Category: Travel

Categories / Cars and Bikes, Travel

Retro Retreat: Tour round Florence and Tuscany in a vintage Fiat 500

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Fiat_tour

The new Fiat 500 certainly has its merits, but for authenticity, you can’t beat the original. And you can hire one for a holiday, courtesy of the 500 Touring Club.

Once you’ve touched down in either Florence or Tuscany, you can hire a vintage Fiat 500 no an hourly, daily or weekly basis. Or if you want some structure, the club also has a range of guided tours – everything from a classic tour through to candlelit dinners, picnics, wine tasting or a chauffeur-driven ride around the scenery, all with local knowledge behind you.

Prices obviously vary according to what you want, check out the site for specifics or drop the company a line for private hire details.

Find out more at the 500 Touring Club website

Categories / Travel

Finnair flies 50s-style for 85th anniversary

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Finnair_retro

Fancy re-creating the original jet set era? You can if you take a flight with Finnair from the end of July.

The company has introduced a retro plane known as Silver Bird for its 85th anniversary, kitting out a very modern Airbus A319 in the style of Finnair’s old 1950s Convair. And once inside, everything will be 50s-themed, right down to the flight attendants’ 50s-style uniforms and the 1950s duty free and collectables on-board.

Flights are out of Finland, but to and from a number of major cities, including Amsterdam, Paris and London. Check the newly-launched (and rather cool) Finnair Retro website for details.

Find out more at the Finnair Retro website

Categories / Bags, Travel

Nike Re-Issue Pro Travel bag – a 1970s design returns

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All the sports labels are going ‘old school’ these days – and that includes Nike, which is selling this Nike Re-Issue travel bag.

According to Nike, this is an exact replica of a 1970s travel bag, right down to the ‘pinwheel’ logo on the front. For your money you get several zipped compartments (including a lockable main pocket), an adjustable shoulder strap and a choice of black or brown finish.

All that for around £40.

Find out more at the Nike Store website

Categories / Art and Photography, Travel

Retro America and Retro Italy – vintage tourist posters on canvas

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Retro_travel

Vintage travel posters have been given a new lease of life with the Retro America and Retro Italy range of canvases.

As the names suggest, these are tourist-friendly city images from both the US and Italy from various eras, all re-printed on stretched box canvas before being mounted on 1cm thick wood (as well as being varnished for protection).

Prices start at £35.

Find out more at the That Canvas website

Categories / Travel

Art Deco Beach Changing Tent

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Decogolf460Amongst its deckchairs and parasols, the website Deckchair Stripes also stocks this somewhat more unusual product for outdoor use, the classic Art Deco Beach Changing Tent.

Beach Changing Tents were all the rage back in the 1920s, when they were pretty much essential for a day out at the beach, to allow fashionable ladies to enjoy bathing without sacrificing their modesty. In this clever design, the tent folds up into what looks like an ordinary beach bag with a wooden handle, but it drops down from the bag, and is easily assembled into a tent. It even has a pocket for your belongings, a towel loop and a hook to hang up your clothes. It is available in a choice of green or blue colourways, and costs £145.

To add a touch of twenties glamour to your next trip to the seaside, visit the Deckchair Stripes website.

Categories / Architecture, Travel

Retro Retreat: Art deco-style St Moritz hotel in Cornwall

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Moritz

With all the fuss over the Midland Hotel, it’s easy to forget that there are other stylish retreats in the UK – like St Moritz hotel in Cornwall.

This art deco-styled hotel was originally a luxurious private house, but after the war it became a luxury hotel noted for its high-end food. he latest re-incarnation offers much the same, but beneath that deco-esque facade is a more modern holiday experience, with modern rooms packing flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, hair straighteners and plenty of other luxuries.

There’s also a choice of hotel room or apartment, a leisure club, spa and p,enty of great scenery all around. Prices start at £95 out of season for a room.

FInd out more at the St Moritz website