This article on travel tips is posted on number 22-23 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until 3 June 2025.
Being able to peek at his column even just escaping is the forbidden dream of many travelers, in various parts of the world.
“He has an unparalleled network of contacts, from the fisherman to the prince,” said Condé Nast Traveler. Effectively David Prior It is the personality of the world of travel you would like to ask for everything, on any place, even in your own city, Sure that his pizzeria, the private museum, the hotel fleeing from Wes Anderson’s film in Liguria that nobody knows, the perfect pastry or the fairy -tale craftsman who indicated you They will be exactly what you like to you too.
Australian from Brisbane, 40 years old, journalist and entrepreneur, lived in Italy, he often returns to us and loves that the trusted bartender returns if he returns after 10 years in Piedmont he recognizes him immediately and welcomes him immediately with a “hello, kangaroo”.
After a very precocious but long career as a journalist and editor for magazines such as Condé Nast Traveler And New York Times Magazinein 2018 he created in New York, where he lives, the Luxury Travel company that bears its name, Prior, founded almost by chance and almost with friends after a trip to India, which did not go unnoticed also on social media: it was a very different journey from the usual Tailor Madethe “made -to -measure” that almost every agency promises today.
And with a precise vision -mission: Combine the style and elegance personalized to the real, minimalist experience and with a deeper sense, thanks above all to the idea of ​​marrying travel and stories, adventure and written stories. “Yes, the heart of this project is made of experiences, but” editorialized “: I always look for the meeting point between narration and real life, and to combine these two worlds”.
Good news: the stories and contents from which these trips and its travel advice are born are not only reserved for those who register to its refined travel club-agency (the newsletter is one of the most followed).
Because, if it is true that Gwyneth Paltrow last summer appeared by surprise in Genoa Chez Prior, eating at the Trattoria Rosmarino, tasting the sugared almonds from Romanengo in the quiet noble rooms of Palazzo Durazzo, the reports and the digital guides-magpops (Apple Prior Guides) are available to everyone, from the Best Sardine tour of Lisbon to the shopping secret of Secret Oaxaca.
A world that is illustrated through his passion: collages. «I’ve always made them, since I was a child, and now they have become the image of my work (above and left), for me sthey are also a sort of test: If you like and understand them, the type of experiences we create will probably do for you. If you expected a relaxing photo on a magnificent beaches, but not ».
Food is also an important prior-life thread: «I started with that, in Italy: the first time I left Australia was for a scholarship at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Piedmont, the movement Slow Food by Carlo Petrini“, tells. “A crucial experience on the value of diversity not only of food, the curiosity of looking for something unique in every place, which still guides my vision now”. However, if you ask him, among the words of the journey of the journey, that of the moment, the answer surprises: «It is not a simple question, because we have a lot of words, longevity, sustainability, authentic … all were excellent at the beginning, but now they no longer mean much, so I would not like to add one to the pile. But for me maybe the right is: Nourishment, nourishment. I think people now feel this need, they try to feed, in the most diverse ways. We want to feel reconnected, but more than ever with ourselves ».
David Prior replies: our Travel Proust questionnaire (in 20 questions and a song)
1 – You are packing for …
“Morocco, to visit the hotel of a friend called Dar Ahlam, I wanted to see him for a long time.”
2 – A book that changed your life (travel)?
“This: The Book of Symbols (Picen). It is an encyclopedia of cultural symbols and for me it is a map of inspiration to understand almost any culture. It is one of those books that you can open at random and lose yourself between ideas and inspirations ».
3 – Is there a place where you have not yet managed to go?
«Mongolia. But in August I will guide
A journey with Prior in a field on horseback in the steppes ».
4 – Your favorite suitcase?
«I like those of the camping shops: robust, practical, you can mistreat them
without problems ».
5 – A song that takes you immediately on vacation?
“Australian, and a little silly: Down Under of the Men at Work, because when I go back to the house it usually means that they are on vacation!”.
6 – The memorable view?
«The one from the Fort of Ahilya, on the Narmada river, in Madhya Pradesh, India. Below there is a Ghat (2) which is like a mini-varanasis, but more quiet and sweet. I could be on that balcony to look at life on the river from dawn to sunset ».
7 – Perfect travel companion?
«My friend Skye Gyngell, London chef of Spring and Heckfield Place. We have similar tastes and she appreciates my chaotic way of traveling: paradoxical, I do not plan almost nothing and I am wrong often, but in the end we always find something beautiful, significant or delicious ».
8 – A taxi race that you cannot forget?
«From Damascus to Beirut, one evening just before the civil war began. I was there for a reportage for Vogue – now it seems absurd – but I often think about it, because it reminds me how fragile the world is and that we should never take the trip for granted ».
9 – That lunch or dinner you would like to teleport you right now. Not necessarily the best.
«A (very) late lunch in Cantabria with anchovies, peppers, bread and butter. Simple, salty, perfect ».
10 – Breakfast … where?
«In Australia. More than avocado on toasted bread, my people need the sun on a dish ».
11 – The first thing you do when you enter a hotel room?
“I am looking for the light switch. He says it all: if they have made absurd choices with lighting, the rest will be downhill ».
12 – A film that made you want to give up everything and move to you?
«New York is a character in himself in the movies. I loved her at a distance for years, since the time of Gotham City, The godfather, West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany, Working Girl, Annie and I, The devil dresses Prada… and I could go on. If you grew up far away, that city is always an illuminated Neon dream ».
13 – Best city for shopping?
«London, in December, just before Christmas. Pure magic ».
14 – The secret formula of your holiday outfit?
«White shirt, jeans and riding boots. Perfect from savannah to The Bristols».
15 – A journey to which you kindly say right?
«Palm Beach, Florida. Thanks, but I pass ».
16 – Do you have a travel motto (or life)?
“What is life, without a little risk?».
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Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
