If there is any subject where this fractious republic might find consensus, then perhaps it’s in the beauty of Chihuly. Even those who might feel that the work of glass artist Dale Chihuly is crowd-pleasing anodyne would most likely admit to a revelatory moment upon witnessing his Japanese-inspired Niijima fishing floats or walking into Vegas’s…
During a year that commenced with an early morning Alpine snowshoe expedition to the peak of Muottas Muragl in Engadin St. Moritz, Switzerland and ended with a (pre-election) Jazz Era, Gatsby-themed weekend at Glenmere in the Lower Hudson Valley, we wandered the planet from the West Coast of Sweden to San Francisco and Martha’s Vineyard,…
On a snow-cold winter’s night in Sweden, a gay atheist and his husband entered Gothenburg Cathedral for the annual candlelit Lucia concert—and, two hours later, emerged elated and joyful. That atheist was me and in the months since, the memory of that Saint Lucia celebration has reminded me anew of the power of music and…
At the court of Versailles, the wines of Fronsac were known as the king’s favorite. Located about 20 miles from Bordeaux in the east of the Bordeaux wine region, Fronsac is notable for its bucolic woodland, which so charmed the mother of Louis XVI that she lingered for days at a château known as Château…
Amidst the darkness of the current season, even a small glow can make a big difference. To alter the atmosphere, consider a candle from Cire Trudon. Founded in 1643 as wax supplier to the imperial courts of France, Cire Trudon reigns as the oldest candle manufacturer in the world. As the Royal wax manufacturer for…
Known as the “Sheikh of Chic” and a close friend of Tom Ford, Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah credits his grandmother as his fragrance muse. As a boy, al-Sabah lingered in his grandmother’s kitchen while she blended her favorite blends of Taif rose, oud, patchouli, and agarwood. It was al-Sabah’s memory of his grandmother’s recipes and her…
While you may think that you don’t know Navarra, it’s likely that you’ve heard of its capital, Pamplona, home to the running of the bulls festival about which Ernest Hemingway wrote so eloquently in The Sun Also Rises (1926), a paean to his love for Spain—and its wine. Tellingly, it was Hemingway who reputedly said,…
Sometimes fate shines favorably on romantic whims. Take Glenmere, for example, the historic hilltop mansion built by the Gilded Age magnate Robert Goelet at the behest of his wife who yearned for her own Italian villa in the States.