JOE BOONE
Extravagance is by nature woven into the fabric of most holiday vacations. Recently, my wife Julie
and I had the good fortune of adding a little satin and lace to ours, traveling to London to celebrate
our daughter’s wedding at St. Bartholomew-the-Great, London’s oldest surviving church (circa 1123
A.D.). Truly a fairytale wedding in a storybook setting, the celebration afterwards was over the top,
held at London’s award-winning restaurant St. John, which consistently ranks in Restaurant
Magazine’s annual list of the World’s Top 50 restaurants.
Anne Dimon
Over my 20+ years as a professional travel writer, I’ve traveled the world enjoying numerous
extravagant experiences, but the one that stands out most in my mind is a media trip to South Africa
on assignment for a meetings and incentive publication. The 10-day trip started in Cape Town where
our group was helicoptered up to Table Mountain for a Champagne picnic. We toured Stellenbosch
wine country in antique cars, boarded the luxury Rovos Rail for Durban, and concluded the trip with
a safari on a private game reserve bordering Krugar National Park. Yes, we saw the Big Five!
Margie Goldsmith
Just a 50-minute flight from Bali is the island of Sumba, home to the most over-the-top resort in the
world, Nihiwatu. The villa had a green grass yard, huge terrace with pool and lounging areas, shady
outdoor dining area, and a private pavilion overlooking the Indian Ocean with loungers and king-size
bed (in case we wanted to sleep beneath the stars). Meals were ocean-side, bare feet in the sand or
delivered to our villa. Service at Nihiwatu is “king.” Our wonderful Sumbanese butler arranged our
hikes, massages, private sunset boat cruise, and handed us towels after surfing the best left-handed
break in the world.
Matthew Schroeder
My last visit to Egypt was by far the most extravagant, over-the-top trip, but in a do-it-yourself kind
of way. Forgoing guides and tour groups, I sought out the Egypt most travelers pass over. In return
I discovered a country that’s truly mesmerizing. From exploring the catacombs of Kom Kom El
Shoqafa in Alexandria and diving into the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh, to drinking Negronis late
into the night at the Kempinski Nile Hotel’s rooftop bar and stuffing myself with molokheya and
lamb at Abou El Sid, the trip still brings a big smile to my face.
BARBARA WYSOCKI
In my too-often noisy life, quiet is prized. At Ballyfin, a restored country estate in County Laois,
Ireland, I found palatial peace. Maybe it was settling beside warm peat fires and cooling next to the
waterfall Cascade. When I climbed the stairs in the faux castle folly, the surrounding forest soothed
me. After a sunrise stroll around the gardens, I couldn’t resist two duck eggs with my full Irish
breakfast. Though my Celtic ancestors were not “to the manor born,” sipping Champagne in front
of the family’s 17th-century portrait, I felt like I belonged.
contributors
winter
/
spring 2017
Q
:
what is the most extravagant
trip you have ever taken?
