The iconic Manhattanite (and author of Sex and the City) tells T+L why she loves to kick off her stilettos in ’Sconset, Nantucket.
“I first started visiting ’Sconset with my family when I was about eight years old. We rented a place near the Summer House Cottages, on Ocean Avenue, every August. Most days we’d bike the five miles from our front lawn to the town’s general store, along packed sand roads and past heather, beach roses, and brambles. As a kid pedaling through the heavy salt air, I always wondered, Are we there yet? Later, after picking up sandwiches and snacks, we’d head back to our spot on the easternmost point of ’Sconset.
“Now the Summer House Cottages is a stylish inn, but back then it was practically falling down. The grounds are dotted with tiny cottages—eighteenth-century fishermen’s shacks. Hundreds of years ago men used to leave their wives in the village of ’Sconset—you couldn’t commute out to the point—while they went to their little cottages on the sound to fish for bluefish and striped bass. In those days, you’d never build a grand mansion on the beach, so although those large houses exist in ’Sconset, they’re on the bluff, away from the simple architecture on the water.
“Six weeks after I met my husband, Charles, he and I decided to spend a few days in Nantucket. Then we thought: Why not get married? It took a week and a half to plan our wedding. We had a casual lunch and said our vows at sunset on the beach near the Summer House. The experience had nothing to do with New York City glamour. Getting married in ’Sconset was a way of beginning our own story. It felt real, cozy, natural. Like being home.”
Sex and the City 2, based on the characters of Candace Bushnell’s best-selling book, opens in theaters nationwide on May 28. Bushnell’s new prequel, The Carrie Diaries, is now in bookstores.
“Wade Cottages (508/257-6308; wadecottages.com; rentals from $1,305 a week), a 1920’s estate in ’Sconset, has five apartments and a bungalow. For more upscale options, try Wimco Villas (866/850-6140; wimco.com; rentals from $3,300 a week).”
“Todd English oversees the restaurant and bistro at the Summer House Cottages (17 Ocean Ave; 508/257-4577; thesummerhouse.com; doubles from $625; dinner for two $100).”
“I always have fun at Hôtel Plaza Athénée (25 Ave. Montaigne, Eighth Arr.; 33-1/53-67-66-65; plaza-athenee-paris.com; doubles from $1,019), in Paris. A friend once visited me there, and I think we tried all thirty bottles of champagne at the bar!”
“In the evenings I often go to Otto (1 Fifth Ave.; 212/995-9559; dinner for two $50) for spaghetti carbonara and a glass of wine.”
“My Louis Vuitton bag (louisvuitton.com; from $1,200) has a compartment where I keep mink slippers and a blanket. It’s really all about the slippers. They make such a difference.”
