Condé Nast Traveler: Where Are You? Contest
Where Are You Contest
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You are visiting family in a community whose homes face lakes and seaside canals and wondering who created the dazzling illumination on the grassy spit of land before you. Don't worry about being corralled by the neighbor with the ostentatious Christmas displays and the bangin' yearly fireworks spectacle, the guy who says with false modesty, "Hey, I just threw a few lights up in the yard, come on over." Thankfully, the enclave across the water belongs to a renowned botanic garden open to all.
An eighty-acre paradise with more than five hundred palm taxa, it was designed in the thirties by a landscape architect—a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted—whose harmonious town you admired when you toured another canal. The garden is named for a botanist who was the son-in-law of the greatest Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of all. He's credited with introducing thousands of exotic specimens to the United States, from mangoes and nectarines to alfalfa and horseradish—and in this case, junk science refers to the botanist's means of transport. His nearby Java-inspired compound has a fetching garden of its own where you can finally learn what in the world ylang-ylang is.
The city you are in was designed to a T by a developer fixated on Italianate touches. A local grand hotel is now a historic landmark, as is an artesian swimming pool that recalls a famed laguna. Football fans know that the university has a cyclonic team, but who knew you could find Goyas and a Gainsborough on campus?
A few years ago, when thieves absconded with endangered cycads during a tropical tempest, it made headlines—among plantistas anyway (whose ranks you will proudly join after exploring the gardens). Sure, you could take the guided tram tour, but it's better to stroll the grounds filled with soaring Di Suveros and delicate Chihulys. How's that for splendor in the grass?
Where are you, anyhow?
THIS MONTH'S PRIZESet amidst one of the most scenic and historic estates in Ireland, The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, County Wicklow is a 200-room resort showcasing Palladian-style architecture and offering guests a host of amenities. Two championship-caliber golf courses on the grounds, a 30,000-square-foot luxury spa by ESPA and a Gordon Ramsay signature restaurant are among this Ireland luxury hotel's distinctive attractions.
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