A European Beach Club in Jersey

One of my favorite things about going to a beach in parts of Europe, is the beach club concept. My favorite one is in Puglia, at the Masseria Torre Coccaro, where you take an 8 minute shuttle from the hotel, to a super chic club on the sea, where they have changing rooms, showers, massage rooms, hammocks, shade, umbrellas, waiter service on the beach, and one of the best restaurants ever. I swear it was the best seafood pasta we have ever had. Recently I was interviewing Bob and Cortney Novogratz (they have that show on Bravo called 9 By Design), who told me about the Bungalow Hotel they did in Long Branch, New Jersey, and how this hotel is affiliated with a beach club, and how much it feels like a European beach club. No, I haven't been there yet, but judging from the pictures it looks good. I'm thinking this would be a perfect September getaway, after all the summer crowds, and if I get down there, I'll give you the full report.

Lemonade Stand, Santa Barbara Style

We've just been visiting our great friends who live in Carpinteria, which is a sleepy surfer town above Ventura, and below Santa Barbara. We took a walk on the beach, and found this awesome 'shell stand'.

Lancaster PA

On our way to Bedford Springs, we broke for lunch in Lancaster.  It was a nice mid-point for us, and I had always wanted to go to the Lancaster Central Market there.  Apparently it's the oldest one in the country (although I feel like I've heard that claim from others), and it's in a nice town that has some great antiquing. The market was good, not great.  It had some fantastic pancake and johnny cake mixes for super cheap ($2.75 for a bag), and great jams, and delicious local yogurts.  But it didn't have alot of options for lunch, so we just cobbled together something from the different stands.  Across the way is the Heritage Center Museum, which has a very cool section for kids, with Amish wooden toys they can play with. Head to North Queen and Walnut Streets if you're into scoring some cool finds in junk shops and antique stores.

Below: Heritage Center Museum

Northeast Indoor Pool Series: Four Seasons Boston

This pool at the Four Seasons in Boston overlooks the Boston Public Garden (Think "Make Way For Ducklings, and check out all the great amenities the hotel has for kids.  Even though the Four Seasons Boston isn't super cheap (rooms start at $325), if you are desperate for a pool and a getaway, it is certainly cheaper than booking flights anywhere.

Northeast Indoor Pools Series: Winter Getaway Idea 1

 indoor pool at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa

We were meant to go to Santa Barbara for winter break, but our plans fell through, and at the last minute, we were scrambling for a place to go, that didn't involve booking a flight.  I started looking at lots of hotels with indoor pools, in beautiful locations or interesting cities, within a day's drive from New York.  I found alot, and am going to document them all here (not all in this post--I'll spread them out)...As I've said before, as long as there's a pool, and good food, we are happy.  I love the look of this deco pool, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, in Ottawa.  Another place we have been to, and love, and isn't quite as far as Ottawa, is the Omni Bedford Springs, in Pennsylvania.  It's about 4 1/2 hours from NYC, and has an indoor pool that uses their mineral springs water.  I believe this was the first indoor pool in the country.  I'll do a post about later this week, when I have access to all of my pictures.  Right now we're in Binghamton, visiting Grandma, and I'm without wireless.  We're driving to Quebec today, to stay at the Chateau Montebello, which looks amazing.  I'll report back on Tuesday.

Winter Getaway: Palm Beach Florida

Last winter break we stayed at the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach, which is actually in a small enclave called Manalapan, but I guess that doesn’t roll off the tongue like Palm Beach does.  It’s actually about 20 minutes south of West Palm Beach, and while when we first arrived, I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t in the middle of West Palm Beach, it ended up being better than I imagined.  The property itself is really nice—it’s right on the beach, has some nice pools—one just for adults, which was empty, and one for everyone, which was so packed, and you could tell that people came down in the morning, put their towels on their chairs, and staked their claim for the day.  Mildly annoying, especially for people like us.  However, it wasn’t really all that warm, and we wanted to explore anyway, so it was okay.  Plus Clara was fine just jumping in the hot tub.  Rooms were comfortable, and staff was helpful (but then again, when are they every not that at a Ritz Carlton?), and food was good.  Décor was very Kelly Wearstler-ish—felt very appropriate to the area—a modern take on old-school rich.  One of the best things was the location—it was right across the street from a mini-mall.  The mini-mall had a great grocery store, so we bought our snacks and beer/wine there, so we could save on room service.  It also had the cutest surf/wakeboard shop, called Coastal Surf&Ski, owned by an incredibly handsome (even Matt said so) dad named Morgan.  He runs it with his parents and his wife—they sell all types of surf gear, plus swimsuits and goggles, jewelry and cool ceramic mugs made by his wife.  He teaches surfing to kids and adults, and you can book lessons through him directly.  Because he has kids, I am sure he would be a great teacher.

One of the best parts about that area is all the resale shops.  You don’t want to go to the fancy parts of West Palm Beach where they know exactly what they have, and charge hundreds for vintage Lily Pulitzer.  Instead, drive up the Dixie Highway, and stop at every consignment shop you see.  We got some crazy steals, including a custom made tux (Matt’s exact size) for $70.  Then the owner of the shop recommended a great Italian tailor to him, who tweaked it perfectly for $50, and shipped it up to us within five days.  I found Ferragamo shoes for $8.  I did notice though, that small shoe sizes prevail here—if you are a 5 of 5 1/2, you’d make out like a bandit.

If you are into natural beauty products, and want to splurge on yourself, make a booking at Tammy Fender Day Spa.  I had read about it in Vogue, years ago, saved the article, and the second I knew we were coming this direction, made an appointment.  She is pretty magical, and her products are amazing. She gets her essential oils from the best sources and makes all of her products right there.  All products are in dark glass containers, and nothing has parabens.  While giving me the facial, she taught me something that I still do every night—we were talking about bedtime rituals, and she told me how she does a ‘guided meditation’ with her kids—mainly to center them, calm them down, and get them in the right mindspace for sleep.  I tried it with Clara, a little self-conscious the first time, and now she asks for it every night.  It’s pretty much doing a version of “you are getting sleepy” your way.

A cute town to visit in the area is Lake Worth.  It also has a row of consignment shops, and a nice vegan restaurant, that Tammy Fender recommended to us, called Soma Center Cafe.

Back to Manalapan, we walked to the Old Key Lime House one night for dinner.  It is from 1889, and they say it’s Florida’s oldest waterfront restaurant.  The walk was easy—across a causeway—and very pretty, and the food was very class Floridian: fried fish, key lime pie, cold beer…the décor was great, and there were even tables out on the dock that has swinging seats.  Totally worth a visit.  Another really cool thing to do, in walking distance to the hotel, is the Lantana Nature Preserve.  Clara ran up and down the paths, learning about all the native plants and trees.

We also loved the little town of Delray Beach—not up near the beach, but more inland…there was the coolest shop called The Trouser Shop that was like a news-stand, but had every type of man’s pant inside, totally Waspy, with rolls of web belts.  There was a great old school candy shop down the block, and also a department store completely caught in time. In that area is a sweet lunch spot called Ciao Sidewalk Café, and that’s also by a cute kids shop called Next Generation.