nap. Instead of bouncing from one hotel to the next B&B, refuse to travel farther than a few
miles from your home away from home.
The term “slow travel” was coined by Pauline Kenny, a Santa Fe technical writer who
started a website (www.slowtrav.com) to share information with others who, like she and her
husband, Steve Cohen, enjoy renting vacation homes and digging in their heels. At first, the
website was a hobby, just a way to find out where the best Italian villas were or which shop-
keeper made the best bread in Umbria, but eventually it has turned into her full-time occupa-
tion. The idea behind Kenny's slow travel is to “quit zooming.” Rent a house and stay there for
at least a week. “You stay in one place, pretend you live there, and do the things the locals do,”
Kenny says. “It deepens the whole experience. The idea is to do things as well as possible, not
as fast as possible.”
