Getting the flavor of … Fabulously boring Palm Beach, and more

Fabulously boring Palm Beach

Hip it’s not, said Simon Doonan in Travel + Leisure, but the Florida resort town of Palm Beach has “perfected the art of old-school glamour.” This lush, hospitable town is “completely and utterly boring, and that’s a good thing.” The absence of anything in particular to do is exactly what overworked, stressed-out Northerners like myself love about the place. “P.B.,” as we call it, is like Valium. You spend your days reading, walking along the beach, staring at the pelicans and buzzards, lounging, shopping, and eating. The city excels in “simple 1950s digestible fare,” and at many restaurants, women wear tiaras. If you eat at the “insanely popular” Palm Beach Grill, make sure to order “your banana cream pie when you sit down. The locals are addicted to it,” and it goes fast. West Palm Beach is a great place to shop for “some of the most collectible and glamorous” vintage furniture in the world. Contact: Palmbeachfl.com

A historic Wisconsin town

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Mazomanie is one very long step back in time, said Carrie Antlfinger in the Detroit Free Press. This Wisconsin village, founded in 1855, is now “a happening place,” with art galleries, a mill transformed into a restaurant, and 33 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Mazomanie (pronounced may-zoh-MAY-nee) is located between the state capital of Madison and Taliesin, the famed summer home of Frank Lloyd Wright. That makes it a central location for travellers seeking the best of the state’s culture. Budget Travel recently named it one of the “10 Coolest Small Towns,” noting that it is “saturated with artists” creating paintings, glasswork, photographs, jewelry, and scarves, among other things. The Mazomanie Movement Arts Center operates a circus arts camp for children. Also adding to the town’s popularity is the “controversial nude beach on the Wisconsin River,” which attracts naturists from surrounding states.

Contact: Mazomaniechamber.com/tourism.html