Michaelyn Elder
She/Her
Based in The District (Washington DC)
Speaks English and an "acceptable" amount of French
Trip budgets start at $350/night
Michaelyn Elder
Ask me about
My Story
Current Washingtonian. Future Parisian. Always a New Yorker. Forever a traveler. Francophile. Planner extraordinaire. Dog mom. Aspiring chef, somm and good person. Travel philosophy: See ALL the things. Eat the dessert. Drink the wine!
My Travel Style
Travel goals: Eat and drink like a local. See the beautiful places. Splurge on one thing. Fancy cocktails on rooftops with a view. Avoid the tourists, when possible. Sometimes it means having an itinerary to hit multiple places in a region. Sometimes it's getting a lovely hotel in the middle of it all to immerse myself in a specific place. I love a walking tour — or better yet, a food and wine walking tour — nothing is better than learning about history in between local food and wines! Lately, I bring an extra bag for all the things I want to bring home!
Traveling has truly been the great joy of my life. To see the Colosseum, to see the Mona Lisa, to stand in an ocean of cypress trees in Provence, to see the Seine. These moments bring me happiness and it would be my pleasure and privilege to help create lifelong travel memories for fellow travelers. Allez!
Stay connected
My reviews (4)
Christian D.
a year ago
Michaelyn made it easy to book the trip.
Christian D.
a year ago
Booking with Michaelyn was straightforward, and she made it easy. Capelongue hotel is a trip I will remember for a long time, that little Provençal retreat was amazing, we still talk about it, and already planning to go back.
Christian D.
a year ago
Michaelyn made it easy to book and was very responsive when I had questions . It made booking my trip easier.
Leslie M.
2 years ago
Michaelyn did a fantastic job of asking and taking in my travel desires to help me find a wonderful hotel experience. She didn’t push too hard, instead helped figure out options to narrow down to and make decisions which took away any pressure. She really wants folks to get exactly the experience they want!
Christian D.
a year ago
Michaelyn made it easy to book the trip.
Christian D.
a year ago
Booking with Michaelyn was straightforward, and she made it easy. Capelongue hotel is a trip I will remember for a long time, that little Provençal retreat was amazing, we still talk about it, and already planning to go back.
Christian D.
a year ago
Michaelyn made it easy to book and was very responsive when I had questions . It made booking my trip easier.
Leslie M.
2 years ago
Michaelyn did a fantastic job of asking and taking in my travel desires to help me find a wonderful hotel experience. She didn’t push too hard, instead helped figure out options to narrow down to and make decisions which took away any pressure. She really wants folks to get exactly the experience they want!
My travel ideas (2)
Your Dream Trip to Provence: 10 Days in the Heart of the Provençal Countryside
After reading Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" it became my life's dream to visit Provence. Fast forward to years later, I married a Frenchman and suddenly my dream of a one-time visit to Provence became summertime sojourns to this lavender-scented region. It is my happy place, and I want my Provençal dreams to become everyone's vacation reality.
Your Dream Trip to Provence: 10 Days in the Heart of the Provençal Countryside
After reading Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" it became my life's dream to visit Provence. Fast forward to years later, I married a Frenchman and suddenly my dream of a one-time visit to Provence became summertime sojourns to this lavender-scented region. It is my happy place, and I want my Provençal dreams to become everyone's vacation reality.
Four Days in Madrid For Foodies, History Nerds and Wine Lovers
What’s so special about Madrid? Everything. It’s beautiful, stately, grand, bustling, but there’s a vibe, or rather IT is a vibe. Let’s compare, so that you understand there’s not a comparison to really be made. It’s not Paris (love to you, Paris) and it’s not trying to be. It’s got energy but not edgy like NY or Rome — Madrid’s vibe is joyful and vibrant. It’s energetic and intoxicating without being exhausting. Friendly. Inviting.
Madrid is a collection of neighborhoods with personalities. It can be artsy, high-end, bohemian or consumer. It’s graffiti-tagged and a gorgeously manicured modern city with parks and wide boulevards, as well as a medieval city with charm and storied streets. Madrid is unassuming, yet as you turn a corner it reminds you that Spain once ruled the seas and the known world, as it reveals its grandeur. Madrid remembers its glorious past, its rebellions, its religion, its regretful moments and its evolution, sometimes in the same squares. It is a work of art — ancient, modern, cubist, abstract and miraculously unique.
You’ll see fashionable people and people who sport their own fashion. It’s tailored but not stuffy. If you saw Madrid passing you on the street, she would be wearing a beautifully tailored dress, with a chic coat, carrying a classic, small Lady Dior handbag, a canvas tote and wearing trainers. The people are kind and happy and genuine. If you’re a history nerd, an art lover, a foodie, a wine lover a perpetual shopper, THIS is your city.
All roads lead to Madrid. Madrid is the heart of Spain, literally and figuratively. At its center is “Kilometre 0” — meaning that all roads in Spain start from Madrid. But don’t rent your car just yet. Madrid is one of Europe’s most walkable cities! Metro is safe, clean and easy to use, so take that to one of the many exciting neighborhoods and do the rest on foot so you don’t miss a thing.
All the must-see museums — The Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen-Bornemisza — are clustered together in what’s called the “Golden Triangle.” It’s a doable and enjoyable walk from one to the next or take short taxi rides from each other.
Madrid has become a top destination for LGTBIQA+ travelers, with Chueca being a district popular with the LGTBIQA+ community worldwide.
Eat like a local, Michelin and more. Madrileños don’t eat dinner before 8pm, so freshen up at your hotel after a day of seeing all that Madrid has to share with you.
Sure, book a night out at one of Madrid’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, but save the rest of your nights for eating in the city’s tapas bars. Most bars have counter seats and close seating. Everyone is out — couples sharing a bottle of wine with cheese; friends catching up after work or university; lovers talking affectionately. All of them are here for the company, the wine and sooooo many amazing types of tapas. This is what you always thought food could taste like — just unbridled flavor. The jamon iberico is just the start. Get ready for flavor combinations you’ve never tried and be ready to smile.
Four Days in Madrid For Foodies, History Nerds and Wine Lovers
What’s so special about Madrid? Everything. It’s beautiful, stately, grand, bustling, but there’s a vibe, or rather IT is a vibe. Let’s compare, so that you understand there’s not a comparison to really be made. It’s not Paris (love to you, Paris) and it’s not trying to be. It’s got energy but not edgy like NY or Rome — Madrid’s vibe is joyful and vibrant. It’s energetic and intoxicating without being exhausting. Friendly. Inviting.
Madrid is a collection of neighborhoods with personalities. It can be artsy, high-end, bohemian or consumer. It’s graffiti-tagged and a gorgeously manicured modern city with parks and wide boulevards, as well as a medieval city with charm and storied streets. Madrid is unassuming, yet as you turn a corner it reminds you that Spain once ruled the seas and the known world, as it reveals its grandeur. Madrid remembers its glorious past, its rebellions, its religion, its regretful moments and its evolution, sometimes in the same squares. It is a work of art — ancient, modern, cubist, abstract and miraculously unique.
You’ll see fashionable people and people who sport their own fashion. It’s tailored but not stuffy. If you saw Madrid passing you on the street, she would be wearing a beautifully tailored dress, with a chic coat, carrying a classic, small Lady Dior handbag, a canvas tote and wearing trainers. The people are kind and happy and genuine. If you’re a history nerd, an art lover, a foodie, a wine lover a perpetual shopper, THIS is your city.
All roads lead to Madrid. Madrid is the heart of Spain, literally and figuratively. At its center is “Kilometre 0” — meaning that all roads in Spain start from Madrid. But don’t rent your car just yet. Madrid is one of Europe’s most walkable cities! Metro is safe, clean and easy to use, so take that to one of the many exciting neighborhoods and do the rest on foot so you don’t miss a thing.
All the must-see museums — The Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen-Bornemisza — are clustered together in what’s called the “Golden Triangle.” It’s a doable and enjoyable walk from one to the next or take short taxi rides from each other.
Madrid has become a top destination for LGTBIQA+ travelers, with Chueca being a district popular with the LGTBIQA+ community worldwide.
Eat like a local, Michelin and more. Madrileños don’t eat dinner before 8pm, so freshen up at your hotel after a day of seeing all that Madrid has to share with you.
Sure, book a night out at one of Madrid’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, but save the rest of your nights for eating in the city’s tapas bars. Most bars have counter seats and close seating. Everyone is out — couples sharing a bottle of wine with cheese; friends catching up after work or university; lovers talking affectionately. All of them are here for the company, the wine and sooooo many amazing types of tapas. This is what you always thought food could taste like — just unbridled flavor. The jamon iberico is just the start. Get ready for flavor combinations you’ve never tried and be ready to smile.
Your Dream Trip to Provence: 10 Days in the Heart of the Provençal Countryside
After reading Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" it became my life's dream to visit Provence. Fast forward to years later, I married a Frenchman and suddenly my dream of a one-time visit to Provence became summertime sojourns to this lavender-scented region. It is my happy place, and I want my Provençal dreams to become everyone's vacation reality.
Your Dream Trip to Provence: 10 Days in the Heart of the Provençal Countryside
After reading Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" it became my life's dream to visit Provence. Fast forward to years later, I married a Frenchman and suddenly my dream of a one-time visit to Provence became summertime sojourns to this lavender-scented region. It is my happy place, and I want my Provençal dreams to become everyone's vacation reality.
Four Days in Madrid For Foodies, History Nerds and Wine Lovers
What’s so special about Madrid? Everything. It’s beautiful, stately, grand, bustling, but there’s a vibe, or rather IT is a vibe. Let’s compare, so that you understand there’s not a comparison to really be made. It’s not Paris (love to you, Paris) and it’s not trying to be. It’s got energy but not edgy like NY or Rome — Madrid’s vibe is joyful and vibrant. It’s energetic and intoxicating without being exhausting. Friendly. Inviting.
Madrid is a collection of neighborhoods with personalities. It can be artsy, high-end, bohemian or consumer. It’s graffiti-tagged and a gorgeously manicured modern city with parks and wide boulevards, as well as a medieval city with charm and storied streets. Madrid is unassuming, yet as you turn a corner it reminds you that Spain once ruled the seas and the known world, as it reveals its grandeur. Madrid remembers its glorious past, its rebellions, its religion, its regretful moments and its evolution, sometimes in the same squares. It is a work of art — ancient, modern, cubist, abstract and miraculously unique.
You’ll see fashionable people and people who sport their own fashion. It’s tailored but not stuffy. If you saw Madrid passing you on the street, she would be wearing a beautifully tailored dress, with a chic coat, carrying a classic, small Lady Dior handbag, a canvas tote and wearing trainers. The people are kind and happy and genuine. If you’re a history nerd, an art lover, a foodie, a wine lover a perpetual shopper, THIS is your city.
All roads lead to Madrid. Madrid is the heart of Spain, literally and figuratively. At its center is “Kilometre 0” — meaning that all roads in Spain start from Madrid. But don’t rent your car just yet. Madrid is one of Europe’s most walkable cities! Metro is safe, clean and easy to use, so take that to one of the many exciting neighborhoods and do the rest on foot so you don’t miss a thing.
All the must-see museums — The Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen-Bornemisza — are clustered together in what’s called the “Golden Triangle.” It’s a doable and enjoyable walk from one to the next or take short taxi rides from each other.
Madrid has become a top destination for LGTBIQA+ travelers, with Chueca being a district popular with the LGTBIQA+ community worldwide.
Eat like a local, Michelin and more. Madrileños don’t eat dinner before 8pm, so freshen up at your hotel after a day of seeing all that Madrid has to share with you.
Sure, book a night out at one of Madrid’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, but save the rest of your nights for eating in the city’s tapas bars. Most bars have counter seats and close seating. Everyone is out — couples sharing a bottle of wine with cheese; friends catching up after work or university; lovers talking affectionately. All of them are here for the company, the wine and sooooo many amazing types of tapas. This is what you always thought food could taste like — just unbridled flavor. The jamon iberico is just the start. Get ready for flavor combinations you’ve never tried and be ready to smile.
Four Days in Madrid For Foodies, History Nerds and Wine Lovers
What’s so special about Madrid? Everything. It’s beautiful, stately, grand, bustling, but there’s a vibe, or rather IT is a vibe. Let’s compare, so that you understand there’s not a comparison to really be made. It’s not Paris (love to you, Paris) and it’s not trying to be. It’s got energy but not edgy like NY or Rome — Madrid’s vibe is joyful and vibrant. It’s energetic and intoxicating without being exhausting. Friendly. Inviting.
Madrid is a collection of neighborhoods with personalities. It can be artsy, high-end, bohemian or consumer. It’s graffiti-tagged and a gorgeously manicured modern city with parks and wide boulevards, as well as a medieval city with charm and storied streets. Madrid is unassuming, yet as you turn a corner it reminds you that Spain once ruled the seas and the known world, as it reveals its grandeur. Madrid remembers its glorious past, its rebellions, its religion, its regretful moments and its evolution, sometimes in the same squares. It is a work of art — ancient, modern, cubist, abstract and miraculously unique.
You’ll see fashionable people and people who sport their own fashion. It’s tailored but not stuffy. If you saw Madrid passing you on the street, she would be wearing a beautifully tailored dress, with a chic coat, carrying a classic, small Lady Dior handbag, a canvas tote and wearing trainers. The people are kind and happy and genuine. If you’re a history nerd, an art lover, a foodie, a wine lover a perpetual shopper, THIS is your city.
All roads lead to Madrid. Madrid is the heart of Spain, literally and figuratively. At its center is “Kilometre 0” — meaning that all roads in Spain start from Madrid. But don’t rent your car just yet. Madrid is one of Europe’s most walkable cities! Metro is safe, clean and easy to use, so take that to one of the many exciting neighborhoods and do the rest on foot so you don’t miss a thing.
All the must-see museums — The Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen-Bornemisza — are clustered together in what’s called the “Golden Triangle.” It’s a doable and enjoyable walk from one to the next or take short taxi rides from each other.
Madrid has become a top destination for LGTBIQA+ travelers, with Chueca being a district popular with the LGTBIQA+ community worldwide.
Eat like a local, Michelin and more. Madrileños don’t eat dinner before 8pm, so freshen up at your hotel after a day of seeing all that Madrid has to share with you.
Sure, book a night out at one of Madrid’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, but save the rest of your nights for eating in the city’s tapas bars. Most bars have counter seats and close seating. Everyone is out — couples sharing a bottle of wine with cheese; friends catching up after work or university; lovers talking affectionately. All of them are here for the company, the wine and sooooo many amazing types of tapas. This is what you always thought food could taste like — just unbridled flavor. The jamon iberico is just the start. Get ready for flavor combinations you’ve never tried and be ready to smile.
My travel photos
