The Amazing Chihuly in Kew Gardens: ‘Reflections on Nature’

One of Ms B’s and my biggest regrets in 2019 is that we only visited Dale Chihuly’s ‘Reflections on Nature’ exhibition of glass sculptures in Kew Gardens a few days ago, and not much earlier, thus missing out on the opportunity to return again and again. The exhibition will close forever on 27 October after a hugely successful six months. Ms B, whose nick name at school apparently was ‘voucher chick’, managed to find us a 50% discount, which brought the ticket’s price down to £9 per person (deal can be found here) Even the full price of £18 is extremely good value for what you get. They also offer great deals for families. We’ve been big fans of Chihuly’s for many years now, and especially of his large-scale outdoor sculptures. His equally well-received 2005 Kew Gardens exhibition was one we missed out on, because Ms B was busy settling […]

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Staying at the four-starred Le Mareuil in the Haut Marais district, Paris

During our recent visit to Paris, we stayed at four-starred Le Mareuil. Located in the Haut Marais district, squeezed in between the historical Marais district and the recently revamped Place de la République, it is walking distance from our beloved Place des Vosges, Le Marche des Enfants Rouges, and pretty much all of central Paris, including the Ile de la Cité, which is roughly 40 minutes’ walk away. Rue Oberkampf is very close. Unbeknownst to us, the Haut Marais has recently developed from a nondescript grey mass into a hip fashion design hotspot with lots of fancy clothes shops, restaurants, cafes, great nightlife, and more high-end barber shops than I have seen in my whole life.   The hotel only opened in 2013, so everything feels reasonably new and modern. We didn’t really get a chance to check out their spa or their bar, considering we were on a tight […]

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Antony Gormley at the RA – one of the best art exhibitions of the year so far

If a lesser artist would propose to flood parts of the RA with sea water, splash around with clay, build giant walkable metal structures inside several of the halls, the ancient institution’s answer would be quite predictable. However, if you’re one of the most revered living artists and a knight of your kingdom then you won’t even be asked to explain why. Consider it done. At the age of 69, Sir Antony has reached that point in his career, and this is the most important exhibition of his work worldwide in over ten years. Don’t miss this. Like art? Whatever. Don’t like art? Frankly, my dear, I don’t riverdance. Everyone who lives and breathes should see it, as long as you’re in Europe, the UK, or any adjacent continents between now and 3 December, when it closes. For clarification, Pacific islands including New Zealand count into Asia/Pacific, and Asia does […]

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Serious Seafood in Southampton: Soleto

During our recent visit to the New Forest we took the train to Southampton and hired a car from there to get to our final destination near Brockenhurst. On our way back we stopped for dinner at Soleto, Southampton’s top location for seafood, an Italian restaurant ranking #14 out of 639 on Tripadvisor, and proud holder of a Certificate of Excellence. The owner, who also happens to be the chef, greeted us upon arrival, gave us some recommendations and cheered us up with some anecdotes from his life. We decided to go for the mussels (£9.50), a mixed salad (£3.50), and the “Fish Medley” (£24.95).   Both dishes arrived fairly quickly and we tucked in. The mussels were among the nicest ones we’ve had in a while, really lovely sauce too. The seafood platter was equally delightful. I particularly liked the squid and the cod, both of which had near-perfect […]

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Mushroom Cream Pork Medallions – Ms B’s Favourite Dish

This is one of the simplest recipes we ever tried, yet one of the most delicious. We usually cook mushroom cream pork medallions at least once a month during the mushroom season, sometimes as often as twice a week. Our favourite place to get them from is Borough Market. We are no fans of the mushrooms on offer in most supermarkets, where quite often there are two varieties: “white mushrooms” and “brown mushrooms”. While at the Market, we stop by the Ginger Pig, who are not as good as they used to be anymore, but still one of the better places to get meat from in London. We are very good eaters, so often go for 700g or more of pork medallions for the two of us. 200g per person should probably do the job, though, if you want to take it easy on the meat.   Ingredients for 2 […]

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