In this episode of Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel, Vanessa sits down with Siham Lahmine — the first woman in Morocco to build a luxury culinary travel business, founder of her own DMC, and a magazine contributor since the very first issue of Maison Voyage. Siham brings a rare boots-on-the-ground perspective that no algorithm, AI tool, or booking platform can replicate: she knows the drivers, the riad owners, the local farmers, the barbers, the cave dwellers outside Salé — and she knows which Friday your clients will wake up to empty medina streets if you don't plan around it. Together, Vanessa and Siham unpack what makes Morocco one of the most bucket-list yet misunderstood destinations in the world: why the medinas look intimidating from the outside but feel like home once you're in, why Friday logistics can make or break an entire day of sightseeing, how religious holidays on the lunar calendar require local intelligence that Google simply doesn't have, and why June through August demands a very specific strategy if you're going to go at all. Siham also shares some of the most extraordinary curated experiences she has built for clients — a farm-to-table harvest lunch cooked with a local family in a countryside cave village near Salé, a spontaneous barber visit that turned into a World Cup watch party, a perfume workshop she pioneered in Fez that didn't exist before she made it happen — and why Moroccan food, from a flaky bastilla stuffed with spiced chicken and cinnamon to a slow-cooked tagine pulled from clay in the market ashes, is one of the most underrated culinary stories in all of travel. It's an episode that will make Morocco feel less intimidating, far more personal, and absolutely impossible to put off any longer.

Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel is the official podcast of the Maison Voyage brand, hosted by luxury travel advisor and founder Vanessa Kromer. With more than 16 years specializing in Italy, Europe, and bespoke international journeys, Vanessa sits down with the hoteliers, DMCs, destination experts, and industry insiders who are quietly defining what luxury travel looks like today — beyond the price tag, beyond the postcard, and beyond what you'll find on a typical influencer reel. Whether you're an affluent traveler researching your next unforgettable trip or a travel professional looking to sharpen your craft, each episode is designed to inspire, educate, and reveal the access, relationships, and intentional design that turn a vacation into something truly extraordinary.

Subscribe to Maison Voyage Magazine https://maisonvoyagemagazine.com

Follow Vanessa on Instagram to keep the journey going between episodes! @vanessakromermmv

Learn more about Siham Lahmine and plan your Morocco journey: https://moroccotravelorganizer.com/about-founder-siham-lahmine/

One Membership. Two Publications.
Your print and digital luxury travel magazine membership now includes:
📖 Quarterly digital editions of Maison Voyage Magazine
✈️ Complimentary access to The Private Edit on Substack
🏨 Luxury hotel insights
🌍 Destination journals
🗺️ Travel resources
🤍 Behind-the-scenes stories from visionary travel advisor Vanessa Kromer, who has 16-plus years in the industry.
and so much more.

Because the best journeys deserve more than a single publication.

Explore membership options today:
www.maisonvoyagemagazine.com
**use code PODCAST at checkout

One membership. Two publications. Endless inspiration.

In this episode of Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel, Vanessa sits down with Josefina Melendez — founder of X-Plora Travel, military spouse turned travel professional, and a specialist in deeply curated wine country experiences in Spain. Josefina brings a uniquely personal lens to luxury travel: born in Chile, shaped by years living in Italy, and now based in St. Augustine where she also leads food and wine walking tours through one of America's oldest cities. Together they dive deep into the world of northern Spain — a region that most travelers completely overlook in favor of Barcelona and Madrid, and one that Josefina believes offers some of the most extraordinary food, wine, and cultural experiences in all of Europe. They explore the wines of Rioja and the rare, ocean-kissed Txakoli grape of Basque Country, the Michelin-starred food scene of San Sebastian, the historic Monday market of Guernica, Jai Alai, the Guggenheim Bilbao, and why tasting a private-cellar bottle of Rioja that never gets exported — opened only because your guide has the relationship — is one of the purest definitions of luxury travel there is. Josefina also gives a behind-the-scenes look at her small-group wine country itinerary (Bilbao to San Sebastian, late October) and her women-only "Women Who Wander" series headed to Bali. It's a rich, warmhearted conversation about why travel should change you — and how the right advisor makes that possible.

Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel is the official podcast of the Maison Voyage brand, hosted by luxury travel advisor and founder Vanessa Kromer. With more than 16 years specializing in Italy, Europe, and bespoke international journeys, Vanessa sits down with the hoteliers, DMCs, destination experts, and industry insiders who are quietly defining what luxury travel looks like today — beyond the price tag, beyond the postcard, and beyond what you'll find on a typical influencer reel. Whether you're an affluent traveler researching your next unforgettable trip or a travel professional looking to sharpen your craft, each episode is designed to inspire, educate, and reveal the access, relationships, and intentional design that turn a vacation into something truly extraordinary.

Subscribe to Maison Voyage Magazine https://maisonvoyagemagazine.com

Follow Vanessa on Instagram to keep the journey going between episodes! @vanessakromermmv

Learn More About X-Plora Travel: https://x-plora.com

Subscribe to Maison Voyage Magazine https://maisonvoyagemagazine.com

Follow Vanessa on Instagram to keep the journey going between episodes! @vanessakromermmv and the podcast IG www.instagram.com/maisonvoyagemagazine

One Membership. Two Publications.
Your print and digital luxury travel magazine membership now includes:
📖 Quarterly digital editions of Maison Voyage Magazine
✈️ Complimentary access to The Private Edit on Substack
🏨 Luxury hotel insights
🌍 Destination journals
🗺️ Travel resources
🤍 Behind-the-scenes stories from visionary travel advisor Vanessa Kromer, who has 16-plus years in the industry.
and so much more.

Because the best journeys deserve more than a single publication.

Explore membership options today:
www.maisonvoyagemagazine.com
**use code PODCAST at checkout

One membership. Two publications. Endless inspiration.

In this episode of Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel, Vanessa sits down with Sequoia Armstrong — founder of Pueblo York and a specialist in immersive, off-the-beaten-path travel to Japan and Mexico. Together they unpack what luxury travel in Japan actually looks like for today's discerning traveler: why Tokyo is just the beginning, which lesser-known regions deserve far more attention (Kanazawa, Kyushu, the Hokuriku region, Gifu Prefecture), and how to build an itinerary that trades crowd-chasing for genuine cultural immersion. They dive deep into the traditional Japanese inn experience, including how to navigate communal onsen bathing as a Western traveler and why a private ryokan with in-room hot springs might be the most unexpectedly intimate luxury in the world. Sequoia also shares her favorite curated experiences — private sake tastings, ceramics workshops, wasabi farm visits, neighborhood walking tours — and gets honest about cherry blossom season hype, Japan's world-class ski scene in Hokkaido, the legendary luggage-forwarding logistics that make multi-city travel seamless, and why the Japanese yen makes now one of the best times in years to book. It's an episode that will make you see Japan in a completely different light — and probably start planning a trip you hadn't considered before.

Maison Voyage: The Art of Luxury Travel is the official podcast of the Maison Voyage brand, hosted by luxury travel advisor and founder Vanessa Kromer. With more than 16 years specializing in Italy, Europe, and bespoke international journeys, Vanessa sits down with the hoteliers, DMCs, destination experts, and industry insiders who are quietly defining what luxury travel looks like today — beyond the price tag, beyond the postcard, and beyond what you'll find on a typical influencer reel. Whether you're an affluent traveler researching your next unforgettable trip or a travel professional looking to sharpen your craft, each episode is designed to inspire, educate, and reveal the access, relationships, and intentional design that turn a vacation into something truly extraordinary.

Subscribe to Maison Voyage Magazine https://maisonvoyagemagazine.com

Follow Vanessa on Instagram to keep the journey going between episodes! @vanessakromermmv and the podcast IG www.instagram.com/maisonvoyagemagazine

Puebla York: https://www.instagram.com/pueblayorkinc/

One Membership. Two Publications.
Your print and digital luxury travel magazine membership now includes:
📖 Quarterly digital editions of Maison Voyage Magazine
✈️ Complimentary access to The Private Edit on Substack
🏨 Luxury hotel insights
🌍 Destination journals
🗺️ Travel resources
🤍 Behind-the-scenes stories from visionary travel advisor Vanessa Kromer, who has 16-plus years in the industry.
and so much more.

Because the best journeys deserve more than a single publication.

Explore membership options today:
www.maisonvoyagemagazine.com
**use code PODCAST at checkout

One membership. Two publications. Endless inspiration.