FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 27, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@schnepsmedia.com
My week began with
a delightful champagne
breakfast with
Ted Vassilev, president of DTR
Modern Galleries with locations
in Palm Beach, Nantucket,
Washington, D.C., and New
York.
Our newest media outlet,
Dan’s Papers Palm Beach,
will be featuring one of the
artists he represents, Hunt
Slonem.
Ted is a member of the
private Mar-a-Lago Club
that is an exclusive, worldclass
private club off ering
dining, entertainment and recreation
and is oft en referred to
as the “Jewel of Palm Beach.”
Ted invited me there for a
magical breakfast in the club’s
main dining room overlooking
the lush green croquet court
and, further in the distance, the
beach club and ocean. Th e lavishly
landscaped 20-acre property
has a few guest rooms and
off ers members an old-world
environment for dining, as well
as the use of its tennis courts and
a world-renowned golf course.
Ted shared that there was
going to be a “Cavallino
Sunday” champagne brunch
featuring exotic cars over the
weekend that was sold out, but if
I stayed at the hotel I could just
“drop in,” so I did!
The time from Tuesday
through Sunday off ered a
week’s worth of excitement
and opportunities to meet
special people.
On Friday night, I had
Shabbos dinner with my
friend, the brilliant art dealer
Donna Schneier, who now specializes
in contemporary jewelry
designers. She also happens
to be the mother of the
A week with wonderful people
renowned rabbi of the Hampton
Synagogue in Westhampton,
Marc Schneier.
Donna brought me to meet
the extraordinary philanthropist
and art collector Sandford
Baklor and his wife Arlene
Kaufman. Together, they have
endowed many causes, including
creating schools in Madagascar
to off ering young adults free
trips to visit Israel through the
Birthright Israel Foundation.
Sandford and Arlene live in
the prestigious “Old Palm”
gated community called Palm
Beach Gardens.
Remarkably their 19,000-
square-foot home reflects
their taste and talent, fi lled
with extraordinary art collections
from small ornaments to
massive pieces in their gardens.
We enjoyed a wonderful
Shabbos dinner prepared by
their chef Craig. Each dish was
mouth-wateringly delicious
and the presentation of the
food made it a truly great
meal!
What a delightful dinner
it was. I felt privileged
to meet and
spend time with
such unique people
who give back
and live in a home
surrounded by
beauty!
On Saturday, Jean
Shafi roff hosted a lunch at
Th e Colony Hotel to meet
Richard Johnson, a former
“Page Six” columnist who
is now working for the Daily
News. Joining us was Todd
Shapiro, who enabled Dan’s
Papers Palm Beach to be featured
on “Page Six” in the
Sunday edition of the New
York Post.
Check out my column on
QNS.com this weekend to see
the full story!
I had to cut my lunch short to
check in at the Mar-a-Lago Club
for an overnight visit. It’s only
10 minutes from Th e Colony
Hotel, which has become my
home away from home, and they
shuttled me over.
When I stepped into the Mara
Lago foyer, it was like stepping
back in time.
Th e property was completed in
1927 by Marjorie Merriweather
Post, who found this unique
piece of land located between
the Atlantic Ocean and Lake
Worth.
She imported the greatest
artisans from Europe
and worked with interior
designers and architects
to ensure that her hurricane
resistant home was
made with concrete and steel
— an innovative idea at the time
— that would remain safe and
beautiful forever.
It was designated in 1969 as
a historic site and in 1972 was
placed on the National Register
of Historic Places.
Upon her death, the property
was maintained by the Post
Foundation and ultimately sold
to Donald Trump in 1985 as
a private residence before he
turned it into an membership
club in 1995.
To my delight, the property
and interior have been beautifully
maintained and restored.
I spent the night in an oceanfront
cabana in a stone complex
adjacent to the water and I loved
hearing the roar of the ocean,
which served as a complement
to the silence and rich interior of
my room.
Dinner with friends in one of
the old-world dining rooms gave
me a sighting of the former president
and his wife Melania dining
with another couple to celebrate
their anniversary.
Th e sold out dining room’s
three-story-high ceilings roared
with the many conversations of
beautiful people. And the murals
and gold fi ligree walls made
me feel I had left Florida for a
European getaway.
Th e food was as good and
enjoyable as the environment.
What fun!
At the “Cavallino Sunday”
auto show, I found my jaw dropping
constantly at the site of
antique and elegant “supercars”
on display!
A perfect day, and the end of a
perfect week!
Dining with Ted
Vassilev at Mar-a-Lago.
Having dinner with Peter Meyer and
Denise Arbesu in West Palm Beach.
With (l. to r.) Jane Hanson, Dottie Herman
and Todd Shapiro in the Mahogany Room
at Mar-a-Lago.
The collectors’ cars on display were remarkable to look at!
Donna Schneier and
Sandford Baklor standing
by a painting sold by SoHo/
Sagaponack art dealer Lou
Meisel.
Richard Johnson with
Jean Shafifi roffff .
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