I hide in an unlit toilet while my guide wanders through the carpeted galleries outside. viewing memories Flare are foremost in my mind for the first time as a petrified teenager. I surreptitiously puff on my e-cigarette to (uselessly) calm my nerves, take a deep breath, step out into the hanger-sized corridor lined with endless,… Read More »
We last came to Lundy by ferry from Ilfracombe. The trip took two hours and by the time we rounded Hartland Point the Atlantic waves had arrived and about 50% of the passengers started vomiting. This time the MS Oldenburg has its annual maintenance, so myself and a group of six friends are whisked to… Read More »
If you have even the slightest interest in British wine, you’ll remember the cock-a-hooper when the British first beat sparkling champagne in a blind tasting competition. There’s now an expectant conversation about whether English pinot noirs and chardonnays can still rival claret. But there’s something else that British winemakers are quietly doing extremely well, and… Read More »
“Are you going to Macclesfield? Unbelievable! So jealous!” Absolutely no one said. When I told my friends where I was going all I got were mocking eyebrows: “Macclesfield? Why?” Maybe this was expected. This is, after all, a post-industrial town that Local Futures Group once branded the “least cultured” place in Britain. The group’s 2004… Read More »
An island within an island, Germany Gout ÜselitzA 16th-century manor house set in a river-like bay on the Baltic island of Rügen, the building now houses seven modern, minimalist holiday apartments. The house is located on an isolated island surrounded by water in Rügen. Apartments for two to six people can be rented individually, or… Read More »
Dora Maar is best known as Pablo Picasso’s “weeping woman,” his grief-stricken lover who inspired him to paint her in tears many times. Now a gallery in London is trying to re-establish him as a pioneering surrealist artist with an exhibition of photographs recently discovered at his mansion. The exhibition, which will open at the… Read More »
All eyes were on Thomas Allen. Not that it doesn’t have any other appeal. On the contrary, every inch of the stage at Glyndebourne Happy Widow (1905), deftly directed by John Wilson and directed to the max by Cal McCrystal, was full of visual splendor: a sweeping, Hollywood-style staircase through which drunken hero Danilo can… Read More »
Centuries-old plane trees scattered across St Tropez’s famous Place des Lices have added a welcome green hue to this square; Their dappled shadows cast a complex pattern of shadows on the dusty ground. But my focus was definitely elsewhere. I concentrated hard as I curled my fingers around a metal ball the size of a… Read More »
Known for its impressive medieval walls, Dubrovnik is a destination where you can combine cultural excursions and lazy afternoons on the beach. With a mild Mediterranean climate and a wide expanse of the sparkling Adriatic, beaches here range from glitzy venues patronized by sun-tanned glitterati sipping cocktails in designer swimsuits to hidden rocky coves on… Read More »
The tables were on wooden floors overlooking the sea. Waiters were bustling between the tables, carrying large rosé and silver plates of oysters. The cocktail menu listed something called Tiki Punch, with a good splash of rum and a few dashes of bitters. The establishment had a DJ, and at a certain point in the… Read More »