The Midwestern Downton Abbey Is Full of Scandalous Secrets

Plus, Europe's Most Scenic Train Ride Takes You Places You Didn't Think a Train Could Go

Manage newsletters View in browser The entire world in your inbox. Hello all—   I hope you're doing well and that you've managed to either dodge Omicron or swiftly get over it! While I'm currently in Mexico calling sunny Todos Santos home for the month, our lead feature takes us somewhere brutally cold this time of year–Detroit. In the mid-1920s, Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of one of the Dodge co-founders, built Meadow Brook Hall, a Tudor Revival mansion that is the eighth largest private home ever built in the U.S. Visiting it, one comes away with the feeling that everything about this home and the people who lived in it is perfectly lovely. However, the more you dig around, the less squeaky clean the family gets.   I don't consider myself a train lover, because true train lovers are actually nuts, but I do enjoy a scenic 3-5 hour train ride. In his latest feature for Beast Travel, Alex Sakalis rides the Bernina Express, a 4 hour train ride that whips through the Swiss mountains and down into Italy with some of the most spectacular vistas in the world.   I really believe archeology is such an integral part of the travel experience–so many of the ancient places we visit are shaped by the men and women who dig them up and try to understand what they've found. This week, Candida Moss takes a skeptical look at a recent discovery in Israel, and the claims that it may be evidence of Mary Magdalene's birthplace. Enjoy!   —William O'Connor, Travel Editor A Lost 'Siamese Twin,' Secret Marriage, and a Forgotten Palace: The Midwest Downton Abbey Is Full of Secrets One of the largest houses ever built in the United States is perfectly lovely, but if you start to poke around the family's history, things get messy quickly. Europe's Most Scenic Train Ride Takes You Places You Didn't Think a Train Could Go The continent's thrilling Bernina Express isn't just a throwback to a different era of travel, it's a throwback to when travel was meant to wow us. Have We Really Found Mary Magdalene's Birthplace? Over the holidays, numerous outlets proclaimed that archaeologists excavating in "Magdala" may have identified her birthplace. An Iconic Los Angeles Hotel Just Got a Major Overhaul It's hosted presidents and major stars but eventually time caught up with it. Now the Fairmont Century Plaza has a whole new look. "COVID? What COVID? We got cheap flights and cheap rooms and said, 'Fuck it, we're going to Rome.'" —Barbie Nadeau reports on tourists in Rome, who like many others around the globe, aren't letting the newest COVID wave impact their travel. OMG I Want to Rent This House!      Villa Balbiano, Lake Como, Italy (Airbnb): If you're just coming off of a screening of House of Gucci, then we have an important announcement for you: This is not a movie still. While this property did make its debut on the proverbial red carpet last year, this photo is of a real-life villa on Lake Como that is ready and waiting for you to don your best Italian couture and move on in… at least for a little while.   Lake Como may be known for its A-list denizens, including the King and Queen of Como, George and Amal Clooney, but Villa Balbiano has one big win against its neighbors—it is one of the largest private residences on the very posh lake. As an added bonus, it also has frescoes like these that were painted in the 17th century by the Recchi Brothers and Agostino Silva.   A stay here gives you free rein over the grounds which cover nearly three acres, a big portion of which is impeccably manicured gardens. This gives new meaning to going for a nice little self-care walk when you need a break from whoever your lucky vacation guests are.   Whether you arrive by boat or by car, your week (or more…we would never presume to judge your life) of luxury on the western shore of Lake Como will begin by making your way through at least one of the beautiful gardens to arrive at the now-Hollywood famous Italian villa. If you choose to make your garden approach as if you were walking your very own red carpet, that's up to you.   Book Your Stay: Villa Balbiano, Lake Como, Italy $1,400/night via Airbnb   Don't miss previous OMG, I Want to Rent This House posts, which spotlight the most spectacular and unique homes that you can actually stay in.  Check out the full archives.  Travel to the World's Most Beautiful Synagogues   When we think today of iconic religious architecture, the first images that spring to mind are often churches, mosques, and Buddhist monasteries. But some of the most spectacular houses of worship in the world are those of the Jewish faith—synagogues. That's why the latest selection for Just Booked, our series on exciting new travel coffee table books, is Rizzoli's Synagogues: Marvels of Judaism by Leyla Uluhanli.   The book is one that demands attention from the outset with the electric blue stained glass window of the Eldridge Street Synagogue in New York on its cover. Inside, the book dives into the evolution of synagogue design from continent to continent, featuring more than 60 synagogues worldwide. Some are over the top, like the Great Synagogue in Budapest with its elaborate stencil-work ceilings, while others, like the Paradesi Synagogue in south India, are simpler but no less remarkable.   What is particularly amazing as you page through the book is how they all seem to simultaneously reflect their surroundings and era, but still retain a clear Jewish identity. Don't miss the Ibn Shoshan Synagogue in Toledo with its whitewashed walls and intricately carved capitals, or Frank Lloyd Wright's Beth Sholom in Pennsylvania, two great examples of this.   Check out our previous selections for our series on gorgeous travel-related coffee table books, Just Booked. BUY ON AMAZON  >>                Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts or newsletters, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales. © Copyright 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC  555 W. 18th Street, New York NY 10011  Privacy Policy If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add emails@thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can safely unsubscribe.