Remember the sounds of pre-Covid New York? I hear crescendos: the Philharmonic at fortissimo, the approaching A train, any good cocktail party around 7:15, and—perhaps the most avid sound of the busy city—the lunchtime gabble of business and gossip in a crowded restaurant. Three years of forced retreat in the Berkshires had made me a stranger to all that music. I tended my vegetable garden and wrote a cookbook, mostly alone except for FaceTime hangs and Zoom meetings. So the soundscape at Le Rock, when I walked into the Rockefeller Center restaurant at the lunchtime peak earlier this year, was the sound of being alive once again, IRL. My lunch date—a writer, mother, philanthropist—had just flown in from Costa Rica. I had come down for a conference. Our rendezvous led, entirely by chance, to a second reunion. Seated at the next table was Bronson van Wyck, the party planner, a pal from way back whom I hadn’t seen in eons. At that night’s dinner at Jupiter, the next person over was long-lost fellow foodie JR Ryall, the pastry chef at Ballymaloe House, Ireland’s legendary countryside restaurant. The next day at the conference, I ran into a favorite colleague from Australia, who invited me to a networking lunch, which led to an offhand comment, which evolved into a thoughtful conversation, which eventually resulted in a plum assignment to go to Perth. “So glad to have run into you,” said my Aussie friend. “The unplanned meetings are always the best.”
Moral of the story: In-person still matters. Screentime is no substitute for what generations of businesspeople, hostesses, entrepreneurs, bankers, art advisers, fundraisers, and social climbers have always known: Success means showing up, turning out, pressing the flesh, being in the room.
Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Town & Country US.
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Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Town & Country US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Jersey, JE ΤΙΜΕ
Nearly 50 years ago a museum opened in Paris.
THE HUNGER GAMES
Two former bons amis grew up in the same expensive suburb and cut their teeth together in the Paris nightclub scene. Then they launched competing restaurant empires, and the gloves came off. Now one of them is facing a suspended prison sentence and a huge fine. Welcome to the city's most delicious grudge match.
HIDDEN in Plain Sight
T&C was invited into the private archives and secret workshops of Paris, to glimpse the treasures that have made this city famous for its style and craftsmanship. It's a reputation worth fighting for.
GUARDIAN of Objects
Laura Kugel is the go-to art dealer for the world's most discerning clients, but her family's Paris wonderland is open to all. Come inside, won't you?
Ecole! Elysée! SCANDALE!
The path to the French White House requires a political education at one of the country's elite universities. As controversy swirls around Sciences Po-class treason, #MeToo à la française, creeping le wokisme-will its grip on power finally slip?
Are There Still Mysteries in Paris?
Surely not, in the world's most visited city! And yet: Why is the Louvre called the Louvre? Why do the upper stories of its 17th-century buildings tilt in? Why do even familiar streets feel so enticing, unknown? One thing is clear: So many of us return because the City of Light is really one of mesmerizing shadows.
High SEAS
How seductive is a cruise on an ultraluxury ship (yes, that's a category) like the new Regent Seven Seas Grandeur? So much so that a 132-day sailing sold out in three hours. It was time to investigate.
The Cruise Cure
One definition of bliss at sea is padding down a ship's hallway from your suite to the spa in a robe and slippers. Here's what awaits.
Only a Day to Spare?
These hotel spas-mini-me's of destination, health retreats punch way above their weight. So, if you're in the neighborhood...
So, Where Do You Ride in Paris?
A fancy equestrian's guide to the best of Gallic galloping.