(FORTUNE Magazine) – What's the first thing you do when you get home from work? I take off my shoes.

I'm not going to try to make a case for shoes being evil, the epitome of everything gone wrong with civilization. I live in a city; I know how handy they can be. I remember the horror of a tetanus shot. But when I think of summer, I see myself barefoot. Not just at the beach, but all the time--a week or two or three with no shoes, nor the worries that come with them.

Looking for literary backup, I trolled through Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and other reference guides. The vibe was overwhelmingly negative: barefootedness as a symbol of idleness, neglect, savagery, childishness, a lack of control, and of course poverty. I'm told that this is probably because it was bare feet that led to hookworm (there's a word you don't often see in upscale travel stories).

All I can say is that I'd give my left ear for an idle, savage, childish summer. Let's neglect our duties, spin out of control. (Poverty might very well result.) Let's thumb our noses at acceptable behavior, like the hippy-dippy socialite who gets married shoeless in a meadow, or the anthropologist who stays so long with his South Seas subjects that he becomes one of them. Some people will call it regression; so be it.

In short, let's be kids again. To live in a world, if only for a while, where the worst that can happen is that we might stub a toe.

--Erik Torkells

No shoes required

The thought of hip hotelier Andre Balazs mixing it up with the Hamptons herd is enough to give anyone pause. But, however improbably, Sunset Beach on Shelter Island (between the North and South Forks of Long Island) is the barefoot restaurant par excellence. Sit at the bar with girls in spaghetti straps, listening to Bossa Nova, drinking Tanqueray Ten and tonic. Eat a not-bad dinner--that's a compliment in these parts--on one of the three decks. Gawk at the sun setting over the water. It's trashy, it's fabulous, it's our St.-Tropez. 631-749-2001; www.sunsetbeachli.com

Make mine alfresco

Getting a massage is lovely. Getting one outdoors, with a breeze blowing over your body, is exponentially better.

Banyan Tree Bangkok The Essence of Earth pressure-point treatment seems particularly grounding at this spa--it's atop Bangkok's tallest building. 011-66-2-679-1200, fax 011-66-2-679-1199; www.banyantree.com

Explora en Patagonia, Hotel Salto Chico, Patagonia, Chile The massage area overlooks Lago Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park--the ultimate perch after a day of mountain biking among glaciers. 011-562-206-6060, fax 011-562-228-4655; www.explora.com

Mauna Lani Spa, Hawaii Breathe in the scent of gardenia and ginger as you give in to a lomi lomi massage, just one of the traditional Hawaiian procedures on the menu. 808-881-7922; www.maunalani.com

Hotel Tugu Bali In a flower-filled courtyard, submit to the lulur massage, a prenuptial treatment used by Balinese women to exfoliate and polish the skin with turmeric and yogurt. Or head to the oceanside hut for an all-natural facial. 011-62-361-731701, fax 011-62-361-731704; www.tuguhotels.com

Roaring Pavilion Villa & Spa, Jamaica A private $4,500-a-night villa devoted to the body beautiful. Rubdowns are done on a teak deck surrounded by jasmine and banana trees. 416-968-2374; www.lacure.com

Pangkor Laut Resort, Malaysia The weak at heart might want to forgo the Chinese "foot pounding" for an invigorating Thai massage in a seaside gazebo. 011-60-5-699-1100; www.pangkorlautresort.com

Barefoot travel: Why stop there?

Summer is a time to throw your worries--and sometimes your swimsuit--to the wind. You simply haven't lived until you've swum naked. But you don't have to go to a nudist hangout full of elderly hippies letting it all, well, hang out. In many countries--Greece and Thailand, to name two--nude sunbathing isn't generally a big deal. The French Caribbean also tends to be a bit freewheeling (try Orient Beach on St. Martin), and several upscale Caribbean resorts (Peter Island, Little Dix Bay) have private beaches--or even separate islands--where the staff will drop you and not come back until a prearranged time or until you radio them. (If money's no problem, rent an island at www.vladi.de, or a villa at www.lacure.com or www.wimco.com.) Basically, the best way to find the right beach is to do a quick Googling of "nude beaches" before you go, and you'll see that the legwork has been done for you. For all its freedom, basking in the buff requires more than a liberal dose of sunscreen. Respect the rules:

--Make sure the beach is designated for trou-dropping. Freaking out an unsuspecting family of four, no matter how spectacular your bod, is a recipe for bad karma.

--While your friends may be up for the adventure, they may not be interested in watching a full-swagger striptease. If you have any doubts, put your clothes back on when standing or walking.

--Be prepared to apply your own sunblock, unless you're with your partner.

--Staring is rude (at least without big sunglasses).

--When swimming, make sure to leave your clothes above the tide line.

--Lie with your head toward the water, or do what your mama told you and keep your legs together. There's naked, and then there's plain old nasty.

It's good for the sole

Every barefoot adventure should come with a reflexologist included. Alas, on occasion we have to take matters (and sore feet) into our own hands. Foot fetishist extraordinaire Eliane Charles Portier--chief reflexologist at the Royal Parc Evian Spa on Lake Geneva, in France--gives us the lowdown on the perfect rubdown.

(1) Dim all the lights, and light a scented candle. To ensure that the candle is the only odor in the room, kindly ask your partner to wash his or her feet beforehand, unless you're devoted enough to do it yourself.

(2) The recipient should lie flat on his or her back, with you planted cross-legged at his or her feet. Put a pillow on your knees and place the recipient's feet on top. Make sure you're comfortable, because you're going to be there awhile; Portier says the minimum time spent should be 30 minutes.

(3) Use cream or baby oil; Portier doesn't believe in essential oils because the scent is usually too strong.

(4) Do one foot at a time. Double duty will only confuse both of you.

(5) After a couple of minutes of general foot massage, press on the spot that corresponds with the solar plexus (in the upper center of the foot). You're going to use your thumbs and apply strong, steady pressure. After a couple of minutes, hit the other marked areas, making sure to work the liver and kidney spots to help flush out the toxins.

(6) Portier finishes by massaging the legs, stopping at the knee. Only you and the recipient know whether it would be appropriate to set your sights higher.

Bed check: the world's latest hotels and resorts

The creators of Auberge du Soleil--long a favorite of sophisticates in Napa Valley--have opened a second property, Esperanza (A) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. With a spa due in early July, it looks like an instant classic.

--The same can be said for Villa Feltrinelli (B) on Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Bob Burns, who founded the Regent chain, spent five years restoring the 1892 neo-gothic villa, fashioning it into a 21-room getaway fit for a despot (it was the last residence of Benito Mussolini). Cue the romantic music.

--Palazzo Sant' Angelo is the first hotel to open on Venice's Grand Canal in more than 100 years.

--Meanwhile, winning raves for its glamorous design is Pershing Hall (C) in Paris. The building, in the eighth arrondissement, was the World War I headquarters of General John Pershing.

--Old hat in Africa, luxury in the wild is blooming up everywhere else. June brings Longitude 131[degrees] (D), a tented compound near Uluru (f.k.a. Ayers Rock) in central Australia. In northern India, Oberoi continues its expansion with Vanyavilas (E). Twenty-five tents--anyone smell a trend?--on 20 acres adjacent to Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. And the Galapagos--that's Ecuador, just FYI--gets its first luxury property, Royal Palm Hotel, an outpost of Millennium resorts. Eighteen rooms on an island known for giant tortoises.

--Back in the U.S., Hotel Healdsburg (F) and Porches Inn--in Sonoma County, Calif., and North Adams, Mass., respectively--inject modern style into the weekend retreat. The former has a restaurant from Aureole's Charlie Palmer; the latter is steps from the new MASS MoCA museum. More traditional types will prefer The Willcox, 20 miles from Augusta, Ga., in Aiken, S.C. Think four-posters and afternoon tea.

--Hotel Hana-Maui, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, just got a much needed redo. Its new owners include the team behind Big Sur's Post Ranch Inn.

--Last month brought the spiffy Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif. Golf, golf, golf.

--And if you want to come to New York City to spread some money love, you could certainly do worse than the new Ritz-Carlton Central Park (G). Marvelous views. --E.T.

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