Fits like a glove

I've been so busy travelling recently I have not had time to blog.  Tonight, I've resolved to write up a story about a tiny (I mean really teeny) leather glove shop I stumbled across in Lisbon.  Dating from 1925, Luvaria Ulisses has the air of an exclusive Lisbon institution.  The miniature shop in Chiado might accommodate 3 adults at a real push, or in our case two adults and two small overexcited children.

 The owner and master glove maker greeted us with a warm and friendly smile.  The shop is too small to show a large number of pairs so the process begins by the owner, Carlos, asking me some questions.  My favourite colour?  Long gloves or short?  Cotton or cashmere lining?  My personality - outgoing or introverted?  He then disappears behind a small arras, reappearing a short while later with three (perfect) pairs of gloves.

A small piece of theatre commences which sees the children awestruck into silence.  First, Carlos stretches the fingers of the leather gloves slightly with a wooden spindle, then he puffs some fragranced dusting powder into each one.  I am instructed to place my elbow on the small ornate cushion resting on the counter and he eases the gloves over my hand.  They fit perfectly.

I decide on a short pair of black gloves with a cheeky dogtooth bow.  They are fabulously understated, and fun at the same time.  The children are enraptured.  Carlos allows my daughter to try on some fuschia pink gloves and pose for a photo.  She's happy, I'm happy.  We leave with the gloves beautifully wrapped in tissue and and a box.  A queue of customers stretches a distance outside the shop.  Wonderful.  Old school Lisbon, in all it's petite glory. 

Paris by...bike

The Four Seasons Georges V is more than just a hotel - it is a complete experience.  If ever you are going to spend way too much money on yourself, this is the place to do it.  We justified it by going there for our 10th wedding anniversary a few years ago.  Reserving our room was quite straightforward, and they did ask if we were celebrating anything special, which of course, we were.  One of the first times we'd also been away from our children, intoxicating in and of itself! 

We paid for the hotel meet and greet service from Charles de Gaulles airport.  It was not cheap, let me tell you, but worth it for the luxury, fun and for the looks of the other passengers at being met airside and fast tracked, like a Hollywood A lister,  through customs, security and baggage claim.  Lifting a suitcase?  Not me!

Nearing the hotel the driver radioed through to the front desk, and a bevy of enthusiastic and polite staff greeted us on the steps of the beautiful building with 'Welcome and happy anniversary'  Nice touch.

At check in (after taking in the wonderful floral displays) the efficient and oh so polite staff member took our details with the minimum of fuss and then escorted us to our room.  In the lift, she discreetly touched on our anniversary; "in such cases we like to offer a room upgrade" she whispered.  This was great news, since the purse strings had not been able to stretch to anything beyond a deluxe room (which no doubt, would have been very lovely).  Up to the top floor we travelled, whereupon she opened the door to our room - The French Suite. 

It was breathtaking in every sense.  View of la Tour, dining area, lounge, bar, walk in dressing room, huge bathroom, even bigger bedroom, it was simply stunning.  Our new friend showed us around and discretely retired.  Cue excited squealing our part and much running around the suite like children to inspect everything.  The hotel manager had left a very nice handwritten note, a cake and champagne. 

The next day was our anniversary proper and we had returned from dinner at 11pm, and had taken up residence in the comfortable bar in the hotel - great for people watching (and, the only bar I have ever been in where ones handbag gets a little stool all to itself - heaven forfend that it should have to rest on the floor).  But we felt antsy, in need of some kind of special activity to mark the occasion.  "I fancy seeing Paris by night, on a motor bike or something" I said, not ever expecting this to actually come to pass.  My husband said "I'll go ask the concierge what they think".  He returned some 10 minutes later "sorted". And so it was that at midnight two of the hotels dispatch riders arrived on large touring bikes and took us on an unforgettable ride around the city...the left bank, St Michel, Ile St Louis, Bastille, Rivoli, Pigalle, Sacre Coeur, Trocadero, la Tour Eiffel, les Champs.

We returned some 2 hours later totally exhilarated.  The concierge came running over..."so...what it great?" she asked excitedly.  She was really pleased to have made her customers so happy. 

During our three days there, the staff knew our names, greeted us happily, were efficient, thoughtful, respectful, they indeed seemed to love their work.  When checking out we were ushered to the cashier at the side of the check in area - a private area where one can pay in peace, and presumably where kept ladies store their jewels and secret agents stash their items of international espionage in the safe boxes. 

It shouldn't be the case that it is so rare to find this level of customer service in a hotel...yet sadly it is.  Everything...from the people to the food, to the drinks, to the maid service is the best it can be.  Among the other young pretenders, the Four Seasons Georges V is the shining jewel in Paris' crown.  Long may it reign.

Life on the edge - Vancouver Island

It's not the most famous hotel in the world - you've probably not even heard of it.  It's not the biggest, the most luxurious or the trendiest.   But, the Wickaninnish Inn on Vancouver Island is my favourite. 

There's something about the Wick, and all that wilderness, which is utterly captivating.  Inside it's chilled out, friendly, and comfortable, but the outside environment is often wild, savage and sometimes desolate.  Perched on the rocks on Chesterman beach near Tofino it is perfectly placed to benefit from both the angels and the demons of the Pacific weather.  The winter Storm Watching packages see you sequestered, womb-like in your room, watching the most fantastical storms roll in from the sea.  The 'on the rocks' bar does a pretty mean cranberry martini to while away the ends of days, and the morning cobwebs get blown away beachcombing on Chesterman shore.

You can walk, sail, whale watch, kayak, hike, spa, or just sit by the Wick's huge picture windows and watch the waves roll in under your feet.  And my hubby would never forgive me if I did not mention that they do the best poached eggs by room service that you will EVER find.  And he is a connoisseur of such things.

We've been three times to the Wick - each time I try to savour the experience more than the last.  The journey to get there being as much part of the joy as the arriving.  Taking the small twin prop plane over the cranberry fields of Vancouver and landing bumpily on the tiny airstrip of Tofino is at once exhilarating and terrifying.  The views of Vancouver Island's approaching coast, are interspersed with the frozen lakes, the driftwood beaches full of native totems, and the bears wandering across the open meadows.

On Vancouver Island you can breathe, deep and clear, nature in all it's glory.  Yellow cedar, eucalyptus, and pine. Rain, storms and wind.

Austrian lakes chic

I've never really thought of Austria/Germanic central Europe as much of a tourist destination, but I may have to re-think.  The latest edition of Monocle magazine is extolling the virtues of Zurich (of which more another time) as a city to live, and play in.  And there are some pretty cool new hip hotels popping up in former bastions of serious Austrian countryside.  The Lake's Hotel looks like my kind of place

It's like St Tropez with Germanic efficiency...fashionable, clean, chilled out and exclusive.  The hotel overlooks the formidable beauty of glassy Lake Worthersee - and if you don't 'do' lakes there's a pool and, joy of joys, private pool cabanas (us Scots can hide our pasty bodies in them until we eventually resemble something like a normal 'fit for public consumption' colour).

What's even better is the pop up cocktail bar they're featuring this summer by Albert Trummer of Apotheke New York City fame (see below).  From 13th July to 4th August Trummer is bringing his Apotheke concept to the Lake's Hotel's terrace overlooking the...er, lake. Mmmmmmm....

The nearest airport is Klagenfurt (20 mins away) which has direct flights from Stansted with Ryanair.  Well, what are you waiting for? http://www.mylakehotel.com/

From Russia with love - slow travel

Regular plane travel is getting to be a pain in the butt.  No liquids, limited hand baggage,  crammed in like sardines, paying for seat choice, paying for hold baggage, paying to get on the sodding plane before everyone else.  Argh, where will it end?  Yes, it gets you there faster, but only sometimes, and it's stressful, unpleasant and increasingly expensive.

So I embrace wholeheartedly the recent trend for slow travel - that is, taking your time over getting to your destination.  Making the journey part of the experience.  This means train, boat, car, bus, barge or bike.  I've always thought that train is the most romantic and luxurious of all the ways to travel and see a country.

You can fly from Beijing to Moscow in a matter of hours.  But, unless you're very pressed for time, why would you?  Take the Trans Manchurian train; which I did some almost 20 years ago when it was still a bit risque to travel around Russia independently.  All very post cold war, stringent documentation on person at all times, military inspections and minders aka  'helpful official state travel guides'.  7-10 nights on a train from Beijing to Moscow in a tiny 4 person bunk berth is enough to test the resolve of even the hardiest train journey enthusiast.  But breaking up the journey in Siberia made it the experience of a lifetime.  That journey gave me lots of things to remember: Dimitri the train guard casting scraps of food to the wolves by the train, the little blue flowers that grew in swathes around Lake Baikal, swimming in that very same (newly defrosted)lake, and partaking in fresh peaches and vodka with the Russian train crew (below).

Like many of the best travel experiences, it was by no means high luxury.  The meals in the buffet car were standard communist fare - melancholy selections of borscht, dumplings and potato.  So we lived on whatever the samovar could provide for us - 10 solid days of Jasmine tea, steamed noodles, and soup (sounds like a new fad diet). 

We met so many different and eccentric people, travelled through different cultures and landscapes, and I would like to think we saw so much more of the real Russia than most visitors do.  I would recommend it to anyone.  Why not whet your appetite by taking the virtual Trans Siberian Railway trip which Google has lovingly put together, with the option of Russian music and novels as cultural accompaniment.  http://www.google.ru/intl/ru/landing/transsib/en.html

Closer to home there's a new company, 'Road, Rail and Sea' scoping out romantic, adventurous road, rail and sea journeys to facilitate your slow travel break.  This seems like a very good idea and I really wish them well.   They launch this summer.  http://www.roadrailandsea.co.uk/

On their new website they're quoting the inimitable Mark Twain:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The (official) best coffee in Edinburgh

It's the Scottish summer - rain, rain and more rain, oh and fog and thunder this year just for good measure.  Whether you're a Scot or a visitor to Scotland, cheer your weather weary soul by indulging in the classic Swedish pastime of 'Fika' - a cosy coffee house tradition - of consuming coffee, pastry, conversation.  What's not to love?  And the best place in Scotland to do this is in Edinburgh at lovely Swedish cafe, Peter's Yard www.petersyard.com.  It's become a real favourite of mine, thanks to the great food and drink, friendly staff, laid back atmosphere, and cool design.

Look at this smorgasbord of loveliness above - coffee, cinnamon bun, cardamom bun...I love this place.  They also do tasty but healthy soups and salads and sandwiches all with a Swedish twist.

  And it's right beside the Meadows where (if you must) you can walk off the cinnamon bun you've just scoffed. 

They serve the best coffee in Edinburgh - and that's a scientific fact.  Just ask the Edinburgh Uni Scandinavian Society, who,  in a totally objective way, voted it the best in the city.

The only thing better than Peter's Yard for coffee and pastry is TWO Peter's Yards.  And it's a good job then that another one is opening in bastion of middle class Edinburgh, Stockbridge.  That a teensy bit nearer to Fife, oh happy day.

Spectacular

I'm not sure where this is but I thought it was a marvellous image.  Makes me want to go on holiday.