Loved the ice cream soft shades of Brighton, the totally camp Pier and over the top Royal Pavillion. Everything heavenly. Want to move there tomorrow.
Lunch was a crisp bottle of cold white wine, a pool of hummus, followed by feta stuffed chicken and ending on figs with lashings of honey at Pomegranate.
Absolutely divine.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Papa's got a brand new bag
Buying a new lipstick is treaty but a new bag gives one such a lift. Ines de la Fressange says that being in love with a man or a project has an "effet lifting". Secret: A new handbag does as well. Especially if it whispers Chloe Spring in peach with gold.
This one is brown. The one to have is a divine peach. Naturally it is impossible to find but somebody snagged it in Abu Dhabi, and it wasn't me...
The color dazzles alongside an olive green. It came to the disastrous tea at the Savoy; it went to NYC this week; and will hide out in Liverpool during royal wedding madness.
My favorite bag sites of all time:
If you want to avoid buying a fake on Ebay, Purse Forum is the place. Or if you need to know the size and price of a Chanel bag just because these things might be useful one day. Or the different types of Hermes bags. Or if you just want to dream a bit.
Purse Forum
These lovely ladies turned a serious love of bags into a website that actually lets them feed their habit. Great reviews and descriptions as well as pictures.
The Bag Snob
This one is brown. The one to have is a divine peach. Naturally it is impossible to find but somebody snagged it in Abu Dhabi, and it wasn't me...
The color dazzles alongside an olive green. It came to the disastrous tea at the Savoy; it went to NYC this week; and will hide out in Liverpool during royal wedding madness.
My favorite bag sites of all time:
If you want to avoid buying a fake on Ebay, Purse Forum is the place. Or if you need to know the size and price of a Chanel bag just because these things might be useful one day. Or the different types of Hermes bags. Or if you just want to dream a bit.
Purse Forum
These lovely ladies turned a serious love of bags into a website that actually lets them feed their habit. Great reviews and descriptions as well as pictures.
The Bag Snob
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The pictures of SchlossHotel im Grunewald did not do this fabulous Berlin hotel justice.
Karl decorated it. This picture sits on a side table, discreet in one of the far parlours.
Hotel Moschino in Milan is fashion-fashion. Nobody who stays there actually eats. Breakfast comes in an enormous plastic hatbox that takes up the whole room. The waiter lifts off the cover and it contains a cappuccino and a brownie. I was hungry in Milan. Very hungry. My bed looked like a wedding dress dyed black by a jilted bride. No sweet dreams in Milan.
I so wanted to like it but it was uncomfortable and terribly expensive.
Last but not least there was the Africa room in a Frankfurt hotel complete with leopard print carpet, bedspreads, bedsheets, bin, lamps and art. No deadbolt on the door. I asked the receptionist if all the rooms were like this, and he smiled, "Only yours".
Karl decorated it. This picture sits on a side table, discreet in one of the far parlours.
Hotel Moschino in Milan is fashion-fashion. Nobody who stays there actually eats. Breakfast comes in an enormous plastic hatbox that takes up the whole room. The waiter lifts off the cover and it contains a cappuccino and a brownie. I was hungry in Milan. Very hungry. My bed looked like a wedding dress dyed black by a jilted bride. No sweet dreams in Milan.
I so wanted to like it but it was uncomfortable and terribly expensive.
Last but not least there was the Africa room in a Frankfurt hotel complete with leopard print carpet, bedspreads, bedsheets, bin, lamps and art. No deadbolt on the door. I asked the receptionist if all the rooms were like this, and he smiled, "Only yours".
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lunch for Two
The queue starts forming at approximately ten minutes to one outside of Cal Pep. One of the waiters emerges at one o'clock sharp, greets several of the regulars at the front of the line, then opens the garage door to a narrow seafood bar that ends in a few tables.
The tourists enter hesitantly. There's no menu at the bar. The waiters behind the bar will concoct some tapas for the tourists (fried artichokes), then steer them toward the fresh fish or "mariscos" (shellfish).
Upon walking into Cal Pep, I was shooed to a seat at the bar next to a gentlemen of a certain age. The waiter offered me the tapas, and I asked for "gambas" (shrimp). The waiter pointed to five inch long, bright red gambas and told me they were expensive, 7 Euros a piece, but there were cheaper ones. I asked for the cheaper ones. At which point, the gentleman next to me said, "No, she will have the best. To share with me. And, a bottle of Cava, please".
To the great amusement of the waiters he bought me lunch. One of the waiters said to me, "He's rich and has great taste. What more could you want?" The shrimp were coated in rough sea salt with a sharp and sweet taste. The gentlemen left promptly at two o'clock for his domino game. I lingered to sip my cafe cortado (espresso with a dash of milk) and wonder at the kindness.
The tourists enter hesitantly. There's no menu at the bar. The waiters behind the bar will concoct some tapas for the tourists (fried artichokes), then steer them toward the fresh fish or "mariscos" (shellfish).
Upon walking into Cal Pep, I was shooed to a seat at the bar next to a gentlemen of a certain age. The waiter offered me the tapas, and I asked for "gambas" (shrimp). The waiter pointed to five inch long, bright red gambas and told me they were expensive, 7 Euros a piece, but there were cheaper ones. I asked for the cheaper ones. At which point, the gentleman next to me said, "No, she will have the best. To share with me. And, a bottle of Cava, please".
To the great amusement of the waiters he bought me lunch. One of the waiters said to me, "He's rich and has great taste. What more could you want?" The shrimp were coated in rough sea salt with a sharp and sweet taste. The gentlemen left promptly at two o'clock for his domino game. I lingered to sip my cafe cortado (espresso with a dash of milk) and wonder at the kindness.
Caelum in Barcelona
The heavenly pastries, jams, liquors and cakes mean Caelum lives up to its name. Tucked away on Calle de la Palla not far from Passeig Colon, Caelum's cakes, cookies and teas are divine. There are a handful of tables upstairs and a crypt downstairs as well as the shop.
The address is
Caelum
C/ Palla, 8, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 02 69 93
Working under the philosophy that everything goes better with sugar and honey, most everything is made by nuns and monks. The mandarin liquor prepared by Benedictine monks had a bold citrus taste. Not quite as strong as an eau de vie but certainly as fruity. The quince jam prepared by Sevillian nuns goes perfectly with cheese. The marzipan was not sweet and truly tasted of almonds.
At four o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday there were groups of two or three women drinking tea, eating cakes and whiling away the afternoon hours.
As their website says, bye now with little kisses of sugar, cinnamon and ... licorice!
The address is
Caelum
C/ Palla, 8, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 02 69 93
Working under the philosophy that everything goes better with sugar and honey, most everything is made by nuns and monks. The mandarin liquor prepared by Benedictine monks had a bold citrus taste. Not quite as strong as an eau de vie but certainly as fruity. The quince jam prepared by Sevillian nuns goes perfectly with cheese. The marzipan was not sweet and truly tasted of almonds.
At four o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday there were groups of two or three women drinking tea, eating cakes and whiling away the afternoon hours.
As their website says, bye now with little kisses of sugar, cinnamon and ... licorice!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Royal Wedding Madness
Nobody cares about the Royal Wedding here in London. Only the Americans - and mostly in the Midwest - are going bananas over Kate(now Catherine) Middleton's impending nuptials. Certain segments of the British press would have you believe this but don't buy it. Article upon article with nothing newsworthy has been written about the wedding: Will Kate wear her hair up or down? Even in Spain a news story on the wedding was on the evening news every day.
Most everyone here is secretly excited, delighted to have the extra day off and wondering how Kate keeps her hair so glossy. This is the real question: What does she do to her hair? Yes, she has a Brazilian blow dry and probably gloss treatments every two weeks but how can her hair be as shiny as a spaniel all the time?
Most everyone here is secretly excited, delighted to have the extra day off and wondering how Kate keeps her hair so glossy. This is the real question: What does she do to her hair? Yes, she has a Brazilian blow dry and probably gloss treatments every two weeks but how can her hair be as shiny as a spaniel all the time?
A good hotel is hard to find
The right hotel makes all the difference for a good business trip. These days my beat is Europe. I consult Mr and Mrs Smith, Trip Advisor and Frommer's. By now the large chains bore me although I should stay there to get points (I know!) so these days I take the risk of staying in boutique hotels.
At a minimum a hotel must have:
1) Quiet
2) Deadbolts
3) Good Room Service Menu, including a grilled cheese sandwich.
4) Pleasant service (they answer the phone)
5) Internet that works
Ideally it has:
1) A lobby with deep sofas for hiding out between appointments.
2) Slippers because I always forget mine
3) Free bottled water. I know hotel tap water is safe but just in case.
4) Taxis readily available outside the door.
5) As good a breakfast in the rooms as if I go downstairs -- never the case!
At a minimum a hotel must have:
1) Quiet
2) Deadbolts
3) Good Room Service Menu, including a grilled cheese sandwich.
4) Pleasant service (they answer the phone)
5) Internet that works
Ideally it has:
1) A lobby with deep sofas for hiding out between appointments.
2) Slippers because I always forget mine
3) Free bottled water. I know hotel tap water is safe but just in case.
4) Taxis readily available outside the door.
5) As good a breakfast in the rooms as if I go downstairs -- never the case!
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