lucky penny hearts rome… and decided to do as the romans do.

she made a wish at the fontana de trevi, then strolled to where there are no tourist traps…  villa borghese, a gorgeous and luscious park open to the public.

like audrey hepburn in roman holiday, she rented a bike and explored for hours. there are beautiful fountains, a lake in the epicentre for rowing, a museum, and one of the best paninis ever.

next on her to-do list… piazza di spagna then window shopping along via de corso, where d&g and valentino opened their very first boutiques. heaven.

***psst… guest blog post written by the lovely leanne.

lucky penny loves jetsetting solo… but without cute boyfriend, it sometimes gets lonely.

in san francisco, the travelocity roaming gnome quickly became her *new* companion. affectionately nicknamed gnomie, he was at her beck and call… croissants at tartine, tacos at la taqueria and ice cream at bi-rite creamery, she soon realized that she was not so lonely after all.

her photos were much more fun than the typical self-portraits, too. complete strangers started to take notice as gnomie was the best ice-breaker of them all.

perfect for any suitcase, the classic 8-inch figurine is available online at the roaming gnome store.

travel tip: make sure he is all wrapped up, or he could end up with no limbs. #boozybirthdaybootcampfail

***psst… photograph taken by jetset penny’s natalie… in front of the painted ladies, alamo square.

lucky penny has fond memories of backpacking through southeast asia.

her first stop, the gateway where most travellers go, was khao san road in bangkok. it is a mecca of hostels, food and bars. market vendors sell cheap fisherman pants and “same same” t-shirts. after a singha beer and pad thai from a food cart, lucky penny felt right at home.

khao san road, the entertainment district’s new kid on the block, channels the energy and chaos of its namesake. the raw space is noisy and friendly… reminiscent of a time whilst chatting with fellow foreigners at her hostel bar. but the food is above and beyond anything she tasted on the streets of bangkok.

chef nuit regular (a former nurse who moved to canada after meeting her husband on an elephant ride in thailand) creates dishes with all the salty, sweet, spicy and sour hallmarks of thai cooking.

lucky penny and cute boyfriend barely said a word to each other while sharing pad gra prao (spicy beef with basil and a fried egg), squash chips with a tamarind dipping sauce, and street-style pad thai, natch.

***psst… also visit sukhothai, the couple’s first restaurant in cabbagetown. just as yummers!

lucky penny‘s darling mumsy redecorated their living room (again!), so she wanted to find her a unique gift to complement the *new* room. the store up the street would not do, so our girl went overseas.

a couple of years ago, lucky penny fell in love with cambodia and people of the khmer culture. like most who journey to siem reap, the focus of her trip was to see the angkor temples.

this being a backpacking trip, she and her lovely had no interest in staying at one of the large resorts. they instead checked into a beautiful boutique hotel, bopha angkor, sang karaoke at the dead fish tower inn, and drank lots of 25 cent beers on the little pub street.

outside the hotel, the intrepid tourists met mr. pok…  tuk tuk driver, historian and guide extraordinaire. for three days, he drove the girls to the best of the over 1,000 temple ruins in the region. from the magnificent angkor wat and carved faces of the bayon temple, to ta prohm which is slowly being reclaimed by the jungle, as tree trunks wrap their way around the facade, the girls marveled at the history of this ancient empire.

on their last day, as the sun was setting over the tonle sap lake, mr. pok said that there was one more stop. this is where lucky penny discovered artisans of angkor. this school slash store teaches traditional silk weaving techniques, and patterns of the khmer empire. designs so beautiful, her credit card jumped out of her wallet, and she came home with a rainbow of raw, silk scarves.

these gorge designs are now available online… the chorebap silk throw pillows in a rich purple would add pop to mumsy’s modern living room.

lucky penny was shopping in nyc… along prince street in soho, just after lunch at the mercer kitchen (order her favourite shrimp and avocado salad)… when she spotted this particular print (entitled hobby horse) and a charming old man.

the sketch itself, only 2.5″ by 2.5″, is etched by a needle into wax, used as a stamp with ink, and then hand-painted in water colour… as explained by the artist’s father. his daughter is vartouhi zerdelian-pinkston and her delicate artwork can be found here. she has also penned two children’s books.

later that evening, she met a dear ol’ friend for dinner at an american gastropub called the lion (highly recommended by her concierge at the st. regis)… and had one of the best meals (start to finish) of her life. fashion industry’s top secret eatery! no sign of ralph lauren this time.

the girls shared every course… foie gras with toast, and scallops topped with caviar as appetizers, homemade gnocchi with chanterelle mushrooms as a main (special of the day), and cheesecake in a jar for dessert… imagine honey and maple crumbs, fresh strawberries, and a *very* full belly.