Marrakech

The red city has just been elected the best tourist place in Africa.
I have been to Morocco a couple of time but this was my first  her and I have been happily surprise by the cleanest of the place.

Where to stay:
la Mamounia : the mythic hotel of Marrakech, being refurbished recently by the French designer Garcia is  the place to stay. It is gorgeous, the place is very Moroccan opulent , the service is impeccable. The staff are beautifully dress. Set in a garden of orange, citrus, mandarine trees...in the Medina.

Riad La Sultana:
The other place to stay in the Medina if you look for a more boutique hotel.  Perfect of season, when all the other hotel are empty (specially in the Palmeraie). Beautifully riad, very quiet, excellent service. Pure luxe !

Where to eat:
Lunch : La Terrace des Epices. This roof top restaurant is my favorite for lunch. Located in the souk, they serve good morrocan food and an excellent chocolate pastilla in a modern decoration in brown and aubergine shade.

Diner:

Dar Yacout , the best place for diner. Spectacular service very old school, great diner.

La Mamounia both restaurants the Moroccan and the Italian are excellent. The service is immaculate. Really enjoy the main bar also. 

Le Foundouk, nice place, nice roof terrace for lunch also

Comptoir    : trendy place so expect pretty girls serving, busy place but average food.

Al Fassia ( Guelioz) : should be very good but we did not had the chance to try it. 

Bo Zin : suppose to be good also (trendy). 

Dar Moha 

Thing to know: 

Some taxi will try to charge you five times the price, ask for them to put the meter on or fixe a rate before.

Most of the people are very nice and helpful when you are lost. Some people will try to help you with your direction for a small fee, if they become to difficult the good way to get ride of them is to pretend to call the police they will instantly disappear. Aggressive behavior is not tolerated in Marrakech, there is tourism police in the Median in civil clothes specially there to prevent this problem. 

What to do:

Walk in the Medina, visit the tannery, the souk, Palais La Bahia, musée de la Photographie and the Medersa Ben Yusut next . Visit the Saadian cave and Palais El Badi near the kasbah district.

Of course, don't miss Jemaa el Fna Square , have mint tea on one of the café and enjoy peolpe watching, cruise ont the square watch the story teller, the water men, the shops and of course the snake charmers. From there you can walk to la Koutoubia mosque and the gardens around or take a horse caleche ride.

Visit the Marjorelle garden, Yves Saint Laurent and Bergé private garden.
Treat yourself with a hamman                      
Play golf!

Shops: 
For nice quality kaftan " Chez Belhaj "
For beautiful furniture and decoration "Cherkaoui"I have been very impress by they selection of furniture and objects....
For more modern art and closed:  "33 rue Marjorelle".
Herborist  and Argan products: Rahba Kemina n°156

Dressing code: in November it can be chilly in the evening and warm in the day time around 20 to 23 degree. Chic is the dress code for evening and more cool in the day time. I recommend to dress appropriately for the woman (cover your shoulders and legs). This is a muslim country and most Morrocans are dress in long kaftan and coat with they hair cover.

Book: Susan Simon Shopping in Marrachek... she suggest a few of interesting walk.

Have a break from the busy Marrakech ...head to the high Atlas. One hour drive from Marrakech in the Toubkal valley (highest peak in north africa 4157m) is the luxury hotel the Kasbah Tamadot. It is own by Sir Richard Branson . The best is to stay in one of the tent, the view on the village on the other bank of the river is spectacular. The tent is heated which is very convenient for this season. The outside pool is also heated. For lunch, you can take a 30 minutes drive to the village at the bottom of the Toubkal then a short 15 minutes walk to the Kasbah Toubkal.

Florence and Tuscany wine valley

Where to stay: Villa Mangiacane. Very nice location of this boutique hotel. It was convenient to go to Florence, run in the morning and discover the villages and country side around.
They did a fantastic job renovating the place. It is a mix of old and comtemporay. I really like the eclectic interior design of the reception. The room are big and very comfortable, the bathroom is large and modern.
 However, I am not so sure about the South African art in the garden....some Tuscany sculpture will probably have been more appropriate but this is just our own opinion.
The property include a vineyard and a forest so it was a fantastic place for our jogging. We had the great pleasure to meet to permanent sweet and lovely pretty guess : 2 small poneys.

What to do : Discover Florence, the Gucci museum and enjoy shopping.
 Cruise in the Chianti wine valley, discover the local village and market, buy some wine. Enjoy the swimming pool at the Villa after a hot day in the Tuscany heat.

Where to eat: Diner :there is a good restaurant walking distance from the Villa, you cross the vineyard to go there is very nice.In Florence : Cibreo. The service is excellent, the maitre Di take the time to sit at your table to go through the all menu. The cuisine is typical Italian. It is a real pleasure.Lunch: at Cinque di Vino in San Casciano.

On the way back home we stop at Portofino and had a delicious lunch on the beautiful terrace of the famous luxury Spendido Hotel

Venice

We are going to Venice at least once per year I love it. What is fantastic we always discover new places. We decide to try hotel Palazina G for a change. 
The Palazina G is a typical Boutique hotel so expect no reception and no sign outdoor.  The all hotel is very "Stackish", beautiful, every thing has is place and has been thought about. You recognize the Starck signature at first look. However, the restaurant  is very dark which can work in winter but is a bit oppressive in summer. The room are all white, full of mirror to make it bigger has in most hotel design by Stark and it works they are very comfortable.
However, the roof lounge lack of attention and staff.

Where to eat: 
Lunch : Osteria is part of the Venice life style so it is a must to go there we select
Osteria Alla Vedova:  probably the oldest Osteria excellent food very local atmosphere. 
Osteria Ai Artisti: "un regal"...the place is very small, the pleople are lovely and they serve a delicious Italian cuisine
Diner
For a very romantic diner one of the best place is Harry's Dolci on the Giudecca canal. You eat outside and profit of the view while enjoying the famous Italian cuisine of Harry's
What to do: time to visit some museum and to discover the fish and vegetable market 
Drink : Stop and enjoy the place Saint Marco fat café Floran

LONDON

London is in constant movement, the Shard is finish.....bikes have take over the all city, the street art is all over Shoreditch  as well as a new shopping place BoxPark made of containers and new restaurants have pop up every where. So in my week stay I try:

In Mayfair : the up market 34, the meat restaurant of Scott's excellent, great service

In Soho: the cool  tiny but excellent Dicksoup and of course I have been back to the excellent Barrafina and Bocca del Lupo

Lima a Peruvian restaurant where you can drink a Pisco sour, eat a fabulous Ceviche and of course a Dulce de late ice cream

In Shoreditch : a lot of new place in this district, I did not try them just had a look. I just had a glass of champagne on the roof terrace at Boundary ... lovely
Save for my next trip for lunch a very little place with no name next to the Boundary there they seams to save fantastic pizzas and the new Hix restaurant which has a enormous peace of Damien Hirst art.....

Quick quick until September 9 you can visit the fabulous Damien Hirst exposition at Tate modern...don't miss the Butterflies room absolutely amazing.

Saint Barth

 We have been on Saint Barth few times and love to go back. This time we choice  Eden Rock. This is the best hotel on the island. Best for location, right on the beach not to far from Gustavia . The service is good, can always be perfected. The beach restaurant is good and the diner restaurant is one of the best on the island. Forget about the gym, there is a nice path at the end of the beach where you can run.
This year the car to rent on the island: the mini convertible..... lot of fun

France : Cap Ferret

We decide to spend a week end In Cap Ferret in June and we have been seduce by the place. Gorgeous beaches, many jogging and biking trails. Beautiful landscape, friendly people, nice little village to visit.
What to do: Climb "dune du Pilat" the highest sans dune in Europe. Take a  boat ride in the Bassin d'Arcachon, visit the village L'Herbe and of course eat oysters.







Where to stay:

La Maison du Bassin :This small hotel is very charming and fit totally with the overall ambiance of the Cap. It fell a bit that you are staying in a old family vacation house. The breakfast is very good (so please not to have a buffet)
The restaurant is delicious with a very nice atmosphere and the bar is the best place to have a drink in Cap Ferret.
However, make sure you book a big room if you are a couple. Unfortunately, we did not stay there because they had only a tiny room available and it was really to small for 2 persons to stay there, specially as there is no outdoor space. But I will go back and make sure I book the biggest room available

Coté Sable :

I really appreciate the room, the size was reasonable with a big italian shower and a nice outdoor space. Our room "Joyce" is probably one of the smallest there but in the garden level. The decoration is nice, waxed concrete all in the shade of beige and brown.
Did not feel like we where in a 4 stars hotel (French standard) but more in a 3 stars. 
The hotel will not leave any special memory to me ... a bit dull, leak of personality.

For a pre diner drink: La Maison du Basin

Where to eat: for lunch in one of the many oyster place, Chez Bolan.

For diner: La maison du Bassin, Chez Hortense (make sure you book in advance)

Saint Tropez update

Saint Tropez is touch by the globalization and now most of the major luxury brands are there which make it difficult to shop something special. Dior and Chanel still make a difference by offering a spectacular shop there, otherwise no interest at all in Celine, Dior Homme, Lanvin...where in june you find only winter clothes! If you want something special you still can shop at Rondini and K-Jacques for summer sandals.
The previous "Maison Blanche" has open under  name "White 1921" so white it is and tasteless it is. The decoration is dull, the manager arrogant and un-polite. I advise you to head for Pandei for an early drink where you will be well receive and enjoy a nice drink in the garden listening to a good band.
Beach: Tropezina has been rebuild and this is a great place to go to. The food is great and affordable. And now they have a real beach.
La Voile Rouge c'est fini.....it was suppose to be rebuilt in the parking lot behind, this will not happen. Well, we had some good time there ....
Back to Club 55 for a good rustic Provencal cusine, always busy

Probably the best new comer of the season: La Sauvageonne . Delicious fresh and high quality simple food, great and friendly service. Just what we where looking for. A lot of attention has been put in the Robinson Crusoe type decoration...look for the crocodiles in the river.
Valet parking
Route de la grande terrasse Ramatuelle.

Saint Tropez

Saint Tropez has been under a lot of change again this year.
Our favorite hotel "La Bastide des Salins" has renovated all the 14 rooms and we just love it. It is very Saint Tropez style. We really feel at home, it is a little quiet hotel nested in a gorgeous garden with of course a great swimming pool. It is a very nice place to stay, relax and enjoy. The staff is lovely.
I highly recommend it.

http://www.bastidedessalins.com/fr/index.php

 LVMH  has bought an other place: Maison Blanche, so your best place for a before diner drink is not here any more, but should be replace by a Champagne bar ...this is still under renovation and probably will not open before the  the summer season.
Saint Tropez is now full of luxury mono brand shops, the new addition this year will be Gucci and probably more to come are many shops are still closed.
Regarding the beaches, La Voile Rouge no not exist any more.....the last gossip is that they might open being the previous one (so not on the beach any more).
Our favorite beaches are: Les Palmiers for people watching and cuisine, Noulargo, Key West and Les Jumeaux for something good but more low profil.

For diner, Crisina Saulini an Italian restaurant in a little street in the town.

INCREDIBLE INDIA

A journey through north and south India in train and car with driver.

A journey through India : Delhi, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi, Chennai, Trichy, Madurai,  Periyar, Cochin,  Mysore, Hampi, Goa, Mumbai.

Colors, fragrance, organized chaos, diversity, will be what come in to my mind when I reflect on India.
Each state is different. The food, the people, the language, the landscape, the history all are very very different. We have the feeling we had visited 7 countries and not just one.
The north is desertic when the south is lush. The south is much more develop and cleaner then
an the north. Tamil Nadu and Kerala are full of Universities and Hospitals.
In the north, you will find the more amazing hotel Palace while in the south the hotel are not so nice. If they are available Taj hotel group is always an excellent choice. The service is always impeccable. Vivanta and Taj Gateway are of course more simple than they heritage palace however, they are always clean and the service is very good.

Going from city to city in the North by train is the best choice, book in 1 AC if it possible.
In the south, we did the travel by car with a driver. Absolutely forget about driving yourself. The road is an total chaos, no rules is the rules. The road are in very good shape, the danger come from vehicle coming in contraflow, and all the rest cows, dogs, bikes, elephants.......
We real enjoy the food and we did no experience the "Delhi belly". Some simple tips: Only go in place you feel are ok, keep away from street food, no fruits, no raw vegetable, no salad, wash your hands.

The people are very nice, lovely, helpful and curious. Women always look stunning in saries, I love the men color turban and doti in Rajastan. I am a big fan of the gypsies women looks and of course the sadous in the north.
I really enjoy the Maharaja palaces and the temples of the south and all the market
By favorite place are Varanasi for the cultural shock, overall colors  and Jaisalmer for the back in time feeling.
My favorite landscape are the tea plantation in Kerala, the back water in Kerala, the beach in Goa, the arriving in car on the coast of Karnataka.
To organize our trip we use a local tour operator Service International New Delhi, they did an excellent job and I highly recommend them.

NORTH INDIA: RAJASTAN - UTTAR PRADESH

Delhi

Visit Old Delhi and the red fort and the temple, city tour, visit the park 

Where to stay: Hotel Imperial Palace

Jaisalmer  

Visit the fort, bazaars and the old mansions known as haveli's. People still live in these ancient building dating from 12th to 15th centaury. Every house has exquisite carvings and filigreed work. 

Take a drive to see the Thar desert.

Where to stay: Surya Garth Palace. 

Where to eat : for lunch on the roof top of the R.B café try a Tali enjoy the view

Jodhpur 

The blue city

City tour of Jodhpur. Visit the Meharangarh Fort situated on a low sandstone Hill, including Moti-Mahal and Phool Mahal. Also visit Jaswant Thada, an imposing Marble Memorium built in 1899 and the museum located in the Umaid Public Gardens.

Where to stay: Umaid Bhawan Palace. Use to be the Maharaja palace. The place is absolutly stunning when you arrive at night.

Udaipur

Drive to Udaipur visiting Ranakpur Temples enroute. Ranakpur - the Jain Temples built in the 15th century are situated in the lovely valley of the Aravali. There are 1444 pillars in the temple and none of them are similar. The magic of light & shade is really awe inspiring. Surya Temple and other Jain Temples are side attractions.

 Visit the City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Sahelion ki Bari, Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandir and drive around Fatehsagar.

do a tuck tuck tour of the old city, and walk in the market , narrow street and lake side
Shopping: 2 very nice modern shops in the City Palace on the first floor

Where to stay: Lake Palace, up to the hip. You have a

 Jaipur

the pink city

Visit Amber Fort - the ancient capital of the State. Visit the Sheesh Mahal or the Hall of Victory glittering with mirrors. Afternoon tour of Jaipur- the capital of Rajasthan was given a colour coat of pink a century ago in honour of a visiting Prince. Built by Maharaja Jai Singh, the notable astronomer, this city is 260 years old. Visit Maharaja's City Palace, the Observatory . Drive past Hawa Mahal  through the pink rose residential 

Don't miss the market and treat your self with the best Lassi in town
Where to stay: Taj Rambagh Palace. This palace has been our favorite hotel to stay in. The service is immaculate, the place is gorgeous. It set in a park with is full of peacocks, birds and butterflies . We had a change to watch the hotel parade of elephants, camels and marwari horses .

Agra
 visit the world famous Taj Mahal built by the Mughal Emperor Shahjehan in 1630 for his Queen Mumtaz Mahal to enshrine her mortal remains. Later visit the Agra Fort containing the Halls of Public and Private Audience. Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays.

Where to stay : Oberoi. Very nice view of the Taj Mahal from the hotel

Varanasi (Banaras)
Early morning boat excursion on the river Ganges. People bathe early in the morning to offer the prayers to the rising sun. The two cremation ghats are Manikarnika Harishchandra where funeral pyre burns day and night. Every pious Hindu believes that to die in Kashi and to be cremated on banks of the Ganges is to attain release from the cycle of birth and death.  Attend the evening ceremony at of the gath

Where to stay : Nadesar Palace

SOUTH INDIA : TAMIL NADU - KERALA - KARNATAKA - GOA - MAHARASHTRA

 Chennai (Madras).

Full day tour of Mahabalipuram  Kanchipuram  Kanchipuram (64 kms from Chennai) is the ancient capital of the Pallavas famous as a city of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. The first temple dedicated to Shiva was built in the 7th and 8th century and has paintings on the walls. Temples of Ekambaswara, Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy are of interest. Kanchipuram is also famous for its silks. The city of Mahabalipuram is famous for the seven pagodas. Here on the seashore is an interesting group of ancient rock hewn temples which are the examples of Dravidian style of Architecture.
Where to stay : Taj Corommandel. The hotel has just been renovated. Eat at the Southern Spice

 Trichy
tour of Trichy. Trichy was the citadel of the Chola dynasty in the medieval period. In the 18th century it witnessed the Carnatic wars fought between the French and the English. Lord Robert Clive's house is still there to see and so is the Danish Church. The Rock-Fort is the landmark of Trichy. A climb of 434 steps leads to the ancient temple of Ganapati on top and a further climb to a Shiva temple.

Madurai
visiting Tanjore enroute. At Tanjore, the beautiful Chola Temple of Brihadeshwara is capped by a monolithic cupola made of a single granite block weighing 80 tons which was taken to the top with the help of a 6 km long ramp, an old technique used by the Egyptians for building pyramids. Its bronzes and handicrafts make Tanjore one of the highlights of a visit to South India. Visit the great Meenakshi Temple dedicated to the consort of Lord Shiva with its towering gopurams (rising high above the surrounding country side). Later, visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace - A gracious building in the Indo saracenic style, famous for the Stucco work on its domes & arches. Also visit the Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock temple.Visit the flowers market in the morning and the tailors hall in from on the east door of the temple. 

Where to stay : Taj Gateway . The hotel is top of the hill in a park full of Peacocks, squirrels, birds.
Where to eat for dinner: Hotel Heritage Madurai

 Periyar (Thekkady)
 drive to Periyar National Park.  game viewing. Set up in 1934,it extends to 777square kms & forms part of the high mountain ranges, the Western Ghats. Wild life can be seen while cruising on Periyar Lake in a motor boat. Amongst the animals which can be seen are elephants, wild boar, sambar, tiger, leopard, wild dog, langur monkeys, etc.

Where to stay : Spice Village

The road from Periyar  to Cochin is very nice. Just after Periyar all the lanscape in tea plantation which is amazingly beautiful.

 Cochin
tour of Cochin. Cochin is the natural harbour created by the famed underwater Malabar mud-banks whose quality ensures that the rougher the seas are outside the calmer the waters are within the Harbour. Vasco-de-Gama placed it on the world map. It has a Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, mosques & Hindu temples. Watch the Chinese Fishing Nets. Do a trip on a boat for couple of hours on the back water

Where to stay : Taj Vivanta Malabar

 Mysore
 visit the palace of the Maharaja built in 1911-12. The palace is of harmonious syntheses of the hindu and saracenic styles of architecture with archways, domes, turrets, colonnades and sculptures which are magnificent. Visit the Art Gallery; drive upto Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari Temple & a panoramic view of Mysore. On the way back, see the Nandi Bull. For more: Visit the city market, the wholesale market and the zoo.

Where to stay: a big Radison hotel is  under construction this will be the place to stay want it will be finish in 3 years for the moment the Fortune Park Jp Palace is OK. The Lalitha Mahal Palace hotel is faded but this elegeant however the service is inexcitant go there for a drink
Where to eat: Oyster Bay

Hassen - Hampi  

En route visit the Jain Temple 

Belur and Halebid. The Chenna Kesava temple of Belur built 900 years ago is an exquisite example of Hoysala art. Halebid's 12th century Hoysaleswara. Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples are master pieces of Hindu art 

Visit Hampi. The once beautiful capital city of Vijayanagar Empire - greater than Rome, had palaces, temples & sculptures, spread all over. The city was razed to the ground by the Sultanates of South in 1565. Some of the interesting ruins remaining are the Virupaksha, Vittala and Hazara Rama temples huge Ganesha and Narasimha images, the elephant stables, the Queen's Bath, carvings on the Ramachandra temple  Lotus Mahal.

Where to stay : Taj Gateway in Hassan, no decent place to stay in Hampi

Goa

Relax on the beach
Where to stay : Taj Exotica in South Goa, Belum beach
Where to eat: if you want to explore some other beaches go to La Plage, Asheim beach north Goa. Jade Jagger has a beach shop next to it

Mumbai 

I have not see much of Mumbai, we just stay couples of hours between planes and have a diner at the Taj. However, my feeling is that Mumbai is a very modern city , rich, green, clean. They was a wedding at the hotel and this was a great moment to watch people at the reception all dress up in beautiful local garment and jewerlies
Where to stay : Taj Mahal Palace

South Beach Miami

To escape the winter a good destination is with no doubt South Beach. We make a stop over for few days on our way to Saint Barth. The best hotel to stay there is the Delano even if I can complain about the rooms and shower rooms which are ridiculously small for the price they charge. You also need to be award that they will charge you with every thing they can like the umbrella on the beach. And that you may have to share your room with a Cockroach like we experience and that they absolutely don't care...no apologize. And you need to be award that they will not reply to your complain.

However, the Delano lobby is amazing, after 10 years it is still very hip, glamour and trendy.

We visit the new Mandrian...no interest, the location is bad, the design very "plastic fantastic". If you have seen the picture on a travel review you had seen all.

The Satay looks like a Disney setting

The Victor Hotel is very very faded

The Shore club don't bother... looks nice only in the dark

All the other hotel have no interest.

If you travel during the Stone Crab period make sure you have some. You can go to Joe Stone Crab restaurant we did not it was closed on Monday. 

Best restaurant for Lunch: Satay restaurant on the beach

Best diner : Azul at the Mandarin oriental downtown Miami

Best shopping place and experience: Webster

What to do: people watching at the Delano swimming pool, Chill out at the D beach and of course run, walk on the front beach path.