voyages

Choose Your Own Adventure

Todays greatest innovators in fashion, beauty, and food tour the globe in pursuit of inspiration for their chosen fields. Their extraordinary journeys can be yours, too. By Matthew Wexler

MEDITERRANEAN MAGIC

Michelle Smiths fashion label, Milly, merges American sportswear with Parisian atelier techniques, but it is her world travels that inform her collections, ranging from ready-to-wear to leather goods and swimwear. Her preferred destination? Sicily.
Stay: Verdura Golf & Spa Resort is near Agrigento in a remote area along the sea and features enormous outdoor mineral pools with healing elements in them. You can sit in the open air under the sunshine with a view of the sea and mountains. Wander through the orange groves and get lost in nature. There is a beautiful golf course and tennis courts as well. There is nothing like itjust thinking about it makes me want to go back again! verduraresort.com Day Trip: Valley of the Temples is a Unesco World Heritage site and features ancient architecture. The incredible organic winery Planeta is nearby. Its family-owned and a great place to do a tasting and stay for dinner; the grandmother cooks the food. It doesnt get more authentic than that. valleyofthetemples.com; planetawines.com Take-Along Item: A Milly Cabana bikini. My favorite this season is cobalt blue with neon accents. Also, a beautiful cover-up and a dress that can easily go from sightseeing to dinner. Creative Inspiration: I get a lot of my fabrics from Italy. There is a real attention to detail in European culture that I like to emulate during my design process. I am involved in every step, from choosing the fabrics to designing my own prints and choosing the custom hardware.

Verdura Golf & Spa Resort is where Michelle Smith (below) of Milly opts to stay when in Sicily.

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A beach cover-up from the designers Milly for Banana Republic collection, available at Banana Republic, 973-379-3533.

photography by rocco forte hotels (verdura); ashley perlstein (cover-up); opposite page: jaime ardiles-arce (four seasons)

voyages

BIKING THROUGH MOROCCO

With her initial lipstick launch at Bergdorf Goodman in 1991, makeup artist Bobbi Brown has helped redefine the industry with a full line that is simple, flattering, and wearableall necessary for her most esoteric journey: Morocco. Seeing Morocco on a bicycle tour with my husband offered a great perspective. We immersed ourselves in the culture, experiencing everything from the vibrant maze-like passageways in Marrakechs marketplace to visiting the olive groves of Tamesloht to charming seaside villages, like Moulay Bouzerktoun, and riding camels on the Sidi Kaouki beach.
Stay: Erected on the ruins of a 19th-century fondouk (a hostel) in Essaouira, LHeure Bleue Palais is now a luxury hotel with influences of African, European, and Arab cultures. It also has a wonderfully relaxing hammam (traditional Moroccan bathhouse). heure-bleue.com An equally lavish yet comfortable experience awaits at Jardin dIns, a 26-suite boutique hotel in the Palmeraie in Marrakech surrounded by gardens. jardindines-marrakech.com Eat: Chalet de la Plage in the port town of Essaouira had some of the most incredibly fresh seafood and vegetables that Ive ever eaten. The century-old restaurant has been familyoperated for four generations. Insider Tip: After touring a womens cooperative in Essaouira, I learned the true benefits of argan oil for the hair and skin and how they exfoliate the skin at the hammam spas with sandpaper washcloths. It is the smoothest your skin will ever feel. Take Along: Bobbi Brown SPF 50 Protective Face Base is lightweight but provides high-performance protection from the sun. Also, our Luminous Moisturizing Treatment Foundation, which contains a proprietary light-reflecting technology, gives skin a glow and has antiaging treatment benefits.

During a bike tour through Morocco, Bobbi Brown (left) stayed at the spectacular Jardin dIns in Marrakech. inset: Bobbi Brown Luminous Moisturizing Treatment Foundation, available at Saks Fifth Avenue, 973-376-7000.

A Taste of Turkey
Israeli-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi (right) favors staying at The Four Seasons Istanbul for its highly appointed rooms and views.

Yotam Ottolenghi doesnt just know food, he lives for it. The Israeli-born chef, author, and restaurateur has made his mark on Londons take-away scene with bold architectural design, while his full-service restaurant Nopi showcases his celebratory attitude toward omnivore eating with an international flair, partly inspired by his favorite holiday hot spot: Istanbul, Turkey.
Stay: Anywhere with a view of the Hagia Sophia and where you can have a sun-downer when the clock strikes six. The Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet offers the vista as well as lavish accommodations. Set in the Old City, the century-old former Neoclassical Turkish prison now features 65 rooms and suites, with nearby bazaars, historic sites, mosques, and monuments that illuminate the night sky. fourseasons.com/istanbul Eat: Known for its courgette fritters, Lokanta Maya in the Karakoy district serves many other exquisite dishes, such as slow-cooked lamb, tahini ice cream with pureed pumpkin, and pomegranate mojitos. lokantamaya.com The charming Ciya Sofrasi offers authentic, regional tapasstyle food, including local favorites such as lamb meatballs with soured cherries, meat stew with tart green plums, pistachio pastries with clotted cream, and Yotam sumac sherbet. Chef Musa Dagdeviren Ottolenghis latest cookbook, gleans inspiration from his travels throughout Ottolenghi: Anatolia. ciya.com.tr The Cookbook, Discover: Authentic biber salcasi red chili available at Williamspaste can be found in most markets (try the Sonoma, Eminonu Egyptian spice bazaar). Add it to any 973-467-3641. dish back home for a hint of Turkish flavor. n

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