Page 22 - Travel Leisure - USA (February 2020)

Shonda Rhimes on a
trip to Cannes, France.

ON THE PLEASURES OF SOLITUDE
After every season of Grey’s Anatomy,
I take a solo trip. It started after the first
season, when my assistant took one look
at me and booked me a beach vacation
in Mexico. I slept the first 36 hours, and
then I had a beautiful time. This year I
was in Montreux, Switzerland. I did a lot
of chocolate tasting, went to a winery.
There’s a wonderful freedom to traveling
alone—you can eat chocolate for dinner,
or wander a museum for eight hours.

ON THE BEST KIND OF TRAVEL
My favorite trips are family vacations.
I have five brothers and sisters, and
we try to gather together as many of us
and our kids as we can. Last summer, we
went to Montana. All the kids rode horses
and go-karts. We went on long hikes.
But mostly we sat around and caught up.

ON CREATING MEMENTOS
Adventures in Shondaland I take a lot of pictures of my kids on
vacation, but now I try to get a few
pictures taken of me with my kids, too,
Television titan Shonda Rhimes—whose new reign at Netflix kicks off this because I’m always the one behind the
year with the forthcoming Bridgerton—is a full-fledged travel junkie. Here, camera. I document some of our trips
with Mixbook, or I’ll print pictures and
she shares her favorite trips and travel strategies. AS TOLD TO RACHEL CHANG
make a photo album. I’m very old-school.

ON THE GIFT OF TRAVEL
To celebrate our 350th episode, I wanted
to give the cast and crew of Grey’s
ON VACATION PLANNING ON PACKING Anatomy a chance to spend time with
The key to a trip is organization. Once, I always bring Clorox wipes on the flight their families, so I arranged for everyone
I arrived in Rome and discovered and wipe down the whole seat—once to choose a trip to any AMResorts
that Galleria Borghese, the museum that you read an article about plane germs, property—they have resorts in the
holds all the Bernini statues, was closed. you never forget. I learned a long time Caribbean, Latin America, and Spain,
That was all I wanted to see! But if I’m ago to always keep a set of toiletries so everybody could pick the vacation
going someplace beachy, I try not to bagged and ready to go. And I never go they wanted. I’m hoping to check out
research, so I can force myself to relax. anyplace without three books—books one of the brand’s Zoëtry resorts—they
If I know about all the things that can are like your friends. I just read She look so serene. To relax and be away
be done, I will try to do them. Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. from the world seems kind of perfect.

D I S P A T C H TONY BARSON/FILMMAGIC/GETTY IMAGES. ILLUSTRATION BY MAY PARSEY

The Hotel Meal I Can’t Stop Thinking About

“The water lunch at Sausage Tree Camp, in Zambia. You boat to a
remote sandbank and eat three courses with your feet in the water
as elephants trot on the banks of the Zambezi. Pretty magical!”

— T+L A-LIST TRAVEL ADVISOR ELIZABETH GORDON (ELIZABETH@EJAFRICA.COM)

20 T R AV E L + L E I S U R E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0