Tracee Ellis Ross celebrates travelling alone in new show
Article content
Two things are clear. First, the woman is not a minimalist — she packs for every scenario as well as for her own comfort. And second, fashion is essential. Ross stocks multiple suitcases with shoes and clothes, many in statement colours, patterns and silhouettes, and all chosen for their ability to bring her joy.
Article content
Article content
'I am sharing my particular version of solo travel, which is not about adventure,' she explains in one episode. 'It's about how I can experience my own company in a joyful, holistic way — while still being in beautiful places and discovering new things.'
Article content
The actress, 52, first travelled alone in her 20s. She was a model in the early 1990s (which could explain the fashion fixation) and went on to star in the TV shows Girlfriends and Black-ish.
Article content
But it's in Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, now streaming three episodes on The Roku Channel, where she lets viewers see her as she is in real life: vulnerable yet vibrant. Sometimes Ross muses about being single, childless and occasionally lonely. Other times, she's feeling fabulous and revelling in it.
Article content
In Marrakech, for example, she shops for rugs crafted by the Berber tribe. In Marbella, she samples artisan olive oils. In Cancún, she dons bright pink spandex for tennis — later it's a red bikini for swimming in the rain.
Article content
Article content
That's not to say everything goes smoothly. Downpours in Cancún mean indoor pursuits, and a raccoon raids the fruit in her room. Then en route to Marbella, Ross gets food poisoning. She's bed-bound and eats rice cakes for supper. Phone calls to her brother and mother (singer Diana Ross) help her through.
Article content
For Ross, it's all part of adapting to whatever life brings.
Article content
'So much of what travelling is about is, for me, not waiting for something in order to walk towards my life, in order to be in my life, in order to experience my life,' she says.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Inside the style legacy of fashion magnate and former Ontario lieutenant-governor Hilary Weston
There are many examples of the grace and elegance that Hilary Weston displayed in her years as a fashion model, Holt Renfrew executive and lieutenant-governor of Ontario. But one that stands out to her friend and colleague Mario Manza, divisional vice president of VIP services at Holt Renfrew, happened when the two got a flat tire on New York's Fifth Avenue in 2005. 'The driver, a gentleman who was a little on the older side and had a leg problem, was slowly getting out of the car and trying to make his way to open the door for Ms. Weston. Drivers were honking their horns and yelling obscenities, so I got out of the car and was greeted with equally colourful language, and the horns were getting louder and louder. Then the honourable Hilary Weston, dressed in a floral Oscar de la Renta dress, got out, looked at them, smiled and gave a royal wave. Well, the horns stopped and people started waving back.' The story says so much about Weston, who passed away at age 83 in England on Aug. 2. She was calm, cool, collected and, of course, always perfectly clad. She was the first Canadian to land a spot in Vanity Fair's The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame and was an asset after her husband, W. Galen Weston, purchased Holt Renfrew in 1986. Designers were charmed by her fashion savvy, which helped the retailer score exclusive lines and launches. Holt Renfrew was the first to carry many hot international brands, such as Jo Malone, in Canada. Philanthropist and former Ontario lieutenant-governor Hilary Weston dies at 83 I remember Hilary Weston Weston counted Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Karl Lagerfeld, Victoria Beckham and Pharrell Williams among her fashion friends, according to Manza. 'Sarah Burton and Alexander McQueen would drop everything to answer the phone when she called,' he says. Weston wore McQueen to three major life events: son Galen Jr.'s 2005 engagement party in Toronto, daughter Alannah's wedding in 2007 and her husband's 75th birthday party in 2009, the latter two taking place at Fort Belvedere, the former home of King Edward VIII, which the Westons lease from the British Crown. 'Hilary's influence was profound, from eyeing the next big designer ahead of the pack to sharing her favourite pieces for our private label collection,' says Bonnie Brooks, who held various roles at Holt Renfrew, including executive vice president, from 1980 to 1991. 'And because she was also a customer, she brought a perspective on service that would influence me throughout my career.' At Ms. Weston's suggestion, Holt Renfrew hired Krystyne Griffin, former president of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche in Canada, who spearheaded designer outreach. 'In a few short years we opened Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton shops with their own environments inside the stores — a first in Canada,' Brooks says. Weston herself told me in a 1995 interview for The Toronto Star how proud she was that she had pushed to bring in American labels such as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. 'We've become headquarters for those designers, and it's a huge business,' she said at the time. 'My mother was part of all the big creative moves we made,' says Alannah Weston Cochrane, former creative director of Selfridges and former chair of Selfridges Group. 'We'd work for months on a concept, and she was always able to spot the one thing that we hadn't quite nailed.' For major flagship events, like Holt Renfrew's $4.5-million Viva Italia celebration of Italian culture and style in 2002 that was attended by members of the Etro, Pucci, Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta families, Weston weighed in on the guest list, party flow and press opportunities. For smaller luncheons and dinners, Manza ran every tablescape detail by her. 'Paying homage to the customers gave her great joy. She wanted each one to walk away feeling that they had experienced something wonderful and magical, so they knew they were appreciated and valued. She created that magic at her homes, as well.' Air Mail founder and co-editor Graydon Carter recalled via e-mail a dinner the Westons gave for him in Toronto years ago. 'Honestly, it was the most remarkable setting I had ever seen. Things at their place were done to perfection. It was during the Toronto Film Festival, and the guests from Los Angeles were goggle-eyed at the whole set up.' Carter, who presided over The International Best-Dressed List and its Hall of Fame when he was editor of Vanity Fair, lauds Ms. Weston and her husband for bringing Canada to the global stage. 'Hilary and Galen were true Canadian internationalists and unofficial ambassadors. With their looks and style, they touted the best of our country to the world.' One of Weston's final public appearances was at a dinner at the Art Gallery of Ontario in November 2023. She was hosting the intimate event to welcome Carolina Cucinelli, daughter of Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli. Many of the guests honoured the brand by dressing in creamy silks and cashmeres. But the hostess? She strode in wearing a red satin Alex Perry gown with a giant heart cut out of its back. Bold and sexy, it was basically the opposite of Brunello Cucinelli. But it was also 'typical Mrs. Weston,' Manza says, in that she never felt she had to wear a designer's clothes when spending time with them. Though Weston was quick to embrace hot new designers, she wasn't a fashion victim, and she had the stature and poise to carry almost anything off. 'She loved adventurous styles with plunging necklines, side slits and back details,' Manza says. And she wasn't shy about showing skin, even into her '70s and '80s. 'She was proud of her model-like body.' Weston shifted to more conservative dress when she became lieutenant-governor in 1997. 'She would sit with homeless people, squeegee kids under the Gardiner [Expressway] and other marginalized people because she was very keen to know their lives,' Manza says. 'So her wardrobe was not flashy.' Brooks recalls the fun they had transforming Holt Renfrew from dowdy to daring. 'She charmed her way through any challenge with a unique sparkle, grace and a wicked wit,' Brooks says. Including flat tires.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Globe and Mail
Safaris aren't just for newlyweds and families. Here's what it's like to go alone
'You're here by yourself?' The taxi driver sounded surprised. Or, perhaps, simply unused to ferrying lone, middle-aged women to Tanzania's Kilimanjaro International Airport, where I planned to hop a propeller plane to a dirt airstrip in the middle of the country's vast savannah. I'm married (happily); I have friends (I swear). Yet going on safari alone intrigued me, because even as solo travel has soared in popularity, safaris retain their reputation as the realm of families and honeymooners. I wondered what it would be like to experience one of the world's wildest places by myself – and had recently learned that the number of solo safari-goers has been steadily, if quietly, growing. 'It's definitely a trend we're seeing,' said Monique Langue, a safari expert with go2Africa from Cape Town, South Africa. In 2024, around 13 per cent of the company's travellers were on their own, an 8-per-cent increase from the previous year. The trips aren't just for loners, Langue said. 'You can be a solo traveller, join a small group and meet some new people,' she said. 'But for others, travelling alone is really about that experience of a solo trip.' I was invited to discover two of Africa's top safari camps in both price and guest experience – and so planned a two-part solo trip encompassing both sides of the wildlife-rich Mara–Serengeti ecosystem that spans the border between Kenya and Tanzania. First, a stay at Singita Grumeti in Tanzania's 350,000-acre Grumeti Game Reserve. Next, I'd fly to Maasai Mara National Reserve, in Kenya, where I'd be sleeping in one of the well-appointed, canvas-sided tents at andBeyond Bateleur Camp. 'What do you most want to see? What we do is totally up to you,' said Grumeti safari guide David Mnazi, when my plane touched down at the reserve's private airstrip. If solo trips can occasionally leave travellers feeling at loose ends, I quickly found that, with their activity-packed schedules, safaris are a bit like grown-up summer camp. During my stay at Grumeti, Mnazi would be my guide for twice-daily game drives, designed to catch the morning and evening hours when animals are most active. Within minutes of leaving the airstrip, we'd seen the lilac-breasted roller – a flamboyantly coloured bird – followed by warthogs snacking on grass in a gossipy knot. I relished the flexibility that the solo drives gave me. At times, I chose low-key birdwatching feet from the lodge; another day, we decided to cross the reserve in pursuit of a pride of lions, who we found drowsing in the thorny crowns of acacia trees. In the heat of the day, I retreated to the Singita Faru Faru lodge, where my suite overlooked the roiling Grumeti River. I savoured the long afternoons: my netting-swathed bed hinted at indulgent naps, while a watercolour painting set invited creative interludes. The minibar bar was stocked with chilled South African chenin blanc. Tucked in the corner was a cork yoga mat that I pulled out each day, spreading it on my veranda and following the step-by-step mindfulness meditation instructions set thoughtfully alongside. Many solo safari trips, like mine, come with hefty single supplement fees that may explain the relative rarity of going it alone. That may be changing. At Singita, where a week-long safari costs as much as a compact car, lone travellers aren't charged more. Meanwhile, andBeyond waives their 50 per cent single supplement fee during two low seasons, from mid-January through April plus November through late December. 'Camps and lodges are starting to see the value in being a little more flexible when it comes to solo travellers,' Langue said. It takes some looking, she acknowledged, but noted that going in the rainy season, as I did, makes such deals easier to find. In quiet periods, she's had success negotiating down single supplements even when they're listed in the official rates. Flights are more affordable in the low season, too. Visitors to remote lodges might even find themselves alone on the plane, as I did on an early morning flight to the second game reserve on my safari itinerary. 'Welcome to your private plane,' said the co-pilot, from the open cockpit of the twin-engine propeller AirKenya flight from Nairobi's Wilson Airport. 'Next stop, Maasai Mara National Reserve.' A veteran andBeyond guide, Wilson Omari, greeted me on the ground with a flute of Champagne, and promptly steered me past a herd of surly-faced buffalo. Our first official game drive wouldn't begin until later that day, when we'd go out in search of the black rhino who'd recently been spotted with her young calf. (When we found them, looking placid and alien at the forest's edge, I squealed in undignified delight but with no other guests nearby to laugh, who cares?). Until then, I'd luxuriate in a tent that stretched the meaning of the word to its breaking point. At its centre was a plush, leather-trimmed bed with room for a crowd. Its gin bar, cut-glass sherry decanter and vast copper bathtub seemed especially decadent when paired with views of giraffes wandering nearby grassland – explorer-inspired romance upholstered with cheekily Victorian creature comforts. One morning, I skipped my game drive to join Simon Saitoti, andBeyond's community and impact officer, for a hike through nearby Nyekweri forest, which provides critical habitat for animals, including the endangered giant pangolin, but has faced rapid deforestation. Saitoti, a Maasai elder, helps oversee the andBeyond-supported rewilding project currently restoring it, with a tree nursery providing seedlings to the surrounding villages. As we searched for pangolin tracks amid shady groves of wild olives and black ironwood trees, he explained that the forest has exceptional environmental significance, but also a cultural one. 'This is where young Maasai men become warriors,' he said. 'When I was a young man, I spent a month in this forest, with no clothes, eating nothing but beef and herbs . . . men from the village came to me, and spoke words to change my heart and make me brave.' Such traditions depended on the forest's ongoing existence – Saitoti saw his people's future entwined with that of the ecosystem he was working to protect. On my last game drive at the camp, I was joined by newlyweds Maddie and Sachin Verma – beatific and just a week past their vows. Together, we watched a family of elephants clustering around a tiny calf, and sipped cocktails on a bluff high above the Maasai Mara at sunset. 'Would you like to join us for dinner?' Sachin asked, graciously, when we returned to camp. 'No thanks,' I replied. 'It's my last night, and I think I'd like to eat alone.' If you go All-inclusive safaris at Singita Grumeti Faru Faru start $2,963 a person per night, includes meals, accommodation, two daily game drives, transfers to the airstrip and excellent service. For more, visit All-inclusive stays in luxury tents at andBeyond Bateleur camp start at $1,687 per person per night, single supplement waived during low season. Includes meals, accommodation, safari activities, laundry, airport transfers. For more, visit or Special to The Globe and Mail The writer was a guest of Singita Grumeti and andBeyond Bateleur Camp. They did not review or approve the story before publication.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Plane suffers major damage after striking bird mid-flight
Plane suffers major damage after striking bird mid-flight An Iberia plane was forced to return to a Spanish airport after sustaining significant damaged after colliding with a bird in the air.
