In London, I love the Mayfair neighborhood for its beautiful architecture. The terracotta buildings, especially, are so striking. This is one of my favorite - no, my favorite - pub in London. It’s called the Audley. The picture does not do it justice. It’s as beautiful on the inside with […]
I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum today to look at the jewelry collection at the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellry Gallery. It is amazing! With about 3,500 pieces on display, it is one of the best and most comprehensive jewelry collections, filled with jaw-dropping pieces, mostly European and mostly from the […]
I’m back in London where it’s considerably cooler than the south of France. We left 80 degree temperatures for 60 degree weather. I suppose we are easing back into reality. At least it isn’t raining as it has here all weekend apparently. Anyway, I still have the Mediterranean on the brain […]
I am leaving France today, very reluctantly of course, heading back to London for a few days where the weather is considerably cooler. It’s tough leaving all this (this is the view poolside at the Grand Hotel), but all good things must come to an end, right?
Fashion week is starting in New York, but I am a million miles away. I had lunch today at one of the prettiest spots on earth - La Chevre D’Or (the Golden Goat) in the hilltop village of Eze on the Cote D’Azur. Eze is a medieval town carved into the rocks, vertiginously […]
I took this photo today in the harbor at Monaco. In a sea of huge yachts, a couple of them manage to stand out … by a lot - dozens of yards. They’re called “mega-yachts”, but at 250 feet in length, they ought to be called ships. The Lady Moura, second from […]
My husband and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary by staying at the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat. It’s paradise. Pure and simple. New York has become a distant memory. Once again, I have to ask myself: Why do I live in New York? Oh yeah, because of something […]
I am in the South of France right now and it’s been pretty bloody hard focusing on anything other than on doing as little as possible. This is a view of the Mediterranean from my hotel in Cap Ferrat. Cap Ferrat is on the Cote D’Azur, between Nice and Monaco. That’s all […]
I’ve arrived in London today and had to show you one of my favorite sights here - Tower Bridge. I’m so jet lagged as usual! If anyone has a good, sure-fire remedy for jet lag, let me know!
There’s been a shift of late in the flow of medical tourism. For the last few years, uninsured Americans have traveled abroad, mainly to Asia, for procedures such as hip replacements and bypass surgery because of the considerably lower costs offered there. The same holds true for plastic surgery. Women and an […]
I just got back from a few days in Boston, the dual purpose of the trip being to get out of muggy NYC and to attend a Red Sox game. No, I’m not the sports enthusiast (by any stretch of the imagination) but my husband is a Boston native, so […]
I am back from Spain and am happy to report that for the two weeks I was there, I did not see a single pair of Tory Burch flats. It was so refreshing! Overall, even though I did not find the fanciest or most sophisticated clothing in the shops (tastes in Spain are […]
I found a small museum in Madrid outside the beaten path of the large museums like the Prado. It was the home and studio of a turn-of-the-last-century Spanish impressionist painter named Joaquin Sorolla. His paintings are light-filled scenes of beaches and gardens and elegant Sargent-like portraits. But as pleasing as his canvases […]
These Crocs (or Croc-like shoes) are sensibly displayed next to attire which is appropriate to their use. They are displayed alongside health care and restaurant uniforms. Nursing, cooking and I will add gardening, are the only activities during which these plastic clogs should be worn. They are not appropriate street wear because, […]
I have to say that I have not found much to admire fashion-wise in Madrid. The economy may be good in Spain, but fashion has a long way to go. Most of the shops sell cheap, trendy stuff. I haven’t been impressed by any one shop or designer line. Speaking of […]
How can I talk about Barcelona without mentioning the architecture, especially that of native son, Antoni Gaudi? When he graduated from architecture school, school officials didn’t know whether they were awarding a diploma to a nutcase or a genius. This is probably my favorite building of his, the Casa Batllo. […]
These bicycles are everywhere in central Barcelona. You pick one up from the stand it is secured to, ride it to wherever you’re going, and park it back again at a stand near your destination. And here’s an idea: they are FREE. To be able to use them, you need to […]
I was too mesmerized by the street sights of Barcelona to spend much time looking in shop windows. I couldn’t believe when I was making my way down Las Ramblas, sort of like the Champs Elysees of Barcelona, to see animals for sale. That’s right, you had your pick of parakeets, […]
Just when I thought that Kate Moss, along with a handful of ubiquitous brands, were taking over the world (that’s her line in a Topshop window - notice the English signage even though the store is in Madrid)…
…it was refreshing to see some stores offering wares with a distinctive local flavor.
I am off to […]
One of my favorite things to do in Madrid (besides shopping of course) is to walk around and look at the old world architecture which I find very charming not least of all because its more human scale (typically no more than 5 or 6 stories) allows you see the sky. After living […]
