My perfect summer

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© Alex Green
How to holiday: ambassadors, adventurers and chefs on the art of the great getaway
My Adventurous Summer
I’m spending this summer in the mountains
Kenton Cool
Mountaineer

How are you spending the summer?

I’m working most of this summer in the mountains as a mountain guide . . . first in Alaska then down to Bolivia and finally a few weeks in the Swiss Alps. It’s lucky that I adore my work.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

The family all together. We used to holiday every year on a farm in west Wales, helping with the milking in the mornings followed by long days exploring the local beaches . . .  

What’s in your suitcase?

I normally travel with a huge kit bag that has my climbing equipment and clothing in it . . . but when I do get the chance to travel light, I have a beautiful Montblanc leather rucksack that’s just big enough for a pair of Grenson shoes, a spare shirt, wash kit, book and my iPad.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

Be patient and polite. As I get older, I let things wash over me when it comes to travel hiccups . . . if you’re delayed, then just go with it.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

I’m listening a lot to Paul Oakenfold’s Mount Everest: The Base Camp Mix at the moment. I took Paul to Base Camp last year and we threw a party so this brings back great memories . . .

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Brian Chesky
Chief executive, Airbnb

How are you spending the summer?

I went to Havana for the third time and made my first visit to Jamaica. Havana has an incredible community and I explored Jamaica’s culture and poetry heritage.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

My mom and dad were social workers and we were able to make a trip every summer to a national conference as part of their continuing education. My first trip was when I was seven years old and we went to St Louis. Each year we would discover a new city: New Orleans, Charleston, Chicago, Seattle. That’s how I first got to experience the world.

What’s in your suitcase?

As little as possible. One time I travelled to Europe and back without a single bag.

What’s on your reading list?

I’m catching up on the best long-form magazine articles from the past 50 years. And I always read business books, but I don’t recommend them for summer.

Any travel neuroses? Speaking new languages? Fear of flying?

I fear not being able to exercise and to eat healthy. Those are must-dos for me

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

A couple of years ago, I went to Osteria Francescana by Massimo Bottura in Modena, Italy. The experience was as much of an art form as it was a meal.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

I learnt how to fly a plane in Los Angeles.

Is there something you always like to bring back?

A great trip puts you on a path that doesn’t end when you return. I take back the experience I’ve had and a change in perspective.

Is there a type of holiday you would not go on — for example, a cruise?

I would not go on a holiday that is mass-produced, sterile, or inauthentic. I would never replicate David Foster Wallace’s experience in his essay “Shipping Out”, which details the perils of a cruise ship.

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My Mellow Summer
I’m trying to resuscitate my sourdough starter
Michael Pollan
Author

How are you spending the summer?

I’ve got a pretty mellow summer. Catching up on reading, email, the piles of paper on my desk, sleep, and trying to resuscitate my sourdough (bread) starter, which has been languishing in my fridge while I’ve been on a book tour.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

Rural and, whenever possible, the coast. As I have done almost every year since I was six, we will be spending a couple of weeks on Martha’s Vineyard.

What’s in your suitcase?

Clothes. Isn’t that what everyone has in their suitcase? What kind of question is that?

What’s on your reading list?

I’m reading Richard Powers’ novel The Overstory and Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

A lobster salad sandwich.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

These days the kind of people who frequent nude beaches are not the kind of people you want to see nude. It was different when I was young.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

Ocean waves, wind in the trees, birdsong.

Top travel tip?

Every year, if you can, go to at least one place you’ve never been and to one place you’ve been going all your life.

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Angela Hartnett
Chef

How are you spending the summer?

I’ll mainly be in the UK, with a week in Sicily; I love the south-east, Inspector Montalbano country: Noto, Ragusa, Syracuse. It’s a slower pace of life and the people are lovely and generous.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

When I was younger, my mother, brother and sister went to Pontins in Camber Sands — my overriding memory is of my brother playing in a boxing match.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

Deep-fried courgettes in Corfu.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

Learning how to make orecchiette in Puglia, from a friend’s aunt years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it.

Is there something you always like to bring back?

Always food. I like to bring back whatever local gems I can get my hands on — be it local honey, salumi, cheese.

Top travel tip?

Wear slip-on shoes at the airport.

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Olafur Eliasson
Artist

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

City and rural. I keep returning to my two favourite cities, Reykjavik and Addis Ababa. They’re such different places, yet my life is deeply entangled with both. I spend most of my time — holiday or no holiday, physically or mentally — in one of four cities: Berlin, Copenhagen, Reykjavik or Addis Ababa.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

The light in Iceland — the endlessly long days. During the oil crisis in the early 1970s — I was only about five at the time — electricity would be cut off in the evening. I recall visiting my grandparents, who lived in Hafnarfjordur. I’d feel a sense of immediate darkness when the lights went out, but then discover the radiant blue twilight outside. We’d sit by the window to take in this extraordinary light. It created an unusual feeling of togetherness.

What’s in your suitcase?

My sunglasses, my Little Sun solar mobile-charger, my camera, a small book, a compass, my travel binoculars, and my lucky stone. (Wherever I go, I tend to pick up a stone or two from the ground — I love stones.)

What’s on your reading list?

The Swedish physician Hans Rosling’s Factfulness and Solar by the Danish poet Theis Orntoft. I’m not a great reader, to be honest, but I deeply believe in books.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

Seafood in Iceland! A simple piece of cod, for instance, prepared the way my father, who was an artist and a chef on a trawler, would do it — cooked only a little because it is so fresh. Later in the summer I’ll be opening SOE Kitchen 101, a temporary culinary space at the Marshall House in Reykjavik, with my sister, Victoria Eliasdottir.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

I hiked a lot when I was younger, and I’ve come to appreciate the skills I gained from walking all day. More recently, I have hiked in the Simien Mountains, also called the Roof of Africa, in northern Ethiopia, where I was stunned by the beauty and the sheer scale of the landscape.

Top travel tip?

There’s no place like Iceland.

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Jean-Pierre Jouyet
French ambassador to the UK

How are you spending the summer?

I will be going to the south of France, to the Var coast, where my family and I have a country house. I will also be going to Mallorca, one of my favourite places to spend the summer.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

Undoubtedly the many summers I spent with my parents on the Spanish Basque Country coast, in Algorta, near Bilbao.

What’s in your suitcase?

Almost nothing, as I have everything at my country home! I always pack a few ties and travel with a suit in case I have a professional commitment.

What’s on your reading list?

This summer, I plan on reading about Russian history, with Histoire de la Russie et de son Empire by Michel Heller, and also the novel Petersburg by Andrei Bely.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

Nothing beats a côte de bœuf et pommes frites (rib-eye steak and chips).

And best thing you’ve learnt?

How the French political world works. I have some very close friends who are politicians, and the many summers we’ve spent together have taught me an incredible amount.

Is there something you always like to bring back?

Yes, cigars. Especially from Spain. Otherwise I like to bring back pastis from Provence.

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Sou Fujimoto
Architect

How are you spending the summer?

Working and relaxing, spending time with my wife and son. Last year we went to Okinawa, the tropical island in southern Japan.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

City to walk, beach to sleep, forest to think.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

Having time for nothing. That was wonderful.

What’s on your reading list?

I’m reading George Gamow on physics, mathematics, the beginning of the universe, infinity and so on.

Best thing you’ve learnt?

The world is beautiful.

Phone on or off? Instagram or social media ban (digital detox)?

On, Instagram on. My brain is already melting into a bigger brain.

Is there a type of holiday you would not go on — for example, a cruise?

I would try everything except skydiving.

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My Off-grid Summer
I’m off to the Amazon
Benedict Allen
Explorer

How are you spending the summer?

I’m off to the Amazon. I haven’t been there on a proper expedition for 22 years and I want to see how an indigenous group called the Matsés are doing. They looked after me back then — teaching me all sorts of skills to help me see their forest not as a threat, a place you “survive” in, but as a home — a resource.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

I get dragged to beaches — I have three young children, all of them really wild. Real screamers! But my own favourite habitat is urban when I’m alone.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

Our little camping trips to the south of France — the Camargue, with its galloping white horses, tree frogs and giant mosquitoes, and a secluded pine forest.

What’s in your suitcase?

My rucksack, you mean? I’m a proper explorer, you know! I’m just packing it this evening: my malaria tablets, survival kit, mosquito net, survival knife and so on. What is NOT in it is a satellite phone and GPS. I maintain my stand against those. Besides, through 35 years, I’ve never been lost — though when I was late emerging from Papua New Guinea last year the newspapers went berserk, thinking I was.

What’s on your reading list?

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan. Also Paul Theroux’s The Lower River. Theroux understands Africa better than Conrad.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

I ate some lovely snails last week in Portugal. They served them on a stick, which was convenient. Rather a nice little snack.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

I crossed the north-east Amazon aged only 22, and back then I was a romantic, a dreamer. I suppose I was excited by the exotic — in particular, the so-called “tribal” people who lived in places such as the Amazon and Borneo — feathers, blowpipes, bows and arrows and so on. Years went by as I lived closely with indigenous people, and I began to see them as just the same as us — but specialists in their own worlds. That’s why I don’t use the word “tribal” any more.

Is there something you always like to bring back?

Little presents for my children — a drum, a leaf, a horse shoe — to excite their curiosity and remind them that they too are explorers.

Top travel tip?

Keep sheets of loo paper in a dedicated back pocket. You’ll thank me!

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Philippe Sands
Lawyer and president of English PEN

How are you spending the summer?

In southern France, in a small village that overlooks the Mont Ventoux, in proximity of an ancient church bell that rings on the hour and then repeats itself a couple of minutes later.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

The sound of crickets and the smell of the summer heat.

What’s in your suitcase?

A toiletry bag that is a mega-embarrassment. Writing this makes me want to clean it out, but I never can be bothered.

What’s on your reading list?

My friend Agnès Desarthe’s new novel, La chance de leur vie (Editions de l’Olivier), out this autumn; Franz Kafka’s The Trial, for which I am writing an introduction for a new Picador edition; a new translation of Jozef Wittlin’s Salt of the Earth, out this autumn (Pushkin); and three Italian novels from the 1940s, as my next book is largely set in Rome during that period, to give me a sense of the era  . . .

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

A really good tomato. Meal I remember best? Michel Guérard’s Les Prés d’Eugénie, for its tomato tart and dessert of three chocolates, more than a quarter of a century ago. The taste, and the look, lingers still.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

No point in worrying, as you always worry about the wrong thing, as my mother-in-law always tells me.

Phone on or off? Instagram or social media ban?

My wife removes the Sim card from my London phone for the summer. Then loses it. Or I do. No work emails during August, under any circs (my French side), except if it’s a brief against those responsible for taking the decision to take us to war illegally in Iraq in 2003.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

Soar, a new album by Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita. I was introduced to their music a few years ago and have been an avid listener ever since.

Top travel tip?

A robust electricity converter/plug. Really good over-the-ear noise-cancelling, world-cancelling headphones. A packet of dried mangoes.

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My Working Summer
There will be a lot of airports
Ottessa Moshfegh
Author

How are you spending the summer?

I’ll be on tour in the US for most of the summer. There will be a lot of airports, Ubers and hotel check-in counters. It always feels kind of Victorian — suddenly I’m a travelling salesman pushing snake oil on the townspeople. Of course, it’s not that at all.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

When I vacation, I tend towards bodies of water. My partner and I like to go to Hawaii, and my family in New England has a lakeside camp in Maine, which I love.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

I grew up in the Boston area. In the summers we would go to western Massachusetts, to the Berkshires, to visit my aunt, who is a violinist and played in the orchestra at Tanglewood. The Berkshires is a gorgeous place, so lush and green in the summer.

What’s in your suitcase?

For Hawaii, I’m packing bathing suits and books. And Scrabble.

What’s on your reading list?

I’m reading a lot of non-fiction books for research these days, but I’m bringing Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. I’ve never read Virginia Woolf, and I think it’s time.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

I still remember a hot dog I ate in Amsterdam in 1999. It had come from a vending machine!

And best thing you’ve learnt?

I learnt that it’s worth the cost of an extra ticket to leave a place early if you don’t like it.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

This summer I only anticipate listening to a lot of voicemails . . .

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Ali Smith
Author

How are you spending the summer?

I’m working on a new book, so no holiday till a week away in September. But I’ll be doing some of that work in the sunny garden, I hope.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

I like them all, so long as there’s breakfast via room service — somewhere where someone else kindly sorts the morning coffee, that’s my holiday luxury.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

1972. I had a kite in the shape of an eagle that summer; we bought it at the shop on the caravan site in Scarborough, and my father made it sky-worthy by tying his handkerchief to its tail. Once, it went so high and stayed there for so long that a small crowd gathered and we all took turns holding the string.

What’s in your suitcase?

Books.

Any travel neuroses? Speaking new languages? Fear of flying?

Mosquitoes. I try to treat them with respect, but it always ends badly.

How do you unwind and relax?

It doesn’t take much. Getting off the plane into warmer air will do it.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

I’d fly to Rome just to eat at Checco er Carettiere, or Roscioli, where, in both instances, food is the taproot to happiness.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

The simplest thing, and the most important: the world is so much bigger and more possible than we think it is when we’re at home.

Phone on or off? Instagram or social media ban?

Well, my phone’s a 2006 Sony Ericsson that doesn’t do email anyway, and I don’t do social media, either. Does that mean I’m on holiday every day of my life? Ah.

Is there something you always like to bring back?

Less than I took.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

Last year it was The Unthanks singing the songs of Molly Drake, the deep green leaves of the sound of it. This year, I suspect it’ll be Tracey Thorn’s Record, an album that means that wherever I go in the world, I’ll still be my younger wilder self, only simultaneously older, wiser, with those useful little wheels on my suitcase.

Top travel tip?

Travel hopefully.

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Youssou N’Dour
Singer

How are you spending the summer?

Well, partly on the road with the band touring Europe, and spending time with the family during the gaps.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

Senegal is and will always be my favourite place in the world.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

Spending time with my Uncle in Joal, another lovely coastal city 80km from Dakar.

What’s in your suitcase?

Stage clothes and costumes (and everyday stuff).

What’s on your reading list?

Senegalese newspapers.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

While in Hong Kong, eating at an outdoor food market and trying different local dishes.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

The art of listening to a variety of people and opinions.

What’s your summer soundtrack?

“Redemption Song”/“Purple Rain”.

Top travel tip?

Comfy clothes.

Youssou N’Dour will be performing at the BBC Proms with his band Le Super Etoile de Dakar at the Royal Albert Hall on August 31

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Gabriela Hearst
Fashion designer

How are you spending the summer?

Mostly working. We are opening our first store on Madison Avenue, New York, in November. But I am for the first time in years taking two weeks off in a row in July, either to Sicily or Greece.

Do you favour beach, city or rural destinations?

I favour places with good food. I grew up on a ranch in Uruguay, so my rural “quota” is full.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

The summer I turned 13. I rebelled and told my parents enough was enough of spending every summer on the ranch. My father compromised and rented a small farm next to the beach resort Punta del Este, where he brought sheep and horses so he could still drink his Mate looking at animals in the afternoon.

What’s in your suitcase?

Swimsuit, goggles and a watch to time myself when I swim. Sketch pads, pencil case, notebook and my linen pyjamas.

What’s on your reading list?

I just finished Walter Isaacson’s biography of Leonardo da Vinci, but I want to refresh my Greek mythology before the Grecian trip.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

Too many but here are a few: Paris baba au rhum in the Ritz (they took it out of the menu); Chivitos at Tinkal in Uruguay. Carpaccio at Harry’s Bar in Venice. Pechugas de pollo at Gardiner in Buenos Aires.

Phone on or off? Instagram or social media ban?

Off and deleting social media for my trip. I am breaking up with my phone . . .

Is there something you always like to bring back?

I am obsessed with pharmacies from all over the world, my favourite ones are the French, of course. So I buy more than I should.

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Esther Perel
Psychotherapist

How are you spending the summer?

I just finished a five-week trip to Europe. It was the perfect combination of work, visits with friends, meeting up with my sons, exploring with my husband, and far niente at the beach.

What’s your best memory of childhood summer holidays?

My favourite holiday memory as a child was driving for three days with my parents in the car to Italy. We spent the whole trip singing and inventing stories.

What’s in your suitcase?

I travel for an entire month with just one carry-on. I bring outfits for relaxing as well as outfits for each professional event I need to attend. My most prized item is my little clothing steamer. It gets all the wrinkles out.

What’s on your reading list?

Adaptive leadership: The Heifetz Collection by Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky and Alexander Grashow; Amérique: Notre Histoire, a series of interviews with Russell Banks; Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels.

Any travel neuroses?

Once upon a time, I would travel and disconnect completely. If anyone left a message on the answering machine, I would return the calls in a month. Now, I have an automatic reply on my email . . . and yet I still find myself checking up on them.

Best thing you’ve eaten on holiday?

Watermelon with fresh mint. It’s divine.

And best thing you’ve learnt?

In laying out my vision for my new talks, I’ve been looking at a lot of research papers on male psychology, too. It’s been amazing.

Phone on or off? Instagram or social media ban?

Phone partly on, but no social media.

Is there a type of holiday you would not go on — for example, a cruise?

Yes, I won’t go on a cruise. Ever. How did you know?

Top travel tip?

Talk to strangers.

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Edited by Natalie Whittle and produced by Graham Tuckwell, Caroline Nevitt, Cale Tilford and Aleksandra Wisniewska. Illustrations by Alex Green
What’s your idea of a perfect summer? We’d like to hear from you. Phone on or off? What’s on your reading list? Top travel tip? Tell us in the comments below.
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