Florencia Cavallo & Elise Labau Topaloglu – Co-Founders of Stories Consulting
This duo are our go-to for travel inspiration. Florencia Cavallo was born in Argentina and lived in Buenos Aires until her family moved to Australia; while Elise Labau Topaloglu was born in the south of France and grew up in St Barths in the Caribbean. They both found their way to New York, where they met through their work in fashion PR. And together, they have a combined 20+ years experience leading communications strategies and brand positioning for some of the world’s best lifestyle brands.
In 2018, they launched their e-commerce site Golden Edit (which is currently on vacation), and they are now focused on Stories Consulting, an agency that offers expertise in communications and curated storytelling. When they’re not building brands, they’re traveling the world in search of sun-drenched destinations.
Part of our Insiders series, this is your window into the worlds of the coolest people in Safara’s network. These are the contacts we’d hit up for travel inspiration, whether it’s a hotel recommendation, a new track for our in-transit playlist, the best mini-products to pack, or just to daydream about where we’d open a boutique island hotel (this changes with each Insider guide we read – we’re easily and happily influenced).
Read on for travel inspiration from Florencia Cavallo and Elise Labau Topaloglu.
Name three of your favorite hotels?
Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino. One of the most glamorous resorts in Italy, where you can truly enjoy ‘la dolce vita’. The views! The food! The décor! It’s an absolute dream.
Hotel Can Simoneta in Mallorca. Exclusive, intimate and oh-so romantic. The property sits on a cliff in Canyamel overlooking the sea and is made up of a number of restored 140-year-old buildings.
Twin Palms in Surin Beach, Thailand. A stylish boutique hotel with a jaw-dropping lagoon pool where you can truly get away from it all. A sweet smell of fresh lemongrass lingers throughout the entire resort. It’s pure bliss.
What are your favorite “offices” while traveling?
The best part of travel is discovering new places, so it’s always a welcome surprise when you stumble across a gorgeous tucked away café where you can work for the day, while people watching the locals. For a place that feels like “home”, we love The Wing in NYC.
What do you always bring with you in your carry-on?
Portable phone charger, Lucas’ Papaw Ointment, water (staying hydrated in-flight is key to beating jetlag!), a straw hat that’s too big to fit in checked baggage, noise-cancelling headphones and a set of bikinis in case bags get lost.
If you’re going to a new place, and your friends have not been there, where do you look for travel inspiration?
We try to do as much research as possible before heading to a new destination, but the magic really happens when you arrive and start wandering around and getting lost in a new place. Talking to the local community is the best way to discover hidden gems. Locals always give the best advice – whether it’s in a big city, or a small seaside town.
Who is your dream travel partner?
Frances Mayes (played by Diane Lane) in Under The Tuscan Sun.
What’s your go-to outfit for getting through security quickly, and still looking good?
A white tee, linen pants, straw bag large enough to fit our laptop, and Birkenstocks we can easily slip on and off.
If you could quit your job and follow the Mamma Mia dream (ie. open a small hotel in another country or on a remote island), where would you do it?
Florencia: My husband and I dream of opening a little restaurant in the south of Italy (not that there’s shortage of them!); an intimate space offering simple, home-cooked food and local wine. Of late, it has become more of a ‘goal’ than a dream… stay tuned!
Elise: As for us, we dream of turning a plot of land we recently bought in a natural reserve in southwest Turkey into a beautiful glamping destination. Picture the glamorous African Safari experience in Tanzania or Kenya without the wild animals, and overlooking the Aegean instead.
You have an hour to spare at the airport, what would we find you doing?
Dream: reading our favorite book. Reality: sending last-minute emails.
Where’s your next trip – give us some travel inspiration?
We’re headed to Mallorca, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily for a never-ending summer!
Beach, city or mountains?
Beach, always!
Early check-in or late check-out?
Early – so we can change and go straight to the beach!
Window or aisle?
Window (to daydream while looking at the clouds).