48 hours in… Florence April 13, 2014 WHERE TO STAY Book in for a night at JK Place Firenze, the five star hotel of choice for the likes of Bono and Kylie Minogue. Situated on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, it also boasts a roof terrace bar with incredible views over the city. WHERE TO EAT One of the most talented young [...]
Thali joins the growing Indian food renaissance April 8, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT THALI 166 Old Brompton Road, SW5 0BA Tel: 020 7373 2626 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Four Stars ATMOSPHERE Four Stars Cost for two with some wine: £107 SO LAST month everything was plodding along nicely, all work, work, pub, pub, pub, taxi, take-away, bottle of red, quick whisky, sleep, aspirin, coffee, coffee, work, [...]
Mix it up: Take some time to consider the ryes and the wherefores April 8, 2014 @philip_salter WE LIVE in an age obsessed with what we eat. We want to know it all – down to whether the dead animal on our plate had an emotionally fulfilling life; if her parents were of good stock; and whether she suffered from dandruff. Yet many of us throw back alcohol without even knowing [...]
How to be the envy of the golf club April 7, 2014 The new Mercedes C-Class has finally emerged from the shadow of its big brother, the S-Class THE battle for golf club car park supremacy remains alive and well. And this year, to trump your fellow members, you’re going to have to get one of these: the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. It’s that simple. Emerging from the [...]
10-Week fitness challenge the get-fit diary of an out of shape office worker April 7, 2014 Steve is undertaking a 10 week “total body transformation” programme with No.1 Fitness, which involves four sessions at the gym a week, a strictly controlled diet and absolutely no alcohol under any circumstances whatsoever (not even a little bit, just to take the edge off…). Here’s how it’s going: BEFORE I started I thought giving [...]
Prague: famed for its beauty, and its stag dos April 6, 2014 Can you escape the dawdling Americans and the lairy parties THE trouble with cities like Prague is twofold: one, their wholehearted embrace of tourism and two, Americans. Formerly ravaged by Soviet rule (a guide on a river tour noted the site of a statue of “that monster” Stalin), then opened up for the beer-swilling stags [...]
Scared of flying? Five top tips for staying in control while in the air April 6, 2014 GLOBAL travel is at the heart of both our working and personal lives, yet one in six of us suffers from pteromerhanophobia – the fear of flying. For many, the Malaysian Airlines tragedy brought this into sharp focus; we all know that the chance of disaster is minute, but once the nagging doubt creeps in [...]
48 hours in… Toronto April 6, 2014 WHERE TO STAY When it comes to luxury accommodation, there’s only one place to stay in Toronto: the Four Seasons. The chain started in Toronto, and the flagship duly embodies the Four Seasons’ signature mix of style and indulgence. WHERE TO EAT Complete with exposed brick-work and low-wattage lightbulbs, Buca has plenty of style, and [...]
Days of future caste April 3, 2014 FILM DIVERGENT CERT 12a Three Stars IN DIVERGENT a special young woman battles against a repressive society to achieve her true potential. Based on the first in a series of “Young Adult” novels by Veronica Roth, and with a sequel already confirmed, Divergent is unoriginal but sophisticated, engaging and surprisingly fun. I don’t wish to [...]
Richard Ayaode is a Double visionary April 3, 2014 FILM THE DOUBLE Cert 15 Four Stars RICHARD Ayoade’s first film, 2011’s Submarine, shuffled bashfully through the beaches and bedrooms of suburban seaside adolescence, stopping for cuddles, puppy love and the odd mumbled voice-over. For his second, loose Dostoevsky adaptation The Double, he dives arms flailing into the chaotic nightmare of adult anomie. It is [...]