For all the nuttering celebrities who said they would leave the country if Donald Trump won the presidential election (looking at you, Ellen Degeneres), consider this — a one-way trip overseas is rarely a ticket to paradise.
So rather than following Ellen’s lead and trading the coast for the Cotswolds, take four or five nights abroad to nip that post-election tsuris in the bud. The holiday season is an opportune time for international travel, and Americans across the board, particularly New Yorkers, are spoiled for choice.
A luxury weekend in Milan is highly feasible this holiday season. Dubai’s Emirates airline flies daily from JFK International Airport to Milan’s recently renamed Malpensa-Silvio Berlusconi airport. Catch a “fifth freedom flight” — so-called when an airline of one country flies between airports of two others — aboard Emirates’ A-380 double-decker aircraft for direct travel between the Empire City and the world capital of fashion.
Sumptuous boutique hotels abound in Milan these days. I can vouch for the Bulgari Hotel, having stayed there. It has a fine restaurant that can do wonders with lemon and fettuccine.
Milan’s centrally situated Via Monte Napoleone, a stone’s throw from the Four Seasons Milano Hotel, was recently deemed the world’s most expensive “retail destination,” edging out New York’s 5th Avenue. Of course, no one will force you to shop at Prada, Balenciaga, Versace, or any of the other high-end designers along fashion row, but the browsing is fun and free.
It’s also hard to go wrong with a long weekend in London or Paris, where the refurbished Notre Dame Cathedral, opening December 8 to the public, is certainly worth a whirl. Or, go a little farther and steal yourself some winter sunshine. Martha Stewart chose to spend Thanksgiving in Rome this year. As it turns out, Emirates also offers daily nonstop flights from Newark to Athens, and at last check, Delta flights from JFK to Athens are on sale through the holidays.
The thing to do when going to Europe for a brief break is to shun the Airbnb option and instead splash out on a grande dame hotel, whether that is Rome’s legendary Hassler or Athens’ equally iconic Grande Bretagne. The latter is where I once encountered a memorable potato, and it is now presenting a new bistro menu on the rooftop restaurant eight floors up — sufficient elevation for a fine view of the Acropolis.
For Thanksgiving, I checked in for a plate of chargrilled baby potatoes with beurre noisette and onion powder over a savory nage of gruyère cheese from the island of Naxos; my dining cohort went for a pelagic option of red shrimp ceviche with citrus, tarragon, and fennel. My entree was an interesting spin on ravioli, stuffed with celery root and celery crumble, sauced with hazelnut cream and a piquant foam of “kariki” cheese, which is from the island of Tinos and is aged in hollowed out seasonal gourds.
It’s worth mentioning that Lisbon is closer to New York than either London or Rome, and is very much where a certain “expat” vibe has been gaining steam since long before the recent presidential race. The Portuguese coast has some newfound acolytes like Meghan Markle, but despite its rich history and warm winter rays, Portugal will never be Italy; daily life outside Lisbon moves a little slowly for the jet set. However, the cosmopolitan capital is only about a six-and-a-half-hour flight from Newark aboard one of United’s new 787-10 Dreamliners.
If you want to reach more tropical climes while still enjoying the continent’s flavors, there’s no Caribbean like the French Caribbean. Mar-a-Lago has some nice beachfront, but wait until you see the pearl white gleam of Anse de Grande Saline on St. Barts. For a hotel on that speck of Paris tropicale, stick with the classics: the Eden Rock-St Barths is famously perched on a rocky promontory on St. Jean Bay. There’s also the lovely old iconic Guanahani, now a Rosewood property. Be warned, though: regardless of your politics, spouse, or faith, once you’ve succumbed to the spell of St. Barts, you may find it something of a sin to ever leave.