Sunil Metcalfe
It started with castles. The battlements of Harlech and Conwy – sitting for hundreds of years in their stately grandeur. Those places were a gateway that led me to Europe and its compound history – from Chenonceau in the Loire Valley and Neuschwanstein in Germany.
On the other side of my heritage, I have family in Kerala, southern India, where my grandmother lives on an estate surrounded by swathes of coconut, banana, and pepper trees. Even at 80, she picks the finest black pepper pods for me to take home when I visit. She’s a testament to fresh, organic, healthy living, and has long been an inspiration for me.
As a Travel Expert, I want to give our travelers an experience that takes them off the beaten path – and much closer to the land (pepper pods and all). I love to use a Weberian concept, to put yourself in verstehen (in the shoes) of a local. For me, this is about discovering somebody’s passions and curiosities, and then designing a trip that helps them to pursue these threads. I want our travelers to feel the life, the landscapes, in front of them.
Beyond my work, I spend my time going to see live music performances and theatre. In London, I would take in something groundbreaking at the Royal Court or the National Theatre. Now stateside, I’m blessed to have Broadway on my doorstep.
'A full circle feeling'
A closer look at the USAWhen I was very young, I remember looking at Ceefax (a kind of forerunner of the internet), keeping track of arrivals and departures at Heathrow and Birmingham airports, seeing when the flights left on time and being in awe of all the places on the screen I could travel to. Saving up my paper-round money, I’d spend the summers in New York with my aunt and cousins. We’d walk to Central Park, check out the latest basketball kicks or Knicks jerseys, and listen to Nas on Hot 97.
Now, when my colleagues and I come to Meatpacking to get together as a team, I am one block from my aunt’s old apartment on 14th and 8th and the John A. Severalli playground where I used to shoot hoops. New York was the first place where I got the travel bug – and now I work here with a team of likeminded individuals. It’s a full circle feeling. And fun.
Discover the USA
“Many companies brag about offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But with Black Tomato it’s not hyperbole”
“Black Tomato are one of the coolest things in the world. Don’t even try and live without them”
“Black Tomato is a super innovative company where the sky is the limit for their clients”
“Black Tomato prides itself on meeting customers every minor need or desires”
“Black Tomato is the choice provider of mind-expanding holidays”
