Here and There #17
So many good books are coming out this month that I want for my bookshelf, and/or to order in multiples for host gifts this summer. From this celebrity passport photo book to this homage to Fire Island art, to our former Martha Stewart and Traveler colleague Steve Orrâs new gardening book, and our dear friend Jenny Waltonâs book Jenny Sais Quoi: Adventures in Vintage & Personal Styleâa visual diary that includes her amazing illustrations and paintings, as well as essays on how she sources and styles vintage and other inspirations. This summer âsuitââmeant to be wrinklyâis perfect as separates, too. Iâm also dreaming about this more formal version. Maybe this will be the summer I finally make it to see Niki de Saint Phalleâs Tarot Garden, Il Giardino dei Tarocchi, in Capalbio. Starting in 1978, she spent over two decades creating 22 giant, mosaic-encrusted sculptures inspired by the tarot deck, and itâs supposed to be incredible. This bag from The Armoury is made of stiff canvasâit stands up so wellâand it comes with a shoulder strap. Finally available again in the States. Of course, I have to plug the Wm Brown prebottled Negroni! Mattâs only been working on it for years, and market researching every hotel minibar to confirm that there isnât a good one yet. This one is great, and you can order it here. I love clever pop-ups and programming where unlikely bedfellows come together. I was sad to have missed this kintsugi workshop at our friendsâ winery, Hudson Ranch, last weekend, but am lobbying for a repeat. And if you find yourself in St. Tropez this summer, our friends at Alessi, Connolly, Fornasetti, Globe-Trotter and Smythson are joining together for a pop-up called The Shop on the Cornerâand Iâm hosting a cocktail party to celebrate both the launch and our summer issue on June 13. Speaking of St. Tropez, I canât wait to get back to Rondini to restock on these sandals that I got on my last trip there (had literally no wear-in issues!)âin either navy or red⌠or both! Next time Iâm in London, I want to try to see this 15th-century English noble home with a surprise 1930âs Art Deco interiorâEltham Palace was built in Greenwich in 1936 by âeccentric millionairesâ Stephen and Virginia Courtauld and is only 40 minutes by train. Our Roman friend Roberto came over the other day wearing this grassy/sweet scent called Ichnusa that was so good I couldnât stop talking about it. Turns out itâs from a family-owned Roman perfumer called Profumum (which turns 30 this year), with scents inspired by Italian terroirâIchnusa is Sardinia in a bottle. Last week we launched our first family newsletter, Yolo Junior! And the new home of all things family travel on our site, from Black Books of world cities at a childâs scale to packing tips, travel advice, and dispatches with the whole family in tow. We just updated our coveted Costa Meno Italy list, so if you werenât sure Italy was within reach this year, this is your bible, with over 200 hotels, B&Bâs, resorts, and albergos spanning the vast Italian coast. Our Nashville List made us want to join everyone who is moving to this incredibly fun city. Our latest Travel Uniform updates our most popular post ever: the most comfortable pants for the airplane. The most brilliant âSudoku packing methodââa grid-based system that turns nine pieces into 27 outfitsâexplained! And finally, we just published our Antwerp Listâa love letter to one of the most interesting cities in Europe⌠all from the coolest locals, of course. Weâre huge fans of Pali Hotelsâweâve stayed at their Santa Monica and Seattle properties many timesâso couldnât be happier that theyâve opened HĂ´tel Lili, in a 1939 former residence in the heart of Beverly Hills. It reads Old Hollywood in all the right ways, with a bijou bar, herringbone floors, and touches of velvet. (For local recs, see our LA Black Book) May is your last chance to catch (Yolo favorite) photographer Martin Parr at the Jeu de Paume in Paris. The remarkable Matisse show at the Grand Palaisâover 300 pieces sourced from public and private collections around the worldâis on through late July. SF finally gets a new (and great) hotel! The Huntington Hotel has just re-opened in San Franciscoâs Nob Hill neighborhood, with 143 rooms reimagined by Ken Fulk. Our friends who stayed last week say itâs so good! One of Romeâs most anticipated arrivals, Casa J.K Place, is finally open. A stoneâs throw from the Spanish Steps, the apartment-style extension of one of our favorite hotels in the city has 12 suites of 1 to 3 bedrooms, a gym, Biologique Recherche spa, and the second location of Drink Kong, an award-winning Japanese-inspired bar. Wheely is probably the chicest rideshare app on the marketâthe drivers are expertly trained, the cars are immaculate, and you can choose between business, first, and XL. Until now only active in London, Paris and Dubai, they launched in NY in March. More consistently premium than Uber but at $100-150 from JFK into the city, the pricing is similar. Belmond Villa San Michele in Florence has officially dropped the curtain after an 18-month reno, and (phew) itâs even better than before. The 15th-century convent in the Fiesole Hills encompasses 39 redesigned rooms and suites, a Guerlain spa, new restaurant Antesi, and high vibes in the former chapel, now a yoga space with an âEnergy Raising Programâ by La DoubleJ founder, JJ Martin. Maison Senato, around the corner from Milanâs major shopping streets, Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone, sounds cool: the six new private residences (all 200+ sq meters) are odes to Italian craftsmanship wrapped in an elegant modernist design. And not crazy expensive if you have a group. You can still catch âThe Adventure of Domenico Gnoliââthe largest exhibit of the Italian artistâs amusingly stylized paintings of everyday objectsâat Levy Gorvy Dayan in NYC until May 23. Calling all Hemingway fans! Black Tomato has just announced their new itinerary inspired by The Sun Also Rises, titled In Search of the Lost Generation. Curated in part by friend-of-Yolo David Coggins, the trip spans France and Spain, starting in Paris and ending in Madrid, with stops in Biarritz, San Sebastian and Rioja. Burgundy finally has a hotel as divine as its wine. Château de CĂŽteaux, the latest in the Fontenille Collection, is an immaculately restored 19th-century chateau which sits above 12th-century Cistercian cellars, in the Meursault appellation and five minutes from Beaune. The Marcel Duchamp show at MoMa is on until August 22ndâwith over 300 artworks, the exhibition is the artistâs first retrospective in the states since 1973. Also at MoMA, âFrida and Diego, The Last Dream,â in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera, highlights work from both trailblazing Mexican artistsâ oeuvres in a theatrical setting. Jakes Treasure Beachâwhich recently completed a huge overhaul in the wake of Hurricane Melissaâjust opened six new oceanfront bungalows that are âso close that you can fish off the deck.â (Read our Guest Book here.) Last-minute reset: From May 28-June 1, Cap Juluca in Anguilla is hosting cult brand Sanctum (think kundalini meets HIIT), a 5-day wellness residency designed around mindfulness and dynamic movement. Weâve been big fans of JSX ever since it startedâitâs ideal for SoCal to NorCal hops and flies out of private airports (meaning you donât have to get to the airport so early). It just added a Napa route, perfect for a weekend of wine tasting. Itâs relatively inexpensive ($249 from Burbank to Napa) considering its great perks: pet friendly with a generous 2 x 50lb checked baggage allowance. See our Napa/Sonoma Black Book. The Thinking Traveller launched a collection of rental villas in Sardiniaâwith exclusive-use villas from tony playground Costa Smeralda, if thatâs your vibe, to the countryâs ruggedly gorgeous southern coast. We canât wait to visit the Museum of the City of New York to see Joe Mackenâs model of NYC. Spanning 50 x 27 feet, it took Macken 21âŚ
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