Cond 233 Nast Traveller UK - 09 2019 PDF

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SEPTEMBER 2019
THE DNA FRESH EYES

ADVENTURE
TREND ON BALI
WHY WE AREN’T JADED YET
EPIC TRAIN-BRAGGING IN THE USA

LONGBOARDING LADIES:
+ THE COOLER, SMOOTHER ALTERNATIVE SKATERS
HOW WACKY
DESIGN AROUND
THE WORLD IS
LIFTING OUR SPIRITS
TEL AVIV’S SULTRY SCENE
REMAKING A ST TROPEZ LEGEND
GRASSROOTS MUMBAI
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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019
UBUD p82
Bali’s green heart has become a hubbub
of global voices but peace can still be
found in its high hills
TEL AVIV p94

This beachy Bauhaus city is buzzing with
dynamic new food and design scenes
AMERICA BY TRAIN p104

A classic ride from Chicago to San Francisco
gives the bigger picture on the diversity
of this country
ANDROS p114
Go inland on the laidback Greek isle to find
spring-fed villages and secret hideouts
PHOTOGRAPH: MONTSE GARRIGA
ZORKOS BEACH ON ANDROS

September 2019 Condé Nast Traveller 7
CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019

29
40 124
36
12 EDITOR’S LETTER 81 TRENDWATCH DNA testing
is now leading to new adventures
14 CONTRIBUTORS
122 THE GLOBETROTTER
19 WORD OF MOUTH The New Yorker Maggie Siff, the star
destinations creating a stir around of Mad Men and Billions
the world, from Mumbai to Tokyo
124 IN BRITAIN The medieval
29 WAY OF LIFE A sustainable seaside town of Rye is having a
Byron Bay estate to rent out as your own modern design moment
36 SNAPSHOT Tropical foliage and 131 FLAVOUR HUNTER

fruit blossom in the leafiest interiors Table to book A new Israeli restaurant
in Frankfurt. World on a plate
40 FANTASY LIFESTYLE Coriander. Moveable feast Slovenia’s
Meet the longboarding ladies curving Ana Roš. Sip trip Sangria
PHOTOGRAPHS: JOAO PEDRO CORDEIRO; SUZAN GABRIJAN; ALICIA TAYLOR

along sunny streets around the world
155 EVENTS Coming up A zero-waste
76 47 WHERE TO STAY
Main review Cheval Blanc St-Tropez.
Bed-hopping with singer Róisín
tasting menu with Victorinox and a
preview of Australian art in London.
Party people The Spa Awards 2019
Murphy. The Weekender Monkey and tales with explorer Aldo Kane
Island Estate, Berkshire
176 THE VIEW FROM HERE
54 THE ROAD TRIP From lakeside The Lindis, New Zealand
Lausanne to Milan in a Lexus UX Hybrid
59 STYLE FILE Shopping in Taipei.

Jewellery Russia’s empire reimagined.
134
Design focus Neo-naff goes riotously
over the top. In the zone Bulgari’s
Lucia Silvestri on Jaipur. Beauty
The best products to buff up your
68
post-holiday glow. On the scene
Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai.
Watch Colour pops of Le Corbusier
10 Condé Nast Traveller September 2019

Eye/LOEWE/Nature
loewe.com
Menswear and accessories CASA LOEWE London
inspired by the great outdoors 41 – 42 New Bond Street
EDITOR’S LETTER
AS A TRAVEL MAGAZINE, we have a tendency to go apoplectic

over summer, to pretend it is our holy land, our Valhalla, our
grail of Nimrod. I loved the season so much for a while when
O N T H E C OV E R
I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I even considered
calling her Summer. And yet something has gone so wrong
with it recently. Now, you won’t find me aghast at the
pleasure of finding a wild strawberry tucked between cracked
paving stones, or cup-full-of-glee at that hot melted plastic
scent inside a car that’s been parked in the sun. Now, you’ll
find me in the corner of my garden, the dark bit that smells
of lichen, and old man ghosts, drinking and smoking (sorry, and sorry again) and wondering
what the hell is happening WITH ALL THE DEAD BUMBLEBEES.
We are in a new house. Which is lovely. And which has a lovely garden. But there are a ton of
creatures inside the house that shouldn’t be there. ‘Jesus wept,’ I say, walking into my 16-year-old’s
room, ‘I’ve never seen so many flies. Look, you have everyone… John, Paul, Steve, Bob.’ ‘STOP
NAMING THEM!’ she shouts. ‘HELP ME! ZAP THEM WITH THE ELECTRONIC
TENNIS RACKET!’ I zap one, so it bursts into a small but significant flame. ‘Good god, what RICE TERRACES IN UBUD, BALI
would the Buddhists say…?’ I mumble. Then I pass my middle daughter’s room. I think she has PHOTOGRAPHED BY
been watching videos on Instagram for, maybe, 17 hours. ‘YOU’VE GOT TO GET OFF THE JACK JOHNS
PHONE!’ I say. ‘BUT I AM ADDICTED!’ she says. I have no idea how to respond. ‘Go and
play outside,’ I say, weakly, but really I can’t remember what happens outside other than the
lighting of cigarettes and the clinking of the ice among the fingers of vodka and the ferns.
The house move has been quite something. In the way that Mae West was probably quite SUBSCRIBE
something. Kind of fabulous to look at, kind of impossible to live with. The whole place is
strewn with boxes. And resentment. What happens is this: you open a box. You find one scarf, VISIT CNTRAVELLER.
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you’ve never seen of your brother when he was little, a hat, a rug, a wooden elephant with a EMAIL CNTRAVELLER@
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make sure no one is watching and close the lid on the rest of it because you do not know what
CALL 0844 848 5202
to do with anything. Else. In. This. Box. Later, after your husband has thrown the box into the
skip, you will tiptoe downstairs in your nightie and fish it all out. It all has a meaning you realise
now. And you can’t bear to lose anything with meaning. F O L LOW U S O N
It’s the little one’s sports day. The one I was going to call Summer. She’s a runner, but after
a disappointment in the sprint she’s put all her hopes on the 800 metres and comes out of the I N S TAG R A M
blocks way too fast. On the first lap I can see she has a stitch and is looking pained. Number @ CO N D EN AS T TR AV ELLER
One and Two have overtaken her, but she keeps pushing. On the last corner the group has caught
up with her, and she’s neck and neck for third. I see how uncomfortable she is and yet she digs
deeper and deeper still. Just at the last hair, she is beaten out of third. I’ve stopped videoing a
lifetime ago, dropped my phone and run across the pitch, while she’s fallen to the ground, gasping
and clutching her sides, one eye totally bloodshot, a little pool of pain and disappointment.
Later, the two of us sit quietly in the dark corner of the garden where the wisteria tendrils
feel blindly forward. We watch a beetle with horns stumble across the path like a drunk parish
priest. A magpie swoops into view. ‘Aren’t they bad luck Mama?’ she asks. ‘I no longer view
them like that,’ I say, ‘it feels like if there are going to be so many of them in our garden, we
need to switch ourselves about and see them as friends instead.’
This is the new issue of Condé Nast Traveller. For those who’ve dug deep into summer, but
who find themselves curiously drawn to autumn’s cool runnings instead.
PHOTOGRAPH: ANDREW URWIN
MILOS, GREECE
BSME
EDITOR OF MELINDA STEVENS MelindaLP
THE YEAR EDITOR
TR
A
R
VE O
L C AT E G
All information and travel details are correct at the time of going to press and may no longer be so on the date of publication.
Unless otherwise stated, hotel prices are low-season rates and restaurant prices are for a three-course meal for two without drinks

CONTRIBUTORS
THIS MONTH, WE ASK OUR HAPPY WANDERERS WHERE THEY HAVE FELT MOST IN AWE OF NATURE
ANA ROS Moveable Feast (p134) LUCIA SILVESTRI In the Zone (p72)
‘I loved Madagascar. The people live so close to nature, which ‘One of the experiences that stands out the most from all my
as a chef is inspiring to see. They would slow-cook dishes such as travels is visiting a ruby mine in Mozambique. It was one of the
zebu beef, using cassava leaves and vanilla. I remember eating most beautiful places I’ve seen, like a sea of red covered with
amazing stews on the train from Fianarantsoa to Manakara.’ gems of all shapes and sizes. I wish I could have collected and
Ana’s restaurant Hiša Franko is among the World’s 50 Best studied them.’ Lucia is the creative director of Italian brand Bulgari
MAGGIE SIFF The Globetrotter (p122) EMMA LANE Way of Life (p29)
‘I few years ago, I took a 10-day hike through the Sierra Nevada ‘I recently took a little plane to Lord Howe, a crescent-shaped,
mountains in California with friends, climbing Mount Whitney. volcanic-remnant island 480 miles into the Tasman Sea east of
It filled me with awe, from the lush lowlands, with glacial Sydney. In the hills, you can see over subtropical forests to sandy
pools inhabited only by dragonflies and fish, to the craggy beauty beaches and the fantastical turquoise coral lagoon – all completely
PHOTOGRAPHS: SUZAN GABRIJAN; MONTSE GARRIGA; DANIELLE KOSANN/KINTZING;

above the tree line.’ Maggie stars in the TV hit ‘Billions’ untouched.’ Emma is a farmer and hotelier in Byron Bay
NAJEEM MUHAMMED/500PX; TOM PARKER; BENJAMIN SCHMUCK; ALICIA TAYLOR
ANTHONY SATTIN Writer, America by Train (p104) MONTSE GARRIGA Photographer, Andros (p114)
‘On the north-west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, before the 2004 ‘It feels like a new beginning when I go to the Karoo in South
tsunami, I stayed in a tree hut high in the canopy, reached by steps Africa, out in the semi-desert between Cape Town and Port
hammered into a mighty trunk. The rooftop deck was shared Elizabeth. There’s a special depth to the silence and a vastness to
with toucans; below, the Indian Ocean raged onto the beach in the sky. I wake up to antelopes outside my window. Strangely, it’s
huge breakers.’ Anthony is a British writer and broadcaster like coming home.’ Montse is a photographer based in London

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MELINDA STEVENS
PA TO THE EDITOR Katharine Sohn
DEPUTY EDITOR Issy von Simson ACTING DEPUTY EDITOR Stephanie Rafanelli
FEATURES DIRECTOR Fiona Kerr TRAVEL NEWS DIRECTOR Erin Florio ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rick Jordan ACTING FEATURES DIRECTOR Toby Skinner
MANAGING EDITOR Paula Maynard DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Paulie Dibner
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Pete Winterbottom ART DIRECTOR Paula Ellis ART EDITOR Nitish Mandalia
PHOTOGRAPHIC DIRECTOR Matthew Buck SENIOR PICTURE EDITOR Karin Mueller PICTURE EDITOR Anna Morassutti Vitale VIDEO PRODUCER Corinne Brooking
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Gráinne McBride DEPUTY CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Katharina Hahn SENIOR SUB-EDITOR Leah Craig
DIGITAL EDITOR Becky Lucas ACTING DIGITAL EDITOR Sonya Barber DEPUTY DIGITAL EDITOR Tabitha Joyce
ENGAGEMENT MANAGER Olivia Holborow ONLINE ASSOCIATE Sarah James DIGITAL PICTURE EDITOR Sophie Knight DIGITAL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Emma Russell
FASHION DIRECTOR Martha Ward FASHION FEATURES EDITOR Charlotte Davey WATCH & JEWELLERY DIRECTOR Jessica Diamond
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Teddy Wolstenholme BEAUTY DIRECTOR Catherine Robinson
SENIOR EDITOR-AT-LARGE Peter Browne EDITORS-AT-LARGE Steve King, Alex Postman WEST COAST USA EDITOR Rebecca Misner
RETAIL EDITOR/EVENTS DIRECTOR Kendra Leaver-Rylah EVENTS COORDINATOR Lucy Farrell
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
David Annand, Jonathan Bastable, Horatio Clare, Ondine Cohane, Sophie Dahl, Sophie Dening, E Jane Dickson, Mark Ellwood, Helen Fielding, Giles Foden, Laura Fowler, Michelle Jana Chan,
Fiona Joseph, Jeremy King, Emma Love, Lee Marshall, Kate Maxwell, Thomasina Miers, Reggie Nadelson, Harriet O’Brien, Timothy O’Grady, Tom Parker Bowles, Harry Pearson, Adriaane Pielou
(Health & Spa), Antonia Quirke, Paul Richardson, Anthony Sattin, Nicholas Shakespeare, Sally Shalam, Stanley Stewart
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
James Bedford, David Crookes, Squire Fox, Alice Gao, Philip Lee Harvey, Jack Johns & Owen Tozer, David Loftus, Ana Lui, Tom Parker,
Michael Paul, Bill Phelps, Richard Phibbs, Oliver Pilcher, Kristian Schuller, Alistair Taylor-Young, Jenny Zarins
DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATION AND RIGHTS Harriet Wilson EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER Jessica Borges SYNDICATION syndication@condenast.co.uk
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Emily Hallie DEPUTY PUBLICITY DIRECTOR Harriet Robertson PR MANAGER Sophie Mitchell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS Molly Pacala COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Savannah Jackson
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
SIMON LEADSFORD
PA TO THE PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Alexandra Steeden ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Juliette Ottley
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REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Karen Allgood (020 7152 3276) REGIONAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Heather Mitchell PARIS OFFICE Helena Kawalec (00 33 1 44 11 78 80)
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THAI OFFICE JPP Thailand LTD (00 66 02051 4694) FLORIDA AND CARIBBEAN OFFICE Kate Ising (00 1 305 532 5517) GREEK OFFICE DK Associates (00 30 694 251 9199)
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Your private address at sea.
Open the door to a suite aboard our world famous

ships. A unique sanctuary where you can
relax and entertain with the most bespoke dining
and personalised service at sea.
Welcome to The Cunard Grill Suites.
Grill Suites
WORD OF MOUTH
THIS MONTH’S MOST CURIOUS DESTINATIONS. EDITED BY ERIN FLORIO & TOBY SKINNER
NO BORDERS SHOPFRONT
JAMES FERREIRA’S B&B AT 47G
VILLAGE PEOPLE
AS A FOIL TO MUMBAI’S SKYSCRAPER CRAWL, A HIDDEN
CENTURIES-OLD ENCLAVE IS STOKING ITS INDIE SPIRIT
PHOTOGRAPHS: DANIEL SHECHTER
MODEL AT NO BORDERS

WORD OF MOUTH COLONIAL-STYLE FACADE
Close to the cacophony of Chowpatty beach, and surrounded by the

drab high-rises of southern Mumbai, the tiny ward of Khotachiwadi
is a pastel-coloured portal to another era: specifically, the 18th
century, when 65 brightly painted wooden homes were built here in
Portuguese-colonial style, with ornate verandahs and wooden
RELIGIOUS FIGURES
shutters. That 28 have survived Mumbai’s rapid development is in IN KHOTACHIWADI
large part down to the man at number 47G, the elegantly frayed,
biscuit-coloured building at the heart of the village. James Ferreira is
one of India’s foremost fashion designers, known for his flowing
fabrics and for styling Bollywood’s biggest stars since the 1970s. His
NO BORDERS SHOP part-Portuguese family has lived in the area for generations, and when
we meet at two-storey 47G, he points out his aunt and grandmothers’
houses down a narrow lane. ‘It’s so sad that they’ve allowed most of
the old city to disappear,’ says Ferreira, who in 2003 formed a trust to
protect his ancestral home from the encroaching skyscrapers. Since
2017, he’s spread the word by turning his home/studio into a B&B:
welcoming guests into a jumble of heirlooms, glassware and religious
tchotchkes, handed down or collected at the Chor Bazaar flea
market; and telling tales of Khotachiwadi over bacon and eggs at
breakfast. Upstairs, next to his atelier, he has given an antique-filled
space to Mumbai- and New York-based stylist Kanika Karvinkop
for her No Borders concept shop, a chic jumble of vintage fashion,
from Dior to Indian brand Pero, which somehow fits Ferreira’s
old Khotachiwadi aesthetic. On the way up, you might spot the man
himself in his museum-like living room, always ready to welcome
strangers. ‘I live with my door open,’ he says. ‘The more people hear
stories of old Khotachiwadi, the more likely we are to keep it as it is.’
SARAH KHAN To book a stay at 47G, email info@jamesferreira.co.in
KHOTACHIWADI STREET
47G LIVING ROOM

NO BORDERS SHOP
OTHER GLOBAL NEIGHBOURHOODS

BATTLING FOR THEIR SOUL
BO-KAAP, CAPE TOWN
The paintbox-bright houses of this majority
Muslim enclave on the slopes of Signal Hill have
long welcomed selfie-takers. But residents have
increasingly been fighting gentrification, as wealthy
outsiders move in. Last year saw fierce protests
against a proposed 12-storey apartment complex.
WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY

This blue-collar boardwalk borough is still
home to the USA’s greatest concentration of
neon-clad, mid-century Doo Wop motels, even
if the current count of 140 is far fewer than the
600 there once were. The Doo Wop Preservation
League was formed in 1997 to protect kitsch
landmarks such as the Waikiki, Astronaut and
Pink Champagne motels.
TWO FLOORS OF 47G
KREUZBERG, BERLIN
The German capital’s original creative hood has
been a gentrification lightning rod for a while, its
countercultural spirit (and cheap rents) the very
thing that first drew the shabby-chic seekers.
While local protesters failed in a vociferous fight
against a McDonald’s branch, last year they forced
Google to call off plans for a new campus. SK
PHOTOGRAPHS: DANIEL SHECHTER
HERITAGE HOUSES
WORD OF MOUTH
Clockwise from left: a window

screen, and entrance to Trunk
hotel’s new townhouse to
rent; edamame stew at Inua
restaurant in Fujimi; Yayoi
Kusama Museum in Bentencho;
plum leather with aromatic
flowers at Inua; sachets of dashi
soup stock at Akomeya Tokyo
in La Kagu; street corner in
Kagurazaka; doorway at Trunk
PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRIS SCHALKX

STRIKE A
Clockwise from top left:
seating area, and interior
BALANCE
details at the ninth-floor TOKYO’S GEISHA DISTRICT IS A HIDDEN ARTY HUB
entrance to Inua; Akagi Shrine
Most visitors to Tokyo haven’t heard of Kagurazaka. Nicknamed Little
in Kagurazaka, designed
Kyoto, it’s one of the city’s last-remaining geisha neighbourhoods,
by Japanese architect
sitting on the fringes of what was once the Edo Castle grounds. Just a
Kengo Kuma; café space
30-minute metro ride from Otemachi’s skyscrapers and Harajuku’s kawaii
at Akomeya Tokyo in
hordes, it’s a peaceful enclave of tangled power lines, Edo-era buildings,
La Kagu; Stephen Kenn
vinyl stores and blink-and-miss-them sake bars. There’s a gentle
sofa at Trunk’s townhouse;
local scene. By day, the area’s creative types can be found at Kamome
Kamome Books
Books, a shop that shares a calming space with Weekenders Coffee,
Kyoto’s original artisan bean brand, or at Akomeya Tokyo in La Kagu, a
1960s-built storage facility that was minimally repurposed by Japanese
architect Kengo Kuma, and now sells tableware and clothing. Big-ticket
openings nearby have shone a fresh light on the area in recent years: the
Yayoi Kusama Museum, a riot of eccentric spot-and-dot bohemian
installations, took over a curved mini-tower with cut-out glass walls in
2017; and temple-like Inua was launched last year by former Noma
number two Thomas Frebel, whose Nordic-Japanese plates are locavore
works of art, often involving in-house fermentation. This August, the
team behind Shibuya’s sassy Trunk (Hotel) is opening Trunk (House),
a two-storey former geisha residence that sleeps four. Tucked away
in Kagurazaka’s atmospheric Kakurenbo Yokocho – or Hide and Seek Alley
– it has interiors that are a mix of minimal and funky: there are tatami
mats and an irori sunken fireplace, but also Eames tables and metal-
framed Stephen Kenn sofas. Suppers are whipped up by a private chef,
and a 24-hour butler knows all the best local exhibitions and izakaya bars.
Or guests can party in a dinky soundproofed space purporting to be
Tokyo’s tiniest disco. Kaguraza may be one of the most hush-hush
neighbourhoods, but its exciting homegrown scene is creating noise.
IANTHE BUTT trunk-house.com. From £5,400 per night

WORD OF MOUTH
What’s
taking off
and what’s
running out
of fuel
NEXT-LEVEL STAYS
Airbnb started with three air
mattresses in a San Francisco
loft in 2007. Now, its new Luxe
service ranges from plush
Provençal châteaux to an entire
French Polynesian island from
about £115,000 per night.
AIRPORTS OF
THE FUTURE
The £9 billion, Zaha Hadid-
designed Beijing Daxing
International Airport, opening
south of the Chinese capital at
the end of September, is slated
state of flex to be the world’s largest, with

sleek curves and solar farms.
ON-THE-PULSE MANHATTAN OPENINGS ARE ZONING IN ON WELLBEING

RAIL ROLLOVER
New York City has always prided itself on doing things bigger than anywhere else in the world – and now After cancellations and delays in
it’s getting its schvitz on for pioneering wellness concepts. Designer-gym giant Equinox recently opened its its early months, the Caledonian
first hotel in the billion-pound Hudson Yards development near Chelsea, with more locations to follow, Sleeper train from London to
promising guests the chance to ‘stay where high performance lives’. That means low-lit, beat-thumping Scotland will finally take its
SoulCycle classes as well as cryotherapy and face sculpting in the futuristic 27,000-square-foot spa. The smart new double-bed carriages
hotel’s soundproofed rooms are billed as ‘ultimate sleep chambers’, with coaches on hand to help guests to Aberdeen, Inverness and
drift off when they aren’t using the in-room foam rollers and exercise straps. Meanwhile, The Well in Union Fort William this autumn.
Square is leading the trend for health-focused members’ clubs. The white-walled, minimalist space offers
nutrition coaches and therapies such as Ayurveda and vibrational energy healing, led by experts including
Obama-endorsed relationships guru Lia Avellino and Keith Pyne, a sports doctor who counts baseball
superstar Alex Rodriguez among his clients. Plus, a greenhouse-inspired restaurant serves cold-pressed RANKING BIAS
shots. The company plans to open 10 more clubs worldwide by the end of next year. New Yorkers have It was a fresh antidote to the
also been getting high on the health benefits of cannabis-plant-derived CBD, with chic online retailer long-established Michelin Guide
Standard Dose unrolling its first brick-and-mortar store in increasingly hip NoMad. Along with four calming, back in 2002, but the World’s
millennial-pink floors of serums, tonics, teas and meditation rooms, it has a dedicated yoga rooftop. If health 50 Best Restaurants list is feeling
is the new wealth, this city is cashing in. ERIN FLORIO equinox-hotels.com. the-well.com. standarddose.com tired and lacks diversity, with
just one spot in Africa, two
Clockwise from top left: the Manhattan skyline; bedroom at the new Equinox Hotel Hudson Yards; in China and none in India this
reading corner at Standard Dose CBD store; reflexology room at The Well members’ club year. Time to reinvent?
FAST FASHION
With upcycled fabrics and
nods to sustainability set for the
catwalks of London, Paris and
Milan, Stockholm has cancelled
PHOTOGRAPHS: LUDWIG FAVRE; DAVID MITCHELL
its August fashion week to focus

on eco-friendly alternatives.
WALKING TO
THE GATE
Singapore Changi Airport
has built a slide to transport
passengers directly to their
boarding gates. Another 40ft-
high slide in a separate terminal
is just for fun. TOBY SKINNER

DISCOVER MORE:
with the airline that flies to
more countries than any other
INDONESIA
WAY OF LIFE
HOT DIGGITY
HIGH ABOVE BYRON BAY, A DESIGN-SAVVY DUO HAS CREATED AN IRRESISTIBLE BLUEPRINT
FOR SLOW-PACED LIVING, COMBINING SUSTAINABILITY WITH A TERRACOTTA-TINGED AESTHETIC.
TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE ESTATE FOR A BACK-TO-NATURE ADVENTURE OF YOUR OWN
BY CHLOE SACHDEV. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALICIA TAYLOR

WAY OF LIFE
In the manicured hills surrounding byron bay, the homes of as an outdoor hot tub. Recently, Sam Gibb of Byron’s Cloud Hidden
the haute hippies tend to be whitewashed tributes to Californian Tea stayed in return for teaching the children the ancient art of
modernism; this is an area of oceanic blues and clean whites. So tea ceremonies. ‘We just like to meet interesting people doing
arriving at The Range feels as if I’ve taken a wrong turn and ended interesting things,’ says the ever-welcoming Emma. ‘We’ll offer
up in some lost Balearic idyll; a shadow-streaked reverie of terracotta, people a roof over their heads, and feed them, if we can learn some-
pastels and swaying palm fronds overlooking miles of yellow-green thing. Sometimes they’ll stay for a week.’
that smudge into the sea and sky. Waiting for me, in a billowing Tom and Emma are fascinating themselves, as I find out over
linen smock and wide-brimmed straw hat, is owner Emma Lane. two blissful days at The Range, waking up in one of the old tractor
Mooching beside her is Ranger, the family’s rust-coloured Hungarian sheds to golden light piercing the trees and bouncing across the
Vizsla, fresh from starring in a Pantone-perfect photoshoot. hills. In 2015, the Lanes quit the Sydney rat race, selling up their
At this sprawling 120-acre macadamia farm in the Byron hin- beachfront home in Manly and moving to the Byron area for ‘more
terlands life appears to have been filmed and colour-corrected by space, less concrete – a slower pace’. Inspired by their new vegetable
IT FEELS LIKE SOME LOST BALEARIC IDYLL, A SHADOW-STREAKED REVERIE OF PASTELS AND PALM
FRONDS THAT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FILMED AND COLOUR-CORRECTED BY TERRENCE MALICK
Terrence Malick. First and foremost, this Spanish-finca-meets- patch, and watching their then three-year-old daughter Lulu eating
sustainable-Australian-farmhouse is the dream family home of fresh-picked green beans in wonderment, they launched The Farm,
Emma, her husband Tom and their four children, aged eight to 15. today a much-loved 80-acre working ranch in Ewingsdale, just west
But it’s also a retreat, partly modelled on Georgia O’Keeffe’s adobe of Byron. It’s a place of roaming cattle, horseback rides, small-scale
sanctuary in New Mexico, for paying guests as well as creatives of farms and an outpost of renowned Sydney locavore café Three Blue
all stripes who can stay in one of two beautifully converted tractor Ducks – all preaching the gospel of sustainable growing and living.
sheds in some kind of exchange. The Lanes’ original plan had been to settle at The Farm, but with
Before my arrival, Ranger had been posing for photographer visitor numbers swelling to half a million last year, they wanted
Nicole England’s Resident Dog series – loping around the sunken more privacy. Plus, it had always been their dream to live on a
living room, lying on peach linen bedspreads and peering, legs Spanish-style finca, inspired by English-born Emma’s childhood
splayed, into the old wooden wine vat that the Lanes repurposed trips to Gran Canaria and the couple’s own Balearic travels. Tom,
Above from left: the Lanes with their dog, Ranger; the wine-vat-turned bathtub. Opposite, clockwise from top left: repurposed shelves in the sunken living room;
the Portuguese outdoor oven; one of the tractor sheds; basalt walls and fireplace in living room. Previous page, Emma on the rosewood deck by the pool

WAY OF LIFE
whose family owns the Australian Oroton fashion brand, best-

known for its Radley-like soft leather handbags, had spent holidays
as a child on the family farm deep in the New South Wales bush,
driving tractors and bartering with farmers over livestock. ‘We’d
both long dreamed of owning a finca,’ says Emma. ‘And Tom had
always had this fantasy of living on a hill. We had been looking for
close to a decade, and had almost given up.’
But then, in December 2017, Tom got a call from the estate
agent who had been helping with his search around Byron Bay.
Remarkably, she was putting her own family farm, where she had
brought up her four children, on the market. ‘She’d wanted to sell
it to the right family,’ recalls Emma. ‘And it matched all of our tricky
criteria: of being on a hill, within 15 minutes of Byron and with
views of the ocean. There was a magical symmetry to it.’
While the initial plan was to knock down the existing farm and
outhouses, they realised it would be more sustainable to use the
footprint of the old house and the two sheds. So they rebuilt around
old walls and roofs, adding quintessentially Australian pergolas
and an Aman-style infinity pool filled with magnesium-rich water.
Back in Sydney, Emma had worked in advertising, developing
brands for clients, while Tom had left the family business to found
a company constructing prefabricated homes. ‘He was a frustrated
architect, I was a frustrated interior designer,’ says Emma, who
entrusted modern Byron architect Dominic Finlay Jones to draft
their plans. ‘We both had this vision of a place that feels like it’s
been here for a long time.’
FOR ALL THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, IT’S AN

UNFUSSY PLACE. BUSH-HAT STANDS AND BOOT
RACKS STAND IN FOR CONVENTIONAL ART
That vision is strikingly unified: simultaneously clean-lined
and modern, but with an ancient, monumental quality. Almost
everything on The Range was recycled: old roof trusses from the
previous farmhouse became living-room shelves; the ceramic floor
tiles are from a centuries-old Croatian villa; the rock walls were
made of 45-million-year-old shards of volcanic basalt from the
rainforests on the estate. Tom bangs his fist on the dining room
table, which is made from 150-year-old solid teak. ‘To me, this is art
– a functional piece of history,’ he says. To prove the point, Emma
hands me a tiny leather-wrapped script, which is the history of
the table, handwritten by Spencer Lambourn-Hull, the local car-
penter who restored it.
For all this obsessive attention to detail, The Range is a raw,
unfussy place, where bush-hat stands and boot racks crammed with
RM Williams boots stand in for conventional art. Much of the visual
magic comes from nature: geometric shadows from pergola roofs,
sun glinting through Canary palms, planted to complement the
4,500 existing macadamia trees. ‘It’s meant to be a place where you
can keep your boots on,’ says Emma. Even the undulating walls – a
smudgy, greyish-pink that seems to turn from a muted desert hue
to a peachy warm glow through the day – were mixed by Emma,
partly so that they wouldn’t show dirt. Nature provides the literal
energy, too: a rainwater collection system and solar panels mean
the property is almost entirely off-grid.
Clockwise from opposite top left: roast chicken fresh from the oven; the
main entrance with custom-designed door and Croatian tiles; glassware
and ceramics, some made by the Lane family; the pool area with outdoor
shower and sunbed; the family boot collection; a nook in the living room

WAY OF LIFE
On my first evening, as the pastel sky is gobbled up, we sit in the has just returned from her 15-minute morning meditation and is
sunken lounge – which the Lanes call ‘the conversation pit’ – and preparing seed-and-nut bread with farm-fresh eggs and garden
Tom serves up his signature ‘gin and sonic’: Cape Byron Brookie’s herbs, which she places on oatmeal-coloured ceramic plates she
gin, equal measures of tonic and soda, a sprig of rosemary, edible made herself (she would like to do more pottery; Tom wants to do
wildflowers and a slice of finger lime. Looking every bit the upcountry more woodwork). Ranger pads around happily.
Aussie with his bushy beard and Akubra hat, he later roasts pasture- Later, we tie up our hiking boots for a bushwalk around the
fed chicken from the nearby Brooklet Springs Farm in the Portuguese grounds. Matilda, 10, joins us with a friend in matching overalls,
wood-fired outdoor oven, served with spring-fresh salad from The hats and straw baskets. The landscape changes the ‘further bush’
Farm and washed down with organic wine from Clunes, just 20 we go, as Tom nearly treads on a six-foot brown snake, one of
minutes further inland. His recent obsession is cooking over the Australia’s deadliest, which hisses its displeasure. This natural vast-
Range’s sunken fire-pit, with its medieval-looking hooks and pulleys. ness is ultimately the point; the reason that Charlie, 15, and George,
The week after my visit, celebrated Tasmanian wild chef Sarah 12, can ride motorbikes across the ranch and catch yabbies (cray-
Glover is due to come and teach the family a few of her fire-pit tricks. fish) down at the dam; that Matilda and Lulu, eight, can ride horses,
Looking out over the hills later (the children are all away on collect wild flowers and tend their own edible gardens.
sleepovers), Emma describes what she calls the ‘coming-home sigh Back at the house, unprompted, Matilda whips up a tangy mock-
– where you escape and just have that view, like you’re in an eagle’s tail of sparkling mineral water, fresh ginger, honey and apple cider
nest’. Because, while the move up to Byron has been idyllic, they’ve vinegar, which Emma approvingly notes helps with digestion. It could
also been busy. The Farm has taken off in a way that neither of seem contrived, all this ‘wellness from the soil up’; this curated terra-
them imagined, and the couple recently opened The Beach House, cotta wonderland, where every angle is ripe for a #nofilter Instagram
a stunning whitewashed and rattan space on Angels Beach, half post. And yet, from the moment Lulu ate those green beans, this
an hour south of Byron. Ostensibly a guesthouse that sleeps 28 seems to have simply become the way the Lanes live. Theirs is a life
in a former Christian camp, it’s also more than that, a venue for of privilege, certainly – but also one of beauty, simplicity and sharing.
eco-focused conferences, which Emma describes as ‘the ocean After two days here, it’s a vision that makes complete sense.
version of The Farm’.
The following morning, the house is filled with life. In the huge
The Range sleeps 14 and can be rented at certain times of the year from
open kitchen, under a sloping timber pergola, some of the kids about £3,000 per night; the tractor sheds can be rented from about £150
are back and giggling while juicing oranges. Tom has picked up per night. For more information, contact hello@therangebyronbay.com.au
avocados and tomatoes and is carefully brewing espressos; Emma
Above from left: the main bedroom, with a lampshade made out of a beehive, overlooks the hinterland and sea; Ranger on the verandah

LOAFER
russellandbromley.co.uk
SNAPSHOT
let it grow
JUICY FRUITS AND TROPICANA
ARE THE LUSHEST INTERIOR
FLOURISHES IN CITY HANGOUTS
ACROSS THE GLOBE
Top row, from left: Baja-inspired taqueria
Tacombi, in New York’s West Village, has a
juice bar where watermelon coolers are
made to order. Colourful textiles at the
Covent Garden Hotel in London include
lemon-and-flower prints by Kit Kemp. Citrus
trees are part of the garden oasis designed
for the terrace at members-only club
Annabel’s, also in London. At Leo’s Oyster
Bar in San Francisco, funky leaf patterns
make for an old-school Beverly-Hills-meets-
Manhattan-club atmosphere. House
of Hackney palm-tree wallpaper and ochre
chairs from a local flea market create an
opulent feel at Hôtel Providence in Paris.
Middle row, from left: Atelier Ace and

Commune Design converted vandalised flats
into the American Trade Hotel in Panama,
with palm-print cushions contributing to the
boho-colonial look. At Bon Vivant Cakes in
Chicago, Forward Fruit studio added pops of
PHOTOGRAPHS: SIMON BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY; HALLIE DUESENBERG; DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN; FRANCK JUERY;
magenta and buttercup yellow to strawberries

and pineapples. Pomegranate and fig designs
BENOIT LINERO; CHRIS SNOOK; STANDARD STUDIO; TACOMBI; DAVINA TAN; ANDREA VAN DER SPUY
cover the walls at Che Fico in San Francisco,

where former Eleven Madison Park chef
David Nayfeld churns out wood-fired pizzas
and pasta dishes. Pineapples and bananas
are framed by emerald-green tiles at Cold
Pressed Juicery in Amsterdam, which
has a two-metre-tall juicer. Peachy wall art
stands out at The Wild Son restaurant in
New York’s Meatpacking District.
Bottom row, from left: a neon orange sign,

drawn by owner John Dewberry, lights up
the rosy booth at Southern favourite
The Dewberry hotel in Charleston, South
Carolina. The hand-painted wallpaper by
French artist Nathalie Lété at Scandi-style
Bakeri in Greenpoint, New York, is covered in
pastel peas, chillies and aubergines. Vintage
pink tablecloths and old-fashioned grape
patterns retain the classic French theme at
storied La Poule au Pot in Paris. At La Parada
tapas restaurant, on the V&A Waterfront in
Cape Town, breezy palm trees and tiled
floors conjure a Spanish vibe. The fruity
headboard at Halcyon House in New South
Wales, Australia, contrasts with the sky-blue
striped wall and pillows in shades of
raspberry and lime. KATHARINE SOHN

Join
the Happiness
FANTASY LIFESTYLE
Clockwise from top left: Praia de Santa

Cruz, Portugal; longboards in Lisbon; the
Longboard Girls Crew camper van on
the road in Spain; Longboarding Days and
Nights camp, Santa Cruz; a skate-together
near Paimogo beach, Portugal; Longboard
Girls Crew members; Valeriya Gogunskaya;
longboarding at Praia de Santa Cruz; skate
bowl in Ocean City, Biarritz. Opposite,
Gogunskaya skating by the Atlantic
FANTASY LIFESTYLE
LONGBOARDING LADIES
ON A BEAUTIFUL RIDE ALONG PAVEMENTS AND BEACHFRONTS FROM KUALA LUMPUR TO CALIFORNIA,
THRILL-SEEKING WOMEN ARE TAKING THE FREE-SPIRITED SPORT TO ANOTHER LEVEL. BY FLORENCE DERRICK
PHOTOGRAPHS: VALERIYA GOGUNSKAYA; THEO GOSSELIN; PATRICIA IMBARUS; LONGBOARDING
DAYS AND NIGHTS; LOUISEPARIS.FR; NOAH SURF HOUSE; JUAN RAYOS; NICOLE SANCHEZ
FANTASY LIFESTYLE
Clockwise from top left: Ko Hyojoo

in Seoul; Praia de Santa Cruz,
Portugal; Valeriya Gogunskaya
cruising near Paimogo beach, and at
Praia de Santa Cruz; Natalie Pluto
in LA; Santa Cruz; Gogunskaya;
Longboard Girls Crew; Pluto skating
on Venice Beach; boards in Lisbon;
Longboarder Ella Maia; Gogunskaya
in Imsouane, Morocco, and with
her board at Praia de Santa Cruz
When valeria kechichian started longboarding in Madrid in

2008, there were just three other women in her crew. It represented
freedom; an escape from a soul-crushing job as a secretary in a
law firm and a self-destructive spiral of partying. ‘It was this very
pure kind of joy,’ she says. ‘It completed me somehow.’ Still, when
she first stood on a board in the Spanish capital, people would
‘turn their heads and look at me as if I was doing something weird’.
It’s fair to say that Argentinian-born Kechichian’s gang has
grown a bit. Longboard Girls Crew (LGC), which she co-founded
in 2010, now claims to be the world’s biggest action-sports
community, with 233,400 Facebook followers and counting, and
representatives in 70 countries. With some of its videos being
viewed as many as 3.6 million times on YouTube, the group has
ignited an international scene built on
female empowerment and dreamy
THE PRIMARY APPEAL HAS ALWAYS
images of cruising golden-hour open
BEEN A CERTAIN LANGUOROUS roads. Kechichian has become the
ELEGANCE, A SURFER VIBE MORE global face of it all, launching and part-
nering with NGOs, giving TEDx Talks
AT HOME IN NATURE THAN and motivating Nike ambassadors and
SKATEBOARDING, WHICH IS GRITTIER Facebook employees with the free-
wheeling gospel.
The sport was invented in Hawaii in the 1950s, when surfers
started customising skateboards with bigger wheels and looser
trucks to make them more like surfboards. These Hawaiian pio-
neers would drive up volcanoes and glide down, carving S-shaped
turns as if on a peeling wave. Over the years, longboarders devel-
oped tricks and started speeding down hills at more than 90mph
PLUTO; NICOLE SANCHEZ; LENA SONRIE; SURFCAMP 360.PT
VALERIYA GOGUNSKAYA; HYO JOO; ELLA MAIA; @NATALIE
– but the primary appeal has always been a certain languorous

PHOTOGRAPHS: COOLINVINTAGE.COM; AGGY FERRARI;
elegance; a free-spirited surfer vibe, more at home in nature than

gritty skateboarding. There’s a scene in The Secret Life of alter
Mitty, of Ben Stiller whizzing alone through the mossy Icelandic
landscape, grinning at the wild freedom of it all.
That spirit is central to the movement, which includes all kinds
of women across the world. In Nice, Marina Corrêa spins along
the old boardwalk, flicking her dreadlocks to a reggaeton
soundtrack. Seoul freestyle longboarder Ko Hyojoo is the queen
of a flourishing Korean community, dancing on her board in cute
knee-high socks to the tune of 568,000 Instagram followers and
partnerships with Chanel and Gucci. Chinese boarder Mu Qing
skates through Chengdu in a hoodie and Vans, filmed by a friend
on a smartphone for her 500,000 followers on the Douyin video
app. In Malaysia, Fatin Amalina whooshes between Kuala
Lumpur’s shiny skyscrapers in a hijab.
The riding styles are as diverse as the women. On the Venice
Beach Boardwalk, Natalie Pluto is part of a small band of bal-
letic freestylers, doing kick-flips and shove-its as she weaves
among the tourists. Based in Virginia, Emily Pross, who styles
herself ‘the Prossecutor’, wears a shiny black speed suit and aero-
dynamic helmet to beat the men in downhill races – her speed
record is 83.88mph. All of them are celebrated on the LGC social
feeds, from the cruisers to the leather-clad competitors posting
under the #girlscanride hashtag.
The group had its Endless Summer moment in 2011, with a film
of seven women road-tripping across Spain and the Balearics
in a red VW camper van, riding their boards through white-stone
villages and down sun-flared roads overlooking limestone cliffs.
Endless Roads, the result of this 2,670-mile journey, became
a clarion call for a certain type of female-powered adventure,

FANTASY LIFESTYLE
Clockwise from top left: Valeria

Kechichian, left, and Longboard
Girls Crew; sunset skating in
Buenos Aires; Valeriya
Gogunskaya at Lagoa de Obidos,
Portugal; LGC in Biarritz;
Gogunskaya in Santa Cruz; a
longboarding session near
Peniche, Portugal; LGC team; Ko
Hyojoo cruising in Fuerteventura;
LGC in the South of France;
longboards; a LGC member;
Gogunskaya with her board, and
at the beach in Portugal
with 1.4 million views on YouTube. ‘It was more rare for some- But while Gogunskaya and Kechichian have both used long-
thing to go viral back then,’ says Kechichian. ‘But our video was boarding as a way to process their issues, behind it all is still that
suddenly everywhere. It resonated with women who thought, simple, joyous feeling of gliding along a road: ‘When I’m skating,
“Hey, we can do this.” It started a global movement.’ that’s all that matters,’ says Kechichian. ‘Me, my board and the
One of the people who watched Endless Roads on repeat was road. It creates some sort of magic, a bubble where nothing else
a teenage Valeriya Gogunskaya, who lived in the forested Finnish matters... You feel like you rule the world.’
city of Kuopio. ‘It just looked super-cool,’ she says. ‘I used to
roller-skate, and I gave my skates to a friend in exchange for
his longboard. I downloaded some YouTube tutorials and started HOW TO SPOT THE SPECIES
cruising.’ A year later, Gogunskaya moved to Santa Cruz, a beach
THE-WHEEL-WEAVING-TOUSLED-TRESSED-VINTAGE-
town north of Lisbon, with hopes of finding other skaters: ‘There
PHOTOGRAPH: JOSE PEDRO ALVAREZ FOR COOLINVINTAGE; JOAO
CAMPER-VANNING-BADASS-SPEED-FREAKS
THEO GOSSELIN; HYO JOO; @NATALIEPLUTO; NICOLE SANCHEZ
was just one guy there at the time. I was always whining to my
PEDRO CORDEIRO; DANIEL ESPIRITO SANTO; AGGY FERRARI;
boyfriend that there was no one to skate with. He said, “Why This kick-flipping, agile tribe appears in many guises and habitats.
don’t you start something?”’ Inspired by LGC, Gogunskaya The Boardwalk Cruiser might be spied at sunset on Miami Beach
organised a meet-up in 2017 at Praia de Santa Cruz’s white- or Barceloneta, her elegant dancing style more remarkable than her
stone-balustered platform, which looks out over the hazy, rocky actual style, which will almost certainly involve denim and battered
coastline. To her surprise, around 30 people showed up – almost black Vans. This is in contrast to the Urban Longboarder, found
all of them female. She launched a skate camp, Longboarding among the grey high-rises of Seoul or Shanghai, who has been
Days and Nights, and single-handedly sparked a scene in Santa known to head out in a Burberry jacket or even full anime get-up.
The Downhill Warrior, on the other hand, is drawn to empty roads
Cruz, where many are now women in their 30s and 40s.
by the sea – in Mallorca or Madeira, say – and is marked by her slide
Gogunskaya practises most evenings, carving wide turns
gloves, Stig helmet and lurid Nineties neon lycra. She’ll know the
and hanging 10 like the old-school surfers. Just as Kechichian aerodynamic difference between a Euro tuck and the more upright
used longboarding as a form of therapy, Gogunskaya applied American tuck, and confirm that you’ll want at least a durometer
her passion to face down her own challenges. ‘I began when I was rating of 80a for a decent Coleman Slide. Fear not if she talks about
struggling with bulimia,’ she says. ‘It helped me relax, nurture bushings or full-cut helmets, she’s not being vulgar. She digs the
self-love and respect my body again. I just want to share that same thing they all do: open tarmac, and freedom.
chance with other people, especially women.’

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WHERE TO STAY
WHERE TO STAY
INSIDER REPORTS ON THE TOP PLACES TO BED DOWN. EDITED BY STEPHANIE RAFANELLI
DOUBLE DIP
A TRUE-BLUE ST TROPEZ INSTITUTION AND HAUNT OF OLD HOLLYWOOD IS RELAUNCHED
WITH ALL-NEW STAR APPEAL AFTER BEING SCOOPED UP BY LUXURY GIANT LVMH
BY STEVE KING. PHOTOGRAPHS BY VIA TOLILA

WHERE TO STAY
If st tropez has a presiding deity, it is not, for me, Brigitte Bardot, offset this rather stark impression with soft furnishings and con-
but the unrepentantly reckless novelist Françoise Sagan. In the trasting textures – mysteriously rippled wooden panels and the
spring of 1954, at the age of 18, she roared into town in a dusty glossily glazed ceramics of Roger Capron, who founded his studio
Jaguar XK 140 convertible, swapped her bourgeois Parisian get-up in the late 1940s in Vallauris, then home to Pablo Picasso and
for fishermen’s canvas trousers and rope espadrilles, got laid, got Françoise Gilot. The scratchy cream carpets are dashed with line
high and set about squandering the publisher’s advance she drawings from the late Capron’s notebooks, to which Cheval
had been paid for writing Bonjour Tristesse, a minor masterpiece Blanc has been given exclusive rights. In the public spaces, there
that would be translated into 20 languages. So it was entirely is an entirely appropriate sense of airiness and flow – you breeze
sans tristesse that I recently revisited one of Sagan’s haunts, La from lobby to bar to terrace, and everything seems as bright as
Résidence de la Pinède, which has just been reborn as Cheval the buttons on a sailor’s suit, as crisp as new banknotes.
Blanc St-Tropez. La Pinède was built in 1936, in a sort of belle Cheval Blanc is far enough out of the town centre to feel
époque à la Provençale style, all peaches and cream and wooden separate but close enough to feel convenient. So too the splen-
shutters, heavy stone balustrades and terracotta-tiled roofs. dours of Pampelonne, where a host of new seasonal beach bars
Though never as louche or indiscreet as the famously rackety are doing their best to challenge the peerless Le Club 55 restaurant.
Byblos nearby, it did not lack for stardust: Audrey Hepburn and Hotel-wise, there is plenty of stiff competition these days, notably
Raquel Welch were regulars, along with Sagan and Bardot. from Michel Reybier’s La Réserve Ramatuelle and the Sibuet
In the 1970s, however, La Pinède was neglected and became family’s Villa Marie, as well, of course, as dear old Byblos – but
shamefully run down. Nicole and Jean-Claude Delion bought Cheval Blanc is entirely its own thing, with its own identity. And,
it for a song in 1985. The couple raised it to giddy new heights crucially, its own beach. Though small, with space for no more
and continued to run it until 2016, when LVMH made them an than 60 tightly packed sunbeds, its grains of sand might as well
offer they could not refuse. The Riviera institution was a covetable be made of gold. No other hotel in St Tropez has such a beach.
addition to the group’s hotel portfolio, which comprises four Another unique asset is chef Donckele, who joined the hotel in
Cheval Blancs (in the Maldives, St Barth’s, Courchevel and now 2005 and has been collecting Michelin stars ever since. He wears
St Tropez), two smaller White 1921 properties (in the same French these medals lightly, but I cannot help thinking that his boyish grin
locations) and, since April this year, the entire inventory of would turn into a fearsome face of battle if you were to question,
Belmond, including such treasures as the Copacabana Palace for instance, the texture of his Cap Lardier spiny lobster with
in Rio, the Cipriani in Venice and the Cadogan in London. purple artichoke on vine leaves, roasted abalone and tomatoes,
THOUGH THE BEACH HAS SPACE FOR NO MORE THAN 60 SUNBEDS, ITS GRAINS OF SAND
MIGHT AS WELL BE MADE OF GOLD. NO OTHER HOTEL IN ST TROPEZ HAS SUCH A SPOT
Structurally, little about the listed maison changed during its bitter lettuce and a wild-coral sabayon sauce. Not that there is
three-year renovation, apart from a reduction in the number of reason to do so. The hash he slings at La Vague d’Or is impeccable.
rooms from 36 to 30, and the addition of an exquisite Guerlain I was mildly astonished to discover that, if you behave yourself
spa in the basement. It is still divided into three parts: the original at supper and express a more than merely passing interest in
villa building; a newer and larger but perfectly integrated main the edible riches that are being bestowed on you, you may be
wing; and a small tower, once the site of an olive press. Sagan invited, mid-meal, to join the chef for a bite in the cramped little
stayed here; I prefer the main wing; many regulars are devoted room in a distant corner of the kitchen that he apparently uses
to the dinky duplex rooms in the villa. Most of them have as an office. I imagine that sitting down with Donckele among
terraces from which you can gaze down at the central courtyard, snapshots of his children and framed documents certifying his
with its Slim Aarons-perfect cluster of parasolled tables, tall, cooking mastery is the foodie equivalent of a Beatles fan getting
slender umbrella pines and swimming pool, or across the bay to jam with Paul McCartney at Abbey Road Studios.
towards St Maxime. Those who knew the hotel before it became In 1984, Sagan published a lyrical, melancholy essay about the
a Cheval Blanc will be greeted by the same supernaturally youth- ways in which St Tropez had changed since her first visit 30 years
ful general manager, Olivier Raveyre, and will be relieved to find earlier. She recognised that, despite these changes, there was
that the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, La Vague d’Or, occupies something tremendously resilient about the town’s charm, its
the same gorgeous spot – or rather spots, both indoors and particular light and landscape, at once luxuriant and severe, silken
outdoors, among the pine trees on the central terrace, overlooking and scrubby. ‘I got out of bed and opened the shutters, and
the sea. It also remains under the direction of the same chef, the sea and sky flung in my face the same blue, the same pink, the
Arnaud Donckele, a tousled Norman prodigy who is as revered same happiness,’ she wrote. ‘And the same sun lasers pierced
in France as any football champion or best-selling philosophe. through it all with one dart, drew heavy black lines around the
The hotel’s interiors, on the other hand, have been transformed pastels and outlined interminably, voluptuously, the peaks of
beyond recognition by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the architect- the roofs, the curve of the beach, the stalks of masts.’ I think Sagan
designer best known for the spaces he created in the Louvre and would have approved of the new Cheval Blanc. Certainly her
the Musée d’Orsay, and the revamp of Hôtel Lutetia, also in Paris, convertible would look just right parked crookedly outside.
which reopened last year. At Cheval Blanc, Wilmotte has made
striking use of a limited palette of deep blue, bright white and Cheval Blanc St-Tropez has doubles from about £670.
ivory, and of hard, straight lines. It was only after a day or two chevalblanc.com
that I started to appreciate the interesting things he has done to
Opposite, clockwise from top left: hotel terrace; decorative plate that represents the sea at La Vague d’Or; Le Bar cocktail space; view of the main building from
the beach; swimming pool; Le Bar; sunbeds on the beach; herbs and flowers in the lobby; bedroom. Previous page, beach and pool at Cheval Blanc St-Tropez

WHERE TO STAY
BED-HOPPING WITH
ROISIN MURPHY
THE IRISH SINGER-SONGWRITER AND HALF OF FORMER
ELECTRO DUO MOLOKO MAPS HER FAVOURITE HOTELS
THE SHELBOURNE RADISSON COLLECTION LE BRISTOL TBILISI MARRIOTT HOTEL THE PRINCIPAL
DUBLIN MOSCOW PARIS GEORGIA MANCHESTER
‘It’s a classic; somewhere ‘Totally surreal. It’s an epic ‘Absolute silver service all ‘Oh my god, what a trip. ‘This is proper Victorian
I went a lot as a child. Soviet building, which looks the way. Whatever you Tbilisi is extraordinarily Manchester, designed
My mother’s aunt used to a bit like a wedding cake want arrives in seconds. pretty, with a Berlin vibe. by the same architect as the
stay in a big room here or a huge Art Deco rocket. I love the decor; I’m I came with Moloko around Natural History Museum.
when she came over from There’s an incredible view not a big fan of dark or eight years ago for Georgia’s DJs Justin Crawford and
Africa, where she lived, and of the Kremlin from the top over-perfumed spaces, Independence Day. We Luke Cowdrey have crazy,
to me it had such an floor, but also a brilliantly or even ones that are too had a former SAS operative world-class parties here,
aspirational quality. It still kitsch model of it in the modern or too stark. I just with us – the political with unexpected famous
feels grand to come here. bar, against a painted want comfort and beauty situation was so volatile people playing records. I
I like everything about it: backdrop of Moscow. I and flowers and lovely then – and played outside moved to Manchester from
the name, the staff, the wanted to get a Barbie out everything – and this has the Marriott surrounded by Ireland when I was 12 and
Georgian architecture and and play in it. There is gold lovely everything. The tanks and marches. We got stayed until 1991, so it’s a
the fact it’s so central in brocade everywhere, with breakfast is amazing: totally off our faces and spiritual home for me, where
PHOTOGRAPH: TURKINA FASO/MODDS
Dublin. I was born about an the heaviest curtains I’ve a table is brought up to headed back to the hotel. I I really got into clubbing. It’s
hour away from the city, ever seen – it’s so gaudy it the room with a white was so drunk I locked myself always been great for music
and this is a nice place to almost made me feel sick. linen cloth and fantastic out in the corridor, stark – and this hotel has made
spend a weekend when I go And a weird toyshop in the food. Gorgeous.’ oetker naked – classic anxiety sure it still is. phcompany.
back. It’s insanely romantic.’ lobby sells sable teddy collection.com. Doubles dream! The SAS guy lent com. Doubles from £190
theshelbourne.com. Doubles bears.’ radissonhotels.com. from about £1,260 me his coat.’ marriott.com.
from about £315 Doubles from about £130 Doubles from about £145
Róisín Murphy is performing at festivals throughout Europe this summer. She was speaking to Francesca Babb

5-STAR • ADULTS-ONLY • ALL-INCLUSIVE LUXURY
Reserve Your Place in the Sun Today 44 (0) 1245.459.906 | HammockCoveResort.com

WHERE TO STAY
with terraces. The showstopper is the
Wedgewood, a jewellery box of a place with
wood-panelled walls and a blue-and-white,
high-relief-plasterwork ceiling of mermaids,
dolphins and Neptune. Monkey Island
Estate is also launching six cottages – three
on the mainland’s riverbank and three in
the village. Long White Cloud, originally
the Hut, sleeps eight and has an indoor pool,
while Lavender Cottage is two steps away
from The Fat Duck.
EAT The restaurant and bar are housed in

the Pavilion. Head chef William Hemming
(previously at Simpson’s in the Strand in
London) has installed kitchen gardens and
an on-site smoker. He serves accessible
British dishes – Old Spot pork belly, house-
smoked Loch Duart salmon – in a cosy
room that opens onto a waterside terrace.
The bar is in the duke’s weird but wonder-
ful Monkey Room, its ceiling adorned with
singerie murals of cheeky monkeys.
WHO COMES HERE? Lunching locals with

their labradoodles, and city escapees who
pull up chairs on the deck to watch ducks
THE WEEKENDER and Canada geese glide by.
WE LIKE The Worshipful Society of

MONKEY ISLAND ESTATE, BERKSHIRE Apothecaries-inspired spa therapies. The
90-minute Monks’ Elixir starts with a shot
WHY STAY? Reached by boat or footbridge, an Oxfam ball at which Frankie Vaughan of monk-brewed liqueur followed by a
this newly reopened hotel on a funny little and Dusty Springfield performed. Four heavenly full-body massage.
fish-shaped island in Bray-on-Thames years ago, after falling into decline, the
has finally given visitors to Britain’s most estate was snapped up by Yeoh Tiong WE DON’T LIKE It’s slightly too glossy to
decadent foodie village an equally splashy Lay of the Malaysian group YTL Hotels genuinely feel like the rebirth of a character-
place to stay. So now, rather than driving (Pangkor Laut, the Gainsborough Bath ful hotel. Perhaps it will settle into itself.
back to Cliveden House or Coworth Park Spa). He passed away in 2017 but the
after supper at Heston Blumenthal’s three- company forged on, reopening the hotel CONTACT +44 1628 623 400; monkey
Michelin-starred The Fat Duck, the earlier this year. islandestate.co.uk. Doubles from £275
journey home can be waddled on foot. FRANCESCA SYZ
WHAT IS IT? With a fancy American country
WHY NOW? To revel in the latest incarnation club feel, this 41-room space, inhabiting
of this seven-acre riverside playground for both of the duke’s whimsical, now extended
the elite, first inhabited in the 12th century buildings, is the only high-end hotel in
by angling monks. In 1723, Charles Bray. It has Art Deco interiors and bold,
Spencer, the 3rd Duke of Marlborough, hand-blocked botanical wallpapers in the
acquired the island and built two white communal areas, which include a British
stucco Palladian follies – the octagonal brasserie and bar. There’s also the three-
Pavilion and the Temple – for entertaining treatment-room Floating Spa on a barge.
his fishing friends. That set the tone for the
next century, when the Pavilion became an BEHIND THE SCENES Presided over by
PHOTOGRAPH: ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
inn and a favourite drinking haunt of Eton dynamic general manager Lee Kelly (former
boys. The cultural set arrived in the 1920s: food and beverage director at the Savoy),
the waterfront Hut, former home to Queen the hotel has a new look dreamt up by New OUT AND ABOUT
Victoria’s lady-in-waiting, was taken up York-based firm Champalimaud Design, The hotel can arrange a spin down the
by music patron Frank Schuster, who also responsible for The Carlyle and The River Thames in an Edwardian Frolic-
hosted Edward Elgar, Siegfried Sassoon Stafford in London. style boat, passing the grounds of Eton
and HG Wells. Hotelier Christopher College, above, and Bray Studios, where
‘Kit’ Reynolds brought more society SLEEP Listed up to its eyeballs, the Temple The Rocky Horror Picture Show was shot.
parties to the island in the 1960s, including has small but elegant bedrooms, four

FINNAIR.COM
TO GO WITH
THE FLOW ONE OF 6 974 073 REASONS TO FLY
THE ROAD TRIP
We watch the sun set over Lake Geneva from the rooftop bar From Lake Geneva, we head to Chamonix. At almost 13,000ft, the
at Hôtel Royal Savoy in Lausanne, Switzerland, ready for top of Aiguille du Midi mountain, scaled by cable car, looks like
a 5am drive to Milan via the hairpin bends of the Alps. a Bond villain’s lair, with showstopping views of Mont Blanc.
We stop for a seven-course lunch in medieval Ricetto Isola Bella is the most striking of Lake Maggiore’s
di Candelo, a sleepy walled village where a man quietly Borromean islands, with a gorgeous palazzo and baroque
makes a bowl-back mandolin by hand on the street. botanical gardens inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
A RUGGED MOUNTAIN SPIN FROM LAUSANNE TO MILAN IN A LEXUS UX HYBRID

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SOPHIE KNIGHT
Chamonix feels very different in the summertime. Reached The Lexus UX switches to self-charging mode as we roll down
through lush, forested mountain trails, the town is a windy roads and through tunnels to the literary town of Stresa on
balmy 22˚C, though it’s still -5˚C at its highest peak. Lake Maggiore, with its belle époque villas right on the water.
After a fortifying espresso at the whimsical LùBar A warm evening light lingers in Milan’s bohemian Brera district,
café in Milan, we reflect on the fact that we’ve roared where dusty orange façades line narrow cobbled streets.
through three countries in less than 12 hours. To read more about the Lexus UX Hybrid, visit lexus.co.uk

FASHION-FORWARD NOTES FOR ALL SEASONS. EDITED BY CHARLOTTE DAVEY

STYLE FILE
TAKE IT AWAY
Hermès may not be a tech company, but it has always been
pioneering – and this portable record player is its latest coup,
not only for street style, but for music on the move. It’s one
of the first that spins vinyl on a vertical turntable to produce
steady sounds without needle skips or scratches, whether
its proud owner is throwing a block party, pavement-strutting
or Milly Rocking. And all this gravity-defying innovation
is hidden in the eye-popping, beat-stopping, retro body of
an Eighties boombox – one worthy of an early Spike Lee
set or a Jean-Michel Basquiat post-show boogie down with
Grandmaster Flash. When the maison’s artistic director
Pierre-Alexis Dumas looked to Silicon Valley and struck up
a partnership with Jony Ive, then of Apple, it was bound
to be a seismic marriage of tech innovation, sharp style
and traditional craftsmanship. The Apple Watch Hermès
was born in 2015, with its sleek anodized-aluminium case
and gentleman’s leather strap. The Boombox, which can be
synced up to it, has a similar understated beauty, its lo-fi
appearance belying a birch-plywood cover upholstered in
calfskin. In addition to this sidewalk-blue and subway-yellow
version, there are four other B-girl-friendly colourways. We’ll
eat our own high tops if Mark Ronson hasn’t pre-ordered one
in every combination. Boombox, POA, Hermès (hermes.com)
PHOTOGRAPH: NATO WELTON. ART DIRECTION: PAULA ELLIS

STYLEFILE

SHOPPING IN
TAIPEI
FROM KNIFE MASSAGES TO BEETHOVEN-
PLAYING RUBBISH TRUCKS, TAIWAN’S
CAPITAL IS ASIA’S QUIRKIEST CITY, BUT IT
IS ALSO SYNONYMOUS WITH INNOVATION,
BUZZING WITH RAILWAY BUILDINGS TURNED
CONCEPT STORES AND 3D-PRINTING
CAFES. BY CHRIS SCHALKX

STYLE FILE
BESPOKE SHOES contemporary interpretations of age-old Xinyi district. This shop and brunch spot
The Taiwanese have a keen eye for the little skills. facebook.com/axes.eslite sells beautifully presented, locally made
luxuries in life, and a perfectly fitting pair confectionery and coffee, fruits and jam.
of custom-made shoes is definitely one of NATURAL SOAP The café is hugely popular for its homemade
them. Founded by graphic designer Jingkai The soap bars bearing the distinctive bagels, which come in unusual flavours
Chen, Chenjingkai Office lets you design Dachuns smiling-moon logo are part of – choose from sweet potato, oolong and
your own, one-off pair of brogues, loafers Taiwan’s collective nostalgia. Produced by pomelo with pineapple. goodchos.com.tw
or derbies. Mix and match from different the same family since 1950, they are made
rubber soles, slabs of leather and shoelaces. from natural ingredients such as rice-bran TRADITIONAL CRAFTS
After careful measuring and fitting, the oil and bamboo charcoal and are loved for Homeware and accessories shop Kamaro’an
shoes are made by hand in the adjoining their high quality. The flagship in the his- was set up by a trio of cultural researchers
atelier and shipped a month later. For those toric Dadaocheng district opened in 2017 who went deep into the Taiwanese heart-
who don’t have the time, or patience, there after a brand refresh that rejuvenated the land to study indigenous crafts. Working
are usually also minimalist white leather package design but retained the old-time with artisans from local tribes, they make
sneakers that can be bought on the spot. feel; it also doubles as a mini museum, with tote bags, leather pouches and sculptural
instagram/chenjingkaioffice photographs and vintage designs documen- lights using sustainably sourced materials
ting the label’s history. dachuns.com and ancient weaving techniques. The show-
FURNITURE room, at the back of the Huashan 1914
Dotted with charming restaurants, cutting- KITCHEN KIT Creative Park events and exhibition venue
edge coffee shops and independent stores, Dadaocheng mainstay Yong Xing started – which is worth a visit in its own right – gives
the tree-lined lanes around Fujin Street out as a farming-tool company 100 years an insight into their collaborative process.
hold some of Taipei’s most interesting gems. ago. Now that agriculture in the country kamaroan.com
Opened by two advertising executives, has changed, the factory has spun off into
longstanding local favourite Funfuntown kitchenware and is known for its affordable CERAMICS
is filled with vintage furniture, well-made yet durable cooking utensils. Displays of Xiao Qi means ‘small things’ in Chinese,
home goods and playful accessories. cast-iron pans and ceramic teapots spill onto and that’s exactly what you’ll find in this
Wares are sourced from the Netherlands the pavement, as well as gift-friendly items: Japanese-inspired concept store. Alongside
to Sweden and Japan – seek out the lovely bamboo steamer baskets, wooden bowls the shop’s own line of cutesy, illustrated
lacquered plates by MizuMizu, a pottery in and chopping boards. Many products are glasses, mugs and cups are bright ceramics,
Japan’s Gifu Prefecture – but there’s plenty still manufactured in the small workspace fine glasswork and dishes – many imported
of room for Taiwanese talent, too, such as behind the shop and staff are happy to show directly from Japan. One block away, Xiao
AM Ideas’ bow-ties made from woven customers around. +886 02 2553 6545 Qi also runs a bottle shop which sells more
grass. funfuntown.com than 50 varieties of Japanese umeshu plum
KNICK-KNACKS wine. thexiaoqi.com
FASHION Concept store Everyday Ware & Co, in
The lifestyle branch of Eslite, the country’s the buzzing Zhongshan district, is a blink- TEA
leading bookshop, is home to more than and-you’ll-miss-it affair. To enter, ring the The founders of teeny-tiny Wolf Tea are
a dozen made-in-Taiwan boutiques and bell of a nondescript apartment building. on a mission to demystify the world of
stores. On the ground floor, Axes functions On the second floor is a cosy space where Taiwanese leaves, providing fuss-free brewing
as a showcase for about 30 designers shelves are stocked with whimsical collec- instructions and expert-led tasting sessions
working in fashion, jewellery and footwear tables and homeware, including vintage of black and oolong blends that they source
– look out for sculptural shoes by Abcense army paraphernalia, Mexican blankets, from plantations around the island. The
and the boldly coloured leather bags by apothecary bottles, and cult cosmetics by high mountain oolong from Alishan is their
Taiwanese-Spanish label Llagut. Afterwards, Maison Louis Marie and Grown Alchemist. speciality, a hit for its fresh, floral smell and
head up to Eslite’s second floor for a everydayware.co sweet aftertaste. Most teas can be bought as
deep-dive into the homegrown creative either loose leaf or tea bags, and the colour-
scene. Between the bubble-tea stands and FOODIE PIT-STOP ful tins make great gifts. wolftea.com
shops selling small-batch teas, grains Occupying a former military building in
and dried fruits – all wrapped in brilliant the shadow of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, HOMEWARE
packaging – are interactive glass-blowing Good Cho’s brings a welcome change from Drawing inspiration from everyday house-
and wood-crafting workshops presenting the ritzy shopping malls in the surrounding hold items, the product designers behind
Opposite, clockwise from top left: castor-oil shampoo bars at Dachuns; the window of Funfuntown furniture shop; interior detail at
Everydayware & Co; Chenjingkai Office shoes; fashion at Axes; Everydayware & Co; tea tasting at Wolf Tea; Kamaro’an furniture; artwork by
Taiwanese illustrator Lee Kan Kyo at Pon Ding. Previous pages, clockwise from top left: Yue Yue bookshop; staff at Chenjingkai Office; Staff
Only Club; Funfuntown; Everydayware & Co clothing; the garden at Kimpton Da’an hotel; the counter at Everydayware & Co

STYLEFILE
Tzulaï reinterpret classic forms and pat- exquisitely curated collection of local and
terns to create objects fit for 21st-century international indie publications and art LOCAL KNOW-HOW
urbanites. These include smart chopstick books, there’s a solid selection of one-of-
canisters, blue-and-white ceramics embla- a-kind postcards, screen prints and home
PEI-LING GUO
zoned with traditional brickwork patterns accessories. pondingstore.com AUTHOR OF GOOD EYE CITY GUIDE TAIPEI
and wire baskets in the shape of Taiwanese ‘Taipei has only had its own
window grills. Recently, the focus has WHERE TO STAY Michelin guide since 2018,
shifted to sustainable design, resulting With numerous stores, fashion boutiques but the top tables are
in collections of tableware made from and top-notch restaurants just around notoriously hard to book.
bamboo fibre and coffee grounds. There the corner, the Kimpton Da’an is a great Instead, I take visiting friends
are Tzulaï outposts all around the country, address for exploring the city. Designed by to Ji Jia Zhuang – the
Three Taste Chicken is
but the small shop adjoining the studio in Shanghai-based architects Neri & Hu, the
amazing, and the free egg
the trendy Da’an district offers the widest hotel delivers contemporary cool with a
pudding is a must.’
choice. tzulai.com touch of Taiwanese tradition in a multitude
of colours (fresh teals and crimson reds) ‘The city is packed with hip districts full
BOOKS and materials (chrome, stainless steel and of converted old buildings. Songshan
Zhongshan hotspot Pon Ding is a collabo- blonde wood veneer). On the 12th floor, Cultural and Creative Park, on the site of
rative project by three creatives, including The Tavernist restaurant is a destination a former tobacco company, is a good
Indonesian furniture designer Kenyon in its own right. Here, Noma alumn James place to start. While you’re there, check
Yeh (whose works are for sale and distri- Sharman dishes up an eclectic menu out the beautiful Yue Yue bookstore.’
buted throughout the shop), aiming to inspired by his travels around the globe,
provide a platform for emerging artists with riffs on Taiwanese fried chicken, ‘Loads of new cocktail spots have opened
up in the past few years. Those in the know
from around the world. Spread over three Vietnamese-style seafood dishes and dan-
hang out at the über-cool Staff Only
levels, it comprises a café, bookshop gerously addictive taro fries with chicken-fat Club, a sleek bar on the outskirts of town.’
and exhibition space. In addition to an mayonnaise. ihg.com/kimptonhotels
Good Eye Taipei is available on goodeye.guide
From left, Funfuntown entrance; the second-floor workspace and café at Pon Ding

STYLE FILE
HOLDING COURT
CHANEL REIGNITES COCO’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH IMPERIAL RUSSIA. BY JESSICA DIAMOND
It’s the 1920s, the Russian Empire has imploded under the weight of a collapsing social hierarchy, and Paris is flooded with
artists, aristocrats, admirals and actors escaping the revolution, bringing their unique customs and aesthetics to a city already
enthralled by the avant-garde. Gabrielle Chanel thrives in this environment and embraces Slavic influences, from employing the
imperial court perfumer to create the formula for her No.5 fragrance to bringing Russian styles – long tunics, embroidery, smocks,
fur-lined cloaks and belted blouses – to her designs. She even briefly stepped out with the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich,
cousin of Nicholas II. No other maison so successfully plunders every aspect of its founder’s life, so the new high-jewellery
collection, Le Paris Russe de Chanel, is no surprise. Overt symbols abound, with a double-headed eagle on a pair of cuffs and
a necklace that converts into a kokoshnik headdress-style tiara. Medal motifs set on strings of pearls and on standalone
brooches reference the tsar’s court, while gentler riffs take classic Chanel calling cards – the camellia and wheat sheaf – and
reimagine them in a rich, folklore-inspired palette. Coco Chanel may never have gone to Russia, but with Paris so alive with
its culture she didn’t need to. Nearly 100 years on, these pieces echo a pivotal moment in history.
PHOTOGRAPH: SIMON WATSON/TRUNK ARCHIVE
Clockwise from above: Ble Maria brooch

in white and yellow gold, diamonds,
sapphires, tourmalines, garnets and spinels;
Medaille Solaire necklace; and Medaille
Solaire bracelet, both in white and yellow
gold, diamonds and pearls, all POA,
Chanel Fine Jewellery (chanel.com)

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Photograph: Oliver Pilcher
7-10 NOVEMBER 2019, OLYMPIA LONDON

NEVER TOO MUCH

CREATIVES THE WORLD OVER ARE USING OUTRAGEOUS COLOUR CLASHES
TO PERK UP SPACES AND MINDSETS – AND GIVE US A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST
PARADISO IBIZA ART HOTEL

ADAM NATHANIEL FURMAN
PHOTOGRAPHS: MARK COCKSEDGE; FEDERICO FLORIANI; DOMINIQUE PETRIN;

TEKLA EVELINA SEVERIN; CAMILLE WALALA; RUTH WARD
THE PINK ZEBRA, KANPUR, INDIA

SALT OF PALMAR, MAURITIUS STYLE FILE

THE WALLED OFF HOTEL, BETHLEHEM
London-based designer Adam Nathaniel Furman describes his

latest range of oddly shaped, kaleidoscopic furniture as ‘a
bourgeois nightmare’. ‘Good taste is fitting in at the playground,’
WALALA STUDIO, LONDON says Furman, a widely exhibited creative and respected academic,
whose work is heavy on pink and irony. ‘It’s not what you should
do, but what you shouldn’t. So I don’t mind too much if people
think my work is repulsive, superficial clickbait.’ Across the world,
bad taste is having something of a moment, as interior designers
are embracing kitsch, maximalist patterns and palettes more
readily associated with crèches – such as the Wes Anderson-
esque Pink Zebra restaurant in shades of candyfloss and black in
Kanpur by New Delhi’s Renesa studio, or the Museum of Ice
Cream pop-up, a sugar-rush of colour that has stormed the USA
(it’s currently in San Francisco). But whether this is a reaction
to depressing global politics, or the lengthening of our communal
adolescence, there’s a knowing aspect to these neo-naff fun
palaces. ‘Designers like me are very aware of what good taste is,
but are choosing to toy with it,’ says Furman. A key influence
is the often misunderstood Memphis design group, founded in
early-1980s Milan, which railed against the studied elegance of
mid-century modern with bright hues and cheap laminates,
in a style once defined as ‘a shotgun wedding between
Bauhaus and Fisher-Price’. French-born Camille Walala is another
Memphis-influenced, colour-obsessed designer; her recent
projects include the canary-yellow and sky-blue aesthetic of
Mauritius’s SALT of Palmar, one of a new breed of boldly tinged
hotels. ‘I want to look at colours the way a child would,’ CAMILLE WALALA
she says. ‘I’ve never felt like design has to be taken seriously.
It can be about fun and freedom.’ TOBY SKINNER
WORK BY ADAM NATHANIEL FURMAN IN CROYDON

ROOM MATE GIULIA, MILAN September 2019 Condé Nast Traveller 69
PARADISO IBIZA ART HOTEL CAMILLE WALALA
SALT OF PALMAR, MAURITIUS
ADAM NATHANIEL FURMAN
WORK BY CAMILLE WALALA IN BROOKLYN

DELFINO SISTOLEGNANI AND MARCO CAPPELLETTI

PHOTOGRAPHS: INDUSTRY CITY; RICK PUSHINSKY;

STYLE FILE
ROOM MATE GIULIA, MILAN
OVER-THE-TOP STAYS
SALT OF PALMAR, MAURITIUS
When London-based Camille Walala was
sent to Mauritius for her first hotel-interiors
commission, she wondered why the houses
were a riot of colour, but all the places to
stay were beige. So she filled this riad-style
east-coast building with azures, egg-yolk
yellows and sunset pinks. saltresorts.com
This candy-coloured San Antonio spot
might be described as Art Deco-meets-
Love Island, with its flamingo-bright
circular bar. Also behind the new-look
Allegro Isora hotel, Madrid creative studio
Ilmio is part of a wider fan club of
bubblegum design. paradisoibiza.com
THE WALLED OFF HOTEL, BETHLEHEM
Dominique Petrin calls her zany prints
‘eyesores’. For Banksy’s hotel – which claims
its view of the Israel-Palestine wall is ‘the
worst in the world’ – she created a Victorian
boudoir room as trippily imagined for an
Eighties arcade game. walledoffhotel.com
ROOM MATE GIULIA, MILAN
Spaniard Patricia Urquiola has become
one of Europe’s most feted interior
designers. Her concept for this boutique
hotel just steps from the city’s Duomo is
PARADISO IBIZA ART HOTEL all about bold colours, retro style and
playfully spun bathrooms. TS
room-matehotels.com
WORK BY ADAM NATHANIEL FURMAN IN MILAN

STYLE FILE
From top left: necklace in
pink gold, tourmalines,
tanzanites, emeralds and
diamonds, POA, Bulgari
(bulgari.com); Hawa Mahal
palace; Lucia Silvestri in Jaipur;
façade of Hawa Mahal
IN THE ZONE
LUCIA SILVESTRI
ON JAIPUR
THE JEWELLERY EXPERT AND ITALIAN CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF BULGARI
ON INDIA’S PINK CITY WHERE SHE HUNTS DOWN THE BRIGHTEST GEMS
WHERE DO YOU STAY? far the best. The shop has been around for more FAVOURITE LANDMARKS?
‘I always go to the Rambagh Palace hotel, which than 70 years and is popular with locals. It’s on ‘I like to stop and take a photograph in the
is like my second home. It’s spectacular and was the side of Mirza Ismail Road and only sells lassi, evening under the Hawa Mahal, or the Palace
built on the site of a house constructed in 1835 served in conical clay cups. A few copycat stores of Winds. It is in a very strategic position,
for a royal maid, becoming Maharaja Sawai Man have popped up nearby but this is the original. overlooking one of the main streets in the Old
Singh II’s residence in the 20th century. It’s green Even when my agenda is so full that I only have a City; its windows were designed so royal
and peaceful while still being in the centre of the few hours to myself, I never give up having a lassi.’ women could observe the many parades
city. It’s as if time has stopped here; everything that wound through the city without being
feels suspended. Walking through, you can hear YOUR IDEAL DAY IN THE CITY? seen. The façade of this building leaves you
the noise of the fountains and everyone speaks ‘There’s always something new to discover speechless: the architecture, the silhouette
in a low voice – things flow slowly. It’s a lovely here, so every day is different. I wake up early, and the contrast of the terracotta pink with
spot to have a coffee or a drink in the evening, order breakfast – usually masala chai and the bright blue of the sky. It is just beautiful. The
especially in the garden. Often, when I sit outside almost-burnt toast, how I like it – and then I only downside is that it’s in a very busy area,
and watch passers-by, I find myself dwelling on set out to find new stones. It is now second but it wouldn’t be India without the crowds.’
an architectural detail. The place is an elegant mix nature to me to put together different colour
of Indian and colonial styles, and there’s always combinations, and I can spend hours with a WHAT HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED
something new to notice in a different light, even supplier discussing gem cuts or shades. I believe OVER THE YEARS?
if you’ve been here many times before.’ I must have been a maharaja in a previous life, ‘Traffic. I am not kidding; skyscrapers are
because otherwise I cannot explain my passion built and knocked down, but the traffic is
WHAT IS YOUR SECRET JAIPUR SPOT? for jewels. I create my best work when I spend omnipresent. It’s always chaotic but at the same
‘Lassiwala, beside Jayanti Market, for the best hours playing with stones and coming up time amusing, a bit like in Naples – you see
lassi in India. I have tried many different versions with designs and I have always found the Jaipur whole families on one scooter, people who
of the drink in various hotels, but this one is by jewellery tradition to be so vibrant.’ cut you off or overtake you from the left or
Clockwise from this picture: Jal Mahal

palace; the Peacock Gate at City Palace;
The Oberoi Rajvilas courtyard; jewels at
Gem Palace shop; necklace in pink
gold, emeralds, sapphires, spinels and
diamonds, POA, Bulgari (as before)
right. There are no rules, everyone seems to go centre; it’s a huge complex that would have WHERE IS GOOD FOR SHOPPING?
crazy. But I really enjoy it. Usually I take a local occupied a seventh of the entire city when it ‘Bapu Bazar market is very fun but also frenzied.
taxi directly to suppliers – it is much faster and I was first erected. With its many portals and I like to visit the Gem Palace to buy gifts and
have got to know the roads and shortcuts.’ courtyards, not to mention incredible views, chat with the owner. I know the family well
it’s a wonderful place to think about the history through Bulgari, which has been working
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE VIEW? of Jaipur and all of the events that would have with them for years – especially the son of the
‘Amber Fort, towards the north of Jaipur – a visit played out in the pavilions. What stands out in owner, who is great at discovering jewels.
MILLES STUDIO/STOCKSY UNITED; 500 PX/NAJEEM MUHAMMED
to this palace brings the glories of the maharajas’ my mind are the building’s large, wonderful The store is like a treasure trove. I often stop by
world to life. To save time, I go by car, but you doors that are like nothing else in Rajasthan, the Anokhi for clothing and textiles. The fabrics
can also travel up on an elephant’s back. It is decorations and all the colours – red, orange, come in colours as brilliant as the gemstones.
filled with sumptuous rooms that were used for ochre, pink, light blue, green.’ Plus they are light and comfortable enough to
PHOTOGRAPHS: LUCIE GAGNON; GETTY IMAGES;
public and private audiences. The atmosphere wear in the heat. I pack what I call “Indianate”
conjures up a wonderful past. The structure YOUR TOP FOODIE FINDS? kaftans in bright silks or cottons, and I always
is made of red sandstone and white marble ‘I often go to The Oberoi Rajvilas, which has carry a pashmina because there is strong air-
in a blend of Hindu and Muslim design, and the two beautiful restaurants, Surya Mahal and conditioning everywhere.’
Palace of Mirrors is stunning. It has panoramic Raj Mahal. It is a marvellous hotel, set among
views over the Maota Lake and the rest of the scenic lanes to the east of the city. It feels like WHAT IS YOUR MUST-BUY?
city, which is especially magical at sunset.’ a secluded oasis with an immense garden ‘Gems, gems, gems. Jaipur is famous for them,
away from the noise of Jaipur, manicured down but the fundamental element of a jewel is the
THE BEST AREA TO SOAK UP HISTORY? to the last detail and full of peacocks and cut. In India, there is a unique knowledge unlike
‘I visit the City Palace, built by the maharaja after tropical parrots. When I have supper here, I anywhere else in the world, and the cutting of a
Jaipur was founded in 1727. The city is divided order tandoori chicken served with rice and stone can change its appearance, shade, even
into nine blocks and the royal palace is at the not-too-spicy vegetables.’ how the light catches it.’ CHARLOTTE DAVEY

HIT REFRESH
CATHERINE ROBINSON TESTS OUT THE MOST INVIGORATING BEAUTY
PRODUCTS FOR HANGING ON TIGHT TO THE POST-HOLIDAY GLOW
STYLE FILE
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Those are holiday moments that shape memories.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: RUSSELL JAMES/ART + COMMERCE
FILTER FAKING
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what product remains on your brush to the brow
bone and a dot of golden peach to the inner
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STYLE FILE
Mesh necktie, £700,

Michael Kors Cotton-linen
Collection dress, £1,092,
(michaelkors.co.uk) Mara Hoffman
(marahoffman.
com)
Lantern bag,
£1,580, Oscar
de la Renta
(oscardela
renta.com )
ON THE SCENE MANDARIN ORIENTAL JUMEIRA, DUBAI

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Forget everything you think you know about Dubai. A city once maligned for a lack of Charlotte
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District (D3) is a hub for artisans and pop-up concept stores. High-shine exteriors remain,
silk dress,
£1,008, Cult but creativity bubbles beneath. Along quiet Mercato Beach, vegan ice-cream shacks blend
Gaia (moda with a fresh wave of designer hotels. The latest addition is Hong Kong-based Mandarin
operandi.com) Oriental’s first Emirates outpost, which opened in February. Luxury is at the forefront –
in the lobby, rows of Art Deco glass trees sprouting leaf-shaped bulbs tower over staff in
vivid blue uniforms; doormen cut a dash in fedoras – but it’s not resting on gloss. Among
the seven restaurants and bars is Tasca, where chef José Avillez mixes Portuguese flavours
with Michelin-star magic. The spa taps into local rituals with sensory healing treatments
using Emirati drumming and indigenous herbs. Outside, a maze of turquoise pools stretches
out towards the beach and Arabian Gulf beyond. As darkness falls, hemlines rise. Sartorially
sharp men in skinny jeans and loafers flash ankles. Of all the places to stay in Dubai right
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STYLE FILE
True Thinline Les Couleurs

Le Corbusier in hi-tech
ceramic, titanium and
sapphire crystal, £1,750
each, Rado (rado.com)
PHOTOGRAPHS: IWAN BAAN; MANUEL BOUGOT; JAN PRENGEL; GALIT SELIGMANN/ARCAID

Architecture by Le Corbusier
in Chandigarh, India, above,
top right and far right, Berlin,
centre, and Eveux, France, below
BLOCK PARTY
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL 20TH-CENTURY ARCHITECT WHO ONCE
DESIGNED AN ENTIRE CITY INSPIRES A BOLD SET OF WATCHES
Some places are instantly associated with colour. Take Jaipur and its hot, dusty pink. Or Grasse
on the French Riviera and the buzzing, electrified purple of its lavender fields. Or Tuscany
and the moody-green, ink-like splashes of its cypresses. Le Corbusier – designer, architect,
painter and urban planner – understood the importance of colour, both in buildings and art, and
its transformative impact on the observer. But he wasn’t interested in borrowing from anyone
else’s palette. And so in 1931, and again in 1959, he created an original series of 63 architectural
shades, each with a specific perceived effect on the human psyche. They are a glorious, smart
curation – embodying everything that is great about Le Corbusier with their decisive, bright hues
– paler in the first collection and brilliantly mid-century modern in the later, bolder edit of
mustard yellow and leaf green and greys. Architectural Polychromy, as they are collectively
called, is fiercely protected by the Fondation Le Corbusier, but it recently teamed up with
watch alchemist Rado. A leader in the production of a hi-tech tinted ceramic that has stable,
consistent, virtually scratch-proof qualities, the brand already makes 14 shades. And today
nine more have been added from Architectural Polychromy in enticing tones such as powerful
orange, top left, luminous pink, top right, and sunshine yellow, right. Le Corbusier believed
colour was life affirming, and that its expansive use in people’s immediate surroundings simply
made them feel good. Stick one of these watches on your wrist and experience his theory on
a smaller, more intimate, but nonetheless striking scale. JESSICA DIAMOND

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TRENDWATCH
INTREPID DIRECTIONS IN WORLDWIDE CULTURE
THE RISE OF DNA-MAPPED ADVENTURES

The somewhat fuzzy promise of ‘finding ourselves’ has always been part of travel’s remit. A growing craze for
DNA-based wanderings takes that quest literally, with genealogy tests forming the foundation for journeys into our
own (usually very mixed up) ancestry. Californian tech unicorn 23andMe, which processed five million saliva-
collection DNA kits in 2018, recently partnered with Airbnb so customers can match heritage holidays to their
genetic profiles, from Oaxacan cooking classes to days spent with Maasai women in Kenya. With genealogical
products worth an estimated £2.4 billion last year, spurred on by TV shows such as Who Do You Think You Are?,
there are many ways to explore our personal history. Next August, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 will cruise from
Southampton to Ellis Island, 400 years after the first English Puritans set sail for the New World, with onboard experts
exploring guests’ family trees, while Dublin grande dame hotel The Shelbourne has a dedicated genealogy butler,
Helen Kelly, who helps guests track down their Irish ancestors. For a deeper heritage trip, members-only The Conte
Club offers bespoke itineraries based on DNA tests, costing up to £120,000. It has sent clients to Kiev’s lost Jewish
sites, D-Day beaches and Mongolian yurts (Genghis Khan is said to have 16 million modern male descendants).
One Wall Street financier, who had thought he was Italian-American but found out he was mostly Middle Eastern,
was sent on a 27-night personalised odyssey through Jordan, Turkey, Morocco and Spain, horse-back riding into
Petra and ballooning over the High Atlas. According to CEO Rebecca Fielding, these experiences are about ‘delving
deeper into who we really are, from recent history to much further back, when most of us are of Pakistani, Mongolian
or African origins. It can be a complicated and emotional process, but the journey into our own past might be the
most meaningful trip we can take.’ FLORENCE DERRICK cunard.com; theshelbourne.com; theconteclub.com
PHOTOGRAPH: JESSIE BRINKMAN EVANS

82
SPLIT DECISION
NO LONGER A SLEEPY ARTISTS’ VILLAGE, UBUD IS NOW A CRUSH OF SCOOTERS, SOUND
HEALERS AND ZEN SEEKERS. YET ITS SURROUNDINGS REMAIN TINGED IN AN EMERALD SHEEN
BY ANTONIA QUIRKE. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACK JOHNS & OWEN TOZER
Breakfast in ubud, through a rainbow-wash of spring rain. All who might have just walked out on her life with one suitcase.
the temples and cafés stripped-back and steaming, all the town’s Jet-lagged models. Stabs of red hibiscus.
dogs wading about with hair slicked like otters. The moment it Someone born here told me that one day in the mid 1980s he
stops, instantaneous renewal. Sun swelling out the streets with noticed a strange and unusual thing: a lone camper van parked
light. Little pale lizards darting from wet stone to wet stone. Tables in fields by the old bridge full of sleeping young Australians in
on pavements being reset with iced coffees sweetened by a dash wetsuits. Since then, there has really been no end to the visitors,
of condensed milk. All cleansings, rebirths – all supremely Ubud, everyone increasingly drawn from the sticky hotels in Seminyak
the town in the high heart of Bali known for its landscape of and Canggu. They gather here instead, inside great cloth pyramids
voluptuous foliage. Sacred waters. Artists, healers, river valleys. thrown up in rice paddies, for acoustic bio-resonance sessions
Pools with an impossibly perfect pH. and vinyasa flow. Frowning hot-deskers run businesses out of
As I wait for my ride at noon beside a crossing along Jalan open-plan bamboo co-working offices on the road along the
Hanoman street, all life is turned fantastically outward in a forest, where every bank or bar down the crammed boulevards
town that feels like an intricate temple site. Everybody living and is a salon for foot rubs or vipassana meditation. Grizzled ex-
moving amongst the courtyards and platforms, pavilions soldiers having backpacked here, dazed, since the Gulf War, hug
and antechambers at a perpetual catch-up. An international it out on the streets after tantra hatha. All the taut-muscled self-
picnic. Always, the smell of cooking pork. Squabbling, golden improvement gurus; all the prophesying voices and flotsam and
children demanding the satay being griddled on byres along jetsam drawn to tropical Asia, buying carvings of Durga with a
pavements, unwrapping rice in banana leaves like presents, tongue of fire, while traffic jams of scooters blare under gigantic
and triumphantly scooping peanut sauce toasted with chillies pule trees dripping in vines.
out of oily bowls. A couple of Catalans carrying wriggling Within an hour of being here, I thought: I have to leave.
newborns and tree-rubber yoga mats hover at the junction, But I kept finding reasons not to. For the breeze can blow fresh
talking about the Costa Daurada. Hipsters suck on herb-spiked from the north-eastern slopes of mounts Batur and Agung in
matchas, wearing rough beanies like Steve McQueen in Papillon. the ochre and lilac distance, reminding you that this is an
Exquisite Swedish teenagers with plump skin baked the uplands town. Sometimes, a white mist creeps down the
colour of raspberry rummage in bum bags for change. A busker lanes with the sombre damp of a Cumbrian autumn. In legend,
attempts John Coltrane for a woman in mismatched shoes the mountains of Bali were created so the island’s people
Above from left: a shower and oversized sofa at Rumah Hujan Villa. Opposite, clockwise from top left: pool at COMO Uma Ubud; hammock and guitar at
Rumah Hujan Villa; palms in Tegalalang; the studio of Rumah Hujan’s architect. Previous pages, from left: rice paddies; bedroom at Rumah Hujan Villa
85
could live in an airy place, under skies of rare flowers, where pincer at sunset when they come out to swim. Just beyond Bedugul
snakes manifest as falling stars. – and the floating temples at Lake Bratan – our road thins and
And so one weekend I drive north, towards the mountains, quickly winds up into dripping high jungle. Below, rice paddies
with my friend Bawa to visit his mother, juddering in a dented on shining, descending plateaus are green and perfect as billiard
car beyond the art shops and abhyanga massage huts on the edge tables. Long-tailed monkeys sit about the pitted tarmac with their
of town. We stop to let pass a procession for a festival of the full hair madly stuck out all over. ‘Never look a monkey in the eye,’
moon. ‘Tat twam asi, tat twam asi,’ sing a long line of celebrants warns Bawa, with owlish sincerity, fiddling with the fading radio
carrying offerings. ‘I am you and you are me.’ Green tangerines signal. A crackle of Dangdut music: songs about women who love
and sotong fruit, tobacco and matches, fried jaje, or sugar-cakes, bad men and just can’t help it. ‘Arrest me!’ the lyrics chime out,
moulded into figurines of priests. A village toddler wearing over and over, as the morning deepens, ‘Or I might steal his soul.’
leopard-print leggings holds a quivering duck. There are no Bawa first left his remote northern village at the foot of
official wise men amongst the procession from this particular Bebetin mountain as a teenager, to find work in Denpasar and
temple, says Bawa, because many eventually Ubud. He’d studied so
are already present in spirit, their hard in preparation, he would wake
bodies unseen. Balinese Hinduism IT’S NOT EASY BEING A TOWN with a face thick with soot from
has deep-rooted overtones of KNOWN FOR CULTURE ON BALI, long nights spent at his books by a
animism, touches of Buddhism and guttering paraffin lamp. Climbing
Shaivism, cults of the underworld
AN ISLAND WITH ALREADY SO mangosteen trees after school each
– a knotty assimilation, everything MANY FANCIFUL DEFINITIONS day, he would imagine the south. ‘I
eventually organised to compliment needed to know,’ he says, ‘of what-
the sympathetic temperament of the people. Most days there’s ever lay beyond.’ He laughs, ‘I’m such a dreamer.’
some kind of celebration: marriage and funeral rites, the hoisting Avocado trees swelter in the forest; coffee, too, white turmeric,
of temple ornaments and parasols, demigods, protectors, antago- and clove. Ginger plants with powerful roots the size of your
nisers. The pure of heart sometimes walk on hot coals that redden thumb that you can boil into a head-lolling syrup. Trumpets of
and blacken, and then redden again. flowers lean into the car, and prehistoric ferns. And when we stop
It’s Sunday, and along the roads families are out together for for a while at a temple in Bebetin where Bawa used to pray as a
the day, stopping at cafés for suckling pig and immense neon- child, he shows me stone carvings of jewelled feet, swirling sprites,
coloured crackers, like party crisps for giants, sold in bags at stalls fragments of limbs and bodies, hands carrying ferocious swords.
next to petrol in old vodka bottles. Brooms and Calor gas, hair Moss covers everything, so the whole edifice seems living. One
combs and wild vanilla. Bottles of arak, the local hooch, that will chiselled effigy of a woman in a panelled dress has hair so primly
knock you out though it is the inculpable colour of apricot squash. curled she could be on a medieval pew in Cornwall. How old? I ask,
Knobbled bushels of passion fruit, yellow as gobstoppers, and little and Bawa shrugs. Bawa doesn’t know how old his mother is either.
fritters of eel, each tenacious creature caught with a bamboo But then, neither does she. Time simply does what time will do.
Above from left: Balinese spices; a temple ceremony. Opposite, clockwise from top left: rice terraces; a sculpture made from native wood; women in the
rice fields of Tegalalang; one of the east-facing bedrooms and hammock in the living space at Rumah Hujan Villa
86
88
AVOCADO TREES SWELTER IN THE FOREST. GINGER PLANTS HAVE POWERFUL

ROOTS THE SIZE OF YOUR THUMB TO BOIL INTO HEAD-LOLLING SYRUPS
It’s not easy being a town renowned for culture and healing always vivid. And in the fields and valleys of the Bangli regency
on an island with already so many fanciful definitions. Island of south of Mount Batur especially you can still find things that seem
Peace. Island of a Thousand Temples. Arcadia of the East. Ubud, profoundly removed from any documented present. One day,
so descended upon, so fluttering with flyers for the ‘Solo female sworn to secrecy, I’m taken to a cleansing ritual in a hidden dell
travellers network’ (there are very few if any attacks on women up a frothing river where I clamber for an hour along waterfalls,
visiting Bali) and ‘Alchemy of breath’. This place is full of gurus my fingers grasping for purchase, feet slipping off time-smoothed
in love with saving people, declaring on the great aliveness of boulders, alongside a family from Jakarta, who’ve come espe-
the universe. One day as I’m standing looking at a poster for a cially to submit their toddler for a blessing. The child yells and
talk on ‘The alkalising effects of oat straw on the nervous system’ kicks while a priest leads us in the dark through newly spun
along scooter-crammed Jalan Dewi Sita street, I think of Anne spiders’ webs. On the river bank, a pig’s spine has been strewn
Elliot in Persuasion, taking the waters for her health at Bath, after a night sacrifice. Water pounds, blood knocks in my head
wondering which concert to attend, which improving lecture. from the effort – the surprise, and intensity. When I eventually
Through the open gates of a return to where I’d started, on a stone
house nearby I see a stone frieze promontory sits the yawning temple
of a hunter catching a topless
UBUD IS ALWAYS VIVID. AND dog, and by its side, a praying mantis,
angel at a river, stealing her sash IN THE VALLEYS YOU STILL FIND Disney-green and glimmering like a
and revealing her nakedness so THINGS THAT SEEM PROFOUNDLY nugget of peridot.
she can’t fly away. On a TV in For a few hours after that, I don’t
the courtyard a teenage boy and REMOVED FROM THE PRESENT think I have ever felt better in my life.
his grandmother watch a popular Or seen things so close up. I stumble
show in which the contestant with the most virtuous heart back down the lanes of Ubud, passing the children’s karate team
wins a new house. all chatting with ceremonial dancing girls waiting to give a
In the café at Tukies Coconut Shop (unmissable, and a stone’s performance under pounds-weight of costume jewellery, their
throw from the famed cocktails at Hujan Locale) the only sound, headdresses grand and jutting as chandeliers. Past the men playing
for a while, is the hum of a drowsy bee. Until sixty-something chess surrounded by cages of furious cipoh birds, and the
Kadek, who has a house next door, starts down the street with a American ex-flight attendant, who sits outside Naughty Nuri’s
long bamboo spike to ease down fresh frangipani blossom from BBQ all day, slowly drinking Pisco Sours and reading crime
high trees, for the early evening offering at his family temple. novels until his ancient golden Labrador shambles to its feet to
Afternoons, weeks, a childhood, can pass like this, negotiating lead him home. Women carry baskets of eggs and incense on their
over and over the seductive knot of streets and shops, and heads, turning circles and talking under a sunset as crimson
faces. It can be impossible; a whirlwind of flies in the dog days, as a fantasy of vengeance that flickers over a thousand stone
when everybody talks with nostalgia about how beautiful it used demons dressed in skirts of chequered cloth, slung with bruised
to be here, how green and unruined and cool. But Ubud is garlands of orange marigolds.
Above from left: temple entrance; Pura Dalem temple; Capella Ubud. Opposite, clockwise from top: a musician in Tegalalang; umbrellas in the rice fields;
Rumah Hujan Villa; fern; typical Ubud breakfast. Previous pages, from left: the pool at Capella Ubud; the palm trees and terraces of Tegalalang
90
W H E RE T O S TAY
COMO SHAMBHALA ESTATE bedroomed bungalow was not only designed by Venezuelan architect
Opened in 2005, this wellness trailblazer hacked out of a jungle that Maximilian Jencquel but built with his own hands. The sun rises directly in
slopes down to the tumbling Ayung River remains a legendary retreat. front the villa, which was crafted from reclaimed materials, locally sourced
Poised over wind-swaying, forested gorges, rooms have a gentle lava stones and cooling marble. The outdoors is incorporated in such a
Japanese air, with outdoor stone baths overlooking dazzling green rice relaxed way that when delicate little birds quit the gardens of mango and
paddies. There’s a resident Ayurvedic doctor, gorgeous treatments, papaya to line up by the edge of the saltwater pool they scarcely turn a
soul-searching yoga and eating plans as draconian or relaxed as guests feather if you slip in to join them. The staff arrange massages and make
choose. Steep steps in the gardens lead to a natural sacred pool that delicious breakfasts of pandan-leaf pancakes. rumahhujan.com. From
sits in the landscape like a cupped hand, attended by an effigy of about £505 per night, minimum three nights (sleeps six)
Ganesh. comohotels.com. From £1,710 for three nights, including
breakfast, one wellness consultation and two activities CAPELLA UBUD
North of Ubud in the Keliki valley, this property by cult hotelier Bill Bensley
COMO UMA UBUD is a jungle campsite of 22 tented one-bedroom residences, so romantic
Peering into the Tjampuhan Valley, a place that might have invented the they feel like the near-deranged dream of a monied Victorian explorer:
colour green, is Shambhala’s sister hotel. A 30-minute walk from town, swags of fabric, copper baths, oil paintings, Indonesian carving, floors of
camouflaged among fragrant banyans and frangipani, it’s a heavenly dimpled teak. Rope suspension bridges swing over saltwater plunge pools
half-way house between inner and outer Ubud. Interiors master Koichiro to the sound of the river bowling through the night. A huge swimming
Ikebuchi also achieves harmony between clean-lined contemporary pool made from custom steel has been set in the gardens and looks
design and a homey, village feel with stone pathways, pagoda roofs and like something Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo would have insisted on.
netted beds in the 46 open rooms. There are a few bold blocks of Klaus Kinski could emerge in white linen at any moment dragging a
colour: the lipstick-red of the day-beds, the squeezed-orange sofas gramophone blaring Strauss. capellahotels.com. Doubles from about £785
opposite the bar, the flash turquoise of pools, as if to counterbalance
the intense emerald landscape. comohotels.com. Doubles from £315 GETTING HERE
Cleveland Collection offers tailor-made holidays to Indonesia.
RUMAH HUJAN VILLA A sample trip including two nights at COMO Uma Ubud, three nights at
Obscured by trees and pleated into the Tjampuhan ridge high above the COMO Shambhala, breakfast at both, flights and transfers costs from
Wos River at the top of Ubud town, this superbly modernist three- £1,999 per person. +44 20 7843 3531; clevelandcollection.co.uk
Above from left: native palm; the pool and dining room with an ironwood table at Rumah Hujan Villa. Opposite, clockwise from top left: tented residence
at Capella Ubud; Pura Gunung Lebah temple; a palm-shaded pool; copper bathtub at Capella; a view of Mount Agung
93
UP, UP AND AWAY

TEL AVIV IS A LIVE WIRE OF URBAN COOL RIGHT NOW. WITH THE
BAUHAUS MOVEMENT THAT SHAPED IT MARKING 100 YEARS, ITS ARTISTS
AND CHEFS ARE WORKING ON THE NEXT CREATIVE CURVEBALL
BY L AU R A FOW L ER . P H OTOGR AP H S BY AN A LUI
95
A colour snapshot of tel aviv: modernist blocks curving white alongside Middle Eastern flavours – and now the whole world
against cloudless, sky-blue skies. Star of David flags strung like wants a taste. At Shani’s North Abraxas restaurant on Lilienblum,
festival bunting between balconies. Street art and grubbiness and regulars rave about his one-ingredient dishes such as beetroot or
coral-bright bougainvillaea, and everywhere, everywhere the cauliflower, cooked whole on the fire and slapped down smoking
scent of jasmine, washing the streets. Sensational girls and slow- on brown paper from the all-go open kitchen.
smiling long-lashed boys, honey-limbed on the beaches in the ‘Our food is kind of a mix of everything. We are such a young
sunshine or at café tables, barking at one another – because this country that there are no rules. You can do anything you want,’
is how they speak, gloriously direct – over coffee and cigarettes. says Shuli Wimer, who recently completed a stint at L28 Culinary
All the shrugging sexiness of Paris under a desert sun. Platform, where every six months a different emerging chef
These are the things I loved about Tel Aviv when I first came, presents their interpretation of Israeli cooking. Wimer’s is a
15 years ago, and stayed for a while. In the evenings I sat out on farm-to-table approach, her daily menu based on what she
rooftops with new friends who talked wide-eyed about ideas and finds that morning, heaped in bright, ripe piles at HaCarmel
dreams – of becoming fashion designers or chefs, of practising Market. ‘We have such amazing produce from all these artisan
alternative medicine or inventing fruit with no pips – the tiles producers just outside the city.’ It’s the quality of the ingredients,
still warm beneath our legs, weeds growing through the cracks she says, which makes the food so good, and Tel Aviv the vegan
in the Thirties concrete. capital of the world. Her punchy butternut-squash risotto is
There were the things I missed: decent wine and the kind of a case in point. ‘It’s not me, it’s the butternut squash!’ laughs
star-quality on-demand culture of my home city that even the Wimer, who after six years at London’s River Café has honed
sun couldn’t outshine. In a suburban gym I took a dance class, her cooking skills and a sense of English false modesty. ‘They’re
and at least learned to count in Hebrew. ‘Where are you from?’ in season right now!’
asked the whip-thin teacher with a lollipop-mop of blonde curls. I could take a full day over my breakfast at The Norman hotel.
‘London,’ I said. ‘Then what the hell are you doing here?’ she It is like all Israel on a sideboard: labneh, za’atar, strudel and
said, and everybody laughed. Nobody would ask that now. All boureka, smoked herring and smoky shakshuka – a microcosm
IT HAS ALL THE SHRUGGING SEXINESS OF PARIS UNDER A DESERT SUN ,

WITH SENSATIONAL GIRLS AND SLOW-SMILING HONEY-LIMBED BOYS
these things remain, and yet everything has changed. Tel Aviv has of the country, a diaspora of cultures slow-simmered in a Le
found its feet and is dancing to its own rhythm. Creuset. At the next table, New York and Israeli entrepreneurs
The idea of this place first came about in the early 20th century break off from talking billion-dollar deals to rhapsodise
when Jews from across Europe fleeing the rise of Nazism arrived about the home-baked bread, because in Israel there is no
to make their home in Palestine’s ancient city of Jaffa. The number bigger deal than food.
of refugees swelled from 2,000 in 1920 to 34,000 five years later, Similarly, the city’s creatives have developed a distinct style that
overspilling tiny Jaffa and leading to poor living conditions. With fuses Western modernity with Eastern motifs and local influences,
tension rising between the Palestinians and the new inhabitants, across art, architecture, interiors and fashion. Neighbourhoods
plans were made to build a garden suburb outside the town to thrive with galleries and bars, pop-ups and start-ups. Business is
house the burgeoning population of Jews. booming, tech stratospheric. No better place to be a young
This was Tel Aviv: a crucible of Jewish cultures and heritages entrepreneur than the fast-beating heart of the Start-up Nation,
from not just Europe but the entire world – and yet it has become as this powerhouse of ingenuity has become known. Israel
a city resolutely not bogged down with the weight of history. For has always been a place of inventors, and today it is pioneering
there’s a certain freedom that comes from leaving everything driverless cars, lab-grown meat and 3D-printed fashion. The
behind and starting afresh. Now just over three generations old, modern miracle in the Holy Land is turning air into water
it has transformed into a hotpot of richly layered European cul- (literally – google WaterGen).
tures with Arab influences. In the past few years it has grown up, There’s a strong sense that anything is possible. The very
too, and rather than looking to the West for guidance, has started air crackles; I feel it keenly one morning, stork-legged during
focusing instead on its own unique aesthetic and flavour. a rooftop yoga session as the sun rises overhead and the
Israeli cooking is blazing a trail across the world, and even the city’s construction sites rumble into life. On top of the new
wines – once a punchline in Friends – from the Golan Heights Vera hotel in Florentin – fitted out from top to toe by the neigh-
and Jerusalem Hills are winning awards. Pioneering chefs such bourhood’s artisans and designers – I spread my toes across
as Eyal Shani have developed the concept of a quintessential the reclaimed wood laid by local carpenter Ofer and inhale the
food identity – a combination of all the different Jewish cuisines sage and thyme in the living wall of green. It’s not so much
Opposite, clockwise from top left: a building near Lilienblum Street; kitchen and seating at L28 Culinary Platform; gazoz fruit
drink at Café Levinsky in Levinsky Market; football players at Jerusalem Beach; nuts for sale at Levinsky Market; café at
HaCarmel Market; Neve Tzedek district; brunch at L28 Culinary Platform; flowers in Neve Tzedek. Previous pages, from left:
The Levee; Tel Aviv architecture, with ceramic balloons by artist Sivan Sternbach
97
‘ WE’RE SUC H A YOUNG COUNTRY, THERE A RE N O RULES

WITH FOOD. YOU C AN DO ANY THIN G YOU WANT’
99
a place to switch off as switch on. Start-up Nation Central HQ honking traffic and clothes lines of old-lady pants drying outside,
is right across the street. How these rooftops have been trans- and walls of air-conditioning units juddering in some heatstricken
formed! Whole days can be squandered up here. At the Norman, dystopia. Beside every super-slick remodelling there’s a tumble-
I slide between sleek white daybeds and an infinity pool, and down heap, balconies literally falling off, piles of dereliction,
look out across the buildings where giant menorahs spike up hoarding and graffiti. Hard to know whether it’s obscene or
among the satellite dishes and potted palms, towards the sea politically profound – most of it is stencilled Hebrew script. On
and the fast-changing skyline. one street corner, a mural of mirror and ceramic shards – a col-
In the year that Bauhaus turns 100, the pace of construction is laboration between the city’s African women asylum seekers and
feverish. Architects are busy as bees, fixing up the dilapidated artist Mia Schon – reminds us that ‘We were all once refugees.’
residences of Tel Aviv’s UNESCO-listed White City, the world’s As the manicured hand of gentrification ushers the creatives
most exceptional collection of Bauhaus buildings, 4,000-strong. out, the city’s cultural centre of gravity shifts ever southwards
In the 1920s and 1930s, European architects who had been to older, shabbier neighbourhoods. Florentin is a work in
studying at modernist schools – most notably Walter Gropius’s progress, retaining its edge of scruffiness in the close-knit streets
the Bauhaus – were among those Jews escaping oppression. around edgy Levinsky Market, shared by artisan workshops
They transported their cold northern European design principles and garment wholesalers alongside the hipster ventures. There
to the heat of the Levant and built a city of concrete castles are cafés on every corner, and suddenly brilliant restaurants,
in the sand, adapting their forward-looking styles for the such as Burek, so hot it only opens one night a week. Hidden
Middle Eastern climate or mixing them with Eastern forms to behind a wall of white concrete, the plant-based restaurant
become Eclecticism. The new homes were designed for living, Opa rewrites the established vegan rules, both its interior
characterised by clean lines and functionality over unnecessary and chef Shirel Berger’s minimal and sophisticated dishes.
detail: curved like ocean liners, or boxy as cubist paintings. There’s a lively soundtrack, and even at 10pm on a Monday
They had rooftops for socialising in the evening cool and windows night (Tel Avivians eat late), the only seats left are up at the
were set back behind wraparound terraces to let the sea breeze sociable bar, beside brown-eyed girls who ask where I’m from.
in and keep the heat out. London, I tell them. And this time they cannot wait to tell me
THROUGH AN OPENIN G IN TATT Y HOARDIN G I FIND THE WELL -HIDDEN

SEC R ET EVERYONE’ S N OT KEEPIN G. AND INSIDE IT’S JOYFUL
But in the intervening conflict-troubled decades, cash-strapped about the hottest joints in town – which remain those that are
owners left their Bauhaus blocks to crumble. Now, fuelled by the hard to find and rough around the edges.
buoyant economy, they are undergoing multi-million-dollar Beit Romano is the well-hidden secret everyone’s not keeping.
renovations. Suddenly everyone wants to live in them, or stay in It takes me three nights – I’m so easily sidetracked – but eventu-
knockout hotels such as The Norman, set in two restored Twenties ally, eventually, I find it; an Alice in Wonderland moment, if Alice
buildings, and the brand-new Levee. Affluent young couples are had had Google Maps and had tumbled, after several Yarden
starting families here instead of moving to the suburbs. Dizengoff Sauvignon Blancs, through an opening in the hoarding of a tatty
Circus, the bleached-out Bauhaus epicentre, has been restored wholesale unit. Inside, it’s joyful: beneath festoon bulbs strung
to its mid-century heyday. Along the spruced-up streets radiating across a galleried courtyard is a mix of bars and restaurants (Eyal
outwards, where the sunbaked concrete smells like oven-fresh Shani’s Romano among them, as much about music as food), and
biscuits, well-groomed mothers in floaty skirts push Bugaboos Teder FM, which broadcasts live outdoor performances. For all
and drink coffee in the shade of acacia trees along Rothschild Tel Aviv’s recent spit and polish, Beit Romano remains deliciously
Boulevard, lined with the grandest of historic buildings. Below lo-fi: thrown-together roughness, a piano ready to be played and
it, Neve Tzedek is the city’s prettiest neighbourhood, a 19th- the whole place rocking with life and youth.
century enclave you enter beneath bowers of bougainvillaea the Ancient Jaffa, the original old city of Palestine, is a kind of
colours of a sunset cocktail. Here you find cafés with courtyard Levantine Shoreditch which the artists made madly popular
gardens and workshop-boutiques of handmade gold jewellery when they started moving in 10 years ago. In its ancient stone
and earthy homewares priced for the new rich. Head instead vaults and rickety market units, artisans and makers set up
to neighbouring Noga, the current cool-kid favourite, just as multi-purpose ventures: shops, galleries, music venues and
cute but less well-known, its designer-makers’ studios more ramshackle bars like the cellars of antiques dealers, alongside
offbeat and affordable. generations-old hardware stores and vendors selling dusty trin-
But don’t get the impression that Tel Aviv is all spiffed up with kets and lighting and rugs from the east, second-hand books
nowhere gritty to go. Turn a corner and you very suddenly find and sheet music and bohemian glassware for a handful of
yourself in all the chaos and tat of a Middle Eastern backstreet: shekels, whole sets miraculously intact after their journey from
Opposite, clockwise from top left: Burek restaurant; staircase at The Vera Hotel; The Levee; Neve Tzedek; dessert table
at Burek; palm trees at Jerusalem Beach; The Norman hotel; Levinsky Market; private balcony near Dizengoff Circus.
Previous pages, from left: brunch at L28 Culinary Platform; Opa restaurant
100
102
northern Europe. Whatever could be saved – but not used – work has been shown from MoMA to Venice, where he created
washes up here. Jaffa market is where to come for the best the Israeli Pavilion at the 2015 Biennale – lives between Tel Aviv
hummus – in brightly lit street-food joints with paper-napkin and New York, but it is life in Israel that inspires him. ‘I need this
dispensers on the tables. At night it’s a different story. Fairylights tension, the electricity here. That’s the energy that comes from
are strung across the narrow streets, the tables packed with outside into my work,’ he says. Geva is dressed in paint-dashed
extended groups, the smell of the grill in the air. black: gentle-mannered, almost diffident as he shows us his great
Where art goes, the money follows. Last year saw the opening canvases stacked against the walls, both abstract and sometimes
of The Setai Jaffa and The Jaffa Hotel – John Pawson’s dramatic wildly geometric, with human figures emerging from the pattern.
reimagining of a 19th-century hospital and monastery for His large-scale works and installations are inspired by motifs of
Marriott. And so the artists move on again, to Kiryat Hamelacha, daily life: terrazzo flooring, Mondrian-esque apartment window
Tel Aviv’s new art district with studios in brutalist industrial blocks grilles, found junk dumped on balconies (there’s an Israeli ten-
still occupied by motorcycle maintenance lock-ups and overalled dency, he says, to hang on to useless things; ‘a post-Holocaust
men busy with welding torches. Fixers Sarah Peguine and Michal trauma, collecting and not throwing anything away’). Then there
Freedman can unlock the doors to these studios, for those who are elements of the political situation: GAZA slashed out in
are interested. ‘The art scene feels very fresh. There’s so much expressive black capitals, the lines of a watchtower. This is what
happening, so much potential,’ a pregnant Freedman tells me, full gets talked about. ‘People always speak about the politics of my
of second-trimester glow and passion for the country’s young work, not looking at how I use the language of painting. Colour,
creative set, as we sip limonana from jam jars on the sunny terrace composition, materials, surface.’
of Ala Rampa vegan café overlooking the factory units. ‘The And isn’t this just like Tel Aviv? So often it’s not about the news
artists here are very driven. They don’t know what will happen story. Sometimes what resonates, what remains, is just colour, an
tomorrow so they live to the maximum every day.’ impression. On that rooftop 15 years ago, all those ideas had seemed
Tsibi Geva is painting when we arrive. Up a dirty flight of stairs, like naivety, twentysomething chutzpah. Now those wide-eyed
past peeling walls, his studio is all warmth and linseed oil, paint thinkers are driving the Start-up Nation forward into the future,
pots covering the spattered floor. Kibbutz-born Geva – whose swept along in Tel Aviv’s life-force. Not falling, but flying.
T HE LOWD OWN
WHERE TO S TAY W H E R E TO E AT AN D DR I N K
The Norman introduced unprecedented levels of splendidness to Tel Aviv Pioneering chef Eyal Shani is behind many of the city’s most
when it opened in 2014. It feels like a members’ club, at once grand and talked-about hotspots. Zinging with atmosphere, Abraxas North on
personal. Staff greet everyone immediately by name; there are 50 elegant Lilienblum is eternally popular for quintessential Israeli cooking. Port Sa’id
rooms with echoes from the original Twenties buildings, such as the is Shani’s unassuming pub on Har Sinai, the street beside the Great
Mediterranean tiles, alongside the contemporary in David d’Almada’s Synagogue that has become a destination for outdoor eating and drinking.
divine interiors. At top-floor Dinings, chefs sliver jewel-red tuna and The chef’s magic is at work, too, in Beit Romano, a speakeasy late-night
blow-torch prawns; Alena restaurant’s Barak Aharoni, one of the new stars venue set in a garment wholesalers’ block and accessed through a
of the Israeli food scene, delights with unfussy, full-power dishes such fly-stickered door. Romano is his experimental restaurant, with old vinyl
as spicy Holy Land octopus and aromatic Middle Eastern lamb pasta. and vintage film posters on the walls. There are regular performances,
While the buzzy Library Bar has intuitive bartenders who mix punchy, parties and events outside until 3am. Abraxas North (+972 3516 6660);
herb-stuffed cocktails. Drink them here, or up beside the rooftop pool. Port Sa’id (+972 36207436); Beit Romano (+972 7727 59605)
thenorman.com; doubles from about £410
At Opa the refined vegan cooking focuses on one-plant dishes – a ladder
Smack-bang where it’s all happening in Lilienblum-Herzl, The Vera is a of asparagus is presented like a still life – in Scandi-meets-Israeli-cool
new hotel concept for Tel Aviv: small, stylish and affordable, decorated surroundings, hidden away near Levinsky Market. Around the corner, Burek
from terrazzo floor to pressed-tin ceiling by local craftspeople working in is one of the hardest-to-get tables in town, so book well ahead. Start-up
Florentin. Polished-concrete rooms are minimal and restful; switched-on Nation Central’s extended pop-up L28 Culinary Platform showcases a
staff, led by handsome and enthusiastic young owner Danny Tamari, love different chef every six months. opatlv.co.il; burektlv.com; l28.co.il
to give the greatest insider tips on where to eat, drink and play.
theverahotel.com; doubles from about £155 WH E R E TO S E E AR T AN D ARC H I T E C T U R E
The Bauhaus Center’s tours open up the White City to anyone with even
The Levee opened in April after a nine-year transformation project by Bar a passing interest in its architecture style and history, which is key to
Orian Architects from an Eclectic 1913 villa into a super-slick apartment- understanding Tel Aviv; or go for the 90-minute self-guided walks of the
only hotel. The industrial-chic vibe pervails here with statement furniture streets around Dizengoff. ArtSource insider tours plug you straight into
and a striking contemporary cube on the top. Every surface gleams, even the Israeli art scene, most exciting is access to studios and private galleries,
the raw concrete. leveetlv.com; apartments from about £465 whether you’re looking or buying. bauhaus-center.com; artsource.online
Opposite, clockwise from top left: The Levee; The Norman; Levinsky Market; graffiti on HaShomer Street near HaCarmel
Market; The Norman; Bauhaus architecture; pickles at Levinsky Market, bar at The Norman; bedroom at The Vera Hotel
103
104
BONUS TRACKS
AMERICA WAS MAPPED OUT BY THE RAILROAD, WHICH GAVE ITS RHYTHM TO THE BLUES. AS THE IDEA OF
TRAIN-BRAGGING TAKES HOLD, A RIDE FROM CHICAGO TO SAN FRANCISCO IS AN EPIC SLO-MO REVEAL
BY ANTHONY SATTIN. PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM PARKER
Washington, montreal, new orleans... Between announcements in a railway

waiting room, an old-style metal fan whirs and a Strauss waltz plays. As the desti-
nations are called, the expectation heightens and I’m wired. Then number 49, the
Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, is called. That’s me, lighting out for the territory.
Of course I could fly from New York to San Francisco, but what’s the hurry? I have
time. I want to spend days and nights watching the landscape shift, great plains giving
way to Rocky Mountains, cutting through canyons, following the settlers’ trail, the
gold-rush trail, crossing three different time zones. I want to feel that movement
from east to west, an overview of America in all its huge and glorious diversity, and
I want it from the deck of an Amtrak train.
Somewhere along the glistening Hudson River towards Albany, Jim in the oppo-
site roomette introduces himself. He’s a retired teacher from Chicago, the son of
a railway man. ‘We didn’t have much money when I was a kid, but in the summer
we were given passes for the railway.’ So he travelled all over and knows the lie of the
land and the history behind each stop. He knows, for instance, that they invented
the grain silo in Chicago, ‘and that changed everything. Once they had silos, they
could trade grain, and that’s when people grew rich. They built Chicago on grain,
and meat...’ He also has opinions, the most striking being that ‘this train is finished...
Amtrak is ruined’. I wonder if it has something to do with dinner no longer being
served on china and linen, as it was when he was a boy. But seats do still fold into
a bed and in spite of the impending apocalypse, I sleep through Buffalo, Cleveland
and the Great Lakes, which is to say I sleep well.
OF COURSE I COULD FLY, BUT I HAVE TIME. I WANT TO SPEND DAYS AND NIGHTS WATCHING THE
LANDSCAPE SHIFT, FOLLOWING THE SETTLERS’ TRAIL, CROSSING THREE TIME ZONES
The train continues west but I get off to spend a day and night in Chicago. I think
I know from New York what big ideas can do for a place, but here I am as dazzled
by the skyscrapers as I am by the buildings’ stories: the Twenties Jewelers Building
designed so you could drive your limo into the lift and up to your front door;
the 110th floor of the Willis Tower built to sway three feet in the wind. In the 19th
century this was the fastest-growing city in the USA, so, unsurprisingly, there’s also
no escaping the rails. After eating red snapper and lobster in the city’s own meat-
packing district, I walk less than 100 metres and find myself beside the tracks again.
The California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco is what Jim the son of a
railwayman calls a cultural artefact. It’s also one of the longest rides in the country:
2,438 miles in 51 scheduled hours, and quite a few unscheduled ones; plenty long
enough for me. It pulls away from Union Station’s subterranean platform at 2pm
precisely. Across the fat, flat farmland land, we run beside a road built for the Ford
Model T. The plains live up to their name – monotonous – and a light rain falls, and
I am lulled back to a time before our own bitter divisions. I doze, then wake to the
rattle of wheels on a steel bridge as we cross the Mississippi River into Iowa.
My new neighbour Scott has at least one tale for every place we pass through.
Some are about settlers rolling west, giving their names to towns, or their lives to
a plot of land; some are the stories of the Pony Express and the railway that
followed them; some are about the USA itself. At Galesburg there’s an old steam
engine sitting proudly beside the platform, and while smokers step outside to admire
its bulk, Scott tells me this town was the home of the man who created the Ferris
Wheel and of his relative who dreamed up popcorn. ‘It is also where the Marx
brothers got their nicknames… in a poker game. A hundred years ago.’
On this train, ‘streamlined and a midnight flyer’, as Woody Guthrie sang, part
of the joy is the dining car. Not for the food but for the mix of people who pass
through. I meet a man from Boulder, Colorado, who collects unwanted books and
Opposite, from top: Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah; Arches National Park, near Moab,
Utah. Previous pages, Dead Horse Point in the state’s Canyonlands National Park
107
delivers them to places like the Aging Hippie Homestead. ‘Things are weird here,’
he tells me, ‘but you know that.’ In the evening the Zephyr passes through the
Midwest Corn Belt and crosses the Missouri River into Nebraska, and by morning
the world has changed again: snow-dusted mountains crowd the horizon and
a car-ful of Amish are having breakfast, the young girls on my table too shy even
to catch my eye.
At Denver, the conductor recommends ‘folks de-train’ to see the station. A good
tip, because the century-old building, like the city, has had money poured into it
and now houses the Crawford Hotel, a long bar beneath an enormous window and
a lobby as smart as a clubhouse. Rich Grant is a gnarled, white-bearded writer
and beer-lover who may have more stories about Denver than anyone else. ‘One
thing you need to know is that there is no reason for there to be a city here.’ When
they found gold nearby, tracks were laid to rush out prospectors and to help them
spend their money. What I remember best about the Colorado Railroad Museum
that Rich takes me round are the private carriage of the railroad director, with
bedrooms for his secretary and his mistress, and a ride I take on the Galloping Goose,
a Thirties Buick converted into a railway car.
Between Denver and Salt Lake City is the most beautiful track in the country
as the Zephyr climbs into mountains, twists along rivers, cuts through sheer canyons
and roars through the six-mile Moffat Tunnel. While the engineering feat is impres-
sive, the natural beauty is more so. We near the dramatic rock structures of
the Colorado National Monument, a mini Grand Canyon. All this was once under the
sea and they are still unearthing fossils here, but my discovery, in the railway town
THE ZEPHYR CLIMBS INTO MOUNTAINS, TWISTING ALONG RIVERS. ALL THIS WAS
ONCE UNDER THE SEA AND THEY ARE STILL UNEARTHING FOSSILS HERE
of Grand Junction, is that they also grow grapes. At Bin 707 Foodbar – motto ‘always
an adventure’ – farm-to-table dishes arrive with a fruity local Cabernet Sauvignon,
and I overindulge because it is delicious but also because I have been told that Salt
Lake City on a Sunday is as dry as the desert that surrounds it.
This turns out to be untrue. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
the Mormon temple, is not open for visitors. But in the giant, barrow-shaped, pre-
amplified-age tabernacle an assistant demonstrates its acoustic perfection: I can
hear him tearing a piece of paper at the other end of the hall. It must be deafening
when someone plays the 11,623-pipe organ. Not far away I find a crowd of people
with beers in hand, outside, on a Sunday, listening to an Israeli band singing ‘Hava
Nagila’. Next is a local ensemble who encourage us to put down our glasses and
put our hands together for the Lord while they sing a cover of The Impressions.
‘People get ready, there’s a train a-comin’...’
And there is a train, but it is late. The Amtrak office at Salt Lake City only opens
at 10pm and when I arrive an hour later it is already packed with irritated passen-
gers, among them a large group of women heading for Reno’s casinos. When the
train finally arrives, Stephanie, the most diligent of all the train attendants I encounter,
turns down my bed. ‘Don’t worry about waking,’ she tells me in her singsong way,
‘I’ll make sure you don’t miss Reno.’
There’s a Hank Williams song about this stretch of the route: ‘From the Great
Salt Lakes of Utah to California’s golden shore/Colorado and Nevada through the
desert’s burnin’ door/While she’s circlin’ through the canyons, can’t you see that
mountain stream/It’s the California Zephyr, the Union Pacific queen...’ There’s
also a line about the train’s swing and sway and that, not Stephanie, is what wakes
me in the morning and I lie there watching the view outside my window shift,
between breakfast and coffee, from cowboy-arid to primordial rolling hills. Then
Opposite, from top: rail tracks near Canyon Lands National Park, Utah; mountain
scenery along Highway 70 in the Rocky Mountains
108
we are approaching the biggest little sin city in the world, as the conductor calls it,
urging people wanting to continue to the coast not to pop out to play the Reno
slots. ‘Every week we leave someone behind!’
It’s not the Reno slots I’m after but the big country beyond. I have the best coffee
of the journey at Truckee, the next stop up the line, its main street of one- and two-
storey shops looking like a set from High Noon. There’s also a railway museum,
but I’m in a hurry to get to Lake Tahoe. I know Tahoe for the skiing, and there is
still snow on the slopes, but it’s a sunny day in May and I follow a steep trail of
lonesome pines to the lake shore and some fish to eat. The water is icy – the second-
deepest lake in the country takes time to warm up – and there’s no one kayaking
yet, so I drive the 72-mile circuit around the lake. Each time I stop to take in the
views I find myself being told tales, none stranger than that of the Knight of Emerald
Bay, Mrs Lora J Knight, to be precise, an Illinois widow and divorcee of English
descent who backed Lindberg’s trans-Atlantic flight in 1927 and two years later
built a waterside mansion in the style of an 11th-century Swedish castle.
As I cannot swim at Tahoe, I get into hot water at David Walley’s Hot Springs,
Nevada’s oldest settlement. A few of the valley people are soaking in the pool,
sitting between scrub-covered hills and the ranching country of Carson Valley.
When I ask why the water is hot, the talk turns to volcanic activity and eruptions,
to Krakatoa, Iceland’s volcanoes, the San Andreas fault, Crater Lake up in Oregon.
Someone says, ‘Long Valley’s gonna be bigger than all of them.’ ‘Long Valley?’
I ask. ‘Just up the road here. That one’s gonna blow us back to the dark ages.’
THE TWO-MILE TUNNEL IS A PORTAL INTO ANOTHER WORLD. AS WE SLIDE DOWN

A CRESCENT MOON RISES ABOVE A BANK OF CLOUD, A POLE STAR ABOVE IT
Was it the threat of the apocalypse or a need to escape the madness of modern
America that inspired Burning Man? Whatever it was, the festival in the desert
outside Reno is slowly changing what used to be a casino-only city. At my hotel
I’m given the option to scale the outside wall – one of the world’s largest climbing
walls – to reach my room. Inside a man is doing tricks in a huge hula-hoop, someone
else walking a tightrope and a metalcore band getting ready to play at the concert
hall. When I board the Zephyr the next afternoon, I am in good spirits.
And with good reason, for it is quite a day for the last memorable ride. The two-
mile tunnel under Mount Judah is a portal into another world and as we slide down
towards the Californian plain, a crescent moon rises above a bank of cloud, a pole
star above it. When we reach the water and the lights of San Francisco, the Pacific
beyond it, a plane cuts across the ice-blue sky to remind me that I could have flown
from New York to San Francisco in the space of a movie and a quick nap. Instead
I spent days not hours, hearing the babel of accents, collecting stories and under-
standing as one can only understand from the ground, something of this immense
country and how this steel belt holds its many diverse pieces in place. I could have
flown, but I preferred to ride.
The writer’s trip was arranged by Visit the USA (visittheusa.co.uk) and Amtrak
(amtrak.com). The journey began in New York (nycgo.com) at The Knickerbocker
Hotel (theknickerbocker.com), moving on to Chicago (choosechicago.com) and
Denver, Colorado (colorado.com), with an overnight stay at Hotel Teatro
(hotelteatro.com), followed by stops in Salt Lake City (visitutah.com) and
Reno (travelnevada.com), staying at Whitney Peak Hotel (whitneypeakhotel.com),
and finishing in San Francisco (sftravel.com)
Opposite, from top: birch trees near Highway 70; snow-topped mountains surrounding Lake
Tahoe. Previous pages, clockwise from top left: Swan Mountains and Dillon Reservoir, near
Silverthorne on the road to Denver; tracks, and mountains, both on Route 50 between Salt
Lake City and Reno; Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, near Sonoma
113
FROM THE EDGE OF
ALTHOUGH IT’S IN THE USUALLY STARK AND DRY CYCLADES, ANDROS FEELS
FOR ITS MOUNTAINOUS COASTLINE, IT’S THE ONLY PART OF THE ARCHIPELAGO
FAMILIES WHO PAVED THE STREETS IN MARBLE, AND BUILT IMPOSING
QUIETLY HARBOURING A COUPLE OF VERY SPECIAL PLACES TO STAY, FROM

THE DEEP BLUE SEA
NOTHING LIKE THE OTHER ISLANDS AROUND. KNOWN BY LOCALS AS THE ROCK
WITH WATERFALLS AND HEALING SPRINGS. HOME TO GRAND SHIPPING
MANSIONS AND MUSEUMS FILLED WITH BILLION-DOLLAR ART, IT’S NOW
AN OLD FARM SET IN CITRUS GROVES TO A GUESTHOUSE ABOVE ANCIENT RUINS
BY RACHEL HOWARD. PHOTOGRAPHS BY MONTSE GARRIGA
115
BREAKFAST IS UNDER LEMON TREES. AND WHAT A FEAST! FIVE TYPES OF BREAD,
‘DO YOU LISTEN TO THE ARCHERS?’ IS NOT the sort of question you while listening to BBC Radio 4. Her ground-floor apartment,
expect to be asked when feeding chickens on a Greek island. But a colourful mix of painted dressers and patterned tiles, is one
Andros is not your typical Cycladic outpost, and Efi Raptaki is not of the cosiest places to stay, and it’s a bargain on Airbnb.
your typical Greek farmer. In fact, she’s not a farmer at all. Like Raptaki isn’t the only Andriot Anglophile. The island has
many natives, Efi has a strong connection to the seafarers who been known as Micra Anglia (Little England) ever since the
were responsible for introducing cosmopolitan urbanity to this great Greek shipping dynasties – Embiricos, Goulandris, Polemis
large, and largely undiscovered, place. – opened offices in London in the early 20th century. The ship-
Raptaki spends her days in her modest but stylish farmhouse in owners brought back English governesses to Andros, and also
Livadia, a valley at the heart of the island’s once-booming citrus grand ideas about a welfare state: they built the island’s first
trade. Andros lemons were so prized they were wrapped and sold high school, hospital and what is surely the most beautiful retire-
individually; now the paths between walled estates glisten with ment home in the world – the Embiricos, overlooking Chora’s
fallen fruit. By day, she tends to her chickens, geese and rabbits, lustrous Goulandris square. At dusk, the residents pull up chairs
makes plum and apricot jam, and offers mint and verbena lemo- to watch boys dribble footballs between plinths topped with busts
nade to the ramblers who occasionally stroll by, drawn here by of poets, professors and war heroes. As local artist George Hadoulis
Andros Routes, a grassroots effort to open up hundreds of miles put it to me: ‘This is not a place where you go to die.’ Watching the
of old footpaths. In the evening, she returns to her elegant town- laughing children, twilight dancing on flagstones, languid couples
house in Chora, the island’s capital, and makes patchwork quilts smoking on marble benches, I certainly felt glad to be alive.
Above from left: sitting room; and the entrance of Efi Raptaki’s house in Chora; groceries for sale at Andriakon Pantopoleio deli; a window in Episkopio village.
116
HERBED CHEESE, CAKE, STRAWBERRIES AND A DOZEN JAMS FROM QUINCE TO KUMQUAT
Chora defies the usual Cycladic ideal of cubist architecture its reputation with blockbuster summer shows by artists such
and cobbled streets. Roads are paved with grey marble and lined as Picasso, Braque, Moore and Miró. The exhibitions aren’t
with neoclassical mansions with wrought-iron swans preening on quite as remarkable these days (Basil and Elise, who had the direc-
balconies, family crests carved above doors, gold-leaf ceilings tors of the Met and the Tate on speed-dial, died some years ago),
and crystal chandeliers picked up in Venice, Marseille and but it’s thrilling nonetheless to explore this trove of 20th-century
Odessa. Also rather unusually, the town juts boldly out to sea, Greek art while still barefoot and salty from the beach.
clinging to a spit of land flanked by two sandy bays. The Because the island’s shipping families used patronage as a show
wealthiest residents are squeezed into Kato Kastro, the medi- of power, Chora has an embarrassment of cultural riches. There’s
eval quarter at the tip of the headland. A colossal bronze statue an archaeological museum, a maritime museum, the Kaireios
of a sailor by local artist Michalis Tombros impassively watches library with archives stretching back to the 16th century, and an
the waves smashing against the crumbling flanks of a Venetian open-air theatre where Pandelis Voulgaris, one of Greece’s most
castle, built in 1207 and almost completely destroyed by German accomplished directors, stages the Andros International Festival,
bombs in World War II. a summer-long celebration of the arts. Voulgaris shot his 2013 film
There are more sculptures by Tombros in the Museum of Micra Anglia, a melodramatic tale of two sisters in love with the
Contemporary Art, just around the bluff. Built by the ship- same captain, on Andros. It recreates the strict conventions of
owning socialites Basil and Elise Goulandris to showcase their the local bourgeoisie as the flourishing shipping industry leads to
$3billion modern art collection in 1979, the museum established a new social class in the first half of the 20th century.
Previous pages, from left: a clifftop church on Andros; a music installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art; steps in Episkopio; the kitchen at Efi’s House
PANAGIOTIS OFFERS TO SHOW ME THE SWIMMING POOL – LEADING ME UP THE RIVER
‘At one time everyone was employed by the shipping families,’ the mainland – was the perfect weekend destination, but their
says Vangelis Loukisas, a documentary filmmaker who runs the impact is mostly limited to a handful of ostentatious villas
Andros Cinema Club. ‘It was almost a feudal system.’ Loukisas around the dozy port of Gavrion.
describes his own father as an immigrant from north Andros. Ever so slowly, a gentle kind of traveller is now making inroads
These ‘Arvanites’, mainly of Albanian heritage, were relegated to into the island’s hinterland. Etched into the densely wooded
the lowest ranks on merchant ships. Their wives and daughters hills and ravines ribboned with streams are stone walls known
came to Chora to work as servants and seamstresses for the ladies in the local dialect as emasies, creating a network of paths
who danced the foxtrot with dashing captains at the Andros Social just wide enough for a donkey. Due to the work of a group of
Club. Founded in 1925, it had a membership exclusive to well-to- volunteers, many of these trails have been cleared and way-
do Andriots – even Athenians were considered outsiders. marked, including the 60-mile Andros Route, which takes you
Locals still joke that you have to get your passport stamped from north to south in 10 days. ‘When I moved here, I started
to enter Chora. In the 1960s and 70s it was still a very closed society, following random paths and seeing where they took me,’ says
with local sailors fearing the temptations that tourists might bring Olga Karayiannis, the softly spoken environmentalist behind
to their lonely wives and single daughters while they were at sea. the route. ‘I discovered a completely different island. The soul
Financial success meant they could afford to shun tourism, which of Andros is definitely inland, not along the coast.’
was gaining a foothold on other Greek islands. Eventually, in Divided by four towering mountain ranges, the landscape is
the 1990s, Athenians realised that Andros – only two hours from surprisingly varied and the weather can change around each
Above from left: the well-stocked bar at Ta Skalakia restaurant in Chora; bedroom at Onar, a secluded eco-retreat in the east of the island; Head of a Horse,
118
TO A ROCK POOL WHERE ELECTRIC-BLUE DRAGONFLIES FLIT AMONG THE CREEPERS
bend. One moment it looks and feels like Tuscany, the next the miracle cure for kidney stones. At Menites village, the lion-headed
Scottish Highlands. Watermills, dovecotes and watchtowers fountains are even more magical: the water allegedly turns into
materialise in misty valleys. As I drive up to Vourkoti, the highest wine once a year on the feast day of Dionysus, god of good times.
village in the Cyclades, the clouds curdle into fog so thick I can’t A cool stream runs through Lamyra, the most splendid of all the
see where the road ends and the ravine begins. In the hamlet of 84 villages on the island. Hidden among the orchards and manor
Episkopio, which seems to be in a permanent state of siesta, houses is Ktima Lemonies, an old farm converted into a guesthouse
cryptic messages are whitewashed onto walls of layered schist: by Nelly Gryparis and her architect husband Michalis. It’s the kind
BE CAREFUL. LOOK. RUN. A jumble of steps converges at of place their regular guests tend to keep to themselves. Even the
a vaulted bridge where a crumpled shepherd is having a cigarette. taxi driver doesn’t know where it is. ‘Why haven’t they put up a
When I wave, he vanishes into the undergrowth in a puff of smoke. sign?’ he grumbles as we bump through the countryside.
Unlike the rest of the parched archipelago, Andros has plenti- Ktima Lemonies has just four bedrooms, converted from stables
ful springs and streams, waterfalls and wetlands. Every village and barns scattered around the fragrant gardens. A turquoise pool
has a communal marble washbasin fed by ice-cold mountain glitters among the citrus groves. Nightingales sing as I exhale with
water. Venturing deeper into the mountains, carved fountains in a glass of homemade limoncello on the veranda, the distant outline
village squares give way to waterfalls cascading through forests of Chora framed by cypress trees at the bottom of the valley.
of chestnut, white poplar, oak and maple. The mineral water Nelly is a brilliant hostess: she’ll pack a picnic, secure a table at
from Sariza, the island’s most famous spring, is meant to be a Nonas, her favourite taverna – making sure Kyria Koula saves you
a sculpture by local artist Michalis Tombros at the Museum of Contemporary Art; the secluded beach of Lydi, a 30-minute walk south of Chora town
I STARTED FOLLOWING RANDOM PATHS, SEEING WHERE THEY TOOK ME. I DISCOVERED A
some of her famous meatballs – and wafts in with coffee the hillside, and two saltwater pools melt into the horizon. It’s run
moment you sit down to breakfast at the daintily laid communal by glamorous Italian food stylist and photographer Allegra
table under lemon trees. And what a feast! A dozen homemade jams, Pomilio, who hosts creative and cooking retreats here. But if
from quince to kumquat; five types of bread; soft, hard and herbed you’d rather explore independently, she will pack you a picnic
cheeses; lemon-and-poppy-seed cake; yogurt and plum compote, of courgette-flower tart, home-made grissini, and lemon and
tiny strawberries and plump apricots from the kitchen garden. orange-blossom cake to savour in solitude on one of the deser-
‘Andros is very traditional, very discreet,’ says Nelly. Sure, you can ted bays nearby.
get elegantly wasted on mango Mojitos at Neo, a former slaughter- The wildest, most beautiful beaches – sandy Zorkos, Vitali,
house in Chora, and invest in armfuls of Kiki Sinteli’s gorgeous Vori and Achla – are lined up along the north-east coast. (Make
embroidered kaftans at Waikiki, but this isn’t an island for putting a detour for lamb chops at the Kossis family farm in Ano
on the ritz. Even Batsi, the only real holiday town, is old-fashioned Fellos.) Goats teeter on shards of rock marvelling at the views
and low-key. At the faded seaside town of Korthi, I eat fig ice as I negotiate the bone-rattling dirt road down to the Achla
cream and watch kids dive-bombing off the pier. Old ladies bob wetlands, a nature reserve bristling with partridges, hares and
about in frilly swimming caps. It’s a scene straight out of the 1950s. turtles. The road peters out at Onar (‘dream’ in ancient Greek),
Twenty-first century escapists tend to alight at Mèlisses, a an off-grid eco-retreat with 15 stone cottages created by
guesthouse poised above the ancient underwater ruins of Mateo Pantzopoulos, a local ship-broker who is married to TV
Palaeopolis. Its stone buildings are designed to fade into the personality Eleni Menegaki. Originally, Onar was intended
Above from left: embroidered kaftans at Waikiki boutique in Chora; nautical details at the restaurant at Kossis farm in Ano Fellos; whitewashed buildings
120
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ISLAND – ITS SOUL IS DEFINITELY INLAND, NOT ALONG THE COAST
as a glorified campsite for the couple and their jet-setting When the occasional yacht drifts into view, I don’t so much resent
friends, but it’s been in such demand that five smarter villas the intrusion as welcome the diversion.
with pools and planted roofs are being added this summer, After dark, everyone gathers around a table under the plane trees
even if Pantzopoulos keeps the paparazzi at bay by steadfastly to laugh at Pantzopoulos’s tall tales and feast on tomato and basil
refusing to fix the bumpy road. bruschetta, honeyed watermelon and feta, and froutalia, a sausage-
Onar’s simple, open-plan houses don’t contain much more and-potato omelette. Most ingredients come from the organic
than a huge bed, a good shower and a hammock big enough for garden or a farm up the valley. Many of my dinner companions
two. There are no sun loungers, no room service, and certainly – an Austrian surgeon, a Scottish restaurateur, an Athenian archi-
no Wi-Fi. The melon Daiquiris knocked up by an off-duty tect – have been here before. ‘Once you find this place, you always
snowboarder aren’t great. Yet everything else about this place come back,’ grins Pantzopoulos. Rather like Andros, really.
completely won me over: the geckos staking out my terrace;
the beaming fisherman leaping ashore with my supper; the Andros is two hours by ferry from Rafina, which is a 30-minute drive
puckish manager, Panagiotis, who offers to show me the ‘swim- from Athens airport. For island walks and maps, visit androsroutes.gr. Efi’s
ming pool’ – leading me up the river to a rock pool where House costs from about £45 per night. airbnb.co.uk/rooms/4034195.
electric-blue dragonflies flit among the creepers. Sheep skitter Ktima Lemonies has doubles from about £105. ktimalemonies.gr.
into the woods as we stroll downstream to a crescent of empty Mèlisses, doubles from about £110. melisses-andros.com. Onar has
beach. The water is comically green, like crème de menthe. cottages from about £145. onar-andros.gr
in Episkopio village on the south of the island; a bright-painted neoclassical mansion in Chora, Andros’s capital and former ship-owners’ enclave
THE GLOBETROTTER
MAGGIE SIFF
AFTER A BREAK-OUT ROLE AS AN HEIRESS IN MAD MEN, THE BRONX-BORN ACTOR MADE HER NAME IN
TV HIT SONS OF ANARCHY AND IS NOW COMMANDING ALL THE POWER IN DARK DRAMA BILLIONS
Where have you just come back from? it. The sense of intimacy I have with New The smartest hotel you’ve ever stayed in?’
‘Times Square: I’ve lived in New York for York, that’s real love. It’s like being married ‘After our wedding, me and my husband
the past couple of years but it always feels for 40 years and still loving your partner. I’ve travelled in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos,
like going to another country. I’m doing a lived in every borough except Staten Island, and on the way someone told us to go to Six
play at the moment and started rehearsing and I have a great appreciation for its diver- Senses on Con Dao in Vietnam. Every room
the day after I finished wrapping the sity: how you have to learn to share space.’ is a lodge, with a salt-water pool and a path
season for Billions.’ straight down to the beach. For a few days
Describe your favourite view it was time out of time, place out of place.’
Where in the world have you felt happiest? ‘Looking out my window on to Prospect
‘Maine, where my mother and sister live. We Park in Brooklyn. It’s just like having the ‘I would never, ever go back to…’
spend a lot of time on the beach in summer, seasons in our living room. In winter, you ‘Bangkok. I really enjoyed it, but I was there
but there’s something about the coastline in peer out through street lamps and it looks in the dead of summer. We nearly lost our
the winter that I love too. It’s so craggy and like Narnia; in the fall, it’s a burst of flame.’ lives in a tuk-tuk, then we tramped all over
wild, then when the sun comes along again, the city, and it totally exhausted me.’
it gets soft and mossy and dune-swept. Describe a childhood holiday memory
Mostly we’re in Portland, which has amazing ‘When I was six, we took a cross-country Who is the most interesting person you’ve
restaurants. Further up the coast you get to road trip all the way to California: my met on your travels?
Acadia National Park – Vinalhaven island is brother was 14 and my sister was 16, in this ‘I once went with a French performer friend
particularly beautiful.’ tiny hatchback Mazda. We camped along to the Avignon Theatre Festival. I helped
the way. One memory that really sticks out them set up the show and slept in their van.
Name a place that lived up to the hype is visiting the geysers at Yellowstone Park. There were a couple of long nights trying to
‘Kyoto. I’d heard all about the beautiful I remember walking on this wooden plank communicate through a significant language
temples, and its deep sense of history, and and thinking I can’t put my hand in the barrier, but we had conversations about
that was mesmerising. I was there over the water below because my fingers will fall off art and politics. I was there while George
New Year, visiting friends who lived in and wanting so badly to do that crazy thing.’ Bush was president and I had to navigate
the city. We went to a mochi-making party a lot of anti-American sentiment. It was a
– it’s a Shinto tradition to leave rice cakes ‘I HAVE A REAL INTIMACY pretty fascinating few days.’
on the shrines of their ancestors – then WITH NEW YORK. IT’S LIKE
watched the monks ring in the New Year. It Which foreign phrase do you use most?
was a really special experience of the city.’
BEING MARRIED FOR 40 ‘I don’t know how legit it is, but my mum
YEARS AND STILL LOVING has an expression “manos de hombre”,
And a place that least lived up to the hype YOUR PARTNER’ which literally means hands of the man. It
‘I’ve read a few of these interviews, and also means weak hands, because men have
they often say the same thing I’m about to, Where did you go on your first holiday a lower tolerance for heat when they’re
but I honestly feel this way: Vegas. There without your parents? cooking. That phrase gets bandied about
was a time when we did a Mad Men cabaret, ‘When I was in college, my boyfriend’s between my husband and me a lot.’
where the cast would sing songs, and it roommate lived in Paris, and we went with
was super fun, so we went to do it in Vegas friends to visit his family. They had this Nominate your 8th wonder of the world
for a night. It was quite incredible to be on exquisite home on rue du Bac, right next ‘One time when I was travelling in Oaxaca,
a stage at the MGM Grand and perform to the prime minister’s residence. We visited we climbed up mountains to find hot springs.
with an orchestra, but I couldn’t believe the most amazing museums and restaurants, You would sit in them and the water would
PHOTOGRAPH: DANIELLE KOSANN/KINTZING
everything around it. You go from one danced all night and watched the sun come drip down, causing incredible streams of
casino to another and you never get up over Sacré-Coeur – for a 19-year-old, it calcification on the mountainsides.’
sunlight or fresh air.’ was magic.’
How do you relax?
Which is your favourite city? Tell us about a Great Little Place you know ‘Taking my labradoodle into Prospect Park
‘I found Rome mind-blowing. You’re stand- ‘My mother grew up in Mexico, and my for a long walk. Before 9am, it’s off-leash
ing in these ancient ruins and you’re not grandmother lived in Cuernavaca, south of time. People are so pleasant because they
looking at the remnants of one civilisation, Mexico City. There is a hotel there, Las love their animals so much. It’s a soft, gentle
you’re looking at two built on top of each Mañanitas, which has a restaurant we would humanity happening.’
other. But I think I would have to go back go to on special occasions, with peacocks
and spend six months there to really know and parrots wandering around.’ Maggie Siff was talking to Francesca Babb

Clockwise from left: a string of medieval houses;

a french bulldog at Alex MacArthur Interiors;
view of Camber Sands from The Gallivant; and
breakfast in bed at the hotel; clean design
at Dom Stay and Live; antiques on display at
Alex MacArthur Interiors; The Mint in Rye
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAN BALDWIN/NARRATIVES; KATJA DE GRUNWALD; WOJCIECK KETZ

IN BRITAIN
STAYCATION
RYE
INVADED VIA THE SEA FOR CENTURIES AND
ONCE EVEN UNDER FRENCH RULE, MEDIEVAL
RYE WAS A HOTBED OF SWASHBUCKLING
RUM-RUNNERS. NOW A NEW WAVE OF MORE
PEACEFUL, BOHO BLOW-INS IS ADDING A
MODERN TALE. BY ANNA PRENDERGAST


IN BRITAIN
Rye’s town crier, who announces bashful newcomers, many self-declared DFLs modern, converted from a Fifties St John
newlyweds and rallies crowds at local events, (down-from-Londoners), have followed Ambulance station into an airy, bare-brick
can’t pronounce the letter ‘r’, so when he Hackney creatives Katie and Alex Clarke, four-bedroom house. themintinrye.com;
launches his voice like a cannon through who reinvigorated tired coaching inn from £915 for seven nights. domstayand
the cobbled streets, the town’s name The George more than a decade ago. ‘Rye live.com; from £400 per night
lands heavy like a question: why? Monty has always been a gem, but there’s a real
Python would see a missed opportunity, buzz about it right now,’ says silver-quiffed GRAND DESIGNS
but residents are too polite to laugh. More interior designer Alex MacArthur, who Clients from private estates and hotels
to the point, the answer to that particular took over a 14th-century monastery and across the world make the pilgrimage to
question is no longer their secret alone. turned it into a temple of statement furni- Alex MacArthur Interiors, a cavernous
On the face of it, this is Hovis-advert ture. She’s one of many breathing life into former monastery that looks like a museum
Norman England, an old town set on a ancient spaces. Medieval needn’t mean of large-scale curiosities. MacArthur left
sandstone outcrop like a Tuscan citadel, twee or chintzy; like the stiff westerlies that Brighton purely for the ‘brutalist-meets-
close enough to the winding waterways draw kitesurfers to Camber Sands, it can 14th-century’ space and its attached cottage,
of the harbour and dunes of Camber be bracingly fresh. which hadn’t been inhabited since the
Sands that the briny air is often filled with 1960s. ‘Whether it’s a baroque original or
seagull shrieks. The 20th-century poet Patric REVAMPED ROOMS a piece of Eighties bling, I only buy what
Dickinson described Rye as a ‘beautifully Set designer Katie Clarke and her husband I love, and I take big risks,’ says the designer,
jewelled brooch worn at South England’s Alex broke the mould in 2006, when they who recently sold a pair of lioness and
throat’. He wasn’t the only one inspired by transformed The George in Rye from tigress skeletons in glass cases and a sofa
the place: JMW Turner feverishly sketched a place of swirly carpets and tinkling set from an 18th-century Italian palazzo.
it from the bird-speckled wetlands that run teacups to one of airy, Farrow-and-Balled Her current stock includes huge, mid-
beside River Rother down to the sea, while Georgian modernism. George Clooney century Murano chandeliers, 15ft French
Henry James escaped London’s literary stayed in room 32 in 2013 while on location château doors and an oil painting from the
scene to live and write at the stately Lamb for The Monuments Men; earlier this year, 1600s depicting amorous sheep. Most of it
NO ONE’S MESSING WITH HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY MERMAID STREET, A REGULAR ON

LISTS OF BRITAIN’S PRETTIEST STRIPS, OR ITS TIMBER-FRAMED 12TH-CENTURY INN
House, where George I also sought refuge Helena Bonham Carter preferred room is quirkily off-kilter, like MacArthur, and
when his ship ran aground in 1726. eight when filming The Crown. At the oversized, like Quin, the resident great
With all of this historical baggage, and restaurant, the menu is classic locavore, dane who is almost as tall as she is. alex
a huge concentration of Grade II-listed heavy on Romney Marsh lamb and Rye macarthur.co.uk; by appointment only
houses, the town’s danger has always been Bay scallops that are so good they warrant
that it might ossify into a quaint ghost of their own annual festival. And the charming LEFTFIELD ART
itself. Down the road in Hastings, there’s manager lets guests take their G&Ts with Coastal quaintness is forgotten at McCully
plenty of jaunty seaside Victoriana to black pepper to bed. thegeorgeinrye.com; and Crane on Cinque Ports Street. Walls
retro-gentrify; but no one’s messing with doubles from £125 are covered in Picasso-esque abstractions;
Rye’s higgledy-piggledy Mermaid Street, there’s a mustachioed papier-mâché head
a regular on lists of Britain’s prettiest strips. HOMES FROM HOME on a table and a blindfolded, taxidermied
There’s only so much one can do to the With three-bedroom holiday rental The caribou one on a spike, the latter by
timber-framed Mermaid Inn, which dates Mint in Rye, designers Barrie and Jo Hastings-based Rowan Corkill. East
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAN BALDWIN/NARRATIVES; BRENT DARBY/NARRATIVES
back to the 1150s and is said to be haunted Stewart proved that Tudor can be fun London escapees Marcus Crane and
by a gang of gun-toting, 18th-century rather than fusty. The couple’s three-year Gareth McCully, the partners behind The
smugglers, who built a secret passageway restoration of the 15th-century building George in Rye’s slick interiors, run this
to the similarly ancient Old Bell tavern. involved hand-stripping the beams and eccentric, rough-luxe gallery-store, which
When the Mermaid’s owner Judith replastering the original laths in the bath- displays pieces by local artists such as Luke
Blincow discovered a quote from Love’s room with traditional materials such as goat Hannam, East Sussex’s answer to Matisse.
Labour’s Lost on a wall beneath layers of and horse hair. A knee-high smuggler’s door mccullyandcrane.com
paint and nicotine, it appeared to be the is exposed in the attic, while a marotte wig
Bard’s own version of ‘Shakespeare woz stand and vintage textiles nod to its past as INDIE FINDS
’ere’ from 1597. a wig maker’s and linen wright’s studio. At the aptly named Tiny Book Store, owner
Yet Rye feels spurred on, rather than There are more surprising touches, too: Antonio Gomez accepts euros and gives old
weighed down, by all its heritage, with Toby a hallway table whose surface curves like a pennies to children with their change. Aoife
jugs and tea rooms offset by smart places meniscus; a cluster of Peruvian milagro Coleman at Rye Old Books tells wonderful
to stay, eat and buy things to decorate the folk charms. Round the corner, Dom Stay stories on post-work walks towards the
most modishly curated lofts. A wave of and Live St John is more conventionally former home of pioneering lesbian author
Opposite, clockwise from top left: a cosy den at The Gallivant; Grammar School Records on Rye High Street; bedroom at Dom; cakes at Whitehouse Rye;
Tillingham guesthouse in Peamarsh; Dom entrance; Rye Bay scallops in puff pastry at Globe Inn Marsh pub; open-plan living room at Dom; Old Bell inn

IN BRITAIN
Radclyffe Hall. The best take-away treasures Bochicchio does osteria-style ‘cucina povera’, untouched at dawn, when galloping horses’
are to be found in the bundle of shops near or food of the poor, with such charm that hooves drum out a bassline in the shallows.
the River Brede at the Strand: The Confit tables were booked up for the next three Low tide at Pett Level further west is spec-
Pot is named for its collection of Provençal months at the time of my visit. whitehouse tacular, too, when a nearly 6,000-year-old
stoneware; Strand House Interiors, run by rye.co.uk; about £20 for two. tatners.com; sunken forest reveals itself. To the east, the
Michele and Keith Banham, veterans of about £15 for two. thestandardinnrye.co.uk; preternatural desert landscape of Dungeness
East London’s Columbia Road Flower about £45 for two. Marino’s Fish Bar (+44 has skeletons of its own: the bones of old
Market, sells striking antiques such as 179 722 3268); about £15 for two. tuscan ships and fishing winches rust and decay
hand-painted French boulangerie signs and kitchenrye.co.uk; about £35 for two on the shingle. sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk
studded leather club chairs. facebook.com/
tinybookstore.rye. Rye Old Books (+44 179 POINT OF VIEW AND STAY OUT OF TOWN
722 5410). The Confit Pot (+44 179 722 The top of the bell tower at St Mary’s Rye’s surroundings are also blessed with
7333). strandhouseinteriors.com Church is the go-to place for taking in the cool stays. Inspired by Californian road
town, its reddish rooftops somehow recalling trips, smoothie entrepreneur Harry Cragoe
PROPER PLATES Lisbon. From the platform, beyond the created The Gallivant, a single-storey motel
Whitehouse Rye is a bakery with rooms, neon sign of Kino arthouse cinema, there’s peeping over Camber Sands. Design is
and also the best brunch spot in town – the a tall building with windows on only two elemental – driftwood, marble, patinated
halloumi hash is an essential prelude to a sides, thought to have been purpose-built copper – and there are framed vintage
blustery walk around the dunes. Wander by a jealous man to spy on his unfaithful swimsuits on the walls. Expect to be packed
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAN BALDWIN/NARRATIVES
for long enough and it’s possible to justify wife. ryeparishchurch.org.uk off to the beach with flip-flops, towels and
slow-cooked beef brisket from Tatner’s a bottle of British bubbles. Meanwhile,
food truck, which rolls in at lunchtime, GET OUT OF TOWN Tillingham, a working farm and biody-
and a pale ale from local microbrewery The river that flows through the town to the namic vineyard in Peamarsh village,
Three Legs at the Tudor-beamed Standard Channel runs parallel to Rye Harbour recently added a smart guesthouse,
Inn. Three doors away, Neon Poyadjis Nature Reserve, its wetlands brimming with designed by Crane of McCully and Crane,
serves harbour-fresh cod and chips at little tern and oystercatchers, and wooden with graphic prints and angular Wassily
Marino’s Fish Bar, his sarcasm as saucy as hides packed with hush-hush twitchers. The chairs. thegallivant.co.uk; doubles from £95.
any sauce. At Tuscan Rye, chef Franco nearby dunes of Camber Sands still feel tillingham.com; doubles from £145
Above from left: freshly made sourdough loaves by the Lazy Bakery, based at Whitehouse Rye; Strand House Interiors shop

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This partnership between University College
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Blantyre, is currently setting up the first ever
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in that part of southern Africa, and we hope it will
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FLAVOUR HUNTER
DISPATCHES FROM THE FOODIE FRONTIER. EDITED BY TABITHA JOYCE
TABLE TO BOOK
A TASTE OF TEL AVIV IN FRANKFURT
Though new Israeli flavours have taken root all
over the globe, it’s still a surprise to find some of
their most exciting iterations in Germany’s financial
capital. Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel, a red-light district
long avoided by locals, is home to the majority of
the city’s 180 nationalities – arguably the most
international quarter in the world. It has become a
bit of a foodie hub, too, ever since the arrival of
German-Jewish entrepreneurs David and James
Ardinast and their restaurant, Stanley Diamond,
and deli, Maxie Eisen. For their latest brainchild, Bar
Shuka (shuk means ‘market’ in Hebrew), the
Ardinast brothers enlisted chefs Stephan Kaiser and
Yossi Elad – the mastermind behind The Palomar in
London – to create a standout menu. Dishes include
shared plates spiced up with homemade harissa and
za’atar; pillowy pita; roasted cauliflower with tomato
salsa and almonds; oxtail ravioli with polenta; and
crispy aubergine with mango purée. There’s also
a velvety speakeasy sake bar, but the action is in the
restaurant where neon letters spell ‘friendship’ in
Hebrew and Arabic. It’s a lively spot – the volume
ramps up as the night unfolds, with dancing on
tabletops actively encouraged. FLORIAN SIEBECK
PHOTOGRAPH: STEVE HERUD

THIS MONTH’S RECIPE

CORIANDER CHICKEN
Coarsely chop a peeled 2.5cm piece of ginger and put in a blender with
four tbsp of water. Blitz to a smooth paste. Heat six tbsp of oil in a wide,
heavy pot, on a high heat, and brown one kg chicken thighs in batches.
Set aside. Add five finely chopped cloves of garlic to the oil. As soon as
they begin to brown, turn the heat to medium and add the paste. Stir and
fry for a minute. Add half a finely chopped green chilli, a quarter tsp
cayenne pepper, two tsp cumin seeds, one tsp coriander seeds, half a tsp
turmeric, a tsp salt and 200g finely chopped coriander leaves. Stir and
cook for a minute. Add the chicken and any liquid from the bowl, 150ml
water and a couple of generous squeezes of lemon juice. Stir and bring to
the boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then
flip the pieces and cook for a further 15 minutes or until tender. If the
sauce is too thin, remove the lid and boil over a slightly higher heat for a
few minutes. Serve with fluffy rice and coriander leaves scattered on top.
FLAVOUR HUNTER
WORLD ON A PLATE
THE INGREDIENT: CORIANDER
EAT ME DRINK ME
BY JOANNA WEINBERG BY MALCOLM GLUCK
There are only two opinions about coriander that I’ve ever come It is rare in a wine writer’s life that a bottle knocks on his door and
across. You may feel that its delicate, lemony taste elevates many is found not only to be superb but, a little while later, to be perfect
dishes, lifting bold flavours. Or you may think it ruins everything: for a dish he’s been charged with partnering. That dish is coriander
curries, burritos, guacamole, all destroyed. And you wouldn’t be chicken. The wine is Il Pino di Biserno 2015 from Lodovico Antinori’s
alone. An 18th-century naturalist observed that in rainy weather estate in Bibbona, in the Alta Maremma, which overlooks that part
‘anyone who pauses in a field where coriander grows will get a of the Tuscan Mediterranean called the Tyrrhenian Sea, so named
headache and feel nauseated’. The Romans named it coriandrum, for its Etruscan heritage.
which is derived from the Greek word koris, meaning bedbug, History may have been on Signor Antinori’s mind when he
suggesting a rancid, unsavoury smell. acquired the estate, but he had certainly forgotten about it when
Despite all this, coriander is in fact one of the world’s most widely he decided which grapes to grow there: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit
eaten herbs. It is originally native to southern Europe and the Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon are all French grapes, and thus
heretical in Italy. Other local wine producers may appear to be
HIPPOCRATES EMPLOYED THE HERB IN smiling as Antinori strolls about with an even larger smile on his
HIS MEDICINES, AS DID THE CHINESE WHO face, but behind it is the green-eyed monster of jealousy. Not so much
for being a rebel and planting Bordeaux grapes, but for producing
BELIEVED IT CONFERRED IMMORTALITY
PHOTOGRAPH: STUART OVENDEN. FOOD STYLIST: SEIKO HATFIELD. PROP STYLIST: TONIA SHUTTLEWORTH.
a red so characterful that it slips down to leave notes of coffee and

Middle East, and the earliest records of it date back to 5000bc. It chocolate, with a hint of tobacco and roasted hazelnuts. It has the
BRICK LANE FORK, £6 (DESIGNERSGUILD.COM). NASONMORETTI GLASS, £60 (WILLIAMANDSON.COM)
is mentioned in Sanskrit texts and The Arabian Nights, as well as finely tailored textures of taffeta and silk. And like so many Italian
the Old Testament: when the Israelites fled Egypt to return home, wines it has a great affinity with certain dishes. One of which is that
they ate ‘manna’ in the wilderness, which was ‘white like coriander coriander chicken. Il Pino di Biserno 2015 will set you back about
seeds’. Hippocrates employed it in his medicines, as did the Chinese £45 at Corney & Barrow (corneyandbarrow.com).
who also believed it conferred immortality upon the person eating But is it the only wine one can choose for our dish? There have
it. In the Middle Ages coriander served as an aphrodisiac in love to be other candidates. And indeed, there are – exclusively, note,
potions. It was one of the first spices to be cultivated by the early from the underrated Cabernet Franc grape. Tanners wine merchants
settlers in North America, and the Spaniards took it to Mexico. (tanners-wines.co.uk) offer two excellent specimens. The first is
Technically, the word ‘coriander’ can refer to the entire plant – Château du Hureau Lisagathe Saumur-Champigny 2015 (£26.50).
leaves, stems, seeds – making it both a spice and a herb. All of it is It has a delicacy on its finish – some might say it’s reminiscent of
edible: the seeds have an earthy pungency, while the leaves are
warmly aromatic with citrus-peel overtones, and the root appears THIS ITALIAN RED HAS THE FINELY TAILORED
in Thai cooking to bring a sweetness to curries, counteracting strong TEXTURES OF TAFFETA AND SILK, WITH A
tastes such as shrimp paste and raw garlic. The subtler leaves are
used in salads, soups and as garnish, to calm saltiness, adding a
HINT OF TOBACCO AND ROASTED HAZELNUTS
cool note to spicy food. Chateau Lafite, which has only a small percentage of Cabernet
But in the end, there’s no getting around it: to some, coriander Franc in its make-up. One may scoff at such nonsense, but no two
tastes fresh and green, to others it’s like bitter, metallic soap. people will taste a wine the same way; our impression is entirely
Whichever way you swing, it’s unlikely you’ll change your mind. individual. The second Tanners wine is Chinon Les Varennes du
Research indicates that flavour response is written into the Grand Clos Charles Joguet 2014 (£32). This has a concentrated,
DNA, and some people are genetically hypersensitive to aldehydes, wild-raspberry richness, a touch of coal dust and extended finish
the organic compounds that lend coriander its characteristic with traces of cocoa. It fills the mouth with complex fruit flavours,
scent. So this recipe may not be for you. For the rest of us, here’s superbly enhancing the experience of eating that chicken. With
an Indian-inspired, gloriously fragrant chicken dish that’s not a wine this fine, as with Il Pino di Biserno, the sauce for the dish is
to be missed. already in the glass.

FLAVOUR HUNTER
MOVEABLE FEAST
ANA ROS
THE OWNER OF SLOVENIA'S RESTAURANT
HISA FRANKO, NAMED WORLD'S BEST FEMALE CHEF
IN 2017, SHARES HER TOP KITCHEN FINDS
CHILLIES FROM THAILAND

‘Thai food has to be some of my favourite in the world – it’s colourful and
intense, and goes from sweet to sour to spicy. While I don’t really cook
with Thai ingredients, I’m amazed by the contrast of flavours. Prik jinda
chillies are incredible – the hotter the better.’
Clockwise from this picture: Ana SARDINES FROM PORTUGAL

Roš; ravioli in prosciutto broth; ‘Lisbon is the best city; I always buy fish in olive oil to take home. The
a dish with rosa di Gorizia technicolour tins are so pretty and Portuguese sardines and mackerel are
chicory leaves; ingredients for a such great quality that it’s worth keeping lots stored away.’
blood orange granola pudding;
beef tongue and celeriac SOURDOUGH FROM DENMARK
parcels, all at Hiša Franko ‘I usually round off a trip to Copenhagen at Mirabelle, a restaurant
with its own bakery, so I can take sourdough home for my family.
It’s different to the one we make at Hiša Franko due to the flour
used and the high-temperature bake.’
COTTON TABLECLOTHS FROM MADAGASCAR

‘This island is wonderful for shopping. I snapped up a lot of traditional
Malagasy tablecloths, hand-embroidered with motifs of women around
the edges, from the town of Antsirabe in the high plateau.’
PASTA FROM KOBARID, SLOVENIA

‘While I’m not a fan of signature dishes, I always order seabass carpaccio
followed by pašta po mornarsko, an amazing clam spaghetti, at Topli Val
in Kobarid, the town closest to my restaurant. It’s pure comfort food for
me and I’ll often go there with my laptop to work.’
CROCKERY FROM CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

‘I once found some beautiful plates with oyster surfaces in a market PHOTOGRAPHS: SUZAN GABRIJAN; BENJAMIN SCHMUCK
in Chiang Mai. Sadly, only half survived the journey back, but I still use
them to serve up a sweetbread-stuffed squid dish.’
SPICES FROM TURKEY

‘I always return home with spices from Istanbul’s street stalls. I
fall in love with the different aromas – though when it comes to blending
them, they sometimes end up proving useless. There’s one, I think
it’s called chicken-salad mix, which is fiery and has plenty of
cardamom – delicious.’
OLIVE-WOOD SPOONS FROM MOROCCO

‘I adore browsing the stores and markets in Fez. It feels like stepping
back 300 years. And I particularly love the handcrafted olive-wood cooking
utensils you find all over.’ SORREL MOSELEY-WILLIAMS
hisafranko.com


FLAVOUR HUNTER
SIP TRIP
SANGRIA
THE PUNCHY SPANISH CONCOCTION SMACKS OF THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER
In the heat of the Brexit battle earlier this year, Jean-Claude Juncker, the sad-eyed, world-weary Luxembourgish president of the European
Commission, was widely mocked by certain members of the British press for his alleged fondness for a drink. There may be nothing in those calumnies.
I do not know. But even if there were, given the current state of world affairs, I would not be too quick to blame him. At the time this column was
composed, negotiations pertaining to Britain’s departure from the European Union had long since reached a point far beyond crisis, if not quite beyond
parody. Circumstances more than desperate enough to prompt anyone on either side of the Channel to wave a tremulous hand in the air and yell:
PHOTOGRAPH: ISSY CROCKER
‘Garçon, s’il vous plaît!’ All of which I mention only because, with summer still upon us, I am enjoying soupy slurps of sangria – that delightful Spanish
concoction of Rioja, sugar and chopped fruit, as red as a bullfighter’s freshly shed arterial blood and as sweet as a wounded bull’s revenge. Say what you
will about the EU, but those Brussels-based pencil pushers make a drinks writer’s life easier when they offer up such unimprovable definitions as the
following, taken from EEC Council Regulation No 1601/91, which explains that sangria is ‘a drink obtained from wine, aromatised with the addition of
natural citrus-fruit extracts or essences, with or without the juice of such fruit and with the possible addition of spices, sweetened and with CO2 added,
having an acquired alcoholic strength by volume of less than 12 per cent. The drink may contain solid particles of citrus-fruit pulp or peel and its colour
must come exclusively from the raw materials used. The description “Sangria” may replace the description “aromatised wine-based drink” only where
the drink is manufactured in Spain or Portugal.’ So there you have it. Señor, por favor! Mine’s a sangria. Et pour vous, Monsieur Juncker? STEVE KING

TRAVELLER PARTNERSHIPS
T
here is little to rival a villa when it Casa da Montanha (the largest villa, able to video games, pool tables, table football and
comes to holidaying with friends and accommodate up to 16 guests) and Casa do table tennis to keep all ages entertained.
family. Find the right property and Alemão (which has incredible vistas from its
you’ll have privacy and space; a place to relax pool terrace) – ideally suited to their needs. The real draw of these two properties, though,
and spend quality time together; a house Each villa has traditional-style exteriors, are the spacious gardens where guests can laze
where the kids can play in the pool all day; tasteful interior decoration and beautiful on loungers beside the two heated swimming
and a base from which to immerse yourself gardens in which to spread out and relax. pools – one each for adults and younger
in an exciting new country and culture. guests – or relax in a peaceful shady spot.
New to the collection are Casa Sky and Casa The barbecue and outdoor kitchen make for
Shanti Villas presents an impeccable portfolio Sky 1, adjacent hilltop villas with enviable easy mealtimes, with ample alfresco seating
of 10 luxury villas in the Malhão countryside, views over the surrounding Monchique (perfectly positioned to enjoy the panoramic
just 30 minutes west of Faro, the gateway countryside. Casa Sky sleeps up to eight guests views) ensuring everyone can eat together –
to the Algarve – a destination famed for its in three spacious doubles and one twin which is, after all, the joy of a villa holiday.
authentic way of life, golden beaches and bedroom, while Casa Sky 1 sleeps up to six
fantastic year-round climate. In particular, people in two large doubles and one twin – all Further Information
multigenerational families and groups will of which have en-suite bathrooms. Both villas Visit shantivillas-algarve.com or
find the hand-picked properties – including have wi-fi throughout the property, as well as call +351 968 984269
THE VIEW
FROM
THE TOP
With their superb location and
design, Shanti Villas in Portugal
hits the holiday sweet spot
Clockwise from main: Casa do

Alemão’s pool; a bedroom at Casa
Sky; the exterior of Casa Sky 1
DOUBLE
THE FUN
Together, Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai
and Caesars Resort Bluewaters Dubai bring
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S
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one vital thing in common: fun-filled
luxury at your fingertips. Between Caesars Zhen Wei looks to the east for inspiration,
Palace and the family-friendly Caesars with a pan-Asian menu, a dim sum master
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world-class entertainment to go with your cosmopolitan nibbles and cocktails, head to
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Fancy a steamy night out in 1920s Cuba?
Laid-back luxury Havana Social Club takes you right back
Caesars Palace is the place for pure to the age of decadence with its authentic
indulgence during a romantic break in the sugarcane cocktails and infectious Latin
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you can swim and jet-ski in the sparkling
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day at Cove Beach, the stylish beach club Who said family getaways can’t be
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music. Pull up a sun lounger alongside filled experience for kids featuring dance
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Ain Dubai, the world’s largest observation under the stars. If you have teenagers on
wheel. Or book a treatment at the Qua your hands, they won’t be bored for long
Spa for a spa experience like no other – when they hang out at ROAM. Hi-tech
try the Psammo Concept Quartz Bed, arcades and virtual reality games will keep
which uses warm sands to deliver tension- them mesmerised for hours. If they want
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yoga class, go kayaking and finish the
The world is on your plate at Caesars evening with a Roman-themed party.
Palace. Hell’s Kitchen is a heavenly
pleasure thanks to Michelin-starred Mealtimes are an adventure, too, with
chef and TV firebrand Gordon Ramsay. something to please even the fussiest eater. City views, a waterside setting, world-class dining and
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kitchens from Las Vegas to Caesars a foodie tour of the Mediterranean, with the ultimate holiday destination
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options from hand-crafted artisanal pizzas

and homemade ravioli to bespoke meze.
Broaden their culinary horizons even
further at Paru – along with a superb
modern Japanese menu created in
partnership with Michelin-starred chef
Akira Back, you’ll be treated to outstanding
views of the Arabian Gulf from the
restaurant’s rooftop setting.
Star of the show

For a truly scintillating Las Vegas
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Further Information
To book, visit caesars.com/dubai,
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+971 4 556 6666.
WORLD‘S BEST MEDICAL SPA

Thank you to all our guests and employees!
World‘s Best Medical Spa | World‘s Best Spa Design | Best Wellness Retreat Austria & Germany
Condé Nast Traveller Reader‘s Award | Gala Spa Award | European Health & Spa Award
Condé Nast - The World‘s Top 100 - Best Hotel | Relax Guide - Highest rating for Austria & Germany
www.lanserhof.com
SPA HOLIDAYS ARE MORE break that is going to give you

POPULAR THAN EVER. a boost long after you leave.
And with resorts and retreats From chakra balancing to
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of different health and wellbeing between, we’ve rounded up our
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PRODUCED BY
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Bawah Reserve,
Indonesia
T R AV E L LER PARTNERSHIPS
THE FUTURE
OF FITNESS
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medical gym, is a true gamechanger
P
ioneers for over 30 years in preventive and include cardiovascular screening; and functional
regenerative medicine, the Lanserhof diagnostics feature a Spine Lab examination.
group is well known for its award-winning Movement Lab analysis, meanwhile, maps one’s
medical spas. Its latest venture – a medical gym musculoskeletal system, identifying challenges
in London’s Mayfair, opposite The Arts Club and restrictions. Given such a no-stone-
in the old Dover Street Market – looks set to unturned, ultra-detailed profile, each guest’s
cement that reputation with its aim of improving training techniques, treatments and targets can
every aspect of its guests’ general wellness, be set at a completely bespoke level from the
including health, strength and stamina. start and wholly personalised throughout.
This splendid new arrival, with its state-of-the- The group’s new medical gym will, of course,
art technology, top trainers and on-site access also function as a link to its two renowned
to the group’s 30-strong team of world-class medical spas. On a hillside above Innsbruck,
doctors and specialists, introduces London to the Austria, Lanserhof Lans looks across the valley
cutting edge of what a medical gym can provide to the Alps. Since its expansion, parts of the
– in a five-star setting, of course. And that’s complex look so space-agey it’s almost
not all: there are cryotherapy chambers, the unrecognisable as the cosy, rustic spa it was
latest Technogym equipment, treatment and some 30 years ago. In Germany, the newer,
consultation rooms, and studios for unlimited monastically elegant and enthralling Lanserhof
small-group classes, not to mention killer Tegernsee looks out onto a golf course and the Bottom left: Lanserhof’s new medical
changing rooms. meadows of the Bavarian countryside. gym in London. This page, clockwise
from above: stunning treatment
The induction package is the most Both spas are bathed in nature and birdsong rooms, luxurious accommodation and
the outdoor pool at the Lanserhof
comprehensive in the world. An MRI scan and provide practitioners who are experts
Tegernsee spa in Germany
provides a ground-breaking, in-depth body in every therapy you can possibly think of,
composition analysis; internal health assessments alongside 360-degree diagnostics and some
of the best medical treatments in the world from

doctors qualified in mainstream as well as
naturopathic medicine. Guests will probably
want to alternate their time between each –
they’re very different – once a year or so, while
maintaining the health and fitness practices
acquired on an everyday basis at the Lanserhof
at The Arts Club in London.
The LANS Med Concept – how Lanserhof

encapsulates its expertise – is a blend of
traditional naturopathy and modern medicine
aimed at tackling health issues at their roots. That
way, results last. At the heart of the concept lies
gut health – a familiar term these days, thanks
in no small measure to the perseverance of the provider of medical spas. With the LANS
dogged teams of Lanserhof Group doctors. For Med Concept honed, the group is now well set
decades they have had to argue in the face of to establish itself as the leading provider of
mainstream medical scepticism that a properly medical gyms. Lanserhof at The Arts Club is
functioning digestive system is crucial to one’s surely only the beginning...
wellbeing. It has taken a startlingly long time for
the medical establishment to accept gut health Further Information
as a pillar for supporting overall good health. To learn more about Lanserhof at The Arts
Club or to book your stay at Lanserhof
In the meantime, the Lanserhof Group has Tegernsee, Germany or Lanserhof Lans,
established its position as the world’s leading Austria, please visit lanserhof.com/en
FOUR SEASONS SAYAN, Bali

There are few places more spiritually connected
than Bali and with everything from chakra
ceremonies to healing arts, this hotel draws from
the energy of its environment to ensure each
wellness experience is truly memorable. The
resident wellness mentor Ibu Fera – a former
Buddhist nun – has recently introduced Bali’s
first year-round wellness retreat to the resort.
‘Guided By Gratitude’ is designed to ensure
guests feel more connected to themselves
through meditation sessions, yoga, a Balinese
water blessing, sound healing, spa treatments
FEED THE SENSES AND THE SPIRIT and – the best part yet – a Sacred Nap
experience, where you’ll be rocked to sleep in
WITH THESE MOOD-LIFTING BREAKS
a silk hammock while listening to the natural
world around you and Buddha’s story. Heaven.
The Guided By Gratitude package starts at
£2,470 per person; fourseasons.com
Clockwise from this page:

a night spa ritual at Four Seasons
Sayan in Bali; Hotel Esencia spa’s
kitchen laboratory and yoga
space; Milaidhoo, Maldives
HOTEL ESENCIA, Mexico

Mexico’s Caribbean coastline is fast becoming
a sought-after wellness destination and Hotel
Esencia, set on powder-white sands near the
ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum, delivers in
spades. The hotel’s health club and spa perfectly
combines traditional customs and techniques
with modern wellbeing practices. Here,
experienced therapists devise bespoke
treatments using ingredients harvested from the
local area (including the sea), which are then
whipped up in a Mayan kitchen laboratory.
These are applied using dynamic body massages
in order to promote detoxification within the
body and help support the immune system.
Be sure to follow with a made-to-order juice or
superfood bowl at the brand-new Café Esencia.
Rates start at £550 per night;
hotelesencia.com
SUITCASE ESSENTIALS
The kit to pack, whether on the
1
move or down by the water MILAIDHOO, Maldives
Famous for its beautiful beaches, a recharging breakfast while basking
2
romantic sunsets and crystal-clear sea, in the morning sunlight, ensuring your
the Maldives is a tonic for the soul. body will create more mood-lifting
Book yourself onto Milaidhoo’s serotonin. If it’s relaxation you require,
‘Mood Dining’ programme and you’ll the ‘Deep Sleep’ option is served up
nourish both body and mind. The in the evening after a soothing massage
concept is derived from the knowledge and meditation, providing foods that
that nutrition, together with our have been chosen to help encourage
surroundings, can affect our moods. a deep and restful sleep.
Feeling in need of an energy boost? Rates start at £1,276 per night in a
4
Choose the ‘Sunrise Awakening’ mood, Water Pool Villa on a half-board basis;
3 where you’ll be presented with milaidhoo.com
1. MIKOH Africa knotted printed swimsuit,

£101, theoutnet.com 2. Beach pouch,
£45, thewhitecompany.com
3. P.ball, £49, pvolve.com 4. Aquapulse
Max 2 mirror goggles, £33, speedo.com
5. Maguey kimono, £260, paolita.co.uk
6. Taupe passport holder, about £52,
thedailyedited.com
7. Ladies crew jumper in pale cream,
£130, birdie.london
7
6
Traveller Partnerships
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy

Wellness seekers with kids in tow couldn’t hope for a better place than
Borgo Egnazia in Puglia. At its renowned Vair Spa, all treatments and
programmes are rooted in Puglian traditions and produce. Local olive oil
is used for massages and treatments often incorporate organic herbs
from the gardens. From intense body rituals to cleansing facials, the
expert therapists will guide and support you on your journey. In need of
a boost? Book onto the ‘Happiness Break’, where you will have sessions
with a laughter teacher, indulge in gut-friendly healthy food and be
‘prescribed’ fitness activities based on the results of an olfactory test.
Meanwhile, you can relax knowing that your little ones will be having a
blast at the well-established and hugely popular nearby kids’ club. ADARE MANOR, Ireland
Three-night Happiness Break starts at £1,644 per person on a full- This 19th-century castle hotel is as spellbinding on the
board basis, based on two people sharing a room; borgoegnazia.com inside as it is on the outside. Perched on the banks of
the River Maigue in Co. Limerick, Adare Manor has
become a sanctuary of rest and relaxation, the heart of
which lies in its exquisite spa. Drawing from ancient
Celtic wisdom, the treatments have a strong link with
the natural environment that surrounds the five heavenly
treatment rooms. Step inside and you’ll instantly want
to surrender yourself to the intuitive therapists who will
work their magic on your body and mind. Be sure to try
the ‘Awaken Your Misneach’ (an Irish word for ‘inner
strength’) treatment,
where you’ll be
massaged with seven
mythical Celtic
Ogham Stones in
order to help clear
and realign the seven
chakras in your body.
Rates start at
£285 per night;
adaremanor.com
Clockwise from top left: Borgo

Egnazia in Puglia; Adare Manor and
a treatment with Celtic stones;
Fijian cuisine and platform yoga
at Kokomo Island
KOKOMO ISLAND, Fiji

For an uber-luxe desert island experience,
there is nowhere quite like Kokomo Island
in Fiji. Secluded in location, sustainable
in approach and breathtaking in its
surroundings, this is a bucket-list resort.
The well-appointed suites and villas in this
haven of comfort are worth the trip alone,
but it is the friendly staff, activities on offer
and farm-to-table dining concept that will
make you want to stay forever. Home to
a 5.5 acre organic farm, the hotel houses
170 free-range chickens, 16 beehives and
a host of local and indigenous herbs and
vegetables. Kokomo prides itself on its
sustainable and truly delicious Fijian meals.
Menus are updated daily and guests can
opt to dine in complete privacy in an array
of secluded locations on the island.
Seven nights staying in a one-bedroom
Beachfront Villa start at £10,849 per
person on a full-board basis, including
all flights; turquoiseholidays.co.uk
BAWAH RESERVE, Indonesia

An exclusive hideaway retreat set among six
tropical islands in Indonesia’s remote Anambas
archipelago, and only accessible by seaplane
from Singapore, Bawah Reserve is the ultimate
in castaway luxury. There are 36 beautiful
eco-designed jungle suites and over-water
bungalows, not to mention the Aura Wellness
Centre – a haven of health, relaxation and
wellbeing. This is the place to come if you want
to press the reset button. A daily spa treatment
is included in the nightly rate – so make sure
you take full advantage of the incredible array
of therapies on offer here to cleanse mind,
body and soul. We recommend booking the
signature ‘Lost Treasure’ treatment: a full-body
massage designed to unblock energy lines and
restore inner harmony.
Rates start at £1,554 for two people on
a full-board basis including transfers;
bawahreserve.com
Clockwise from top: castaway luxury at

Bawah Reserve; a treatment at Ananda In The
Himalayas; Lanserhof Lans in the Austrian Alps
PLANNING A FULL BODY DETOX? LOOK NO FURTHER

THAN THESE TOP-TO-TOE REVITALISING RETREATS
LANSERHOF LANS, Austria

If you are in need of a serious cleanse and you’re not afraid
of a little hard work, then Lanserhof Lans in the Austrian Alps
is the place for you. With a range of both medical and holistic
techniques, you’ll be supported through a journey of detoxification
to help the body with its natural healing process. Gut health
lies at the centre of the Lans Med Concept and nutrition plays
a vital part, with guests receiving a personalised meal plan for
the duration of their stay. Treatments are tailored to each guest ANANDA IN THE
depending on their wellness goals and include reflexology, HIMALAYAS, India
detoxification massages, movement therapy, medical consultations Renowned for its holistic approach to
and examinations, lymph drainage and relaxation training. wellness and cleansing, Ananda In The
Rates start at £3,825 for a seven-night stay; lanserhof.com Himalayas has recently launched its new
Panchakarma retreats, named after the
Sanskrit term for the Ayurvedic process of
detoxifying and cleansing the body. With
expert guidance from an Ayurvedic doctor,
programmes are tailored to each guest’s
constitution. Treatments are designed
to purify the body of toxins and include
massage, ‘therapeutic sweating’, nutrition
and herbal remedies, all combined with
yoga and meditation. This is an intensive
cleanse with some firm restrictions, but
the process is made easier to accomplish
thanks to the serene and spiritual
surroundings of the Himalayan foothills.
Rates for the programme start at
£315 per person per night, based on two
people sharing; anandaspa.com
B AC K AT
THE RANCH
Rancho La Puerta – the original destination spa –
still weaves its Mexican magic nearly 80 years on
S
et within 4,000 acres of mountains, You’ll be in the perfect mood to try the spa
gardens and wildlands in Baja California, treatments that feature the Ranch’s own
Mexico, Rancho La Puerta has been skincare line. In the evenings, join workshops,
blazing a trail for wellness and spa holidays concerts and lectures that have featured star
since 1940. Its winning formula is irresistible turns from Jane Fonda and Erica Jong.
– 11 gyms, 40 miles of hiking trails and four
swimming pools in a spectacular landscape, Rancho La Puerta takes its food as seriously
plus a laid-back, friendly ambience. Then there as its fitness. Its own Tres Estrellas organic
are the three holistic full-service spas and more farm provides the newly picked produce for
than 50 classes and activities to experience over its ‘Cuisine of the Californias’, with additional
the course of a week. And it’s only an hour- fresh seafood options from the local fish market.
and-a-half ’s drive from San Diego airport. Discover for yourself what goes into the
Ranch’s mainly vegetarian menu by taking a
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the gyms inspire cookery class at La Cocina Que Canta culinary
your workouts with superlative views of the school in the heart of the organic farm.
mountains. You’ll soon be
caught up in the Ranch’s Enjoy sunshine and warmth
Reader Offer
convivial atmosphere on guided all year round, but if you want
hikes, dance classes and games Visit the Ranch from 30 to get healthy before the
of volleyball. Slow down the November to 14 December Christmas holidays, go in
pace with yoga and meditation for the lowest rates of the November or December for
year. For a little seasonal
classes, or just drift off in the a re-energising boost.
magic, book a seven-
hammocks strewn about night stay between 14-21
the beautifully landscaped December 2019 and enjoy Further Information
Mediterranean-style gardens. two nights for free. Visit rancholapuerta.com
From top left: make the most of

Rancho La Puerta’s enviable range of
activities and cuisine – or relax by the
pool and enjoy the mountain views
VELAA PRIVATE
ISLAND, Maldives
For long-lasting changes to your
health, it helps to understand what
is going on inside your body. Velaa,
an exclusive private hideaway
in the Maldives, is offering just that
with its Energising programme.
A specialist scanner is used to take
an in-depth look at everything from
food intolerances, metabolic rates
and even cognitive performance.
A team of experts, including a
doctor and a nutritionist, will then
design the perfect programme for
you to reach your wellness goal.
The suggested itinerary will include
running, spinning, HIIT and
circuit training, but it’s not all
hard work – you’ll also get to enjoy
an array of spa treatments, plus USHER IN THE NEW YOU WITH
the multi-sensory light, colour
and acoustic therapy facility.
A LIFE-CHANGING MIND
The Energising programme at AND BODY OVERHAUL
Velaa Private Island starts at £530
per day; velaaprivateisland.com
TREAT YOUR SKIN SHA WELLNESS CLINIC, Spain

5
1 Serious me-time for the face and the body More of a wellness institution than a medi-spa, SHA’s
1. Restorative Body Oil, £34, aim is to transform clients’ lives with a mix of integrated
espaskincare.com 2. Blue Heart medical and holistic techniques. The recently introduced
2 4 28-day Life Reset programme has been designed for
Moisturizing Cream, £345,
cremedelamer.co.uk 3. Natural Lip Oil, people looking for a complete body and mind overhaul,
£30, votary.co.uk 4. Life Elixir, £60, equipping them with the tools to alter their health
bamford.com 5. LANS Derma 6
and lifestyle habits long term. The schedule begins with
regenerating face cream, about £80,
lanserhof.com 6. Rose de Vie Serum,
in-depth medical analyses including a neurocognitive
£129, drsebagh.com assessment and sleep polygraph, followed by a lung
detox nebulisation (to help clear the effects of air
3 pollution in the body). It’s from these tests that the
health plan is built. Guests can expect physical activities
such as TRX and hiking, mixed with holistic therapies
derived from Chinese medicine and bespoke food
plans. Perfect for burnt-out city types looking to acquire
the in-depth knowledge that enables them to better
OUR RETREAT, UK look after themselves now and in the future.
Seeking an Instagram-worthy The Life Reset programme starts at £16,000 for
wellness experience? Look 28 days; shawellnessclinic.com
no further than Our Retreat –
a UK-based company that
runs healing holidays in a host
of luxury locations across the
globe. All encourage you to try
new things and take on new
challenges, and by doing so ultimately improve your health. The
Somerset farmhouse is no exception – a beautiful private house
surrounded by 42 acres of forest and wild meadows. Providing the
perfect backdrop for growth and renewal, the retreats here offer guided
meditations, yin yoga, Pilates, sound healing and nourishing food.
Book onto the December retreat with Pilates expert Lottie Murphy.
Rates start at £650 for a single room; ourretreat.co.uk
STEDE COURT PRIVATE

FITNESS RETREAT, UK
Stede Court, a Grade II-listed, five-bedroom
house set in seven acres of Kent
countryside, is home to sought-after
celebrity trainer Kathryn Freeland, who
will ensure you get an A-list workout during
your stay here. The surroundings are so
pretty that you’ll almost forget about the
intensity of your fitness plan. From HIIT,
TRX and Pilates to more tranquil pursuits
such as yoga and meditation, Kathryn has
designed the itinerary to ensure guests feel
rejuvenated and refreshed. The grounds
also offer a luxury glass-fronted outdoor
sauna, serene swimming pond and vegetable
garden – and nearby Ashford is less than
40 minutes by train from London.
Prices start at £150 for the day;
stedecourtprivatefitnessretreat.co.uk
BODYHOLIDAY, Saint Lucia

The award-winning BodyHoliday is well versed in helping people
transform body and mind. With its new BodyScience programme, the
experience begins before you even step onto the plane, with a full body
analysis in the UK so that the treatment plan is built before you arrive.
The food could not be fresher, with guests foraging for their meal from
the resort’s own organic farm. Sybaritic spa lovers can take sanctuary at
the Wellness Centre and indulge in some serious TLC – hand yourself
over to the skilled therapists here and you will not be disappointed.
Rates start at £2,599 per person for seven nights based on two adults
sharing a Luxury Room on an all-inclusive basis; caribtours.co.uk
Clockwise from top left: Velaa Private

Island, Maldives; the gardens at Stede
Court; BodyHoliday in Saint Lucia; the
lounge and changing area at Lanserhof
at The Arts Club; SHA Wellness Clinic;
Our Retreat’s farmhouse in Somerset
LANSERHOF AT THE ARTS CLUB, UK

Leading medi-spa brand Lanserhof has joined forces with one of
London’s top private members’ clubs, The Arts Club, and the results
are impressive. Set to redefine fitness, this first-of-its-kind medical gym
draws from a range of pioneering training assessments and techniques,
and features state-of-the-art equipment to ensure members can
benefit from a new level of control over their health. The focus is on
preventative medicine teamed with bespoke training plans and medical
diagnostics (the club is home to the most technologically advanced
MRI scanner available in the UK). The luxe factor is still very much in
evidence, however, with a butler service where members can leave their
gym kit following each session and return to find it perfectly laundered.
Price on application; theartsclub.co.uk/lanserhof
THE TWELVE APOSTLES HOTEL

AND SPA, South Africa
A wellness break with a loved one doesn’t get much more romantic
and relaxing as one spent at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa.
Situated on Cape Town’s scenic coast, the five-star boutique hotel is
flanked by Table Mountain National Park and the Twelve Apostles
mountain range. Go hiking, take a dip in the infinity pool or chill out
in front of a film in the luxurious private cinema – or alternatively
take full advantage of the hotel’s exceptional spa. For an unforgettable
experience you cannot leave Twelve Apostles without indulging
in a couple’s side-by-side massage in one of the outdoor gazebos,
with views of the Atlantic Ocean as far as the eye can see.
Rates start at £334 per night on a B&B basis; 12apostleshotel.com
ANDRONIS ARCADIA, Greece

The latest addition to the Andronis family of five-star hotels,
Andronis Arcadia opened this summer on the idyllic island
of Santorini. This all-suite hotel is home to the largest spa
and infinity pool on the island. Developed in partnership
with the founder of organic skincare and wellness brand ila,
the Evexia Spa provides the perfect platform for guests to
rest, balance and de-stress. You will be asked to fill out a
lifestyle questionnaire in advance, with questions targeted to
your mood, seven chakras and wellbeing goals. Therapists
will then offer an entirely bespoke service to ensure the
whole experience is as results-driven as it is relaxing.
Rates start at £586 per night; andronisarcadia.com,
visitgreece.gr UNWIND AND RE-CHARGE IN STYLE AT THESE
HAVENS OF CALM AND TRANQUILLITY
NIHI SUMBA, Indonesia

If it’s peace and quiet you’re seeking, you’ll
find it in Sumba, a remote Indonesian
island twice the size of Bali but relatively
undiscovered by tourists. Blessed with long
sandy beaches and waves coveted by surfers
across the globe, Nihi Sumba is barefoot
luxury at its best. The intriguing ‘Spa Safari’
will take you on an early morning trek
through jungle, villages and rice paddies,
ending atop a cliff where you’ll be greeted
by a team of spa therapists bearing cool
towels and fresh coconut water. After a
delicious healthy breakfast overlooking the
ocean, you’ll be ushered into your treatment
room for some all-important me-time, with
the sounds of the sea and nature to lull
you into a deep sense of relaxation.
Seven nights from £3,778 per person;
ampersandtravel.com
Clockwise from top left: Andronis

Arcadia’s outside pool area; the
lounge at the Twelve Apostles;
the coastline at Nihi Sumba
LUCKNAM PARK, UK
Situated a few miles from Bath, Lucknam Park is set
in a 500-acre private estate and is a favourite among
city slickers. It’s a hotel that provides welcome respite
from everyday life. The recently introduced ‘Sunday
Pause’ package is already becoming incredibly
popular, and for good reason. Designed by ESPA, it
includes a one-hour treatment – choose from a variety
of massages, a personalised facial or dry flotation
treatment, all using nourishing ESPA products – an
indulgent cream tea and full use of the spa facilities.
Tucked away behind a picturesque walled garden,
the spa is home to a 20-metre indoor pool, an
indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy pool, outdoor plunge
pool, as well as an amethyst room (the crystal is said
to boost relaxation), aromatic steam room and sauna.
Rates start at £295 per night; lucknampark.co.uk
Clockwise from top left: hydrotherapy

pool and ESPA spa at Lucknam Park;
indoor pool at Palazzo Montemartini
Rome; Royal Mansour Marrakech Spa
ROYAL MANSOUR, Morocco

One of the most talked-about hotels and spas among aficionados and A-listers in
the know, Royal Mansour sets the bar high. Designed as a sanctuary of wellness,
Royal Mansour Marrakech Spa is a breathtaking space in which you can completely
switch off. Situated in the hotel grounds among four acres of beautifully landscaped
gardens, the 2,500-square-metre pavilion is built over three floors. In addition to
yoga, Pilates and the private fitness centre, Royal Mansour has also added Tibetan
singing bowls to its long list of wellness offerings in order to help guests deepen their
meditation practice and reach new levels of calm and focus.
Rates start at £893 per night; royalmansour.com
PALAZZO MONTEMARTINI
ROME, Italy
A welcome respite from the city bustle, the
spa at Palazzo Montemartini, a Radisson
Collection Hotel, is a haven of calm and
tranquillity. Drawing inspiration from the
nearby ancient Baths of Diocletian, water
is at the heart of the spa’s offering. There
are two hydrotherapy pools, a hydrotonic
indoor heated pool, Jacuzzi, sensory
showers, Finnish shower and sauna. The
space is filled with natural light and as well
as treatment rooms there are spa suites,
each with its own spa and Thalassotherapy,
for the ultimate in relaxation and privacy.
Rates start at £165 per night on a B&B
basis; palazzomontemartini.com
TRAVELLER EVENTS
KEEP ON COURSE FOR THE LATEST HAPPENINGS
ROOT
CAUSE
JOIN US FOR A ZERO-WASTE
SUSTAINABLE FEAST AT LONDON
RESTAURANT NATIVE
THE ILLUMINATIONS
MEET LIGHT ARTIST BRUCE MUNRO AND LEARN
ABOUT HIS OUTBACK-INSPIRED WORK
PHOTOGRAPH: ALEX FARNUM
PLUS
CELEBRATING OUR SPA AWARDS
AND TALES FROM DAREDEVIL
ADVENTURER ALDO KANE


TRAVELLER EVENTS
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER INVITES YOU TO
A CHEF’S WORLD SERIES
SUSTAINABLE SUPPER
A FORAGED FEAST AT LONDON RESTAURANT NATIVE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH VICTORINOX
BOOK NOW: CWSVICTORINOX.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK

Tickets are £70 per person, including a six-course tasting menu with wine
Native was founded by Ivan Tisdall-Downes and Imogen Davis in Covent Garden before relocating to
within a radish throw of Borough Market in 2018. Their mission: to champion foraged ingredients in
creative ways, and to avoid food waste by using kitchen offcuts for tasty, daily-changing snacks.
Ivan spent his formative years in the kitchens of the River Cottage in Devon and Blue Hill Farm in New
York State, and plates at Native reveal a passion for drawing out flavours and using the freshest seasonal
produce. Dishes range from fermented Isle of Wight tomatoes with smoked salsa verde, and Cornish yarg
and nettle arancini to a rump steak with wild garlic, vetch and pickled walnut, and a pudding
of meadowsweet custard with rhubarb and coriander – it all depends on what the team gather that day.
For our special Chef’s World Series event, guests will be served a six-course tasting menu, with English
sparkling wine on arrival and a selection of wine throughout the dinner. The dinner is held in association
with Victorinox, the Swiss-born, family-run company that invented the Swiss Army Knife and now,
just like that outdoor classic, has many other useful functions including kitchen knives, travel gear and
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALEX FARNUM/AUGUST; THE ENGLISH GROUP/ALLADALE
watches – all of which are extremely handy for the amateur or professional foraging chef.
WILDERNESS RESERVE; STEVE RYAN; FEDERICO SETTE
MONDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2019, 6–9.30PM
NATIVE, 32 SOUTHWARK STREET,

LONDON SE1 1TU
PARTICIPANTS MUST BE 18 OR OLDER. CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO POSTPONE THE EVENT IF RENDERED NECESSARY
BY ANY UNAVOIDABLE CAUSE. TICKETS WILL BE FULLY REFUNDED IN SUCH CASES.

TRAVELLER EVENTS
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER INVITES YOU TO
AN AUSTRALIAN ART DINNER

EXPLORE THE LUMINOUS WORLD OF ARTIST BRUCE MUNRO’S LIGHT SHOWS AT AN
EXCLUSIVE EVENING IN LONDON IN ASSOCIATION WITH TOURISM AUSTRALIA
BOOK NOW: BRUCEMUNRO.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK

Tickets are £50, including a viewing of the light installation and a three-course dinner with wine
Here’s a chance to see an amazing bespoke installation by renowned British artist Bruce Munro,
inspired by Sydney harbour and created specially for our latest Cultural Traveller event in London.
Munro is known globally for his gigantic, site-specific displays playing with light in innovative ways. His
award-winning Field of Light at Uluru, in Australia’s Northern Territory, is made up of more than 50,000
brightly coloured, solar-powered stems that glow from sunset through the night, covering an area the
size of four football fields. Now extended until December 2020, it is called Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku or
‘looking at lots of light’ in the local Pitjantjatjara language, and was followed in April this year by the Field
of Light: Avenue of Honor Anzac Centenary show, pictured opposite, illuminating a tree-lined avenue along
Mount Clarence in Western Australia. The upcoming Tropical Light installation, comprising eight immersive
experiences inspired by Darwin’s wildlife, will be Munro’s largest to date, and can be seen from October to
BY SERENA MUNRO; BRUCE MUNRO/PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK PICKTHALL; MIKE VALIGORE

PHOTOGRAPHS: GALLERY STOCK/PIM VUIK; ELISE HASSEY; BRUCE MUNRO/PHOTOGRAPHY
April 2020. At our event readers will have the opportunity to meet the multi-media artist in person, and
get a detailed insight into his three-decade career. It will take place at the historic RSA House, the
meeting hub for the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, which
was founded in a Covent Garden coffee house in 1754 and now has a network of members in places
around the world, including Australia. Nelson Mandela and Charles Dickens are past members. Guests
at the art dinner will be able to share their own ideas over a specially created three-course menu by
Australian TV chef and cookbook author Lyndey Milan, paired with wines from her homeland.
TUESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2019, 6–9PM

ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES & COMMERCE,
RSA HOUSE, 8 JOHN ADAM STREET, LONDON WC2N 6EZ
PARTICIPANTS MUST BE 18 OR OLDER. CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO POSTPONE THE EVENT IF RENDERED NECESSARY
BY ANY UNAVOIDABLE CAUSE. TICKETS WILL BE FULLY REFUNDED IN SUCH CASES.

EVENTS
Emma
Hartland-
Mahon & Chloe
Klaudia Orr & Richard
Kerstin Remy Wallace
Adam Puzniak Dodgson & Sonia
Albert Read Eloise Spring
Mandy
Martiner
Gore-Booth
Bot
& Rathi
Sivasothy
Steve Simon
King Leadsford Lucy
Farrell
Lindsay Juliette
Bonsall Ottley
Helmut Sabrina Kendra

Naschberger & Panizza Leaver-
Anna
Lisa Mauracher Luisa Rylah
Lauren Pasternak
Anderson
Mills &
Kirstin Mills
Kathy
THE SPA
Tom
Bates
Van Ness
AWARDS 2019 Tobias
To celebrate this year’s very best wellness Schrott Theresa
retreats in association with travel experts Vera Feeney
Healing Holidays, a glowing crowd headed Felix
to the glass-domed Céleste Room at
Sarah The Lanesborough in London, raising a
Camilleri detox-defying toast to the nominees
Sheila with Laurent-Perrier and Chase Distillery
McCann
Charlotte cocktails. The line-up spanned the globe
Fraser from California to Vietnam, with Hotel Palácio Kate
Estoril in Portugal, Austria’s Hotel Post Niko Innes
Bezau and Preidlhof in Italy all taking a prize. Haller
Jane To see the full list of winners, visit cntraveller.com/spa-guide
Alexander
PHOTOGRAPHS: HUGO BURNAND
Corinna Yap, Betty Sarah

Chris Orlikowski & McConville
Lina Daniel Harvey
Stephanie de Vos Nuno
Reynolds Simões Brennan
Coelho Hugo
Santos
Laura
Mee
Daisy Issy von

Bird Simson
Andrea Gnägi
& Peter Gartner
Laura Smith
& Angela Maini
Gerri Frances
Gallagher Geoghegan
CONDENASTJOHANSENS.COM
ES SAADI MARRAKECH RESORT, MOROCCO
EVENTS
Aldo Kane, above,

was talking to
Condé Nast Traveller’s
Michelle Jana Chan,
third row centre
and far right, at our
most recent
Traveller’s Tales
event in the May
Fair Hotel
perfect aim
SEAFARING STORIES FROM A SHARPSHOOTER
TURNED RECORD-SMASHING EXTREME EXPLORER
The numbers certainly add up. Since leaving the Royal Marines,
Aldo Kane has descended 11,380ft into a volcano in the Congo,
abseiled 3,212ft down Angel Falls in Venezuela and rowed 3,677
miles across the Atlantic. For our latest Traveller’s Tales event,
held at London’s historic May Fair Hotel in association with
Radisson Collection, the Scottish-born adventurer and high-risk
fixer discussed his life providing on-location support for film
crews from Borneo to Greenland. ‘As a trained sniper you
don’t see many transferable skills in everyday life,’ he told the
audience, who shored up in the hotel’s peaceful Danziger suite
with plentiful supplies of GH Mumm Champagne and sushi
rolls. ‘But it turns out that TV is very similar to the military – you
still use the term “shoot”.’ Kane’s change of career was fuelled
by a determination to test himself, which explains his hair-raising
encounter with a Mexican drug lord for a Channel 4 documen-
tary, and the Portugal-to-Venezuela rowing expedition he
PHOTOGRAPHS: EMMA JONES
arranged with friends over a pint – 50 days at sea, surviving cap-

sizing in high winds. Nobody had attempted it before, although as
he said, ‘someone probably had, they just didn’t have an Instagram
account to document it’. LUCREZIA WORTHINGTON
FOR INFORMATION ON MORE EVENTS, VISIT CNTRAVELLER.COM/EVENTS

W
OST
Inject some new-season
energy into your life with
Condé Nast Traveller’s
September wish list
WANTED BEAUTY
essentials
LIXIRSKIN
Good Skin Trio Mini Set,
£34, lixirskin.com
MOLTON BROWN
Fiery Pink Pepper Eau de Parfum,
100ml, £110, moltonbrown.co.uk
MORE
IS MORE
The spirit of Studio 54 is alive and kicking
in the AW19 collection from MICHAEL
KORS, which takes us from the sidewalk to
ESTÉE LAUDER the dance floor with barely a false eyelash
Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift out of place. Think feather boas, stripes
Regenerating Youth Creme Rich,
£187.45, worlddutyfree.co.uk beneath florals, faux-fur coats, fringed
dresses and sequins. High-octane glamour
has never looked so insouciant.
michaelkors.com
DRINKS
Following its 50th
anniversary in 2018,
cabinet
THE PARK HOTELS
DR NIMA LONDON goes from strength
Revive Gloss for lips,
£45, drnimalondon.com to strength with the
opening of its first
property in Mumbai.
With its grey façade
and burnt orange and
fuschia windows, it L-R: Rémy Martin XO
makes a real design Steaven Richard edition, £195,
statement on Juhu selfridges.com. Perrier-Jouët
beach, overlooking Blason Rosé, £65, harrods.com.
SHISEIDO
Sports BB tinted sunscreen,
the Arabian Sea.
theparkhotels.com
Babylonstoren Mourvèdre
Rosé 2019, £14.90,
W
SPF 50+, £30, shiseido.com babylonstoren.com
W
W РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS
OST
WANTED
FORWARD THINKERS
The brands flying the flag for sustainability
HEIDI KLEIN works with
fabric mills and printers who
use recycled water for dyeing
and renewable energy such as
solar power wherever possible
in the production of their
swimwear, including this pretty
Tybee Island collection. The
long goal? To make swimwear
out of bottles rescued from the
ocean. heidiklein.com
Known and loved for its natural skincare

products, CAUDALIE has launched a
non-toxic suncream range that’s kind to
skin and ocean-friendly, thanks to its highly
biodegradable formula. Caudalie is also
working with Coral Guardian in Indonesia
to plant and restore reefs. caudalie.com
Parisian-based FELT is
a leather-free and cruelty-
free accessories brand that
makes elegant yet practical
bags using family-run
factories in Portugal and
Love Me is the second capsule
Italy. Durable, lightweight
collection from ALBERTA
and water-resistant, the
FERRETTI in collaboration with
totes will carry you from
NET SUSTAIN is the new initiative Eco-Age. The super-wearable jumpers,
airport to boardroom in
from Net-a-Porter, providing a unique made from wool spun using renewable
style. feltparis.com
platform where you can shop sustainable energy and recycled cashmere, aim to
brands all in one place, from Stella raise awareness of the plight of snow
McCartney’s faux leather to Mother of leopards through eye-catching slogans.
Pearl’s organic silks. net-a-porter.com albertaferretti.com
What makes Annabel’s The Garden for breakfast and in such incredible wildlife,
THIS MONTH’S so special? lunch. When the weather is nice, and Italy to indulge in the
HIGH-FLYER It’s a joyous place; from the the glass roof is retracted so food and scenery.
moment you step through the you dine al fresco. I also love the Best hotel in the world?
door, you can’t help but have Elephant Room with its stunning It’s very hard to decide between
fun when you are there. Rococo fireplace, bespoke de La Mamounia in Marrakech
What’s your favourite drink Gournay wallpaper and views and Il Pellicano Porto Ercole.
to enjoy at Annabel’s? And over Berkeley Square. I adore them both and visit
in which room? Favourite piece of art in as often as I can.
Tequila in The Mexican! Our the club? Best beach?
Mexican restaurant has the The Picasso that hangs in the Cocoa Island in the Maldives.
largest selection of tequila and entrance. I feel very lucky to see Finally, what’s next for
mezcal in Europe. Try the taster such a special piece each time Annabel’s?
menu with the tequila pairing, I walk in. More fun! We are also launching
ASTRID HARBORD it’s a special experience. What’s your favourite country? a very special new restaurant –
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Which room stands out the Can I have two? Tanzania for watch this space!
at ANNABEL’S most for you? the opportunity to be immersed annabels.co.uk
CAPITAL COOL
NEW IN LONDON
The private dining room at THE IVY
CHELSEA GARDEN is the embodiment Logo fedora hat, £330, Ruslan
Baginskiy, farfetch.com
of all things bright and beautiful, thanks to
vintage botanical prints, palm fabrics and
gilt leaf pendants. Seating 30, it’s the perfect
space for a private event, come rain or shine.
theivychelseagarden.com/private-dining
Saint or sinner? Find out at L’OSCAR this Pussy-bow
September, with two new afternoon teas collar, £265, Gucci,
net-a-porter.com
featuring live cookery demonstrations and talks.
Poached salmon and beetroot bread appear
on the Saint menu, while Sinners will enjoy tea-
infused boozy cocktails. loscar.com
FASHION
update
If your pre-holiday ritual usually involves Floral-drop

panic packing until midnight, put crystal-
yourself in the expert hands of THE embellished
earrings, £250,
CONNAUGHT. ‘The Night Before’ Simone Rocha,
sleepover will see you chauffeur-driven matches
from your home to the hotel, where you’ll fashion.com
be whisked off to the spa while a butler Maisie dress, 340,
There are plenty of sushi restaurants in London but presses your clothes before a blissful early cefinn.com
only one with killer sky-high views. The new Sushi and night, ready for your travels the next day.
Sake Bar in GŎNG at SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, Virtus
Holiday stress? What holiday stress?
shoulder
AT THE SHARD offers Asian delicacies some 52 the-connaught.co.uk bag, £1,640,
floors up. shangrila.com/london versace.com
Longines
CHANGI AIRPORT has taken Dolcevita with
the travel experience to a new level diamond-set
– literally – with its Canopy Park at case, £4,120,
longines.co.uk
Jewel, the entertainment complex at
Terminal 1. Navigate your way through
the Mirror Maze, walk or bounce on the
Sky Nets, zoom down the Discovery
Slides, and enjoy views of the tallest
indoor waterfall in the world from the
Canopy Bridge, suspended 23m above
ground. jewelchangiairport.com
Leaping Leopard II
cashmere slippers, £350,
W
berkcashmere.co.uk
W
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THE VIEW FROM HERE

A WILDLY REMOTE NEW ZEALAND LODGE PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON THE SKIES
THE LINDIS
On the edge of the South Island’s Dark Sky Reserve, one of 13 in the world chosen for their exceptional starry
nights, The Lindis is embedded in a hillside like a giant sedated eye observing the fizz and whirls of
constellations. At night, this stealth lodge dwarfed by snow-capped peaks in the little-known Ahuriri Valley
north of Wanaka all but disappears; its roof in waves of spotted gum mimics the undulating landscape
merging into the moraine. For this place, on an isolated 6,500-acre property, is about proximity to nature.
Soaring glass walls keep the focus facing out. By day, only 1,300 merino sheep share the sky and beneath
it, a watercolour palette of bronze and gold native grasses splashed with blueweed and lilac lupins. But
the light footprint of the structure’s design by Wellington-based Architecture Workshop belies the rustic
sophistication of the wooden interiors. All five guest rooms, the central restaurant and bar are fitted out
with Restoration Hardware pieces set against custom carpentry and bluestone walls. Venetian chef Cesare
Stella reinforces the sense of place with thyme-fed Te Mana lamb and South Island scampi paired with local
red wine and harvests from his kitchen gardens. Guests are further rooted into the surroundings through
fly-fishing for trout, picnic hikes, horse-riding and mountain-biking into beech forests. Evenings draw to a
close over single malts by open fires to await the night sky’s encore performance. A ground-breaking lodge for
outward bounders and space-gazers. KENDALL HILL thelindisgroup.com; suites from about £1,035 half board

Please turn the page to view Supplement

The
Cruise Guide
photo by: Andrea Frazzetta
LYN & FERNANDO

travellers
22 YEARS
with us
7 OUT OF 7
continents visited
We’ve travelled to the ends of the earth together.

We’ve shared destinations, oceans and stories.
Our guests mean the world to us.
Here’s to them. And to the next 25 years.
Only for real travellers

and curious minds.
For more information or for reservations please call 0207 340 0700,
visit silversea.com or contact your travel agent.
Where the beautiful curves of Vietnam’s terraced rice fields meet

the exquisite onboard spirals of Master Designer, Adam Tihany.
Intimate ships Award-winning cuisine Open bars & fine wines All suite
E XT R A O R D I N A R Y W O R LD S
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 0344 338 8615 | WWW.SEABOURN.COM

CONTENTS
38
48 56
4 E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R 36 T H E G R E AT S A I L
AN EPIC JOURNEY ALONG AFRICA’S RUGGED WESTERN SHORES
7 WORD OF MOUTH
THE ARTS AND CULTURE REBOOT IN BUZZING ISTANBUL 38 E A S T E R I S L A N D T O PA P E E T E
DISCOVERING THE MOST FAR-FLUNG ISLANDS OF POLYNESIA
A SURPRISING SOUTH KOREAN HOTSPOT IS THE
FAR EAST’S GREATEST HIT
48 H U N G A R Y T O A U S T R I A
TRACKING THE RISE OF WELLNESS OUT ON THE WATER EUROPE’S HISTORY UP CLOSE ON THE STORIED BANKS
OF THE DANUBE
17 THE GLOB E T ROT T E R S
MEET THE CREATIVES LENDING THEIR TALENTS TO 56 C H I L E T O E C U A D O R
THE SLEEKEST SHIPS THIS WILD COASTLINE CONTINUES TO FASCINATE
INTREPID EXPLORERS
26 S T Y L E F I L E
WHAT TO PACK FOR THE BEST ADVENTURES 64 I N S I D E R A D D R E S S
FROM ALASKA TO BRAZIL THE EX-D-DAY BOAT THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SUPERYACHTS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: MELINDA STEVENS PUBLISHER: SIMON LEADSFORD MANAGING DIRECTOR: ALBERT READ
Director of Operations: Paulie Dibner Deputy Editor: Lauren DeCarlo Travel News Director: Erin Florio Cruise Editor: Emma Love
Managing Editor: Paula Maynard Acting Deputy Editor: Stephanie Rafanelli Associate Editor: Rick Jordan Acting Features Director: Toby Skinner
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September 2019 Cruise Guide 3

EDITOR’S LETTER
It’s funny listening to my daughter, surrounded by the green waters of the Rhine outside our window
that resemble abandoned forest pools. It’s not like they’re stories I haven’t heard before, but in our
cabin, with her lying on her back on the bed, her head lolling off the end, it feels like everything else
has been drowned out, so I am hearing her – seeing her – as if for the first time in a long time. ‘Swan!’
she’ll shout out, interrupting her own tale, pointing at the birds’ improbable shapes gliding past on the
turn. She runs her fingers through her upside-down hair. ‘I love it when the ship is moving,’ she says.
‘The motion feels like magic.’
The man who picked us up for our Viking trip along the river from Basel to Amsterdam had indeed
looked satisfyingly like an actual Viking. A dagger-drawn face, a wary eye to the horizon, a moustache
the exact shape of the bow of a longship extravagantly stretched across the longitude of his cheeks.
Castles and churches line our route, impervious to the ho-hum of our gentle engines. We watch the
thinned-out clouds from our deck, the apricot skies, bullrushes straight as pencils. Nature is fecund all
around us, a season in full swing, wheeling, dicing spores so numerous that the air is thick with them. A
cormorant is sitting on a post in the harbour and he takes off long and slow, a flailing punctuation mark
on the empty page of the water.
‘It’s time for dinner,’ my daughter says abruptly. ‘What shall I wear?’ She flips off the bed and takes items from the wardrobe
one by one, holding different skirts in front of herself in the mirror. I haven’t seen her wear a skirt in a lifetime. The one she
chooses is short. A bare slice of material. As we leave the cabin, I pretend to stumble so I can accidentally knock into her to pull
it down just an inch.
We walk along the length of the ship. Out of the blue I can hear an unexpected cacophony emerging from the dining room. For some
reason, it makes me nervous. The laughter, the amount of it, a wall of many animated conversations, of fresh folk discovering each
other and how fully they are relishing this undulating perspective. She must feel my nerves. She walks in front of me and takes the
lead, marching in without breaking stride, so that I simply follow in her wake. It is she who finds a table among the throng and beckons
me toward it. Golden light from both sides of the ship pours in, light from Germany and light from France. We pick up our menus.
I notice the kind sophistication of her eyes, the length of her neck, how grown she is, how suddenly she’s so much her own person. It
is both thrilling and unsettling. She must notice my noticing her. Under the table, she quietly slips her hand into mine and smiles.
This is the Condé Nast Tra eller Cruise Guide, for those who know that the scene will keep on shifting and must be savoured
at every bend.
MELINDA STEVENS MelindaLP

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CONTRIBUTORS
HORATIO CLARE ALESSANDRA SPAIRANI STANLEY STEWART MARK ELLWOOD

Writer, Chile & Peru (page 56). Photographer, The Danube Writer, South Pacific (page 38). Writer, The Danube (page 48).
As an author, Horatio has written (page 48). Originally from Liguria Stanley is an award-winning A contributing editor to
PHOTOGRAPH: NATO WELTON
books about following swallows in Italy, Alessandra has lived in travel writer who has penned Condé Nast Traveler, British-born,
across Africa and voyaging with Cambridge for more than 10 books about tracing the source New York-based Mark has lived
container ships around the world. years. She has ventured from of the Nile and crossing Mongolia out of a suitcase for most of his
The most remote places he has Macedonia to Madeira as a food on horseback. He is a long-time adult life. Among his favourite
visited include Bangweulu swamp and travel photographer but Condé Nast Traveller contributing recent pitstops was a stint in
in Zambia, at the headwaters of was most taken by the natural editor, having explored far-flung China’s capital of cool, Chengdu,
the Congo, and Lake Turkana beauty of Rwanda and the corners such as Sudan and where trend-setting millennials
on the Kenya-Ethiopia border. slow-paced charm of Barbados. Patagonia for the magazine. have embraced homegrown rap.
4 Cruise Guide September 2019

For some, it’s sitting down to the first five-star dinner of the trip, and being transported
by the rich, unexpected flavours awaiting you. For others, it’s sailing into an exotic,
remote port without another ship in sight. And for you, it’s the little things.
Discover your moment.
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WORD OF MOUTH
ALL THAT’S NEW AND GROUND-BREAKING IN TRAVEL
BACK IN THE ZONE

There are cities for every century. London for the 19th; New York for the 20th. And while
Istanbul has been a going concern since the hazy days of the Byzantine Empire, there’s a
strong case for nominating it as the city for our current times. Take its art scene, for
example. The new gravitational centre for Istanbul’s youth-driven creatives is Karaköy
in Beyoğlu, a district on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Today it’s a neighbourhood
where modern bohemians and art students share pots of strong coffee in design cafés,
PHOTOGRAPH: RUSSELL SMITH/FRANK FEATURES
ISTANBUL’S BLUE MOSQUE GETS ITS NAME FROM THE COLOUR OF THE TILES INSIDE

WORD OF MOUTH
Turkey’s largest city has sites such

as Topkapi Palace Museum, left,
and old coffeehouses, below left
RUSSELL SMITH/FRANK FEATURES; SIMON WATSON/TRUNK ARCHIVE; KATHERINE WOLKOFF/TRUNK ARCHIVE

PHOTOGRAPHS: JOHN HUBA/ART & COMMERCE; DAVID LOFTUS; PHILIP-LORCA DICORCIA/TRUNK ARCHIVE;
listening to the latest Turkish new wave over the hammering from
artisans’ workshops before visiting contemporary galleries such as
Mixer, which champions emerging local talent. The area’s regeneration
was kick-started by the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, the first of its
kind in Turkey, set in a former customs warehouse, and continued by the
hip Galeri Manâ, in a converted 19th-century wheat mill, and Salt Galata,
an art space and lab launched in the former Imperial Ottoman Bank.
The new airport – the largest in the world and Turkish Airlines’ hub – is
bringing curious travellers back to the city, while a multi-million-pound
redevelopment of the waterfront and a Renzo Piano-led rebuild of the
Istanbul Modern are set to shift Karaköy’s gentrification to the next level.
Meanwhile, a new terminal will be ready for Oceania Cruises, Norwegian
Cruise Line and Seabourn itineraries – three very different cruise brands,
each with a distinct approach to exploring the city – by the end of the
year, making Karaköy the seafarer’s European arts destination. From
here the rest of the Black Sea awaits. ANDREW SESSA

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WORD OF MOUTH
A DIFFERENT SPIN
SOUTH KOREA’S SECOND CITY EMERGES AS THE STEALTH SCENE-STEALER
Rollicking Busan has all the video-game glow and energy of Seoul – but with the added bonus of beaches. Geography makes the
place distinct. This balmy cosmopolitan port in the far south of the country has a subtropical climate, with skyscrapers that edge
onto the sand, hence its nickname: the Miami of the Far East. And it’s indicative that both Windstar Cruises and Princess Cruises
sail here on select Japan itineraries: Windstar, the nifty, boutique independent line with marina decks for water sports and teak-and-
canvas ships that hark back to a bygone era; Princess, the steadfast industry titan, its large, all-singing-and-dancing vessels kitted
out with adults-only spa cabanas. It’s a clever and imaginative move for both, for here is a compact one-stop shop of a city that
showcases the best of South Korea. In the markets, aproned grandmas sling bowls of cold but spicy noodles – a local speciality – across
the counter to the regulars balanced on tiny stools. And there are K-beauty shopping sprees to be had at cutting-edge cosmetics
emporiums, including Olive Young and Skinfood. But just behind the city are the mountains and patchwork countryside, a temple-
PHOTOGRAPH: PETE DEMARCO
dotted backdrop. Walking paths curve around the city’s coastline and great hikes lead to intricately painted Buddhist landmarks.
On both Princess and Windstar voyages, guests can explore the seaweed-draped fish market and wander around ancient shrines
and pagodas, including five UNESCO World Heritage sites; the south of the South has the most beautiful temples. Busan is the perfect
toe-dip into South Korea from Japan – a well-timed hit of retail kitsch and the best possible cultural clash a few days after departing
from Tokyo. With Windstar, the journey takes in the great sights of southern Japan, stopping at the cedar forests of Yakushima
Island and Shimizu for clear views of Mount Fuji; with Princess, it continues into the dramatic Kanmon Straits, scene of
epic sea battles, and back to Tokyo. And yet it is often Busan that wins out as the highlight of the trip. ANDREA WHITTLE

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WORD OF MOUTH
Feel-good factor
A NEW SURGE OF HOLISTIC JOURNEYS FUELS THE RISE OF HEALTHY TRAVEL
When the wellness-retreat trend cemented places such as Bali, Tulum and Goa as meccas for nine-to-fivers desperate
for a reboot, the gypset went searching for the next sunny spot. Forest bathing in Tuscany while pairing farm-fresh
feasts with interesting wine? Going remote and above the tree line for asanas in the Puerto Rican jungle? In a not-so-
curious twist, ships – already used to competing with top hotels in the areas of food and design – are now attracting
wellness seekers. In January this year, guests on Uniworld’s smart, boutique Ganges Voyager II sailed a new itinerary
along India’s famous river in partnership with progressive Me to We, the socially conscious lifestyle brand. They spent
the first leg of the journey exploring rural communities and working on a local sustainability project before sailing to
the temple city of Kalna and Mother Teresa’s home city of Calcutta; onboard a resident yogi led daily classes and
lectures, and met with guests for individual sessions. Also earlier this year, Seabourn announced two new itineraries
with Andrew Weil, one of the founding fathers of integrative medicine. The cruise line’s Route to Ancient Wellness will
sail from Greece to Dubai following age-old trading paths and include mindfulness-focused shore excursions; Wellness
in the South Pacific departs from Auckland, exploring New Zealand’s coast before heading to Sydney. Weil is bringing
experts in progressive areas such as energy healing to round out lectures and group tours. Meanwhile, AmaWaterways
recently expanded offerings across its fleet in Europe and South-east Asia, adding a dedicated wellness host on each
ship to help passengers set and monitor personal goals for their time at sea. Luxury big hitters Oceania Cruises, Regent
Seven Seas Cruises, Cunard and Celebrity Cruises already have long-standing partnerships with the game-changing
Canyon Ranch, whose famous retreats channel rigorous physical schedules alongside insightful health lectures. And
then there’s that all-important component unique to a cruise itinerary: freedom and lack of physical restriction. Waking
up to a fresh view every morning and starting each day somewhere new is a form of healing in itself. CORINA QUINN
PHOTOGRAPH: HUGO JOEL

ASIA
CALLING
Discover the Far East in
style with a holiday on
Holland America Line’s
elegant hotels-at-sea
G
olden Buddhas, Khmer palaces, pristine
beaches... Holland America Line’s Far East
Discovery voyage through Vietnam, Cambodia
and Thailand has it all. Aimed at discerning travellers
who dream of exploring Asia in style and comfort –
while only unpacking once – a voyage on Westerdam or
Noordam is the ideal experience. These two elegant,
Clockwise from top: perfectly sized hotels-at-sea each carry just under
a cyclist in Hoi An, 2,000 guests and come with spacious rooms and suites
Vietnam; Borobudur (many with their own private balcony), fine dining with
temple in Yogyakarta,
casual and formal options, and entertainment included,
Indonesia; harvesting
water lilies in Ninh Bình,
making this a premium value holiday choice.
Vietnam; fine dining
onboard; a junk boat in The itinerary has been thoughtfully designed so guests tuk-tuk rides through Bangkok to a
Hong Kong harbour can enjoy long days and overnight stays in incredible bustling night market and blue lagoon
cities such as Singapore and swimming in Ko Samui. Foodies, meanwhile, will love
Hong Kong (you can also tasting pepper crab in the Cambodian town of Kampot
bookend a trip with stays in both or Vietnamese cooking classes in Nha Trang. Then
at the start and finish of your soak up the region’s variety with visits to the temples at
trip). As with all Holland America Angkor Wat and the magical seascapes of Halong Bay.
Line cruises, you can explore
in-depth through a wealth Equally as enthralling are Holland America Line’s many
of tours, talks and cultural other Asia cruises, which immerse guests in countries
experiences (which can be such as Taiwan, Japan and China. All feature regional
booked in advance if you prefer). cuisine from the heart of the continent (such as sushi
Highlights of this voyage include with yuzu-flavoured tuna and guacamole), sophisticated
cocktails in the Gallery Bar and world-class
entertainment in the evenings, from Memphis blues to
a performance of classical strings or astonishing footage
from the BBC’s Planet Earth II, accompanied by a live
orchestra. This is a brilliant and enriching way to
experience some of Asia’s most exotic, bucket-list
destinations in comfort, style and ease.
Further Information
To learn more about Holland America Line’s
worldwide cruises, visit hollandamerica.com
or call 0344 338 8605
BETTER
THAN NEW
Oceania Cruises is setting new standards
with its inspirational refreshed ships and elevated
onboard experiences
W
hen Oceania Cruises announced spaces. That’s not all. Design in the restaurants,
a sweeping array of game-changing lounges and bars takes inspiration from the
enhancements, anyone familiar with company’s 450 global ports of call. The guest
the perennially loved seafaring brand – revered experience has been elevated to the highest level
in industry circles and by in-the-know fans for in every way, from new thoughtfully crafted
its fine foodie credentials and destination-led dining options to re-imagined menus, from the
voyages – instinctively knew that the results were inviting Reception Hall to the calming surrounds
bound to be impressive. And now that the first of the Canyon Ranch® Spa.
phase of the ambitious $100 million initiative
(named OceaniaNEXT) has been completed Spot-on service
with the relaunch of Insignia and Sirena (the One aspect that hasn’t changed in the slightest is
highly anticipated Regatta and Nautica will follow Oceania Cruises’ trademark familiar welcome
in September and June 2020 respectively), it is and friendly service: whether sailing for the first
proving to be seriously transformational. time or the fiftieth, genuinely enthusiastic staff
remember guests’ names as well as their personal
Fleet enhancements preferences – whether it’s for soft-poached eggs
Across all four better-than-new 684-guest ships, at breakfast, a favourite window table for the
more than 1,000 artisans and craftsmen have best ocean views or a whisky sour before dinner.
been tasked with creating bejewelled chandeliers
for the smart Grand Dining Room; entirely new Innovative culinary developments
suites, staterooms and sleek marble bathrooms; All ships in the fleet continue to shine in terms
and the tasteful renewal of fabrics and of culinary excellence and redefining the art of
furnishings in a soothing palette of soft sea and cuisine at sea. Led by executive culinary director
sky tones for the stylish yet comfortable social Jacques Pépin, chefs cherry-picked from the
Oceania’s newly
enhanced onboard
offering includes fine
dining and elegant
suites, taking cruising to
the next level
world’s best restaurants source premium suites are accented with designer fabrics, Further Information
artisanal ingredients and conjure up an array Georgian wood-panelling and a mahogany and Visit oceaniacruises.com, call 0345
of imaginative dishes that are both familiar and quartzite bar, equally sophisticated retreat-like 505 1920 or see your travel agent
innovative, reflecting the diverse, exciting regions bathrooms come with indulgent soaking tubs.
through which the vessels sail. Whether eating in The furnishings outside feature revamped teak
The Grand Dining Room or one of the included decks, specially designed Ralph Lauren Home
speciality restaurants (which include the Polo outdoor furniture and his signature red, white
Grill steakhouse, Italian Toscana and Asian Red and blue stripes on cushions. It’s just one more
Ginger), the exceptional food is matched by the way in which Oceania Cruises is enhancing
carefully curated regional wine list. its immersive onboard offering.
Remaining at the forefront of food development,

Oceania Cruises now offers guests more than
200 healthy menu selections. Plant-based choices
are newly available at breakfast, lunch and
dinner in The Grand Dining Room and Terrace
Café, and also available upon request during
dinner service in the speciality restaurants. Plus,
on both Riviera and Marina, 24 guests at a time
can also sample an exclusive Dom Pérignon
Experience at La Reserve restaurant, where six
palate-piquing courses are each paired with an
acclaimed vintage Champagne.
High-end design
The three Owner’s Suites on the 1,250-guest
ship Riviera (and, in May 2020, Marina) have
been re-mastered and furnished with a new
generation of Ralph Lauren Home. Designed by
Los Angeles-based Trevor R Howells Interior
Design, the pieces reflect Ralph Lauren’s
passions for sailing and adventure, Hollywood
glamour and timeless beauty. While the spacious
THE GLOBETROTTERS
AMAZING PEOPLE DOING AMAZING THINGS ON AMAZING SHIPS. BY EMMA LOVE
BELLE & SEBASTIAN

The whimsical Glasgow indie rockers with a cult global following have always liked their festivals to be
a bit different. In 1999 the band, fronted by singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch, had just won the best
British newcomer award at the Brits, when they organised the Bowlie Weekender, an ahead-of-its-time
antidote to the mud and crowds of most festivals, in seaside Sussex. Two decades on, they’re at it again;
this time with the Boaty Weekender, a four-night cruise in August from Barcelona to Sardinia on the
2,394-passenger Norwegian Pearl, which has also hosted the likes of Kiss, Kesha and the Shiprocked
festival. For this one, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub and fellow Glaswegians Mogwai will also take to
the ship’s five stages as part of a line-up heavy on left-field rock. Besides the music, and the Pearl’s
bowling alley and outré Bliss nightclub, there will be themed balls, Scrabble tournaments and yoga
classes led by Frances McKee of the Vaselines. No rain boots or camping tents required.
PHOTOGRAPH: SØREN SOLKÆR

THE GLOBETROTTERS
N O B U M AT S U H I S A
When Crystal brought the empire-building
sushi king – the man who gave us a taste for
black cod with miso – onboard in 2003, it was
the first time a Michelin-level chef had col-
laborated with a cruise line. It was a move
almost as clever as the one Robert De Niro
made when he persuaded him to open Nobu
New York in the 1990s. Since debuting his Silk
Road restaurant (now renamed Umi Uma) on
Crystal Symphony 16 years ago, the chef has
launched another, on sister ship Serenity,
sealing Crystal’s reputation as one of the food-
iest cruises around. Ingredients are super-fresh
and local; his network of outposts across the
world ensures prime tuna and scallops can be
brought onboard whenever the ships dock in,
say, Hong Kong or LA. And he still sails himself,
creating omakase dinners for unsuspecting
passengers. Nobu upped the game for menus
at sea, paving the way for Thomas Keller’s
collaboration with Seabourn and, most recently,
Daniel Boulud’s with Celebrity. Madonna once
remarked that you can tell a city is going to be
fun ‘if Nobu has a restaurant in it’. The same
goes for ships.
STE VE MCCURRY
The American photographer’s first experience of war
was the Soviet-Afghan conflict in 1980, during which
he smuggled film sewn into his coat across the Afghan
border. Five years later, his picture Afghan Girl, of the
refugee with the piercing green eyes, made the cover
of National Geographic magazine and propelled
McCurry to fame. But while he made his name with
haunting images of humanitarian crises, McCurry is
also a prodigious travel photographer, who is still on
the road 10 months a year and has produced books
on Afghanistan, India and coffee growers across the
world. Since 2017, he has joined forces with boutique
cruise company Silversea, going on 23 adventurous
trips (and counting) to shoot images that have already
become legendary, from masked tribal performers in
Papua New Guinea to a fruit seller in Quito, Ecuador,
with a deep stare not unlike that of the Afghan girl.
With Silversea, his goal is to show how Svalbard icebergs,
the Galápagos Islands and real cultural immersion
can be experienced on ships known for their ultra-
personalised service. For McCurry, the aim is largely
what it always has been: finding ‘the unguarded
moment, while wandering and exploring the world’.

ADA M D TIHANY
What does it take to design the interior of a
cruise ship? The ability to handle bewilderingly
large areas, certainly, and match flag-flyingly
bold statements with quiet, composed personal
spaces. Enter Tihany, who fuses Italian finesse
with Vegas-style showmanship, making his
name with projects such as the Beverly Hills
Hotel and restaurants for Wolfgang Puck and
Heston Blumenthal. But the ocean brought
fresh challenges. For example, how to prevent
engine vibration from rattling the wine bottles.
The answer: mount the racks on gyroscopes.
With plush modern looks for Seabourn’s Encore
and O ation under his belt, Tihany now has the
line’s expedition fleet in his sights, as well as a
more contemporary ship for Cunard, launching
in 2022. But first down the slipway, in November,
is Costa Cruises’ graceful Costa Smeralda, which
will have the first design museum at sea.
E R I N A TA K A H A S H I
Her muscular feet have leapt from the boards of many an arts
institution, from the Royal Albert Hall as Aurora in The Sleeping
Beauty to Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage in Akram Khan’s
soul-stirring World War I elegy Dust. As lead principal of the English
National Ballet, the Japanese-born dancer embodies the chame-
PHOTOGRAPHS: SEBASTIAN BÖETTCHER; STEVE MCCURRY; ROBIN MARCHANT/GETTY IMAGES; KAROLINA KURAS
leonic spirit of today’s not-only-classical ballerina: in 2007,

she took the lead in Swan Lake at the Mayflower Theatre in
Southampton. In 2015, a duet to Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
for the song’s 40th anniversary clocked up six million views on
YouTube. This August, Takahashi returns to Southampton to
spring from the boards of another national treasure, the Royal
Court Theatre of Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, in whose stately ball-
room white-gloved service is still cordially preserved. Over a
seven-night crossing to New York, the liner will become a floating
stage, where the corps de ballet will perform Tchaikovsky’s work
somewhere on the North Atlantic, along with extracts from
Adolphe Adam’s Le Corsaire and Khan’s Dust. The programme
includes talks by names such as Merritt Moore, a prima ballerina
and quantum physicist, and daily access to classes and rehearsals.
This is the ultimate high-arts experience on water.
THE GLOBETROTTERS
PHOTOGRAPH: ADRIAN GAUT/TRUNK ARCHIVE

ROMAN AND WILLIAMS

Husband-and-wife team Stephen Alesch and Robin
Standefer spent a decade designing Hollywood film sets
together before Ben Stiller asked them to renovate his
Spanish-style LA home after working with the couple on
Zoolander and Duplex. A flood of power clients followed:
Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and a set of haute-hipster
hotels, including Ace Hotel New York, the Standard Highline
and Freehand Los Angeles. Now the duo is taking on cruise
ships – specifically Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, due to
launch next year. The company’s first foray onto the high
seas bills itself as a ‘24/7 festival at sea’, with banjo drag shows,
a tattoo parlour and a vinyl shop. The pair will oversee a Mad
Men-style steakhouse, a cocktail-and-cabana joint, and a
theatrical nightclub inspired by 1970s discos. Expect them to
be really, really ridiculously good-looking.

THE GLOBETROTTERS
D AV I D L I N L E Y
The first item of furniture that Linley ever made, at
age 14, was a desk crafted out of a single piece of
plywood, which he keeps in his 19th-century hunting
lodge in Provence. Since then he’s used his talents to
furnish suites at Claridge’s and create bespoke designs
such as the Torque dining table, unveiled at Masterpiece
London art fair last year, its swirling veneers inspired
by the Guggenheim museum in New York. But the
largest work his studio has made can be viewed
onboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, on the wall of the
Art Deco-style grand lobby. Formed from nine dif-
ferent types of wood, including walnut, sycamore and
maple, the 18ft-high panel depicts the bow of the first
Elizabeth, launched in 1938 by his grandmother, the
Queen Mother (the two were close and regularly
attended church together). That ship was set on fire by
arsonists in Hong Kong in 1972 – though not before
making a guest appearance in 007’s The Man With the
Golden Gun – but its successor continues to evoke the
golden age of cruising. Linley’s incredible piece of
marquetry is a neat fit for this grande dame.
ALISON LEVINE
There are many lessons to be found at sea, where the
caprices of water, wind and sky lay out the daily
terms. The elemental battle for survival that sailors
once faced has been recounted in centuries of seafar-
ing stories, but Levine’s life is a modern tale of
resilience in the face of adversity. The diminutive
polar explorer, sportswoman and mountaineer, who
was once the deputy finance director of Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s campaign to be California gover-
nor, was born in Phoenix in 1966 with a heart defect
that meant she could barely walk up stairs. It took
three surgeries to correct it – during which time
she vowed to climb. By her early 30s she was working
at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street and had already
reached the highest peaks on six continents, Mount
Kilimanjaro included. In 2002, she led the first team
of American women to climb Everest. They were
within 200 feet of the summit when deteriorating
conditions forced them to descend – she narrowly
missed being caught in an avalanche going through
the Khumbu icefall – but eight years later she suc-
ceeded. By then Levine had joined the ranks of those
who have completed the Adventure Grand Slam,
having summited seven of the world’s most challeng-
ing peaks and skied to both poles. It’s hard to believe
such a leadership mentor and gifted storyteller – she’s
giving a motivational lecture on Seabourn Sojourn in
December – is a self-labelled introvert who admits
to occasionally hiding out in the loo at parties.

PAT R I C I A U R Q U I O L A
Over the past two decades, the prolific Spanish-born
designer and architect has become one of the most
successful names in her field. Her ergonomic creations
are playful yet have real substance, often experiment-
ing with colour and contours. You may have tip-toed
across her geometric ceramic tiles, dropped into the
Scandi-inspired Lilo Lounge chairs she made for
Moroso, or admired her floaty, snow-white cutouts
at Mandarin Oriental Barcelona. Urquiola’s Fjord
armchair is part of the permanent collection at
MoMA, and Il Sereno hotel, whose interiors she
designed, was the most anticipated opening on the
shores of Lake Como in years. So it was a coup when
Celebrity Cruises persuaded her to add her name to
the design roll-call for its pioneering Celebrity Edge
ship. The line has always had fun with its voyages,
going the extra mile in the way its staff interact with
passengers and deftly upscaling the small-boat expe-
rience. The billion-dollar Edge is a game-changer
that aims to disrupt dusty preconceptions – there
are immersive theatre shows, botanical-inspired
cocktails, a drone obstacle course and the open-air
Magic Carpet platform, which scoots up and down
decks outside the hull. As for Urquiola’s contribu-
tions, well, she has given Mediterranean restaurant
Cyprus a hot-summer ambience and planted a tow-
ering installation of foliage above the bar at Eden, a
hybrid space that mutates from daytime hangout to
nocturnal performance venue. It’s everything you
never thought you’d see on a cruise ship. And that is
exactly the point.
JON BON JOVI

When it comes to entertainment at sea, ocean-
goers may be more familiar with a certain type
of tuxedo-clad crooner inspired by Frank Sinatra
and Tony Bennett. But if any cruise line was
RICHARD GRASSIE/CHILLI MEDIA; MICHAEL TODD; TRUNK ARCHIVE
going to invite the stadium-filling New Jersey-

born hit maker behind Slippery When Wet
PHOTOGRAPHS: MANUEL BRAUN/LE FIGARO/CAMERA PRESS;
onboard, it was Norwegian. The line has graffiti-

style murals, rock-climbing walls and no dress
codes on its ships, preferring to encourage infor-
mal, freestyle gatherings. The Bon Jovi frontman
will be headlining the Runaway to Paradise
voyage, from Barcelona to Palma, Mallorca, on
the Norwegian Pearl in August, performing a full-
blown concert backed by an 11-piece band on
the pool deck. There’s also an acoustic set, during
which he will take questions from the audience,
accompanied by long-time tour photographer
David Bergman and producer Obie O’Brien. As
for his dress code, that’s easy: the singer has worn
the same Reebok Allen Iverson sneakers on-
stage for the past 15 years.
THE GLOBETROTTERS
L AW R E N C E B L A I R
For more than 40 years, this English-born, Bali-based
anthropologist and explorer has been participating
and leading marine expeditions throughout the
Indonesian archipelago. The second time he visited,
back in 1972, was with his now late brother Lorne
and some funding from Ringo Starr. Their mission?
To make a documentary series – the groundbreaking
Ring of Fire – that included encounters with cannibal
headhunters and the funeral ceremony for the last
king of the Toraja people, who believe their ances-
tors were descended from the stars. These days much
of his time is split between hosting private yacht
charters (he once did a submersible dive in Raja
Ampat Islands with Oxford professor Richard
Dawkins) and lecturing on National Geographic and
Silversea cruises. But this autumn Blair will be
onboard the eight-cabin Kudanil Explorer – an expe-
rienced expedition ship whose crew know exactly
where the best surf spots are – as it sails to the Banda
Islands, his all-time favourite castaway destination.
OPR AH WINFREY
She might be considered the godmother of many
things: talk shows, self-help, female empower-
PHOTOGRAPHS: DHAM SRIFUENGFUNG (LAWRENCE BLAIR IMAGE FROM THE S/S ’19 ISSUE OF ANOTHER
ment… the list goes on. And now one of the
USA’s richest self-made women, once dubbed
the queen of all media, is the official godmother
of Holland America’s 2,650-passenger Nieuw
MAN MAGAZINE); KURT ISWARIENKO/TRUNK ARCHIVE; MARK MAHANEY/REDUX/EYEVINE

Statendam. When she launched the ship with a
one-off Girls Getaway cruise to the Caribbean
earlier this year, it sold out in minutes, barely
longer than the standing ovation after her
rousing speech at last year’s Golden Globes.
Now guests get a series of programmes inspired
by O, The Oprah Magazine, from meaningful
meditation and energising movement sessions
by the pool to O-approved transformational
videos and an Oprah Reading Room, a nod to
her wildly influential book club. Winfrey has
been working with Holland America for a few
years, curating a series of Adventure of Your
Life voyages, most recently a trip to Alaska with
experts including wisdom teacher Shefali
Tsabary and sound-bathing therapist Sara
Auster. Cruising, like politics, television and
social media, has entered Oprah’s orbit.

THOMAS KELLER
The only American chef to scoop three-star
Michelin ratings for two restaurants at once
– the French Laundry and Per Se – wants to
be clear: ‘We’re not a ship restaurant, we’re
a restaurant on a ship,’ Keller says about the
Grill by Thomas Keller, which opened on
the Seabourn Quest in 2016. This outlook fits
neatly into the cruise line’s five-strong fleet.
Keller’s chefs remain onboard, arriving table-
side to carve roast chicken with thyme jus
and deftly toss Caesar salads, ensuring the
same level of perfection as at his addresses
on dry land – the latest of which, TAK Room
in New York’s Hudson Yards, is his first in
NYC in 15 years. Keller helped to define the
American destination restaurant for genera-
tions of foodies – only now those destinations
keep changing.
STYLE FILE
THIS SEASON’S SMARTEST LOOKS AND FRESHEST PLACES TO GO
C belt bag in suede and leather,

£675, Chloé (chloe.com) Sweet Pea collection ring
in rose gold and diamonds,
Buckle bracelet in £1,450, William & Son
gold and diamonds, (williamandson.com)
about £3,585,
David Yurman
(davidyurman.com)
Straw-and-
leather double
cap, £1,100,
Chanel Tony sunglasses, £200,
(chanel.com) Mulberry (mulberry.com)
NAMIBIA TO SOUTH AFRICA

SLEEK SAND-DUNE SAFARI ON A ROUTE THAT OPENS UP A WILD REGION
Drop earrings in rose

Tank Américaine gold and rubies, £740,
watch in rose Apriati (apriati.com)
gold, £11,400,
Cartier
(cartier.co.uk)
Aurora linen shirt,

£535, Giuliva
Heritage
Collection
(net-a-porter.
com)
Silk-and-cotton shirt,
£1,105, Loro Piana
Aziza sandals, £475, (loropiana.com)
T True bracelet in gold,
£4,350, Tiffany & Co Jimmy Choo
(tiffany.co.uk) (jimmychoo.com)
Buckle-trim d’Orsay
shoes, £245,
Russell & Bromley Seersucker Yasmin
(russellandbromley. bathing suit,
£360, Lisa Marie Cotton cargo
co.uk)
Leather backpack, Fernandez (matches shorts, £795,
£2,660, Brunello fashion.com) Loewe
Cucinelli (brunello (loewe.com)
cucinelli.com)
GET ONBOARD
So many trips to Southern Africa zone in on one aspect, whether that’s
PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY IMAGES
the Okavango Delta by dugout canoe or the Garden Route for winery
hopping. But exploring this incredible part of the continent by ship
allows wider access to its diverse coasts. Seabourn’s 39-day World
Cruise: Atlantic and African Landfalls aboard the Sojourn gives the
urban hit of Cape Town along with great wildlife spotting and visits to
hard-to-reach corners such as Lüderitz, on the edge of the Namib
Desert. seabourn.com. From £13,499 per person based on two sharing

SEATTLE TO ALASKA
A BOLD NEW SHIP IN OFF-DUTY OUTDOOR LUXE
Multi-zipped
sweatshirt, £980,
Louis Vuitton
Technical jersey (louisvuitton.com)
jacket, £1,160;
jogging bottoms,
£680, both Gucci
(gucci.com)
Galet Annual
Calendar Acetate sunglasses,
watch, £46,590, £300, Bottega Veneta
Laurent Ferrier (bottegaveneta.com)
at William & Son
(williamandson.com)
Leather-and-mesh Signet ring, £110, Kermit

backpack, £1,150, APC (apc.fr) colour-blocked
Emporio Armani jumper, £234,
(armani.com). Eckhaus Latta
Treble leather bracelet, (net-a-porter.com)
£280, Louis Vuitton
(louisvuitton.com)
Destroy patch
jumper, £880,
Jil Sander
(farfetch.com) Player sneakers,
£810, Hermès
(hermes.com)
Celan feather-down
International parka, £1,250,
carry-on, £855, Moncler Genius
Tumi (tumi.com). (brownsfashion.com)
Pequin striped belt
bag, £750, Fendi
(fendi.com)
GET ONBOARD
For a big city, Seattle is remarkably close to unspoiled snowy wilderness.
Surrounded by mountains and evergreen forests, this town of
microbreweries, locavore foodies and indie shops is the jumping-off
point for Norwegian’s seven-day Scenic Alaska: Inside Passage cruise
on one of the fleet’s latest vessels, Joy, which departs in August.
Zip-line over cedar trees in Ketchikan, kayak the fjords of Juneau and
feel the sea spray from the splashing tails of humpbacks in Icy Strait
Point. ncl.com. From £689 per person based on two sharing

TOKYO TO HONG KONG

FAR-FLUNG PORTS OF CALL IN PRECISE PASTELS
B Blossom ring in rose gold, pink

opal and diamonds, £3,850, Louis
Vuitton (louisvuitton.com)
Oversized sunglasses, £275, Salvatore Raffia hat,

Ferragamo (ferragamo.com) £795,
Alberta
Ferretti
(alberta
ferretti.com)
Billiard
floral
leather
Darcy clutch,
embroidered £1,135,
Serpenti Forever calfskin midi dress, Oscar de
bag, £1,690, Bulgari £1,548, la Renta
(bulgari.com) Markarian (moda
(moda operandi.
operandi.com) com)
Earrings in rose
gold, Akoya pearl,
diamonds and pink
Lilia silk maxi dress, £714, sapphire, £2,600,
LoveShackFancy David Morris
(modaoperandi.com) (davidmorris.com)
Heathers lace-trimmed
triangle bikini, £220,
Zimmermann
(net-a-porter.com)
Embellished shoes, £366,

Lace cotton mules, £475, Saptodjojokartiko
Alberta Ferretti (albertaferretti.com) (modaoperandi.com)
PHOTOGRAPHS: NATHAN BUSH; AUBRIE PICK
GET ONBOARD
It’s easy to name-drop the usual suspects on a jaunt around Japan:
Embroidered bikini top,
Tokyo, Kyoto, a very necessary night in Okinawa. Windstar
£300; bottoms, £120,
innovates on its 12-day tour of the islands in the Seto Inland and
both Stella McCartney
East China seas by charting the Star Breeze to underexplored places (modaoperandi.com)
where Western ships don’t sail, such as the central port of
Tomonoura, dotted with fishing villages, just outside Hiroshima,
and the green Amami Islands. Few trips see this side of Japan. Frivole bracelet in yellow gold
windstarcruises.com. From £3,908 per person based on two sharing and diamond, £1,400, Van Cleef &
Arpels (vancleefarpels.com)
Popeline bucket
hat, £254, Prada
(modaoperandi.com)
SYDNEY TO AUCKLAND Bridado
UNEXPECTED ISLAND HOPS IN COLOUR-BLOCKING BEACHWEAR backpack,
£3,380,
Hermès
(hermes.com)
Headband, £260,
Chanel (chanel. com)
The Paula maillot,

£154, Solid & Striped
(revolve.com)
Forte beads
necklace, £910,
Carolina Bucci
(carolinabucci.com)
Takayama
bracelet, £175, Bikini top, £295;
Aurélie bottoms, £245, both
Bidermann Louis Vuitton
(net-a-porter. (louisvuitton.com)
Swim trunks, £135, com) DiorSoLight1
Vilebrequin (vilebrequin.com) sunglasses, £290,
Dior (dior.com)
Superocean
Automatic 36 watch,
£2,760, Breitling
(breitling.com)
Charmeuse silk GET ONBOARD

Hand-crocheted top,
£1,851, Dolce & Gabbana midi dress, New Zealand’s North Island is
(modaoperandi.com) £1,824, Prabal almost always upstaged on travel
Loewe x Paula’s Ibiza Gurung (moda itineraries by its more mountainous
pochette, £425, operandi.com) southern sibling. It’s a shame that
Cotton-and- Loewe (net-a-porter. the technicolour beaches and
cashmere beach com). Palm Beach hillsides around the Bay of Islands
towel, £670, Michael enamel bracelets,
Kors Collection and the Coromandel go unseen
£288 for set, by so many. But Regent Seven
(michaelkors.co.uk) Roxanne Assoulin Seas Cruises flips the hierarchy,
(modaoperandi.com) with the majority of port calls on its
Archlight sandals, £780, 14-night New Zealand Splendor
Louis Vuitton (February 2020) made in the
(louisvuitton.com) north. You won’t bypass the south
entirely – no one should miss
magnificent Milford Sound.
rssc.com. From £10,719 per person
based on two sharing
Wide-brim raffia hat,

£225, Lola Hats
(matchesfashion.com)
MIAMI TO RIO
RETRO FLORALS SET THE TONE FOR AN INSIDE-TRACK TRIP
Linen bustier
top, £186,
Veneto bow Agua by Agua
bikini, £195, Bendita (moda
Zimmermann operandi.com)
Dream Catcher (zimmermann
wear.com) Serpenti rope
hoop earrings in belt, £330,
yellow gold and Altuzarra
diamonds, £1,900, (altuzarra.com)
Annoushka
(annoushka.com)
Tortoise-shell sunglasses, £165, Aspinal of Embellished sandals,

London (aspinaloflondon.com) £145, Russell
& Bromley (russell
andbromley.co.uk)
Winston Gates ring in yellow

gold and diamonds, £5,050, Linen maxi skirt,
Harry Winston £396, Agua by Agua
(harrywinston.com) Bendita (moda
operandi.com)
Honolulu
Cropped silk-twill top, £525, bag, POA,
Chloé (net-a-porter.com) Coffa appliqué Charlotte
straw bag, Olympia
Silk pants, £1,130, £975, Dolce (charlotte
Tropical-print bikini top, £48; & Gabbana
Chloé (chloe.com) olympia.com)
high-rise bottoms, £54, both (dolcegabbana.
Palmacea (modaoperandi.com) com)
PHOTOGRAPHS: BEN MOORE/LICKERISH; MATTHIEU SALVAING
Embellished
gold leather sandals,
£770, Michael Kors
GET ONBOARD
Collection (michael Not many voyages combine rolling oceans and winding rivers but
kors.co.uk) Oceania’s 21-day journey from Miami to Rio (January 2020) aboard
the Marina brilliantly offers both. Head south from Miami for deep-sea
fishing and snorkelling off castaway Caribbean islands; spot rare pink
dolphins and sail along the Amazon to a soundtrack of screeching
parrots before hugging Brazil’s east coast, stopping for sand skiing down
Fortaleza’s dunes and a stroll around the colonial city of Recife.
oceaniacruises.com. From £4,539 per person based on two sharing

TO THE
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S
ix years ago, Seabourn began offering
expedition-style excursions during its
first sailing to Antarctica. Driven by
a world-class team, its ongoing success led to
the Ventures by Seabourn programme of
optional experiences (kayaking, guided hikes,
journeys by Zodiac, e-biking) being rolled
out in key destinations around the globe. And
now the company is looking ahead to its next
exciting chapter: the arrival of a new ultra-
luxury expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, in 2021
(a second sister vessel is due in 2022), which will
feature expeditions to the Arctic, Antarctica
and the Amazon in its inaugural season.
Designed specifically for intrepid travellers

who covet immersive voyages in the most remote
parts of the planet, these innovative, purpose-
built ships both feature an ice-strengthened
hull with advanced manoeuvring technology
for superior stability – making them suitable
for diverse environments while still maintaining
the level of comfort for which Seabourn is so
renowned. Each ship is intimate, with 132
spacious, oceanfront veranda suites and
sophisticated, contemporary interiors by
designer Adam D Tihany (the creative vision
behind the yacht-inspired look of Seabourn

Encore and Seabourn Ovation).
As on all Seabourn ships, guests can expect

intuitive personalised service by staff passionate
about exceeding expectations; a superb selection
of dining venues (complimentary premium
spirits and fine wines are available onboard at
all times); and a spa and wellness offering by
Dr Andrew Weil that includes a mindful living Experience even more Amazon; and the fjords and valleys of the
element. New onboard Seabourn Venture, there with Seabourn, from the Arctic, bathed in the midnight sun. Seabourn
will also be two custom-built submarines to wonders of the Amazon Venture criss-crosses the equatorial line, taking
provide an unforgettable view beneath the to sightings of whales and guests from the sun-soaked tropics to the frozen
penguins in Antarctica.
ocean’s surface, plus a complement of kayaks poles for immersive experiences like no other.
The brand-new ship
and Zodiacs. Enhanced, handcrafted itineraries Seabourn Venture
will focus on even deeper exploration and more (below) features premium Further Information
purposeful adventures so that guests can actively Panorama Veranda Suites Seabourn offers worldwide destinations from
engage with the natural wonders of these (top middle) the Mediterranean and Northern Europe to
very different but equally fascinating regions. the Caribbean & Panama Canal,
Asia, Australasia, Alaska and
There are the teeming penguin colonies and Antarctica. For more details or
monumental icebergs and glaciers of Antarctica; a brochure, visit seabourn.com/
the flooded forests and floating houses of the expedition or call 0344 338 8615.
REMARKABLE
JOURNEYS
Immersive itineraries from Viking
along the mighty Mekong and
Yangtze rivers are a completely
unique way to discover Asia
F
amed sights in high-octane cities; low-key
days spent on meandering rivers that give
a real insight into everyday rural life –
it’s this combination that makes travelling with
Viking such a brilliant way to discover the
different aspects of Asia in one spectacular hit.
Nowhere is this more evident than on Viking’s
‘Imperial Jewels of China’ and ‘Magnificent
Mekong’ itineraries. Authentic experiences
that encourage guests to immerse themselves in
local culture are included in many destinations
(making these journeys excellent value for
money), whether it’s meeting Cambodian
children at a school in Phnom Penh or visiting
a family home in the hutongs of Beijing.
Book the ‘Imperial Jewels of China’ itinerary

and begin your trip by exploring Old Shanghai monasteries perched up high throughout the Viking’s ships in Asia have been specially
and strolling the pathways of the Yuyuan forest. The trip concludes in Xian and Beijing, designed to explore the region’s rivers.
Garden, an oasis which dates back to the Ming where you can marvel at the 8,000 individually In China, ald has all-veranda
Dynasty. The city of Wuhan is your gateway carved warriors, plus chariots and horses, of the staterooms, a lounge and bar with panoramic
to the Yangtze Gorges, where the included Terracotta Army; retrace the time-worn steps views, plus a gym, library and beauty salon.
excursion is a visit to the Hubei Provincial of the Great Wall; witness historical treasures ong, which sails in Vietnam and
Museum to hear the ringing of the ancient such as Tiananmen Square and the Mausoleum Cambodia, has a traditional design crafted
bronze bells and glimpse relics from 400BC. of Mao Zedong; and tour the Forbidden City, from teak, mahogany and brass, plus sun deck
From here, the ship sails the scenic Yangtze a UNESCO World Heritage Site. with shaded seating area. Both vessels serve
River through the Three Gorges, a series of regional dishes alongside familiar favourites and
jaw-dropping limestone ridges. The included The ‘Magnificent Mekong’ journey is equally offer a range of onboard entertainment options:
excursion through the Goddess Stream by enchanting, highlighted by stays in Hanoi, on the China itinerary, for instance, there
sampan, where canyons are flanked by towering Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City. Explore is morning tai chi, entertaining destination-
cliffs and you can see the hanging coffins of Hanoi’s Old Quarter by electric car and relevant talks and the chance to play mahjong.
the Ba people, is unforgettable. discover numerous markets, pagodas and Whichever ship and itinerary guests choose,
temples, and landmarks such as the beautiful it’s guaranteed to be a unique experience.
As you relax on deck, you might spy fishermen Opera House. In Siem Reap, the excursions
scooping their catch with handmade nets, include Angkor Wat – the crown jewel of Further Information
families tending to water-laden rice fields and Khmer architecture – and a high-flying Visit vikingcruises.co.uk or
Cambodian circus performance. Join the ship call 020 8780 7900
in Kampong Cham and wander through a
silk-weaving village before exploring the maze
of alleys in Phnom Penh or taking a sobering
visit to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.
There are glimpses of rural life at Tân Châu,

where guests can see a floating fish farm up
close, and at Sa Ðéc, traversing the backwaters
and canals of the delta by sampan to watch
workers making rice noodles and coconut
candy. The final destination is Ho Chi Minh
City, where an excursion to the Cu Chi
Clockwise from left: Angkor Wat, Cambodia; the Forbidden City, Tunnels, with a tour that takes in the bustling
China; the jaw-dropping Great Wall of China; warriors in the Ben Thành Market and the old colonial
Terracotta Army; travel in style aboard the Viking Mekong centre, makes a perfect end to the trip.
THE GREAT SAIL

CAPE TOWN CAPE TOWN
PHOTOGRAPHS: AMELIE BLONDIAUX; CROOKES & JACKSON; DREAMWOOD-MICHAEL & LUCY/STOCKSY; SONYA KHEGAY/STOCKSY;
A trio of big hitters – Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town – At dawn Table Mountain shakes off the roiling mist. It towers
AMANDA LARGE/STOCKSY; ANA LUI; PATRICK LYN; KIRSTEN MCKEE/STOCKSY; OZGUR/500PX; CECILE PERRINET L’HERMITTE;
kick off the new 29-day itinerary, Along Africa’s Western Shores, over the beaches below, from Boulders Bay with its pint-size
penguins to Muizenberg – the birthplace of surfing in South Africa.
PLAINPICTURE/DESIGN PICS/AARON VON HAGEN; VITTORIO SCIOSIA; SOPHIA VAN DEN HOEK/STOCKSY
WALVIS BAY DAKAR
The lagoons and salt flats on Namibia’s coast are Southern Africa’s After seven days at sea, we reach Senegal. The streets of its lively
most important migratory wetland, with up to 50,000 flamingos as capital on Africa’s westernmost point thrum with brightly hand-painted
pink as peonies feeding in the mud and shallow water. car rapides, or local buses, and cafés that blast out mbalax music.

TRACING THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA ON VIKING’S EPIC WORLD TOUR. BY FLORENCE DERRICK
SENEGALESE COAST TENERIFE
On day 21 we’re on Tenerife, where volcanic rock meets the flashing

19th centuries, the contrast of grim slave quarters and elegant sea. Its futuristic auditorium in Santa Cruz, in a white wave of
colonial houses is marked. concrete, was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
MOROCCO GREENWICH
We wander around for a whole day in louchely charming Casablanca, The voyage ends where the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime
between Moorish architecture and the hugger-mugger medina, where we museum, home to more than two million nautical items, are based.
haggle over geometric-patterned pottery. For more details, visit vikingcruises.com
Beyond this horizon

POLYNESIA’S EARLIEST SETTLERS FOUND THEIR WAY BY OBSERVING THE CLOUDS AND OCEAN SWELLS, CREATING MAPS FROM
SHELLS. MANY OF THE SHORES WHERE THEY MADE LANDFALL REMAIN THE LEAST EXPLORED IN THE PACIFIC. BY STANLEY STEWART
38
PHOTOGRAPH: CHRIS BURKARD/MASSIF
39
I
n the early mornings, while the boat still slept and no one own yacht. One, Pitcairn, felt so isolated that the mutineers of the
was on deck, I would wake and make my way to the bow, just Bounty believed they could disappear there. Which is why I had
to look at the ocean. We have all gazed at waves crashing on signed on with the Sil er Explorer. This felt like uncharted territory.
rocks, at the sun setting across a darkening sea. But the Part of the Silversea fleet, the Sil er Explorer is billed as an
PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRIS BURKARD/MASSIF; BRITNEY GILL; NATASHA LEE; KARYN MILLET

Pacific, on those mornings, was like nothing I had seen before. expeditionary vessel. I suppose one man’s expedition is another
It was empty. Along the endless horizon, there was nothing but man’s luxury cruise. Luxurious it certainly was, a ship with elegant
water. No shores, no islands, no other ships, just a rolling swell as public spaces, excellent cabins, fabulous food and, best of all, a
far as I could see. On those mornings, I felt all the usual responses delightful and ever obliging crew. But it was the only expedition I
to the ocean – it was beautiful, compelling, uplifting. But out here have been on that involved a butler and a choice of spa-worthy
where it represented the entirety of the visible world, it also felt products in the bathroom. The adventure billing meant only that
fathomless, implacable and almost too enormous for comprehen- landings were more likely to be from Zodiacs on far-flung beaches
sion, an unknowable wilderness of waves and currents and winds, than gangplanks at established harbours. No one was called upon
something both fearful and thrilling. At night – I came again to to hack through primal island jungle, though many passengers
the bow to gaze at this vastness – it was darker than any darkness, did wrestle with the difficult challenge of the dessert trolley.
at least until the moon appeared behind us with its silver pathway. Easter Island was a fitting beginning for a cruise to some of
On that voyage, the moon was our stalker, appearing each night these outcrops. Rapa Nui, as the locals know it, seems to define
over our shoulders, penetrating this oceanic black. remote – 2,300 miles from the South American mainland and more
We were sailing almost 3,000 nautical miles from Easter Island than 1,200 miles from any other island. How people arrived here
to Tahiti. The beginning and end points of this journey may be at all is one of its many mysteries. Sometime in the 12th century,
familiar names, but our route, a southerly one, took in some of it is thought, Polynesians turned up, having navigated by the stars
the most remote islands on the planet – the Austral and Gambier across huge stretches of ocean in outrigger canoes. They would
archipelagos, Ducie and Henderson, Raivavae and Rurutu – have followed the same route, in reverse, as the Sil er Explorer.
places rarely visited, where the myth of the South Seas paradise Isolation is only part of the haunting loneliness of this place.
is untrammelled by package tourism and big hotels. Some of them Its many enigmas are another. How did people arrive here? What
are almost impossible to reach unless you are willing to swab the happened to their civilisation? What is the meaning of these great
decks on a tramp steamer or brave the southern waters on your stoic stone heads, or moai? I rented a motorcycle to explore its
40
French Polynesia is
made up of five
archipelagos.
Among its islands is
Bora Bora, far left,
which lies along
the Silver Explorer’s
route and is home to
Coqui Coqui boutique,
top right, and
perfect barrel waves,
previous pages
Pitcairn, centre left,

is less than twice the
length of the Brooklyn
Bridge. The ship,
centre right and bottom
left, stops here en
route to Tahiti
42
At the easternmost
point of the Polynesian
triangle is Easter Island,
which became part of
Chile in 1888 and is
furthest corners where the heads stand on empty windswept known for its towering,
shores. It was then that I noticed they all look inland, as if that stone moai, below
vast reach of ocean, those significant distances underscoring their
own separation, are too much to contemplate.
We boarded the Sil er Explorer near where seven haunting
statues in a row turn their backs on a pretty bay and Rapa Nui’s
best beach. From Easter Island we sailed for two days and two nights
on that vacant ocean. On the third day, our first landfall was the
coral atoll of Ducie, where tropical fish swarmed on underwater
reefs while fairy terns picked tidbits of plant matter off the surface
of the rolling sea. On the fourth day, we reached uninhabited
Henderson, where surging waves crashing on coral cliffs pre-
vented us from going ashore. On the fifth day, we dropped anchor
off Pitcairn, the cliff-girded refuge of the Bounty mutineers.
When the mutineers of HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian,
set Captain Bligh adrift in an open boat in 1789, they turned their
liberated ship back to Tahiti, gathered up several local women to
claim as brides, as well as a number of Tahitian menfolk to help
with the heavy lifting, and set sail into the wide reaches of the
Pacific looking for somewhere so inaccessible that the long arm
of the Admiralty would never find them. Pitcairn proved ideal.
Two hundred years later, their descendants, at last count just over
50 people, still live on the island.
In a heavy swell, open longboats came out to take us ashore
at Bounty Bay. While we perched on deck, two local helmsmen
clung to the tiller. Getting into Pitcairn’s harbour is the marine
equivalent of threading a needle while riding a rollercoaster. The
longboat was aligned to the narrow entrance and when the moment
was right, when the biggest wave lifted the stern, the helmsmen
gunned the engine and we shot forward, surfing the waves as we
hurtled towards a cliff face. Seconds before we were smashed to
pieces, the longboat swung 90 degrees starboard and banged against
a harbour wall with a mighty jolt while two dockhands lashed us fast.
We spent the day on Pitcairn, chatting with the islanders, many
of whom still bear the surnames of the mutineers: Brown, Young,
PHOTOGRAPHS: AL ARGUETA; JAD DAVENPORT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC; BRITNEY GILL; JULIAN ROO
Adams and no fewer than 15 Christians. The place felt both normal
and bizarre, like a Cornish village, perhaps, that had mysteriously
drifted into tropical latitudes. We had lunch at Steve Christian’s
house: fish and chips and lemonade. Afterwards the women
washed the dishes and gossiped about royal babies in an atmosphere
akin to a church social. Today Pitcairn remains one of the last
outposts of the British Empire the mutineers had sought to escape.
From Pitcairn, we set a course for Mangareva, in the Gambier
Islands, an outlying archipelago of French Polynesia. In Rikitea
we were welcomed in traditional Polynesian fashion, not with fish
and chips but with drumming and dancing, grass skirts and fresh
fruits, smiling faces and floral garlands. This wasn’t a tourist show;
Mangareva rarely gets visitors and most of the locals had turned
out for the fun. Rather, it was the same charming welcome of
music and dance that European ships such as the Bounty had
received more than two centuries ago. It was easy to understand
how bewitching it must have been to Fletcher Christian. Captain
Bligh was less impressed, condemning the islanders for what he
described as ‘numerous sensual and beastly acts of gratification’.
In Polynesia, early missionaries had something of an uphill
struggle. In 1839, in the New Hebrides, an unfortunate fellow
from the London Missionary Society was killed and eaten mid
sermon. On Mangareva, the somewhat louche atmosphere drove
French priest Honoré Laval mad, though admittedly he was flaky
even before he met the locals, regularly conversing with the devil,
44
THE SEA FELT FATHOMLESS, IMPLACABLE AND

ALMOST TOO ENORMOUS FOR COMPREHENSION,
AN UNKNOWABLE WILDERNESS OF WAVES
PHOTOGRAPH: ALISTAIR TAYLOR-YOUNG
Places such as
Teahupoo, below, on
Tahiti, have made
French Polynesia a top
surf-break destination
in the South Pacific.
The ship has an
observation lounge
and a Finnish-style
sauna, centre left
whom he encountered in the flames. Eventually his antics were so

repugnant that the Church was obliged to remove him from his post.
From Mangareva we sailed westward to the scattered outcrops
of the Austral archipelago. Flying fish whirred up from beneath
our bow like mechanical toys while clouds rose like loaves above
the horizon. At Raivavae, another dancing welcome awaited us
from people who seemed to have all the time in the world.
Famous as one of the most beautiful islands in the Pacific,
Raivavae rises, vertiginous and verdant, from a glorious turquoise
lagoon within a reef of white surf. This is the South Sea paradise
that Gauguin painted and Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed of. But
unlike Bora Bora, to which it is often compared, there are no real
hotels here and only a few guesthouses for a handful of visitors.
We hiked to the top of Mount Hiro through vine-tangled
forests for a stunning vista over the reaches of ocean. We cycled
around on the shore road, past gaily painted houses with
pretty gardens, hammocks and views of greenish seas. We took
outrigger canoes across the lagoon to a long white beach where
the islanders had prepared an elaborate picnic of crab, ceviche,
coconuts and delicious fruits so exotic that few of us had seen
them before. After lunch I watched parrotfish on the coral reefs
swimming through corridors of refracted light.
The next day, on Rurutu, some 220 nautical miles to the north-
west, we trekked through the undergrowth to the ruins of a marae,
the ceremonial temples where rituals were once enacted. Gods
would briefly come to earth here while dying chiefs embarked
on journeys skyward, to destinations among the constellations,
or to worlds beneath the ocean. It was here in the green gloom
of Rurutu’s marae that archaeologists found the exquisite sandal-
wood figure of the god A’a, now one of the greatest treasures of
the British Museum.
When we were not disembarking at faraway places, shipboard
life fell into its rhythms. The cruise was a foodie odyssey of
afternoon tea and cocktails, long lunches and splendid dinners.
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAD DAVENPORT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC; BRITNEY GILL; WOODY GOOCH; KARYN MILLET
There was a sundeck and two hot tubs, a library full of South
Sea literature, a cosy bar with live music, a spa for soothing
massages, a gym to work off those long lunches and a manifest
of companionable and well-travelled fellow passengers.
But the Sil er Explorer is also a lecture tour. Every day our
cargo of experts offered illustrated talks. James led us through Sil er Explorer shone in the evening light. She had carried us across
tectonic plates, volcanic hotspots and rising atolls until our Pacific the width of the Pacific. Her familiar silhouette looked like home.
islands began to sound like parts of some strange, restless crea- That night on the bow, under the stars and surrounded by the
ture, shuffling this way and that across watery expanses. Danae dark ocean, en route to Tahiti, I thought of a man I had met in
explained the Pacific birds, including the magnificent frigate birds, Raivavae. I had fallen in with him on the coast road, where he
with their Jurassic wingspans. EJ led us beneath the waves to was wheeling his antiquated bicycle. We stopped to chat on a
the world of humpbacks and their complex relationships. Alex rickety bench overlooking the sea beneath two entwined palm trees.
pondered the remarkable mysteries of Polynesian navigation, a He had only left his home once, he said, on a short trip to Tahiti.
system that enabled mariners to locate distant islands without I asked if he felt isolated from the rest of the world, here in the
charts or instruments, as well archaeological treasures, including mid-Pacific, on an unassuming dot of land. ‘It is not remote for
the mysterious carved heads, or tiki, worshipped as gods me,’ he said with a laugh. He stretched his arms, encompassing
before the missionaries arrived with incense, trousers and the seven square miles of lush greenery. ‘When the ocean is so
European diseases. After dinner every evening, we joined Marcel endless and unknowable,’ he said, ‘an island becomes a whole
on the foredeck for stargazing up into the southern constellations. world, enough for anyone.’
Our penultimate stop was Bora Bora. After our far-flung
islands, this well-known destination, with its big beach hotels,
seemed just a little gauche. There were shops, there was traffic, EASTER ISLAND TO PAPEETE
there was light pollution. But its breathtakingly beautiful lagoon Silversea Cruises offers this 14-day cruise onboard the
is one of the wonders of the natural world. We followed an Silver Explorer from 17 November to 1 December 2020
inland road to the highest point, where American GIs had installed from £11,100 per person. silversea.com
anti-aircraft guns during WWII. Anchored far below, the
47
48
against the
current
THE DANUBE IS ONE OF EUROPE’S LONGEST
RIVERS, FLOWING THROUGH COUNTRIES ONCE
SHAPED BY EMPIRES. GLIDING WEST FROM
HUNGARY TO AUSTRIA REVEALS A REGION
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. BY MARK ELLWOOD.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALESSANDRA SPAIRANI
50
D
uring a week sailing down the Danube from Budapest powerful shadow over the Danube Valley. After all, this was
to eastern Austria, one day stands out. It’s close to the the seat of the Habsburg Empire, where for centuries the
end of the voyage, and the ship is breezing through a river hummed with merchant ships, generating the wealth
particularly idyllic stretch. The craggy banks are studded that built the countless castles, palaces and parks that still
with bursts of greenery and the occasional boxy church. remain – not to mention that sumptuous abbey. During the
The view and the weather have drawn most of the pas- past century, though, this chunk of Europe was pummelled
sengers to the roof deck for lunch. It’s sunny but crisp; the into a pale, submissive replica of its former self: by revolu-
air is a little damp from the river, and most people have tions, wars, financial crises and, in some parts, Communist
grabbed one of the heavy woollen blankets strewn about. rule. The Danube itself fell under competing controls, West
Lunchtime – a quick feast of cold cuts and Alpine cheeses, versus East; boats no longer freely shuttled up and down.
including an addictively tangy, spicy cream cheese – offers No wonder, then, that the surrounding land began to default
a brief interlude between visits to two classic Austrian towns, to those easier, happier times. Yet that gleaming gallery in
Melk and Krems, which bookend the day. Krems is a promising hint that the chokehold of history is
The former is famed for its baroque hilltop abbey, which finally loosening. Sailing along the Danube’s eastern reaches,
made the village an imperial seat. Still a working monastery, a fresh, forward-looking energy is evident everywhere.
it resembles an elaborate, rather stiff gingerbread house Navigating this region by river is a natural choice: the
teetering high above the Danube. Krems has a storied wide, deep waterway has been the seam stitching life together
history, too, and the hills nearby are known for producing here for centuries. The pace is unhurried, on land or on the
superb Grüner Veltliner, but there’s something else far more water; after all, sailing westward, from Budapest to Vienna
contemporary. On the outskirts of the town, as if idling and and beyond, a ship must battle the Danube’s current. It glides
ready for take-off, sits a spaceship-like silver building. It’s just fast enough to keep the deck breezy. Each night, as the
the new home for the State Gallery of Lower Austria, its vessel leaves its mooring near sundown, passengers gravitate
twisty, zinc-plated skin sparkling in the spring sunshine. again to the roof, sitting quietly to watch as a city recedes
In a region long defined by wistful nostalgia – what – at least until nightfall adds extra bite to the air.
Mitteleuropa calls sehnsucht – this new museum is thrill- There’s a distinct rhythm to this journey that’s unlike an
ingly incongruous. It’s easy to see why the past casts such a ocean cruise. Pulling back the curtain every morning reveals
Above from left: Mandla café in Bratislava; a deluxe suite on the Crystal Ravel. Opposite, Budapest’s Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
Previous pages, clockwise from top left: a Bratislava door; a porthole on the 55-stateroom ship; Wesselényi Street in Budapest;
the Danube from an onboard bedroom; PaUZa interiors shop and Castle Garden Bazaar, both in Budapest; Crystal Ravel’s pool
a view from the enormous window of each stateroom aboard

Crystal Cruises’ all-suite Crystal Ra el that is different from
the one the night before. Just a few feet away, the new des-
tination appears as if conjured from nowhere. Take Vienna,
where the Danube splits into several winding tributaries that
snake through the city centre. In springtime, the river here
feels like a lifeline, its banks studded with bars, hotels and
urban beaches – well, patches of sand packed with hopeful-
looking deck chairs.
With the ship moored in the city overnight, there’s a
chance to delve deeper into how Vienna has changed in
recent decades. Economic inertia and nostalgia for its days
as the capital of an empire helped save old palaces and
factories from demolition (there was neither much income
nor many incomers). Those grand buildings were moth-
balled until better times arrived – and thank goodness, too,
says Lena Hoschek. A rockabilly brunette with a punky
neck tattoo, she is Austria’s most successful contemporary
designer. Standing in her wood-panelled studio, a former
knitting factory, Hoschek is surrounded by rails of her retro,
wasp-waisted clothes, like Wes Anderson meets Vivienne
Westwood. Her staff sit nearby at giant desks; customers
who order bespoke designs come here for fittings or
consultations, using the dressing room originally built for
the knitting company’s house models. ‘When the old and
EACH NIGHT PASSENGERS GRAVITATE TO THE

ROOF TO WATCH AS A CITY RECEDES — AT LEAST
UNTIL NIGHTFALL ADDS EXTRA BITE TO THE AIR
the new clash, that’s when you get a great vibe,’ she says,
throwing up her hands and looking around her showroom.
Hoschek could be talking about her clothes or about Vienna.
She likely means both.
The workshop of milliner Klaus Mühlbauer is located in
Schwedenplatz, in the crook of the Danube that’s downtown.
His family started a hat-making business here more a century
ago. When he inherited it, he was determined to preserve
what still set it apart – every hat was handmade at the atelier
or by a milliner working from home nearby – but nixed the
fusty, old-fashioned styles. Today his workshop on the river-
bank is full of wide-brimmed straw boaters and crushable,
lightweight felt trilbies. Standing there, trim and sandy-
haired, Mühlbauer fingers a few of the straw prototypes. ‘The
collection is called Vienna because I want to make this city
even more visible,’ he says softly, in flawless English.
In Vienna, the ship berths on a quiet canal outside the
centre – in stark contrast to where it starts the journey in
Budapest, close to the main bridge in the heart of downtown,
sandwiched between craggy Buda and low-lying Pest. That
perch is near Gellért Hill, where the past, quite literally,
looms large. It’s a short walk up to the peak and the muscu-
lar Soviet-era Liberty Statue, which surveys the city, palm
This page from top: Wild Flower Bar in Budapest; the sun deck
on the Crystal Ravel. Opposite, clockwise from top left: a poster in
Budapest’s Jewish quarter; Slávica, a gift shop in Bratislava;
Kontakt café in Budapest; Fach bakery in Bratislava
52
54
leaf in hand; it seems intended as part inspiration, part weapon.

Right under her nose, locals have co-opted old spaces for
new uses, leaving them almost unchanged from the outside.
This repurposing began as Communism’s grip first loosened
in the 1990s, a cautious effort that resulted in the so-called
ruin bars. Entrepreneurs rebooted abandoned buildings in
District VII, once the Jewish quarter, as ad hoc drinking dens,
squirrelling them into the crumbling brick courtyards; they’ve
become a contemporary signature of the city. Now other busi-
nesses have moved in, such as Printa Design Shop, a studio,
café and shop selling T-shirts printed on site.
Elsewhere in Budapest, the one-time grand hall of the
Masonic lodge has been reborn as the restaurant of the new
Mystery Hotel; screens showing trompe l’oeil video art line
the walls below the centuries-old murals. As for the barge
that bobs on the water across the river from our mooring, it
looks at first like the Communist-era shipping tanker it once
was. Come closer, though, to see it’s now A38, a concert
venue and bar that’s just the spot for a drink at dusk as the
sun sets over the water.
The ship leaves Budapest behind at dusk. It sails for a
few circuits, back and forth, a chance to watch the floodlit
buildings as night falls and occasional snatches of rowdiness
– those ruin bars, no doubt – waft out onto the water.
Something else comes into view as we pull away: a few shoes
on the bank; 60 pairs, it turns out, cast in iron. This monu-
ment is intended to honour the Hungarian Jews murdered
by a Fascist militia during World War II. They were ordered
to remove their shoes before being shot and were told to
stand at the edge of the water so that the current would carry
their bodies away. The Danube is always front of mind here
and so, too, is history. Bratislava’s independent mayor will likely champion
After the war, the USSR commandeered this city, as well similar projects. Matúš Vallo is an architect, urban planner
as a stretch of the river beyond. It was here that the Soviet and Fulbright alum in his early 40s on a mission to attract a
regime oversaw one of its biggest infrastructure projects, spate of forward-looking people to make the city their base.
the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros locks. The ship reaches them at Kerim Hudson is one; the British designer behind local
breakfast time and they are nerve-racking to navigate: accessories label Pakta came here with his girlfriend, a
concrete walls seem to loom over the ship, closing in. What’s Bratislava native who, like him, studied fashion in London.
more, the locks are packed with vessels bobbing perilously ‘People want to change the city for the better,’ Hudson says.
close together as the waters adjust. Once the gates release, ‘And because it’s small, it’s easier to have a bigger impact.’
the morning unfurls – another long, leisurely journey Another returnee is Jakub Dianiška, who also came back
against the current, coasting upstream to the next port. A from London, where he worked as a consultant. Today he’s
new city hews slowly into view, the only one to appear standing behind the counter of his café, Mandla, a sleek,
during the day: Bratislava, Slovakia. The ship moors just wardrobe-size espresso joint. With architectural glasses and
minutes from its cobblestoned heart, right under the glare a shaved head, he’s a genial barista. ‘There’s always been
of a futuristic bridge crowned with a flying saucer-like energy here, but it was suppressed and constrained by the
viewing deck. It’s a restaurant, but there’s an unwelcome regimes that ruled in the past. It was dormant,’ he says. ‘But
whiff of the watchtower. it’s opening up because of our generation, who didn’t live
The Slovak capital was transformed by Communist rule, through the politics of the past. We want to change things.’
its skyline redefined via a series of brutalist buildings that Walking back to the ship a few yards away, it seems like this
still jostle for prominence with the old city walls. The most region might finally be ready to follow his lead.
impressive is the Hotel Kyjev, an uncompromising tomb-
stone-like skyscraper dating back to 1973. It shuttered
more than a decade ago and lay untouched until last summer BUDAPEST TO VIENNA
when local photographer Lousy Auber corralled a team of Crystal Cruises offers a seven-night cruise from Budapest
mountain climbers to rappel down its exterior, paintbrushes to Vienna onboard the Crystal Ravel on 9 October 2020
in hand. He oversaw its transformation into a Bridget Reilly– from £4,211 per person. crystalcruises.co.uk
esque Op-Art mural.
Top right, St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest. Opposite, clockwise from top left: a view of the Danube from the ship;
flowers hanging over a wall in Krems; the top deck of the Crystal Ravel; homeware at PaUZa in Budapest
next level
Sixteenth-century maritime explorers such as drake
and magellan had to cross perilous straits to
reach chile and peru, whose jagged magnificence
enthralled them. This old inca kingdom is still
PHOTOGRAPH: CROOKES & JACKSON
stitched through with traditions that hold the key

to an entire continent. By Horatio Clare
57
I first fell in love with the sea rails, watching as the landed
through stories, holidays and world recedes behind us. Others
poetry. ‘I must go down to the sea drink aperitifs, or dress for dinner.
again, to the lonely sea and the sky,’ Though this is not an idle
wrote the poet laureate John holiday. The passengers include
Masefield. ‘And all I ask is a tall academics, lawyers and fund
ship and a star to steer her by...’ managers, and none plan to pass
The lines caught my imagination the time with their feet up. From
when I was younger. I could not 6.30am when breakfast opens until
have explained it, but the ‘wild 10.45pm when the evening cabaret
call... that will not be denied’ of finishes we are busy. Except for two
Masefield’s classic poem ‘Sea full days at sea, we steam mostly at
Fever’ stirred a great longing in me. night, dawns finding us in the ports
For many people, real travel begins of Coquimbo, Iquique, Arica,
with a ship. My fascination with Matarani, Pisco and Callao, mostly
the rough romance, mystery and cities with ancient histories rarely
endless mutability of the sea began visited on landlubber tours through
with family holidays involving a Machu Picchu.
ferry trip to France. Many voyages In fact, we are up before the sun
later, it has only grown. In my has gathered strength the morning
opinion, the great age of air travel, of our first full day, docked in the
when the journey itself was a huge joyfully messy beachfront city
part of the pleasure, is still alive of Coquimbo, the first in a string of
at sea. There remain sweeps of this planet that only ships can towns on the Chilean Inca Trail. Blown by a wind that never stops,
get to: stretches of coasts separated from the rest of the land by we meet our guides and board buses to explore the old Incan city.
PHOTOGRAPHS: CROOKES & JACKSON; WILLIAM HEREFORD; GRETA RYBUS; RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR; MICHAELA TRIMBLE; JENNY ZARINS
mountains and volcanoes. I knew nothing about these ports beyond Many upmarket cruise ships carry writers, lecturers and special-
brushing encounters with their names in maritime histories; places ists whose programmes of readings and talks are central to the
visited by Magellan and Drake, and any range of European sailors, understanding and entertainment of the voyage. Le Boréal’s
when it wasn’t possible to enter the Pacific without rounding resident specialist, Paz Núñez-Regueiro, of the Musée du Quai
Cape Horn or crossing the straits of Tierra del Fuego. Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris, gives lectures that help us acquire
I’m retracing one such route, standing on the bridge of a grounding in the history of this coast. In Iquique, a town that
the 413ft Le Boréal next to its captain, Fabien Roché. We are doubles as the gateway to Chile’s Atacama Desert, a vast spine
leaving Valparaíso, Chile, northbound for the littorals and ports of sand known as the Cerro Dragón looms over a mini Miami of
of the Pacific coast of South America. ‘My favourite bit – the towers and apartments, a wide promenade slaloming along the
manoeuvering!’ Captain Roché enthuses, grinning at the prospect front, with turkey vultures perching on the lampposts. Farther
of taking us to sea. He is in his element amid the radar screens, north, in Arica, the Museo Histórico y de Armas overlooks the
electronic charts, radios and satellite communications systems town from Morro de Arica hill. We are thoroughly briefed on
that are a definite upgrade from the days of Magellan. The ship how the War of the Pacific was won here in 1880: the Chileans
is chic in grey and white, with a giant French tricolour hanging wore red, the Peruvians white, so the blood showed up on the
idle and magnificent at its stern. The bridge is open to passengers Peruvians and demoralised them, or so the Chileans say. In
around the clock, offering huge vistas of the ocean and close-ups this gentle city, people cross the street with umbrellas held up
of how the vessel is operated. Le Boréal is seven decks high, against the Andean light. Beginning with the Chinchorro culture
stylishly raked and pointed. Were it not for the multiple cabin of northern Chile (they were mummifying their dead around
windows and balconies, enough for all 264 passengers to enjoy 5000 bc, two millennia before the Egyptians did), Núñez-Regueiro
sea views, you might mistake it for an oligarch’s superyacht. traces the rise and fall of the Inca empire, the conquistadors, the
Ponant, the company with which my shipmates and I have chosen liberations of Chile and Peru by José de San Martín and Simón
to sail, was started by French merchant navy seamen. It special- Bolívar, the war between Bolivia-Peru and Chile, and the rise of
ises in sophisticated, medium-size ships with shallow drafts the modern states.
that get them more easily into small ports and anchorages. Cabins Approaching the land from the sea while being immersed in
are compact and smart, aimed at the sort of traveller who appre- its stories by guides makes for the liveliest kind of history. This is
ciates a quietly elegant hotel. where explorer Diego de Almagro would have pulled into the
The itinerary of my journey, from Valparaíso to Lima (the ship magnificent coast. In all three ports, Chile’s exports and imports
continues on before finally docking in Ecuador) has a far-side- lay all around us as we arrived: minerals, fish and fertiliser going
of-the-world glitter. As we leave Valparaíso the crew gather on the out; cars, trucks and grain coming in – the imprint of modern
top deck, their gossip and laughter quiet against the hiss of industry. Yet everywhere we went was once the dominion of the
the ship sliding through the water. Some passengers line the Incas. The Incas, Núñez-Regueiro explained, carried their kings
Opposite: Peru is known for its masterful weaving traditions; Cuzco, centre top, is the gateway to the Sacred Valley, top and
bottom right, and can be booked as an extension to Ponant’s Cordillera & Andean Secrets cruise. Previous pages: Hiram Bingham discovered
Machu Picchu in 1911, though there is speculation that the German Augusto Berns got there first, in 1867
59
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES CHOROROS; CROOKES & JACKSON; PLAIN PICTURE/

BLUE HOUSE PROJECT; PLAIN PICTURE/WESTEND16/KRISTIAN PEETZ
61
in litters. ‘They believed the king with mint soaps, chickens, Beatles
could not touch the ground, or he clocks and silver crescent moons.
would produce earthquakes. They But the journey’s greatest treas-
sacrificed children in the highest ures all come from the sea. The
peaks of the Andes because they waters of this coast, fecund with the
believed the sun, the mountains nutrients of the Humboldt current,
and the rivers were gods. Their are dazzlingly rich. On the first
systems of accounting and commu- morning, an albatross quartered
nication were all done with knots our wake. Shearwaters and pelicans,
in string.’ I felt ambivalent towards cormorants and gulls accompanied
the Incas at first; museum displays us every day. One evening, dolphins
of their pots and ponchos make came plunging through the waves,
them seem like war-mongering like Poseidon’s green and playful
handicraft specialists with an fingers racing toward the ship.
astounding facility for building in Close to the end of my voyage, we
stone. But acquaintance with this docked at Pisco in Peru. Near this
PHOTOGRAPHS: CROOKES AND JACKSON; PLAIN PICTURE/IMAGE SOURCE/ARUNDHATI BHARATI; GRETA RYBUS; RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR; MICHAELA TRIMBLE; JENNY ZARINS
arid coast, where the earth trem- small port we boarded boats for the
bles daily, every town has escape Ballestas Islands, a little archipelago
routes signposted and less than five half an hour offshore, where there
inches of rain fall in a year, inspires are wonders. As we approached,
awe at the scale of their empire. the air filled with a miraculous pro-
Stretching from Ecuador to Chile, fusion of birds. The gannet family
it encompassed 10 million people are known as boobies here: blue-
and ended in a scene of terrible pathos in 1532. ‘The Incan king footed, Peruvian and masked boobies dived for fish in the hundreds.
Atahualpa had never met any leader who would not drink chicha Gulls and cormorants filled the morning sky with wheeling, soaring
beer with him,’ Núñez-Regueiro said about the circumstances and cries. Inca terns, scrappily plumaged in black, sported crimson
surrounding his demise. But the Spanish rejected the offer. ‘They beaks and sublime white moustaches. The islands’ surface is made
seized him. Perhaps his followers were so frightened to see the up of guano reefs – 50ft-thick before they were excavated for
king taken they could do nothing. He offered the Spanish enough fertiliser – and the smell is formidable, reeking like rotten ancho-
gold to fill the cell they kept him in. They took the gold, but they vies baked with fish guts and ammonia. Red-legged, neotropic
assassinated him the next year.’ and guanay cormorants flew around us as we edged in under the
We found much happier history in the convent of Santa Catalina cliffs. Three Humboldt penguins stood with their beaks in the air,
in Arequipa, Peru, a majestic city surrounded by volcanoes. It is like a trio of small pianists in evening dress, marooned in a whirl
not an easy place to access from anywhere, but we are bused of flight. On rocky beaches, hundreds of sea lions had been calved:
painlessly up the coastal massif, across a glaring desert, and into as the huge males roared and females wailed, the shiny black
the foothills of the Andes, mighty spectres in the distance. By pups flipped and flopped at the sea’s edge. Perhaps only on the
tradition the second-born daughters of Spanish rulers were Serengeti would you see such an intensity of wildlife, but here it
enrolled in convents. In this one they had a ball. Our guide Julissa flies and dives and squeals within feet of you. It was a beautiful
Roman said: ‘They invented their own system of banking, and and uplifting encounter: the world, it felt, is huge, teeming and
here you can see they had their own apartments.’ Every novice’s squalling with vivacity. Azure and green Pacific swells heaved as
cell was marked by spacious living quarters. ‘They called them- seemingly 100,000 birds beat their wings at the morning. To witness
selves doña, “mistress”, not “sister”, and only a third of the people such a scene is to feel the purest exhilaration. A group of passengers
who were living here were nuns.’ Visiting bishops were appalled overflew the Nazca Lines in the Peruvian desert, another party
at their high life, insisting that two servants each was too many. The went up Machu Picchu, but no human-made phenomenon, it
nuns fought the bishops through the courts and won. It took papal seemed then, could compete with nature at her most profuse and
intervention to confine them to one dorm and end the good times. zestful. To encounter it at water level and then to return to the
From a sea the colour of a whale’s back we steady in towards cool elegance and ordered luxury of Le Boréal explained why
coasts that emerge through the mist in great red heaves of cruising, for some, becomes a hobby, a habit, even a way of life.
shale mountains and dark rocks splashed with guano, the solidi-
fied waste of seabirds, the shallow waters teeming with life. We
spot sea-nettle jellyfish as long as cattle, their scarlet tentacles CORDILLERA & ANDEAN SECRETS
trailing from domed heads like giant floor lamps. The tremendous Ponant sails between Valparaíso, Chile and Guayaquil, Ecuador, for
wealth of the ocean, which endures still, has drawn the peoples 13 days from 20 March to 1 April 2020 from £3,938 per person
of the hinterland to these shores for millennia. In the markets of and between Guayaquil and Talcahuano, Chile, for 14 days from
the coastal cities, random cornucopias adorn the stalls. Granite 9 to 22 October 2020 from £3,484. en.ponant.com
eggs, shawls, wool, wood, stone and vegetables share space
Opposite: the smoking volcano of El Misti, top left, produces a white rock called sillar that is used in much of the architecture
of nearby Arequipa in southern Peru; many Peruvian cities display a huge colonial influence, bottom right;
Chile’s Atacama Desert, centre left, is home to salt flats, flamingos and one of the driest climates anywhere on earth
63
INSIDER ADDRESS
WITH A NEAR-MYTHOLOGICAL PAST, THE ORIGINAL SUPERYACHT IS BACK ON THE WATER
PHOTOGRAPH: DMITRI KESSEL/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

Before the Christina O, the superyacht as we know it wasn’t a thing. But in 1954,
shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis happened upon a slender, elegantly
shaped anti-submarine frigate that had served at the D-Day landings and paid its
scrap value of about £27,160. What happened next was typical of the Golden Greek:
naming the boat after his daughter, he spent almost £3.2 million creating the original
floating pleasure palace, adding revolutionary touches such as a helipad
and the mosaic-tiled bottom of the seawater pool that would rise to become a dance
floor at the touch of a button. Soon Frank Sinatra was playing the Steinway or
flirting with Marilyn Monroe on bar stools made of whale foreskins at Ari’s Bar –
where Winston Churchill is said to have thought that a young John F Kennedy was
a waiter when they first met in the mid-1950s. For all that went down on the
325ft Christina O, the ship itself was influential, providing a blueprint for both design
and hedonism to a generation of superyachts, especially those of fledgling boat
designer Jon Bannenberg, whose interiors on Talitha G for the Getty family owed a
debt to this original. After Onassis’s death in 1975, Christina Onassis (shown here
at age three, onboard) donated her namesake to the Greek government and the
ship was allowed to decay until a 2001 overhaul, followed by another restoration
15 years later. Now it’s available to rent: if only those Spanish-galleon-timber walls
could talk. TOBY SKINNER The ‘Christina O’ can be chartered for about
£477,370 per week through Morley Yachts (morleyyachts.com)

CONDENASTJOHANSENS.COM
DELFIN AMAZON
CRUISES

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РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.

THE DNA FRESH EYES

EPIC TRAIN-BRAGGING IN THE USA

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Vintage Alhambra long necklace

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019

TEL AVIV p94

AMERICA BY TRAIN p104

ZORKOS BEACH ON ANDROS

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019

36 SNAPSHOT Tropical foliage and 131 FLAVOUR HUNTER

PHOTOGRAPHS: JOAO PEDRO CORDEIRO; SUZAN GABRIJAN; ALICIA TAYLOR

59 STYLE FILE Shopping in Taipei.

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PHOTOGRAPHS: SUZAN GABRIJAN; MONTSE GARRIGA; DANIELLE KOSANN/KINTZING;

NAJEEM MUHAMMED/500PX; TOM PARKER; BENJAMIN SCHMUCK; ALICIA TAYLOR

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CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Richard Kingerlee NEWSTRADE MARKETING MANAGER Olivia Streatfield

CAN’T FIND CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER IN THE SHOPS?

MANAGING DIRECTOR ALBERT READ

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Open the door to a suite aboard our world famous

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September 2019 Condé Nast Traveller 19

WORD OF MOUTH COLONIAL-STYLE FACADE

Close to the cacophony of Chowpatty beach, and surrounded by the

47G LIVING ROOM

OTHER GLOBAL NEIGHBOURHOODS

WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY

Clockwise from left: a window

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state of flex to be the world’s largest, with

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BY CHLOE SACHDEV. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALICIA TAYLOR

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Middle row, from left: Atelier Ace and

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Bottom row, from left: a neon orange sign,

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Clockwise from top left: Praia de Santa

Clockwise from top left: Ko Hyojoo

When valeria kechichian started longboarding in Madrid in

– but the primary appeal has always been a certain languorous

elegance; a free-spirited surfer vibe, more at home in nature than

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Clockwise from top left: Valeria

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