The Gypsy Life: Luxe Hippy or Gypset?

Ah, the gypsy lifestyle.... so romantic, poetic and free from the constrictions of modern day conventions. When I think Gypsy, I think open fires, flamenco and Andalucia. I think Carmen, the opera. I also think about the persecution of the Roma people, and the price some people have to pay when they live on the margins of society.

I started this post wanting to only write about my two favourite campsites, but then I got carried away and decided to include a section on the GYPSET lifestyle, as I have been meaning  to write about this for some time now. 

 THE BOOK

 Fusing the ease and carefree lifestyle of a gypsy with the sophistication of the jet set, the Gypsetters are artists, surfers, designers, and bon vivants who live and work around the globe, from Jose Ignacio, Uruguay and Ibiza, Spain, to Montauk, New York. Gypset Style explores the unconventional, wanderlust lives of these high-low cultural nomads and the bohemian enclaves they inhabit, as well as their counterculture forbears, such as the Victorian explorers, the Lost Generation, the Beatniks, and the hippies. And along the way, author Julia Chaplin looks back at quintessential gypsy boho moments in social history.

THE GYPSET LIFESTYLE 

 

"Gypset (Gypsy+jet set) is about an emerging group of artists, musicians, fashion designers, surfers, and bon vivants– who lead semi-nomadic, unconventional lives"….Think that L.A section of Mad Men, when Don Draper goes a bit mad and hangs out with those Luxe Bohemians.

THERE is now a website dedicated to this Luxe Hippy movement, and you can log on to find out where the best gypset style places are around the world. Just click HERE to be re-directed to the portal. 

I am about to take the GYPSET style quiz, to see if I qualify as one!

THE TV SERIES

Have you watched the whole of Carnivale, that fabulous HBO series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era?  It is the best TV show ever, akin to reading a really epic novel. Think Lord of the Rings mixed with Masonic lore and templar knights, and a dash of Lynch.

Anyway, the series is all about the carnival lifestyle, and the wagons featured in it make you yearn to belong to a travelling freak show.

WAGON LOVE 

I dream of owning my own vintage style wagon, and living in it for a few months a year, when the weather is hot and my only care is keeping the fire going in the evening. I used to live a gypsy lifestyle before, but it had nothing to do with the gypset lifestyle. I was living in the smallest shittiest 1970’s style caravan known to man, in a camp site surrounded by fellow lost its, in the middle of some shit hole in Holland, that had coin operated showers and a Hitler-esque camp manager.

Then a few years later I lived in this caravan for a few months catching waves with my mini-mal, which was FAB. Here is a pic of me from that time. That is NOT A BUMBAG, its a metallic belt. Just needed to make sure you knew that!

 INTO THE GYPSY LIFE

So I have decided to share my two secret spots with you  my dear reader, in case you are looking to book a weekend away, or even a full week of gypsy style fun while keeping a semblance of a budget. 

Here are two  campsites I thoroughly recommend. You should book very soon, as these places get fully booked very quickly, and they will be opening from April.

CAMP ROSA

BLIGHTY

Camp Rosa, in The North Yorkshire Moors National Park nr Whitby. 

This place is the BOMB. Just check out their website  HERE  for a full frontal of how good life can be in this campsite.  I love the Elvis caravan (the one pictured here with the black cushions).

FRANCE

Vive le Frog - they have provided us with a fabulous secret campsite, which features some of the best authentic gypsy caravans I have seen. 

Les Roulottes de la Serve, in the  Beaujolais region.Tél : 0033 (0) 4 74 04 76 40 ppatin@free.fr
http://www.lesroulottes.com/

Staying in a renovated wooden gypsy caravan makes for a truly memorable and unique camping experience - and there could not be a finer location than nestled in the hills in the heart of the Beaujolais region in which to set up camp. Roulotte literally translates to ‘caravan’ and at this site there are three original gypsy caravans, each a different size and decorated in a different theme. There is the romantic fifties-style Des amoureux (caravan of love), which is the smallest of the three, accommodating two people. The four-sleeper Des manèges, is from the 1920’s and was painstakingly restored to its former grandeur. The largest caravan is Des étoiles, which can also sleep four and has an oriental vibe, decked out with an impressive collection of knick-knacks from the east.