British Airways has just announced a last minute Club World (business class) sale on round-trip flights to London, in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee marking 60 years on the throne. (The celebrations have been taking place all year, as she ascended in 1952, but the actual Coronation date is June 2nd, 1953. I can’t wait until we get to see a Coronation Ceremony of our own!)

Here are the details:

Fully-flat beds on British Airways Club World

“Commemorating 60 years of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne, British Airways (BA) today launched a last minute fare to London – $1952 all-inclusive roundtrip in Club World (business class) from select cities.

The three day sale starts on Wednesday, May 16 and concludes at 11:59pm local time on Friday, May 18. Customers can travel outbound from May 26 with all travel completed by June 9, giving them the opportunity to see the Carriage Procession, The Thames Pageant and a host of performances and events.

Simon Talling-Smith, Executive Vice President Americas, said, “We wanted to mark the Queen’s Jubilee with a special offer for our customers. It is an exciting time to be in the UK this year, from the Diamond Jubilee to the London Olympics and Paralympics this summer.

The $1952 fare includes all taxes, fees and charges and is valid from select U.S. and Canadian cities. The New York JFK to London City service is also included in this special offer.”

Queen Elizabeth in her Coronation Robes on June 2, 1953

British Airways Club World business class is truly spectacular – they have six-foot long fully-flat beds and wonderful service. I flew it once when I moved back from London to the US in 2007, and because I was randomly upgraded (I simply joked to the desk clerk at check in, “Hey, if you need to upgrade anybody, I’m your girl!”…AND THEY DID!) it remains one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Visit BA.com/1952 for more details and to book.

Today was quite leisurely and relaxing. We’re on Mountain time, which gives us a much-appreciated extra hour of sleep before the West Coast begins its day in earnest. I had a cup of pour ‘n stir coffee (no grinder here!) and then began working. The internet is slow as molasses, which makes getting real work done incredibly tedious, but it’s hard to complain when your day looks like this…

Not posing at all, no siree...

Above is the view of our villa; below is the ocean view…

Obviously, this was one in a series of about 75 photos taken to capture juuuuust the right angle

College chums Cristina and Allison, looking adorable:

For lunch, we drove the 40 minutes into Los Barriles for tacos at El Viejo. We were assured that El Viejo made THE best tacos on the entire peninsula, and they didn’t disappoint. If you’re ever in the area, El Viejo is a must.

On the way back home from El Viejo, our road was obstructed by cows. You know, just a typical day in El Cardonal…

After more work, a few siestas, and some Coronas and margaritas, we took a group excursion five feet down to the beach…

…before taking a stroll as the sun set.

Hola, mis amigas! I’m down in El Cardonal, a tiny town about two hours from Cabo (and 40 minutes away from Los Barriles) on the Gulf side of the Peninsula.

A group of 6 of us came for a week to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and rather than stay at a hotel, we rented a villa on the beach. So, our view looks like this:

Infinity pool plus beach equals heaven

The flight down was painless: Cabo is only 2 hours south of Los Angeles. However, getting to El Cardonal took a lot of effort, since the only road here is a windy path through the mountains that includes long stretches of unpaved dirt and ample potholes. It was an adventure!

Our beachside villa in El Cardonal

I took a video as soon as we arrived documenting the villa, which is simply incredible. (If I can get a faster internet connection, I’ll upload it while I’m here.) Not only are we directly on a private beach with an infinity pool, we also have a rooftop deck (which made for some incredible viewing of the stars later in the night), a casita, 7 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. There’s no way to downplay it: it’s heaven.

A view of the villa from the beach

On the way into El Cardonal, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch and a drink. I had to snap a picture of one of their offerings: a Cilantro Margarita.

Cilantro margarita!

Lest you get too angry at me, let me assure you that I’ll be working while down here–I’m still on the clock! (In addition, I’m moving into the final round of edits for my book agent and am now up against a deadline, so all my non-workday hours are going to be spent working on the book. Well…all my non-workday, non-Taboo-playing, non-margarita-drinking hours, that is…)

Another beach view from our "backyard" as the sun began to set

bareMinerals Pretty Amazing Upper Class Red for Virgin Atlantic

bareMinerals plus Virgin Atlantic = two of my favorite brands on the planet. So, when I heard that they were partnering up, there may or may not have been some squealing on this end, immediately followed by the realization that it’s been a full year since I’ve gone back to England–which is obviously way too long. (Damn you, IRS! How can I take unnecessary trips that cost way too much if you keep making me give you money?! Unsubscribe me!)

The interior of the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class cabin

I’ve been lucky enough to fly international business class on several different airlines, including British Airways, Delta and Air France, and the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is hands-down my absolute favorite. From fully-flat beds to space-age personal cubicles to an actual, fully-stocked bar to in-flight massages (to say nothing of the EPIC Upper Class lounge at Heathrow where you can take showers and freshen up after the long journey using Cowshed products), it’s worth the splurge at least once if ever you’re going to London.

Upper Class Red is the first partnership for bareMinerals and Virgin Atlantic

One of the hallmarks of Virgin Atlantic is a spate of gorgeous, friendly flight-attendants wearing signature red, white and purple uniforms. Their hair is always pulled back into a Hitchcock-bun, their teeth are gleamingly white and their lips are painted bright red. Now, with bareMinerals and Virgin Atlantic’s partnership in celebration of Virgin’s redesigned Upper Class cabins featuring new Dream Suites, the red lipstick of choice will be bareMinerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor in “Upper Class Red”. In a bit of savvy marketing synergy, Upper Class Red will also be available for purchase on-board the flight, as well as at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Spa at Heathrow, Gatwick and JFK.

The Dream Suite on the redesigned Virgin Atlantic Upper Class

The redesigned Upper Class cabins just debuted this past weekend on the A330 from London to New York. A few of the highlights:

• An 87 inch bed longer than any other business-class bed, period
• Seats are an inch-and-a-half wider than before and recline 50% more
• Each seat “suite” has its own aisle access
• Each suite has a 12.1 inch touchscreen monitor where travelers can connect their smart phone, USB stick or tablet to the new entertainment system JAM, watch, read or listen to your own content, and charge your device
• An AeroMobile system so you can call and text from your seat using your own phone

The sublime Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow airport

Pretty amazing, indeed. Methinks it’s time for an Upper Class trip back to Blighty!

Sundance Resort in Utah

A few weeks ago, I went to Utah for a friend’s wedding and spent time at the Sundance Resort, Robert Redford’s beautiful spread high in the mountains.

After a long day of skiing, my legs were jelly and so therefore a massage became not a luxury but an absolute necessity. Pre-massage, I looked this this:

My friend J. already had a reservation–thinking ahead, that one!–and luckily they were able to squeeze me in, too. Here we are post-massage, relaxed, showered, changed, and very happy:

I wrote about The Spa at Sundance on VanityFair.com, so if you want to read more, check out my piece here!

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