On the corner of rue des Bernardins in Saint Germain, Paris, there’s a wonderful little boutique full of tee shirts bearing witty French slogans. Suddenly, saying “j’aime pas le matin” (I don’t like mornings) looks chic. Unfortunately, when Monsieur and I spotted this retail gem (named Latitude Sud), it was well past the owner’s bedtime, so we couldn’t…
A Blogger’s Night Off
At long last, my first foray into the Official Blogging Scene happened last week, courtesy of London Bloggers Meet Up. Organised by Andy Bargery, who valiantly appeared in spite of battling a Nasty London Lurgy, this was just as fun as I’d hoped. What a great night! At the Coach and Horses in Soho, the chosen…
Epic Ingredients 1: Italian herb blend
One of the things I love best about travel is the change in culinary scenery. At deli shops and supermarkets, I pick up herbs and ingredients to help replicate dishes at home. In Naples, I love those little food shops that are so cram-packed full of foodstuffs that you can barely move, once in the…
Malaysia/Singapore, Part 6: From Fortunes to Frogs
Today Monsieur and I swam before breakfast. Down at the pool it was raining hard and an attendant wearing bright orange gators stopped us before we could swim. “If there’s thunder or lightning, you must get out of the pool EE-ME-DEE-AT-LEE.” he stressed each syllable and looked us hard in the eyes to be sure…
Malaysia/ Singapore, Part 5: In the Night Zoo
I’m not really a zoo person, but I’d been assured that the Night Safari in Singapore was different. Curious to see for ourselves if it was as animal-friendly as we’d heard, Monsieur and I went back up the road for Johor Bahru to talk with the animals. The park itself was opened in 1994 and…
Malaysia, Part 4: A Cold Bus to Singapore
The morning of our journey to Singapore, we were woken by an orchestra of wake-up calls and alarms, set the night before to ensure that we did not sleep late. With somewhat fragile heads, the legacy of hitting the KL night life the previous evening, we made it to Pudu Raya bus terminal intact. There,…
Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson
This is one of the most unusual travel books I’ve ever come across, written by a Canadian teacher of English as a second language, who decides to follow the appearance of the cherry blossom by hitchhiking from one end of Japan to the other. I haven’t yet finished, but can’t resist sharing a couple of…
North Bridge Brasserie, Edinburgh
Having survived a flight delay and (temporarily) lost bag, by the time I reached the hotel in Edinburgh, Monsieur’s stomach was audibly protesting its emptiness. Mine rumbled back in sympathy, so out we went in search of decent grub. This we found, by chance, at the North Bridge Brasserie attached to The Scotsman Hotel on…
La Vie en Rose by Jamie Ivey
Having thoroughly enjoyed Extremely Pale Rosé by Jamie Ivey, I was thrilled to find a sequel to quench my thirst for rosé wine in London’s ever-grey winter. La Vie en Rosé does not disappoint. On this occasion, Jamie and Tanya are trying to forge a French life for themselves by test-driving the concept of a rosé wine…
Post-meeting buzzword download
Today I lied so I could leave a meeting. It was a presentation by a company competing for our business against a number of their major competitors and the competitors win hands down. This particular presenter was affable and would be good company if you wanted to go and have a pint or two in the…
A Year in the Scheisse by Roger Boyes
Anyone who reads travel literature as often as I do will know that there aren’t that many books written in the English language about the daily life of ex-pats in Germany. Roger Boyes has changed that, although it’s hard to tell whether this is autobiographical, semi-biographical or 100 per cent genuine fiction and Googling the issue hasn’t…
People in Glasshouses need sleep, too
The Glasshouse in Edinburgh is quite something, according to the awards it boasts about on its website. With a preserved church facade behind which the omnipresent glass of this particular hotel stands, it makes an intriguing first impression. However, this place is a lesson in that piece of wisdom: ‘Don’t judge a book by its…
Epicurienne 