#AllCoopedUp with Diane Sherer, Owner of Beyond Luxury Travel Agency
Travel seems like a far away concept of late. I miss it more than almost anything. Luckily my friend and neighbor Diane Sherer, is keeping me up to the minute about when and how the travel industry plans to reopen. She has good taste and the best relationships around the world so when it is time to start moving around again, she'll be my first call. Diane is the founder of Beyond Travel, a boutique, luxury travel agency focusing on high end, leisure travel all over the world. Diane was a divorce attorney and television writer before ultimately finding her true passion in the world of travel. Her enthusiasm for design, art, food, fashion, and architecture, allows her to see and evaluate properties and destinations in a unique way, and her greatest joy is matching her clients with their perfect destinations and experiences. - Jenna
What’s your profession, and what does your day-to-day work experience look like now?
I am the Owner & Founder of Beyond, a boutique, luxury travel agency focusing on high end, leisure travel all over the world. We are a team of 8 travel advisors and we specialize in planning perfectly curated, bespoke trips for our clients. My day-to-day work experience now consists mostly of Zoom calls and webinars with partners all over the world learning about new hygiene and safety protocols, opening dates for hotels, updated cancellation policies, new travel insurance terms, etc. It’s not nearly as much fun as planning fabulous trips, but it’s a new world out there, and when this is all over, travel advisors will be the ones with all the answers, the knowledge, and the expertise to guide our clients as they learn to navigate it.
Are there objects or spaces in your house that you are newly appreciating? Or are there objects and spaces you have come to loathe?
While I have always appreciated the silence and privacy of our pool area, I have never appreciated it more than I do now. I’ve watched the wisteria bloom, and now the bougainvillea, and I can’t remember ever seeing this many butterflies or hummingbirds. Also, the silence. There are very few planes flying overhead, and although that’s unfortunate for my business (!!), it has created such a sense of peace, and of course has had such a positive impact on our environment. As for spaces I loathe, while I have always loved my kitchen, I am so over the cooking and the cleaning that frankly, I am a little sick of my kitchen. I cannot wait for restaurants to re-open so I can be served and not have to do the dishes!
Describe your at-home quarantine uniform.
A pair of pink elephant pants that I picked up in a local market in Phuket last year and an Alternative Apparel white tank. On my feet? Barefoot, natch.
Who are you quarantining with? Do you feel the need to “get away”? How do you make it happen?
I am quarantining with my husband and my 2 teenage boys. I rarely feel the need to get away from them since they spend much of their day in virtual school and the rest of the day playing video games with their friends! My husband is a screenwriter and he works from home (like I do), so we’re used to spending this much time together. Thankfully, he still constantly makes me laugh.
What’s the last thing you purchased online? Regret or obsessed?
The last thing I purchased online was a Peloton bike. It was a panic purchase when I realized I wouldn’t be able to get to my hot yoga classes, and I really thought it would end up being the most expensive clothing rack I’d ever owned, but it turned out to be one of the best things about this quarantine for me. I’ve ended up riding with tons of friends who have motivated me and kept it competitive and fun. It’s the most social anti-social thing you can do! I’m obsessed.
Tell us the best shows, podcasts, or books you’re loving right now.
I finally finished The Crown after 2 years, so that was a huge accomplishment! Other shows I love/am loving are Mrs. America, Normal People, Broadchurch, Defending Jacob, Unorthodox, and The Last Dance documentary. I can also safely say that I have seen every single episode of The Office – twice! I have also been reading a ton. A friend turned me on to the Los Angeles Public Library app which allows you to borrow books and have them delivered to your kindle for 21 days. It is life changing, and possibly my favorite quarantine discovery yet! I have read, among other things, Where the Crawdads Sing, Daisy Jones and the Six, and The Perfume Collector. I have also read 2 out of the 4 Elena Ferrante books in preparation for binge watching the show My Brilliant Friend. Currently, I am reading A Gentleman in Moscow. I am a little late to the game, but I’m glad I waited because this is THE PERFECT quarantine book! And it takes place in a luxury hotel, which is right up my alley.
Do you have any new quarantine activities or rituals?
You mean other than running the dishwasher twice a day?! We decided that each weekend one person in the family gets to pick a day that is theirs–they get to choose an activity, and a meal, and they get the day named after them. It’s kind of like a birthday, but no gifts. Last weekend, I actually played Fortnite with my 14-year-old, won at Monopoly, and had a burger kit from Cassell’s. Little do they know, on Diane day, I am dragging them all to a drive-in theater! Shhh.
What is your favorite quarantine snack? What restaurants are you ordering takeout from?
This is so pathetic, but I stocked up on diet tonic water, and every day around 4pm I pour myself one in a gorgeous, vintage class over ice with a lime, and I pretend it’s a gin and tonic. Being in the travel business, I was out 3-4 nights a week pre-Covid and always had a cocktail in hand. This is my big chance to detox, and I am taking advantage of it! But I sure miss that cocktail, so this helps. Kind of. Sort of. We are ordering pizza-making kits and the best Greek salad ever from Bibi’s Bakery Café, Dave’s Hot Chicken, McCarthy salads from the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Cassell’s Hamburgers, the taco kit from Sonoratown, Bludso’s Bar & Que, and Sugarfish.
What is the one item you’re glad you stocked up on? What do you wish you’d stocked up on?
I’m glad I stocked up on pistachio nuts! Oddly, they’re impossibly hard to find now. And I wish I had bought more diet tonic water. I’m running low, if anyone has some! I’ll pay a premium.
What is your creative outlet and how are you making space for it?
My true creative outlet is cooking and baking, but if I did that for the entire quarantine, I would for sure gain the Covid 19! So I worked on my website instead, which was a great project and is finally complete! Check it out!
Describe your biggest quarantine indulgence.
Coconut, coffee, and banana peanut butter from North Shore Goodies in Hawaii. I discovered this when I was vacationing at Four Seasons Hualalai a few years ago and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. I am not lying when I tell you I ordered 7 jars of it and am slowly making my way through each and every one of them, teaspoon by teaspoon.
If you have kids, how are you maintaining some kind of schedule for them?
Um, I’m not? And I’ve really tried not to beat myself up about it. We are in a global pandemic after all! Anything goes!
What are you doing for exercise?
The Peloton and my Modo Yoga classes online. When this first started, I put a space heater next to me to simulate the hot yoga room, but that was a total bust. Nothing compares to that hot room for me. But the teachers at Modo are so inspiring and amazing, and they have been working so hard to provide us with the best online yoga experience possible, that it’s really the next best thing. Just hearing their voices soothes my soul.
Are you sharing recipes with friends?
I have not hopped on the recipe chain letter bandwagon or any of the other challenges floating around out there, but I used to be in a cooking club and I still share many recipes back and forth with my cooking club gals.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you throughout this?
Not being able to hug my friends. Yeah, I’m a hugger. Well, now a recovering one. For my birthday, several friends did a “walk by”, and then my travel family did a birthday car parade. I have never been so surprised in my life! But all I wanted to do was hug everyone. It took every ounce of strength I had not to! Sadly, I think the hug is now a thing of the past. I’m working on something new. A bow, or a curtsy, perhaps?
When this is over I cannot wait to ________.
TRAVEL!!!!!
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