Monday, July 4, 2011

My Perfect Getaway

I especially love reading the Financial Times Weekend Edition.  My dear husband always points out articles he thinks I'll especially like to read.  This weekend included My Perfect Getaway interviews by Victoria Maw and Fernando Augusto Pacheco.  In case the FT isn't in your reading schedule, here is two of the interviews that made me smile and contemplate my favorite getaway.

Salvador Dali, lying down, wife Gala and friend sailing on a boat named after Gala


Tamara Mellon , founder and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo
Where are you spending the summer?
I cannot wait to go to the Hamptons. I go to unwind and get away from it all and it’s always very relaxed. The water and beaches are breathtaking and I always leave there completely rejuvenated.
What do you do when you arrive?
I put on my bikini and go to the beach with [my daughter] Minty for our first swim. We are at our happiest by the sea together.
What are you looking forward to reading?
Why Not Say What Happened?, the autobiography of Guinness heiress Ivana Lowell.
What do you like doing on holiday?
Relaxing and spending time with Minty. Reading, exercising and just getting away from it all really.
Will you be online or offline?
I tend to check my work e-mails first thing for anything urgent, then my BlackBerry is off limits and it’s family time. I am on Twitter (@TamaraMellon) and have been known to tweet from the beach occasionally.
Ideal travelling companion?
I would love to take a trip with Hillary Clinton or Queen Rania of Jordan.
Item you are unable to leave at home?
Lavender oil and Vie Luxe scented candles for my hotel room.
Where would you like to go next?
Brazil is top of my list. Its tropical climate, glamorous beaches and characters, sun-bleached colours and wild carnival nights inspired my current collection.
.......................................................................
Gary Shteyngart , author
Where are you spending the summer?
No time for holidaying this year, sadly; I have to promote my last book from Wales to Rome by way of Copenhagen and Madrid. My idea of a good holiday is lying on a blanket with a book while a friendly ant tickles me between my toes. Aren’t ants the best?
What do you do when you arrive at your holiday destination?
I realise I’ve forgotten my swimming trunks. I always forget my trunks. And then there are weeks spent trying to pry trunks from some reluctant Anatolian merchant. Why is life so difficult?
What are you looking forward to reading?
An actual printed newspaper would be nice. The kind that gets me all inky like a squid. I don’t like to think too much in the summer so, in terms of books, maybe early Evelyn Waugh.
What do you like doing when on holiday?
Deep coma. A little reading. Back to coma.
Ideal travelling companion?
Any long-haired dachshund will do, particularly one named Felix.
Item you are unable to leave at home?
My cholesterol medication, lorazepam, Xanax, various subclasses of barbiturates.
Do you eat in or out when on holiday?
I barely know how to boil water, so eating out is the way to go. I love snout-to-tail kinds of food where I eat the whole animal.
Do you buy postcards and if so, who do you send them to?
Postcards? Is that like a printed e-mail? I guess I don’t.
How do you feel when the holiday is over?
Depressed. But happy to see my dachshund, if we’ve been separated.
Where would you like to go next?
Hudson, New York. A little town upstate where I feel very relaxed.

What would be your perfect getaway? I'm still trying to figure out mine.