Home / TRAVEL / Celebrity Travel / OPEN PASSPORT: Paul Coelho   

OPEN PASSPORT: Paul Coelho

 

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a Brazilian lyricist and best selling novelist. In total, he has sold more than 100 million books in over 150 countries worldwide, including The Pilgrimage which he wrote after walking the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain and The Alchemist. His works have been translated into 67 languages. His writing has taken him around the world many times.
His  newest role is as Relais & Chateaux 2012 ambassador. So what has R&C 's luxurious properties got to offer a man whose took to the hippy trail in his twenties and whose spiritual quests for the meaning of life have inspired so many others. As you'd expect his take on the lodges and restaurants that make up the Relais & Chateaux portfolio is an interesting one.

 

 

Paul Coelho

Paul Coehlo writes:

On the meaning of Travel

Travel as a pilgrimage; with the firm intention of being at one with a place, an environment, other people... in order to share. Is this not our main reason for living?

 

On why small hotels are special

 All around the world each Relais & Châteaux property resembles a living museum that its guests visit; an outstanding abode in which all the heritage of its owner and his or her vision of the surrounding region is expressed.   His or her everyday objects, works of art, creativity; cooking, all these things speak of the region and to the soul, and to the spirit.., and of course to the stomach!    
"Beauty is the greatest seducer of man'"

On Inn keepers

These innkeepers and chefs themselves exude their environment. Here and nowhere   else, they have found their way, the expression of their life. They personify their surroundings. The immersion is total and unique.

Henceforth, there is no other choice but to place our trust in them; to dare to leave the familiar comfort of our own world to enter theirs; to be curious to encounter their culture, gastronomy and territory. Forget "It's not good to talk to strangers", as our parents would often tell us, we must reach out to them in order to reach within ourselves.

 

On meeting new people

Through our contact with others, travelling tells us much about ourselves. In our capacity to adapt, to find the balance between our personality and this new environment, we discover ourselves; imdeed, we enrich ourselves.
"When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives"   

On Relais & Chateaux

This richness, these pilgrimages to elsewhere, are to places that are just as unique as each and every one of us; Relais & Châteaux has been proposing them for more than 50 years. All you need do is let yourself go and let yourself be guided.    

 
Luxury Hotels Links
This article contains extracts from the new Relais & Chateaux guide. The Relais & Chateaux Guide Book 2012 is now available. More information on R&C's fabulous 500 member properties , including Kauri Cliffs  and Matakauri Lodge
Posted 11/1/12

Take the Luxury Poll
69% of voters want
in flight WI-FI.
qoute I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
Susan Sontag
qoute

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW
 
join the club

Those who read this also read.
LUXURY RESORTS: Peppers Broadbeach
PRIVATE LUXURY: One Fine Stay, London
DRESSING FOR A... Luxury Resort Holiday
OPEN PASSPORT: Charley Boorman