A new volume of PALMER On the Road is coming out July 10th. Below, Editorial Director Stefano Tonchi gives a preview of what to expect.
From antiquity to modern times, in many cultures and religions, palm trees have forever been a symbol of sustenance and longevity. Where there are palms, there is life. Today, the perennial has become the de facto symbol of escapism, vacation, and good times. Palm Beach is the American embodiment of all these qualities and, not without reason, is often addressed as a paradise of sorts: social, architectural, financial. Why then, come April, have people historically left this Eden to find new paradises, North or West, across the ocean or in the mountains?
Palm Beach is no longer just a seasonal destination: Worth Avenue’s sidewalks are bustling. More and more families live here year-round; and summer tourism is growing, according to restaurant and hotel owners, who keep their rates and their bookings up. Still, when the temperature climbs above 90 degrees, residents like to take a vacation from paradise and go in search of their own private getaway.
Sit at any dinner table in Palm Beach and, by March, the conversation quickly turns to where their next trip will take them, and which of their houses will be open: In the U.S., places like the Hamptons, Newport, Aspen, or Nantucket; and in Europe, London, and Paris, maybe Venice for the Biennale, or Basel for the art fair, some remote Mediterranean island, and, surely, Saint-Tropez.
The formerly bohemian French village, still home to Brigitte Bardot, has become a social destination for the very rich and the very wild, and not everybody is happy. The small traditional shops and the old wineries, responsible for the region’s famed rosé, are being acquired by large corporations. A local official has even gone so far as to brand Saint-Tropez “LVMH-Ville.” Still, Dana Thomas writes, the quiet magic remains, if one knows where to look. Of course, famed paradises go in and out of popularity. Michael Gross explores the rise (and eventual fade) of the great Gilded Age resorts.
Daisy Soros has spent more than 50 summers in the same house on Nantucket. Sitting with writer Maura Egan in her gracious Fifth Avenue apartment, she shares memories from her favorite place on Earth. The 94-year-old philanthropist, intellect, and queen of New York’s and Palm Beach’s inner social circles has found an unparalleled sense of peace and balance on this idyllic Eastern island, one filled with long family lunches and evenings under the stars. British lawyer-turned–art dealer Richard Edwards took a vacation to Aspen 30 years ago and never left. What makes this mountain town so special? So different in the winter and summer, but equally desirable? James Reginato investigates.
Lastly, Jamee and Peter Gregory have made Southampton their family retreat since the mid-’70s. It may no longer be the low-key place where the young couple would shake off their clothes for a late-night ocean swim, but after traveling the world, they candidly admit to Marshall Heyman that there is no place like home.
Until we return to Palm Beach in the fall, this issue is an homage to those who have found their paradise. And what they have made of it. Click here to pre-order your copy now.