A Day At The Beach — Palm Beach

Living in South Florida is such fun, as we can visit Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples, and Palm Beach all within about an hour drive.

During a recent visit to Palm Beach, we explored some new venues and revisited some old favorites.

The primary reason for this excursion was to check out hand-painted European tiles at Casa Ceramica. This is located in West Palm Beach just off of Dixie Highway. There are several interesting antique shops all along this section of West Palm.

We are installing a new front door at Chez DeBastos, and the step leading into the house will need to be replaced. Since it would be impossible to match our existing paver stones, we are planning to install some colorful hand-painted tiles. The new door is very Tuscan in style. We have double doors, and the new ones will be mostly glass with ironwork inserts. You can see in the featured photo that our new look is inspired by many of the homes in Palm Beach.

Of course, there had to be some additional stops, as we planned to make a day of this. Next stop was one of my favorite shops called Hive. They have the most gorgeous furnishings, gifts, decorator books, serving items, and gardening accessories. This is where I bought my Nantucket bike basket. This time, I found a wonderful book called Gardens of Style. It is full of famous designers gardens. Christian Dior, Carolyn Roehm, Bunny Williams, and Aerin Lauder, just to mention a few.

Visiting Hive is a “feast for the eyes” or as my friend stated it creates “sensory overload.” They also have a shop that specializes in outdoor furnishings and a clothing boutique around the corner. They are in the process of expanding and will be opening a café in October of this year. Can’t wait to visit when the expansion is complete.

Just up the street is Authentic Provence. This shop is filled with European garden antiques, reclaimed building items, and one-of-a-kind pieces. They have some of the most gorgeous planters I have ever seen. The vibe of the place is incredible, and they even have a sweet doggie as the mascot. Palm Beacher’s love their dogs!

At this point, we are getting a bit hungry. Definitely, do not want to cross over to “hangry” (hungry and angry). We decided to head to the island for lunch at Renato’s. Usually, the preferred location for dining is in their beautiful courtyard. It was just too hot to be out there, so we sat next to the French doors overlooking the fountain and courtyard. I always feel like we are in Europe when we dine there. The colorful wallpaper, orange, and yellow roses and tablecloths remind me of being in Italy. And, did I mention the best lobster salad EVER! It is a bit pricey for a salad, but it is full of lobster, crab, mango, and served with a wildflower honey vinaigrette. My friend opted for the prix fixe menu that featured a salmon cake topped with a quail egg, served over asparagus and hollandaise sauce on top. The main course featured pompano filet with capers and white wine sauce. If that was not enough, the dessert was homemade chocolate gelato. WOW!

Well, even though it was sweltering, we walked around Worth Avenue for a while. We decided that we wanted to go to RH (Restoration Hardware) where they have a lovely rooftop restaurant and the best Peach Bellinis. So refreshing, and the wine vault where we sat is stunning.

We always like to drive home along the ocean to see all of the gorgeous homes and gardens. You pass right by Mar-A-Lago on the way. Evidently, the president was not in residence, as there were no security vehicles out front checking the cars.

Before we call it a day and make the drive home, we make a quick stop at Blue Provence for cappuccinos to go. They have some beautiful serving pieces, Provencal linens, delicious pastries and of course yummy coffees. It’s nice to have something to sip on the way back home, and it’s a good pick me up.

I know we will go back to explore further. You could definitely spend a whole day just on Dixie Highway in West Palm checking out all of the antique shops.

On our next trip, we are planning to get a group together to take croquet lessons at The National Croquet Center. It is the largest dedicated croquet center in the world. We stopped by to check it out and had a brief tour of the facility.  Every Saturday, they have lessons at 10 am until noon. They have a lovely porch where you can enjoy lunch and perhaps a bloody mary or two.

Not too bad for a short day trip. Love Palm Beach!