Town & Country August 2018

“Crazy Rich Asians may be fiction, but given the situation I grew up in, I’ve had an unparalleled view into the very real world it depicts. I come from an old establishment family from Singapore. Our family tree goes back to the year 946. Three families intermarried: mine, the Kwans; my grandmother’s, the Ohs; and my grandfather’s, the Hus, which made for a sprawling clan that helps inspire the stories in my novels and what you see onscreen in Crazy Rich Asians. In these photos you can see my grandparents on their wedding day in 1931, which was the second time they had met. My grandmother Egan Oh was an independent flapper type who didn’t want to get married. When she was 26 her neighbor Margaret Kwan Fu Shing introduced…

ARTS & CULTURE Through August 5 Julian Schnabel The filmmaker and painter created new large-scale works for San Francisco’s Legion of Honor, on view in the courtyard. Through August 5 “Beyond Suffrage: A Century of New York Women in Politics” The Museum of the City of New York traces the history of female activism. July 30 Magic Realism London’s Tate Modern dedicates an exhibit to the fantastical art of Germany between the world wars. August 14 SCAD The Savannah art school’s eponymous museum is giving an exhibition to a recent alumna, Kenzie Adair. Summer Konstantin Kakanias The Greek artist is celebrated in his hometown of Athens with exhibits at the Rebecca Camhi and Kalfayan galleries. July 22 Constantin Brancusi The pioneering sculptor’s iconic works, along with drawings, photographs, and archival…

When Alexis Hearst and Mike Howard began planning their wedding, there was no doubt that they would have it at Hearst Castle. “It’s home for me,” says Alexis, who grew up visiting the estate and the surrounding 80,000-acre Hearst Ranch (the latter still owned by her family) in San Simeon, California. “I also wanted a fairytale kind of wedding—what better place to do it than at a castle?” Last August the couple, who live in Rancho Santa Fe (Mike is a partner at Ernst & Young), invited 130 guests for a weekend of festivities, including: a rehearsal dinner at the bunkhouse, with a menu of grilled tri-tips and roasted corn on the cob; a Spanish-themed reception at the winery with copious paella and sangria; and a brunch at the Senator’s…

The “commute” to Bermuda couldn’t be easier—less than two hours from the East Coast—which is why Juan Trippe, founder of Pan Am, started flying the well heeled to this 21-square-mile British territory in the early 1950s, launching its tourism heyday. But for years now Bermuda has felt a bit like your grandmother’s island, in part because its hotels are largely holdovers from that era. No longer: The Bermuda Rosewood reopened in April on a hilltop in Tucker’s Point, a gorgeous 240-acre enclave with views of Harrington Sound and Castle Harbour (where Michael Bloomberg, among others, has a home). Here’s a weekend plan. FRIDAY Actually, fly out late Thursday, so you have three nights in your outrageously comfortable bed at Rosewood. Get in a morning run, then it’s off to nearby St.George’s,…

Political parties are the most important kind of party in DC, but it would be a mistake to think the city’s only excitement is governmental antics. After all, when congressional offices close and bureaucrats are tucked behind tables at Café Milano, there’s a world of top-tier culture to enjoy. FRIDAY The Willard may be one of Washington’s oldest hotels—it’s turning 200 this year—but after a recent refresh, it’s also one of the most inviting. After check-in pop down to the Round Robin Bar, a White House press corps favorite, and have a mint julep before wandering over to the Kennedy Center, where—if you can’t get tickets to Hamilton (through September 16)—the National Symphony Orchestra has just kicked off a season that will welcome Joshua Bell (September 22), Renée Fleming (January…

Given Iceland’s beauty—and the short trip from JFK on Icelandair, via direct flight or stopovers en route to Europe—it’s no surprise that it has become a hot destination, attracting six times its population in tourists last year. And there’s more to see than just the northern lights. FRIDAY Drop your bags at Sandhotel, a boutique hotel built from three combined, modernized townhouses in the heart of Reykjavík. A good first stop is the neighboring Sandholt Bakery, which has been open and run by the same family for nearly 100 years, for a glass of the famous unfiltered wine. Don’t linger too long if you want to make a reservation at Dill, where the menu, which features such local specialties as arctic char and root vegetables, made it the first restaurant…