Happy Christmas

Yosemite - New Year 2002

Golden Excess

On my way back from Vietnam, I stopped off in Hong Kong to spend a few days with friends. We had lunch at the Tin Lung Heen restaurant in the Ritz Carleton. The interior is very opulant, with some great dramatic spaces like the corridor pictured above but the rest of the interior design was not my style. This place is so bling they even put gold leaf on the dim sum!

  The food was fabulous and so were the astonishing views across the harbour.

    

Temple Pink

How to describe this incredible shade of magenta pink, it's not just the vividness of this colour, but the quality of the chalky pigment-rich paint on the walls.

These pictures are taken in a temple in Saigon, I've seen this pink in India too, but here in this city temple it had the most wonderful quality. I could have stood there for hours just absorbing it's intensity. 

Saigon Markets

It seems this year has been all about travel, I've just returned from Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as most locals still call it. Fast, exciting, chaotic - an amasing 10 million people live here and 6 million ride scooters and motorbikes, as a result there is a massive market for crash helmets - they come in every colour and design.

In fact there is a massive choice of everything in the amazing markets....from food to flowers to more hats!

Cuban shirts - Guayabera

During our stay in Miami we had a Cuban day - we headed over to Little Havana and the marvellous La Casa de Las Guayaberas on 8th Street. This is the store if you wish to buy a retro-hip Cuban shirt known as the guayabera -- a loose-fitting, pleated, four pocket button-down shirt.

Founded by Ramon Puig, who emigrated to Miami over 40 years ago, the store stocks every imaginable variation, Ramon still uses the same scissors that he arrived with. No one in the store speaks any English but they have produced a short history of the guayabera in this little booklet – I love the graphics. Afterwards we lunched at Versailes, a hugh mirror-lined restaurant, full of Cuban families having a great time. 

South Beach Miami

I spent the first week of January in South Beach, Miami and I loved it! The fabulous Art Deco buildings are reminiscent of confectionery, all crisp white tiers with sugar coloured trims.

The buildings have great signage from the hotels on Ocean Drive right through to these public conveniences!

My souvenir from the trip is this brilliant book by David Leddick - 'In The Spirit of Miami Beach', it really captures the essence of the place, a great read and stunning pictures.  

Just what I need to get through January!

Modern Marrakesh

Cafe Arabe - Terrace

I was in Marrakesh last week, where there are some fabulous interiors. These pictures are from Cafe Arabe a stunning restauraunt/cafe/bar. The Terrace above has an amazing cooling system with cool vapour pumped through the intricate awning system.

 

The Tea Room inside is a brilliant mix of old and new moroccan style. The colours through out are very rich and warm reflecting it's Red City location.

The hallway

 

 

Beautiful lanterns light the entrance 

Metropol Parasol

How amazing is this! The Metropol Parasol in Seville is the world's largest wooden structure. Designed by J. Mayer H. Architects

It took 4 years to complete and was finished in April of this year -www.yatzer.com/Metropol-Parasol

Alacati, Turkey

Tas Otel, Alacati

I've just come back from spending a week in the small town of Alacati on the Cesme peninsula, south west of Izmir. I was lucky enough to stay at the Tas Otel, a renovated  120 year old greek mansion. This was the first boutique hotel to open in alacati nearly 10 years ago, now Alacati has many more small beautifully restored hotels. The owner of Tas - Ms Zeynep Ozis is a founder of the Alacati Presevation Society, this society ensures that the town does not become spoilt - there's not a plastic chair in site!

A street in Alacati

At the Tas Otel they serve the best breakfasts on the beautiful terrace overlooking the garden.

The terrace

And between 5 and 7pm they serve tea and cakes using their own produce and preserves.

Preserves fermenting in the garden

The whole hotel was just gorgeous. Inside the interior is quite simple - stone with white plaster and all woodwork glossed in the subtlest pale blue.