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Erica Gragg - Escape Artist

@ericagragg

1.7K

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2022

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Where to go, what to skip & what to wear there.
100 countries in • Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist.
↓ Plan a trip ~ or stay for the opinions.

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100 countries later, I’m still curious.

About places. People. What they make, what they eat, what they wear, what they keep — and all the little things you find in between.

Somewhere along the way, travel also became my work. I’ve been lucky enough to build a life around seeing the world, designing trips and helping other people experience places in ways that feel meaningful to them.

But I hope I never stop being the person who wanders into the market, takes the long way back, talks to the person making something by hand — and inevitably figures out how to fit one more thing in her suitcase.

If you’re new here, welcome. I think we’ll get along.

Wonder never goes out of style. xoxo by @ericagragg

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a month ago

Stories from My Closet | The One-Day Wonder

Milan Design Week 2026. I was sick for practically the entire week, except for one glorious day when I managed to venture out.

Naturally, I found a jacket. 😂

A completely random pop-up, a truly one-of-a-kind piece, and absolutely no intention of shopping.

It’s become one of my favorite things to wear.
Everywhere I go, someone asks me about it.

And now it’s off to Istria, Croatia, for the weekend to visit our dear friends @mrsjanahoffman & @glenjohnhoffman .

Some of the best travel discoveries end up in my closet.

Wonder never goes out of style. ✨

xoxo 💋 taken in Istria, Croatia by @ericagragg

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18 hours ago

Some hotels are iconic. Very few actually surpass their own legend.

Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino is one of them.

Yes, the views are extraordinary. That terrace alone is enough to make you never want to leave.

But what stayed with me was everything beyond the view.

The hand-painted details, exquisite custom textiles, china created exclusively for the hotel, charming seahorse mosaics, and even little boxes of Leone candies made especially for Splendido.

And then there are the people. The kind of genuine warmth and effortless hospitality that can’t be manufactured, no matter how beautiful the setting.

It’s a rare thing when a hotel with this much history and reputation still manages to exceed expectations.

Splendido doesn’t simply live up to its legend. It surpasses it.

— Erica, Founder, Escape Artists Travel

#BelmondSplendido #Portofino #ItalianRiviera #LuxuryTravel #EscapeArtistsTravel taken in Splendido, A Belmond Hotel by @ericagragg

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4 days ago

La dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing.

My recent stay at @belmondhotelsplendido in Portofino reminded me just how beautiful this Italian art form can be.

A long lunch, a spectacular view, nowhere in particular to be. The luxury of simply enjoying where you are, without feeling the need to do anything at all.

The Italians have understood this for centuries. I’m still practicing. 🇮🇹

Wonder never goes out of style. taken in Splendido, A Belmond Hotel by @ericagragg

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5 days ago

Sleep at the Estancia first. Then the beach.

Two sides of Uruguay, and how I’d experience them in seven nights. That’s my minimum. José Ignacio takes some effort to reach, and once you’re there, you’ll wish you had longer.

NIGHTS 1–3 · ESTANCIA VIK
The perfect place to drop in: quiet, elegant, horse riding and even swimming with the horses, delicious wines, fabulous food, afternoons by the pool. Go here first, straight off the flight. One lunch out: Mostrador at Bodega Oceánica.

NIGHTS 4–7 · JOSÉ IGNACIO
Playa Vik for bold architecture and contemporary art, right on the point. Bahía Vik for something softer, with lawns running to the beach. First afternoon at the pool, dinner al fresco by the sea. The next day, walk out your door to the shops that line the charming square and beyond, lunch at El Chiringo, dinner at La Huella.

TWO DAYS OUT
Garzón: wander and photograph a town captured in time, then a gastronomic lunch at Bodega Garzón that is not to be missed. MACA, the Atchugarry museum and sculpture park, on the way back.
La Susana: a day at the beach club, with a long seaside lunch that carries you to sunset.

ALSO NOT TO MISS
Juana. Olada. Tato Pescador.

THE TIP
Countryside first is my way. You arrive at the coast already slowed down, and the estancia becomes the beginning of the trip rather than a detour from the beach. Plenty of people do it the other way round and love it.

WHEN TO GO
José Ignacio is decidedly seasonal. December through February is when the village comes alive, with January at its busiest. End of February/early March is my personal sweet spot, when the energy is still there but the crowds have eased. Mid March can be lovely and quieter, although some restaurants and beach clubs begin winding down. Plan early: the best rooms and tables book up months ahead.

Save this for Uruguay. The full Escape Edit — where to stay, eat, shop and what to do — is pinned on our grid.

Advisor in the Field · Erica Gragg

#Uruguay #JoseIgnacio #EstanciaVik #PlayaVik #LuxuryTravel taken in Jose Ignacio, Uruguay by @ericagragg

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6 days ago

José Ignacio may be tiny, but I never seem to leave empty-handed. The dress on the first slide came home with me from A.Mar—and so did the sweater later in the carousel. The hat? Namibia. My closet has never respected borders.

There are really two shopping circuits: the little village around the lighthouse, and Ruta 10 between Manantiales and La Barra. Neither requires an agenda. Both reward wandering.

A few places worth finding:

Carolita—for color and something that could only have come home from Uruguay.

La Rando—for beautiful leather, architectural shapes and pieces you’ll keep wearing.

El Canuto—the José Ignacio classic for resort clothing, accessories and Uruguayan knits.

Paula Martini / Bajo el Alma—for relaxed, beautifully made pieces that feel completely at home here.

Rizoma—for books, coffee and a reason to linger.

Also worth seeking out: Sentido José Ignacio, Sole Bècu, A.mar, Agnès Lenoble, Lanhtropy, Felix y Lupe and Magma.

Save this for an afternoon away from the beach.

Next: the Escape Edit—where to stay, eat and what to do in José Ignacio—coming soon at @escapeartiststravel.

#JoseIgnacio #UruguayTravel #TravelStyle taken in José Ignacio, Maldonado, Uruguay by @ericagragg

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20 days ago

Fall has arrived in Hudson, which in this house means the sweater comes out long before the coat does.

This one is vintage—found at the Vogue Vintage Market charity event in Milan, in a room full of women who all knew exactly what they were looking for. The shoes came home from Marrakech, where I always seem to find the pair I didn’t know I needed.

My closet isn’t really a closet. It’s a map. Almost everything in it came home from somewhere—and I can tell you exactly where. 😘

What’s the first thing you reach for when the weather turns?

xoxo

#WonderNeverGoesOutOfStyle #TravelStyle #VintageStyle by @ericagragg

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24 days ago

Africa doesn’t have to wait for the year you can take two weeks off.

Seven or eight nights can be extraordinary—if you choose one country and resist turning the trip into a checklist.

Tanzania: the Serengeti and Tarangire.
Botswana: let the Okavango be the trip.
Rwanda: gorillas and Akagera.

A focused trip can feel far bigger than an overstuffed one.

Send this to the person who keeps saying, “Someday, when I have two weeks.”

#AfricaTravel #SafariPlanning #TravelSmarter taken in Africa by @ericagragg

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a month ago

I have never been particularly interested in bringing home the thing everyone recognizes.

Give me a tiny shop, a market, a workshop, a local designer or something made by hand — and I will almost certainly want to know who made it, how they made it and where I can find more.

I first discovered Rw&a Clothing at @bisatelodge in the Virunga Mountains, and later went looking for them in Kigali, where I visited their shop and saw where the clothing is made.

I fell for this dress because it was beautiful. But knowing something about the people and place behind it is what made me want to keep it forever.

My closet is full of things like this — dresses, textiles, jewelry and bags that aren’t really souvenirs at all. They’re little pieces of places I don’t want to forget.

If These Closets Could Talk — Rwanda.

xoxo

Workshop imagery courtesy of @rwandaclothing
Photography: Raphael Cardinael

#MadeInRwanda #Kigali #TravelStyle by @ericagragg

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a month ago

Some of my favorite travel moments have absolutely nothing to do with an itinerary.

We were having dinner in a village in Tinos when suddenly this happened.

No reservation. No tour. No carefully planned “experience.”

Just one of those wonderful moments you happen to be lucky enough to witness.

The best travel experiences aren’t always the ones you booked.

Tinos, Greece. 🇬🇷

#timosgreece #greecetravel #travelmoments taken in Tinos Island, Cyclades by @ericagragg

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a month ago

Apparently AI thinks this was me in 1986.

Where was I going?
What was in the suitcase?
And did those shoulder pads fit in the overhead bin? 😂

Travel and style have always been part of the same story for me — although apparently AI thinks I should have started with more gold, more leopard and the same amount of hair.

Apparently subtlety was never going to be my thing. 😘

Wonder never goes out of style. xoxo by @ericagragg

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a month ago

I’ve never been much of a souvenir person.

But put me in a market, a tiny shop, a designer’s studio or somewhere with piles of beautiful textiles and apparently all bets are off.

Over the years, my closet has become a rather accidental archive of the places I’ve been — dresses, jewelry, bags and textiles, each attached to a person, a place or a memory.

And I realized recently that I remember the story behind almost every one of them.

So perhaps it’s time I started telling a few.

First up: Rwanda. ❤️

If These Closets Could Talk… taken in Hudson, New York by @ericagragg

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a month ago