Florida’s Perfect Palm Beach and Bewitching Boca

Palm Beach is every bit as chi-chi as you might have heard. Though I have traveled to the ritziest parts of California (Belle Air, Hollywood and Rodeo Drive, for instance), I have never seen so privileged a lifestyle as I saw on the streets of this impeccable city. This is the place to people-watch if catching glimpses of the beau monde is your cup of tea. Henry Flagler is once again to be credited for visualizing and creating this playground for the rich and famous at the end of the 19th century. In the early twentieth century, he was joined in his efforts by architect Addison Mizner who designed and built a number of grand Spanish style mansions for the well-heeled who made this city their winter playground.

There is literally not a street out of place is this superbly planned city. From the minute you drive into its palatial environs, past the tall coconut palms that line the wide boulevards, you sense in your bones that you are in the company of American aristocracy. The town is dominated by the red-roofed turrets of the old Royal Porciana Hotel, today an apartment building. Even the high school building by which we passed, has all the aura of a Spanish hacienda. We were struck by the amount of time, money and energy that has gone into keeping this city uniform in its architectural appeal and in the addition of the distinctive embellishments that make good architecture great.
Using my trusty DK Eye-Witness Guide Book, we parked our car and took a walking tour of the city, starting at Sunrise Avenue where we stepped briefly into St. Edward Church to see some of the most amazing stained glass windows in the south. Right opposite the church is Greene’s Pharmacy and Luncheonette which has been steadily in business since the 1930s and offers all the old-fashioned ambience of a casual city diner and soda fountain.
Back in our car, we drove to one of the most famous hotels of the south, The Breakers, where, at The Seafood Bar, in an attempt to cast a glance at the posh interiors of the lobby, we decided to have a light lunch of the famous Florida Hearts of Palm Salad. Also conceived and designed by Flagler, The Breakers is an opulent piece of work indeed, as astonishing on the inside as it is impressive on the outside. The lobby is so magnificent that we felt as if we were in a museum. Occupying an enviable piece of real estate, right on the waterfront whose waves give the hotel its name, we were so taken by the building lapped by the jade waters of the Atlantic that lay just a stone’s throw away from us as we lunched in right royal style.

 Continuing our exploration of Palm Beach, we drove towards Worth Street, one of the prettiest shopping areas I have ever seen. Lined by low slung buildings in the most appealing pastel shades, the shop fronts had charming displays of some of the world’s most expensive luxury goods from watches and designer clothing to alligator skin handbags and stone-studded jewelry. A fine showcase of American wealth, Worth Street made pleasant window shopping even if one didn’t wish to part with a penny.

Back in our car, we continued our driving tour of the city arriving at Casa de Leoni (left), the home that Mizner built as his private residence on the banks of Lake Worth. Everywhere we went we saw a similar style in homes that were well concealed behind tall and superbly manicured hedges—Spanish red tiled roofs overhung pink abode and stuccoed walls adorned with delicate wrought iron trellises at windows and Juliet-style balconies. Overall, these architectural confections whispered Old Money. So rich are the townspeople that even the Town Hall is a work of art and when viewed from the street corner it is easy to mistake the buildings that make up the Town Hall Corner for a really prosperous part of modern Spain. We were sorry that Whitehall, the private winter residence of Henry Flagler, today the Flagler Museum, is closed on Mondays, making it impossible for us to see the undoubtedly breathtaking interiors.

Beguiling Boca Raton:

(Llew–left–and Rochelle–right–at Mizner Park in Boca Raton)

We stopped for ice-cream at Greene’s Luncheonette where the portions were huge and the service was old-fashioned, before we hit the highway again and headed towards Boca Raton to get an idea of the city that is generally referred to as “Boca”. Also visualized by Mizner as being a secondary Palm Beach, the extravagance that comprises the city did not materialize in his own lifetime but developed only after his demise into the commercial dream that it is today. In this city too, it is well-manicured golf courses and country clubs, high end stores and shopping plazas that make the tourist gasp in wonder. We decided to drive directly to Mizner Park, named after this brilliant visionary, a space where a Cultural Center, a Museum of Fine Art and a collection of upscale stores sit cheek by jowl in a superbly-planned space that sparkles with Spanish style fountains and cobbled sidewalks. Today’s city planners have continued Mizner’s dream, building plazas that echo his great love for Spanish detail as seen in the ice-cream hued walls and red tiled roofs that adorn them.

Without straying from our itinerary too long, we got back into our car and continued driving further south along the east coast, taking the more scenic Route 1 which skirts the coast offering lovely glimpses of the clear blue waters of the Atlantic and the many coastal homes that dot the region. We made our home for the next three nights at Dania Beach just south of Fort Lauderdale where our friends Allan and Martha Rodriguez live. We called it a night rather early as the next morning would see us wake up at the crack of dawn to board our cruise ship for our first glimpse of the Caribbean Islands of the Bahamas.

Bon Voyage!