Louis Vuitton at New Bond Street in London, invited me to a breakfast book launch by one of my favourite travel authors (who's career I've been following for over 10 years) the fabulous Francisca Matteoli for her latest book release Extraordinary Voyages. A celebration of travel the world over on all sorts of modes of transport; from the French inventors of the hot-air balloon the Montgolfier brothers to riding the backs of elephants in Bombay to cruising through America on Harley David motorcycles. Enough to make you want to pack you Louis Vuitton trunk and travel the world. As the title says it, these voyages are rather quite extraordinary!
Chilean-Scottish-globe-trotter, Francisca Mattéoli tells 50 simply remarkable journeys spanning two centuries accompanied by dreamy travel posters and vintage photographs from the Louis Vuitton’s archives.
During her book launch, she shared with us in her rather worldly accent: "my family knew the golden age of travel and I wanted to capture this art de vivre. Travel can be many things and many experiences. My Louis Vuitton books are about human experiences, what people can achieve, that we are all dreamers looking to escape to other places. It's all about the power of stories, to celebrate the marriage between literature and images"
I have copies of almost all her books at home. I'm also slightly obsessed with how her LV books are presented. Extraordinary Voyages is bound like an antique copy of a Jules Verne adventure novel - like a work of art! Now proudly displayed in my living room, ready to inspire my next voyage to somewhere exotic.
