No More

As another year comes toward its close, I’ve been thinking about how we travel now—how much we pack, how much we plan, and how much the digital world follows us wherever we go. So this season, I’m making a small promise to myself. A short list of no mores—a gentle reset for the year ahead.

No more AirPods.

I know. I love them too. But when you wander through a city, take the AirPods out. You’ll hear things you won’t find on any playlist—morning deliveries, clinking glasses, the unfiltered rhythm of real life.

No more perfect directions.

No Google Maps dictating every turn. Let yourself meander. Getting lost is still one of travel’s great, unappreciated pleasures.

No more over-exposed, overpriced restaurants.

No Michelin tunnel vision, no TikTok-famous tables. No hotel restaurants. Go to the places locals are actually eating at. Go to a supermarket and buy something you’ve never seen before.

No more seeing travel through a phone.

Pick up a film camera. Better yet, step into a local camera shop, buy a roll from someone who knows the city, and let them point you toward a street you haven’t heard of.

No more checking bags.

Pack a carry-on and keep it moving. Stop seeing every trip as a consumption occasion. The lightest trips sometimes leave the deepest imprint.

No more “tips” from friends at home.

Have more conversations with the people who actually live there. Travel starts to feel different when we let strangers become part of the story.

Travel becomes richer when we strip away the unnecessary. That’s the spirit we try to honor at Boutique, with places where you can hear yourself think, meet someone unexpected, and remember why you left home in the first place.

Wherever you go this year, I hope it brings you clarity, joy, and a good story to tell.

Warmly,

Marc Blazer, CEO, Boutique.