LOOK TO LUXEMBOURG

LOOK to LUXEMBOURG

 

 A trip to the world’s only remaining Grand Duchy, Luxembourg combines a historical city break with a country escape

I was there recently to enjoy some of the city’s key attractions which the Duchess of Cambridge will also see, including the Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art (MUDAM) in the Kirchberg area.

With a history dating back to medieval times, Luxembourg is a fascinating city to explore. Easily navigable on foot, the ancient streets and alleyways of the old town are featured on UNESCO's World heritage list.  Later this year Luxembourg’s long awaited new tram system opens. For the moment, one can walk or travel by bus, which is free on Saturdays!

The Ducal Palace – the official residence of the Grand Duke, this impressive building stands in the heart of the city.

The Golden lady statue. This was set up in 1923 to commemorate the Luxembourgers who perished in the First World War.

The Casements - the world's longest underground tunnel system, these 17 kilometres of tunnels are all that remains of a fortified castle on the Bock promontory built in 963.

Cathedral- The cathedral Notre-Dame of Luxembourg was built between 1613 and 1621 by the Jesuits to serve as a church to their college (now the National Library).

 Just a short drive from the city one finds some of the prettiest countryside in Europe with a wealth of things to do for all ages.

 Ardennes

A good starting point is pretty Esch sur Sure, home to the country’s oldest castle (927) and gateway to the Upper Sure Nature Park with trails, walks and even a solar powered boat for a guided tour of the reservoir. The area offers hiking, golf, fishing, sailing and enjoying the beach at the lake.

 At nearby Clervaux we find another castle, built in the 12^th and enlarged in the 15^th century. It is home to three museums, one being the famous ‘Family of Man’ photographic exhibition compiled by Luxembourgian Edward Steichen and first shown in New York in 1955. Comprising 503 photographs by 273 artists, from 68 countries, this is a moving collection of images showing all aspects of humanity.

THE GALLE FACE HOTEL, COLOMBO

A return to colonial grandeur

A bagpiper at sunset, croquet on the lawn and the Duke of Edinburgh’s first motor may not be what you expect to find in Sri Lanka.  But you find them all at The Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. It has been called the ‘oldest hotel east of Suez’ and indeed this is one of the region’s most impressive and historic properties.  Originally a Dutch villa it was acquired by three British businessmen and opened as a hotel in 1864, catering for the elite of the colonial era who were starting to travel to what was then Ceylon. In 1869 the Suez Canal had just opened and journey time from Europe to Asia was reduced from four months to one.  Travellers came by rickshaw to experience Ceylonese hospitality, warm weather and a taste of the tropics. Since then monarchs and celebrities from all over the world have passed through the doors, and if the walls could speak they would have some amazing stories to tell. In its heyday the Grand Ballroom, the hotel’s original ballroom, was the city’s most happening party spot. Many revellers missed their ships due to the over-the-top events there.

 

After a 30-month restoration, the North Wing of the hotel has been refurbished to recreate its original style and architectural features. Rooms and suites, bars, lobby and ballrooms now boast the grandeur that lured famous faces including Vivien Leigh and Cary Grant, literary figures such as DH Lawrence, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Arthur Clarke who wrote the final chapters of 3001: The Final Odyssey here. Harrison Ford was a guest as were Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, and even Mark Twain.

Encapsulating its long history is the hotel’s museum in the South Wing.

 Here, among crockery and autographs and portraits of famous guests is Prince Philip’s first personal car, a 1935 model Standard Nine that he bought for £12 when he was stationed in Ceylon.

Here you can also read about the world’s longest serving doorman, Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, who served at the hotel from 1942 until 2014. He was succeeded by Mr. Banda who has been working at the hotel for 50 years and now at 71 years old is still welcoming guests.

 

And every evening at sunset, a bagpiper in tartan kilt pipes as the national flag is ceremoniously lowered, one of many delightful touches that have endured here for centuries.

 

There are 72 sumptuous rooms at The Galle Face hotel, many with sea view. All have a colonial feel with wood finishes, TV, shower, safe, tea and coffee making facilities. Wi-Fi is free throughout. A croquet lawn and ocean view executive suite complete with butler have also been added to the hotel.  An Occitane spa will open later this year near the lovely swimming pool close to the sea.

 

Superior rooms are about £137 per night for two

www.gallefacehotel.com

ANGUILLA - ANGEL OF THE CARIBBEAN

I'm just back from Anguilla in the northern Caribbean 
Just when you think you know a region like this, you find another island that turns everything you thought you knew on its head.
Anguilla wasn't that easy to get to - I flew from London to Paris, Paris to St Martin and then took a ferry to the lovely, old-fashioned ferry port at Blowing Point, Anguilla.
As soon as I stepped ashore I knew the journey was worth it.

Anguilla

The island is tropical, with swaying palms, white beaches and turquoise seas - but it differs from other Caribbean islands.There is a quietness here, a friendliness and an unspoilt feeling. There are no big hotels or chain restaurants. even the capital, called The Valley, has a sleepy atmosphere and the liveliest place turns out to be a row of simple food stalls called The Strip where locals and tourists alike enjoy barbeque.

The island has built a reputation for being the cuisine capital of the region because of the numbers of eating establishments and the quality of the food – you can dine in sophisticated restaurants like Veya at Sandy Ground and Da ‘Vida restaurant at Crocus Bay as well as the simpler home-style bars such as Blanchard's bech shack and stalls at The Strip such as Ken's BBQ .

But my favourite place to dine out is looking out to sea on Sandy island,  just a few minutes by sea shuttle from Sandy Ground pier, but it could be millions of miles away from civilisation with just some beach beds, the sound of the waves and a ‘sandy seafood salad’. This is just one of Anguilla’s little off shore islands and cays which are perfect for a day’s escape – others include Scilly Cay, uninhabited Prickly Pear cays or Sombrero Island.

Sailing is part of the island’s heritage and an experience not to be missed is a sail on a traditional West Indian sloop like ‘Tradition’ with the wind in your hair.

Back on the island, I make a visit to the slightly eccentric Heritage Museum where I meet local historian and personality Colville Perry who has stuffed the small building with photographs, objects and curios.

For more information visit the Anguilla Tourist Board: www.ivisitanguilla.com

Getting to Anguilla

Flights to Antigua start from £617. Fly via Paris with Air France to St Martin and then take the ferry to Anguilla, www.funtime-charters.com

Or fly to Antigua with BA or Virgin. Liat have now introduced a daily connection flight from Antigua to Anguilla which starts from $269 return www.liat.com

 

 

  

MAKING THE MOST OF MOZAMBIQUE

Some countries in Africa may be the home of safari, but Mozambique is becoming famous for its sea safari and the chance of see some of the world’s most iconic sea creatures. Whale sharks, manta rays, turtles and other amazing marine life make tiny Tofo, in Mozambique, an underwater heaven for divers and nature lovers.

 

A whale shark, about  13 feet  in length, glides by without so much as a blink of its eye. He pays little attention to a gaggle of scuba divers who have made the journey here from all corners of the globe for the chance to see this magnificent creature and his cousins.

Tofo lies on the Indian Ocean and is a small town fringed by an arc of white sand and blue sea. Unsophisticated and simple, there is only one hotel here, Hotel Tofo Mar, recently opened by a Portuguese MP. Otherwise accommodation for the divers and surfers is in  beachfront shacks, simple hostels, rustic chalets or small guesthouses such as Casa Do Mar  or Casa Barry, where the MMF (Marine Megafauna Foundation) often give early evening talks about sharks and rays. 

Not here the flashy all inclusives or luxurious sprawling resorts found elsewhere on the Indian Ocean – instead expect a ‘make yourself at home’ casual atmosphere with many establishments offering trusting ‘honesty bars’. The views are amazing and for a break from diving, time spent on the ground is an eye –opener. Tofinho, less than a kilometre south, is situated on exposed and rocky headland , a favourite spot for fishermen when a high tide covers the shelf, allowing casting for the plentiful kingfish into the deep waters beyond. Tofinho is also the site of the Frelimo Monument to Fallen Heroes, near to where unfortunate victims of the colonial period were thrown into a sea cave, to be drowned by the rising tide.

 

TALL TALES OF HONG KONG

I recently revisited Hong Kong after a gap of nearly 20 years.  I found that these days the  place thrives on  superlatives  - the locals never tire of telling you that things here are taller, higher, bigger, longer, better. And certainly with its iconic skyline filling up with increasingly tall buildings, it does appear to be reaching sky-high in record breaking .

Here’s my Hong Kong High Five

 

1  Celebrity Big  Buddha

 The Big Buddha, or as it’s officially known the Tian Tan Buddha, is a 34ft tall (including base) statue of a seated Buddha that’s part of the Po Lin Monastery complex. Weighing over 250 tons, that makes the statue the biggest, bronze, seated Buddha in the world and one of the world’s top ten Buddha statues by scale. It is high on the hills of  Lantau Island.

2  Moving stairway to heaven

The Mid-levels Escalator system

The Central – Mid-Levels Escalator system is the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system, stretching for over 800 metres and rising 135 metres through the streets of a steep hillside linking these districts of Hong Kong Island. The system is not a single continuous escalator, it is a series of 20 escalators and 3 inclined moving walkways, connected in places by footbridges, and with 14 entrances and exits. To ride the complete length of the escalator system one-way takes about 20 minutes.

 

 

3  and 4  

For rum at the top  I headed  to Ozone, the world’s highest bar and to reach it of course I had to take the world’s  highest lift.

Ozone is at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. The ICC (International Commercial Centre) is the tallest building in Hong Kong at 490 metres. The building has 118 floors.  The Ritz-Carlton occupies 102^nd to 118^th floors.  Cocktails with your head in the clouds is a dizzying experience but you wouldn’t want to take the stairs to get there.  

 

5 A Long Lunch

Its all long in Hong Kong: The list of restaurants in Hong Kong runs to 11,000, not counting all the little street stalls and kiosks. You could eat in three different restaurants a day for 10 years and still not visit them all I am reliably told.

Would you want to? Depends on what they were serving. I think I may have eaten the world’s oldest egg, as one foodie tour operator persuaded me to sample ‘century-old egg’  in my porridge.  An acquired taste, which certainly brought me down to earth.

www.DiscoverHongKong.com

 

LOVING ST LUCIA AT CAP MAISON

CAP MAISON

 

GASTRONOMY IN St Lucia – Cap Maison

 

 Craig and the chefs

IT IS  baking hot even at 8 a.m. as I explore the sights and smells of the Saturday market in Castries, St Lucia, which has been billed one of the top three markets in the world by National Geographic. The stalls are piled high with mangoes, yams and less familiar knobbly looking fruit and vegetables. Luckily I am here with Craig Jones, the dreadlocked Welsh chef from St Lucia’s Cap Maison hotel who is as familiar with all the local characters here as he is with the soursops and the christophene.  Craig brings hotel guests to the market to see where he buys the food that will later grace the table at The Cliff at the Cap. Everyone here seems to know him and is either trying to interest him in the produce they are selling , or  asking him for a job in his famous  kitchen

I first met Craig  in the summer when he was at  Drakes ’ hotel Brighton as part of the international chef exchange. Now  back on his home territory, the market tour is just one part of the ‘gastronomy holiday’ which Cap Maison  offers.  Craig also arranges visits to the organic farms in St Lucia which supply the hotel as well as giving cookery lessons back at the hotel.  

Children love this hands-on experience too and learning about how food gets from farm to fork is a valuable lesson for them.

Cap Maison is rightly proud of its culinary reputation, as the Cliff restaurant with views to Martinique to the north and Pigeon island to the west is one of the most highly regarded on the island. Craig’s French  influenced Caribbean cuisine includes signature dishes such as his butter poached Caribbean lobster with mascarpone enriched gnocchi .

Rock Maison

Guests can dine in the hotel’s Rock Maison, a private dining area set over the rocks where champagne can be delivered  in a basket via a zip-line (should that be a sip-line?) with the waves crashing on every side. Manager Ross Stevenson tells me that there has been no less than 29 proposals at this spot, and not one engagement ring has gone overboard.

The hotel's other restaurant The Naked Fisherman  Beach bar & grill is a toes in the sand casual dining and beach bar with great cocktails.

The food and wine experience continues in the Cellar Maison , where sommelier Robbie  , who also calls himself a ‘Rummelier’, and expert sommelier, Jasper Kok jointly  host a wine and rum pairing evening with a selection of wines from the hotel’s  1200 bottle  strong cellar and  some of its fine rums. The drinks are served with a selection of deli-style dishes.

 The melting pot of colonial influences takes root in St Lucia’s creole cuisine, and  island’s fertile volcanic soil sustains a rich diversity of plant and animal life, enhancing the goodness of local dishes and the surrounding waters abound with seafood.

A garden view room at Cap Maison starts from £275 per night on a B&B basis (two sharing). www.capmaison.com; 020 8977 6099

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both fly to St Lucia from London Gatwick

 

 

 

 

AUSTRIA ON THE TRAIN

Growing up in Manchester, one of my earliest memories is the smell of steam. Dad worked for the railway, which menat free train travel for all the family, and so my childhood holidays all started on the train from Manchester Vicotira station. We went to  Blackpool, North Wales and sometimes as far afield as Devon and Cornwall.

Im still  a lover of trains, (even if they aren't steam) but have been seduced by long -haul travel,so  I haven't  had a rail holiday for years.
deciding it was time to change, I took a trip to Austria. Starting in Salzburg, I  took the train to Graz and then on to Vienna.

Salzburg

It is 50 years since The Sound of Music hit the big screen, but there is more to Salzburg than the Von Trapps and the movie that was set here. The beautiful city is a fascinating mix of classical culture and historical idiosyncrasies.

Much of Salzburg’s appeal lies in its authenticity. Even modern shops have traditional iron hanging signs and people here are seen wearing national costume of lederhosen for men and dirndl skirts and peasant blouses for women as their daily wear.  Upmarket ski resorts are a short train ride away, and magical markets abound in November and December.

 

*Music escapes from every doorway and a gentle introduction  to the music of Salzburg’s most famous son – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - is a tea time concert by the Mozart Players in the city’s Kuenberg Hall. The programme is a kind of ‘Greatest Hits’ hosted by a costumed compere who provides facts about the composer’s life and works.

www.mozart-in-residenz.at

 

Nearby is the lovely   St Peter Stiftskeller, a Benedictine abbey in the heart of the old town which has been the meeting place for princes and bishops, celebrities and merchants for over a millennium. A visit by Charlemagne in 803 is its claim to be Europe’s oldest hostelry. Austrian fine dining includes specialities such as consommés with dumplings, stuffed chicken served on grappa risotto, and chocolate soufflé served with sour cherries. 

www.stpeter-stiftskeller.at

The palace of Hellbrun, painted in Imperial yellow, was the summer palace of the Archbishop Markus Sittikus 91612-1619) built purely for his amusement. It is dotted with trick fountains which soak the unsuspecting visitor and Italian style mazes. Next year, 2016, marks the 400^th anniversary of Hellbrun with exhibitions planned.

www.hellbrun.at

The Salzburg Festival takes place each year in July and August, attracting the cream of the world’s musicians and music lovers and famous for its glamorous audiences.

www.saltzburgerspiele.at

A landmark in the heart of the city, the medieval fortress towers over the rooftops and encompasses 900 years of architectural history. Ascend by funicular railway or by foot

The Salzburg Marionette theatre.  More high art than puppet show, this family owned theatre puts on productions that are definitely not just for the children and include opera and Shakespeare.

www.marionetten.at

TIP: Use a Salzburg ‘City card’ to get into tourist attractions, museums and palaces

ON THE TRAIN

The train ride from Salzburg to Graz is a picturesque ride through the  Austrian mountains, old salt mines, unspoilt pasture land, pretty ski resorts and charming towns with old-fashioned railway stations. The OBB trains have big windows to view the passing scenery, and refreshments on board)

 

Graz

Austria’s second city, Graz, is the heart of the region of Styria, and is Austria’s first and only culinary capital in 2008. So it is no surprise that food is one of the main attractions here 

Starting at the main square the Hautplatz Graz has a number of  food –themed walks, including ‘Stop and eat’ tours which include drop-ins at various restaurants and wine bars to sample local delicacies incluing Pumpkin seed oil, the regional delicacy – dark green and viscous, with a nutty taste. Drizzle on salads and desserts.

 The farmers’ market beside the opera house has the best local produce and Styria is known for its wines, notably weissburgunder, sauvignon blanc and schilcher rosé. A ‘Beer walk’ takes in ales from Styria’s 40 breweries.

In August the historic centre of Graz turns into a giant open air restaurant for the ‘Long Table of Graz’, a dinner with matching wines and musical entertainment for 700 people

The city has 50 inner courtyards many of them home to small intimate jazz clubs which are famous as far afield as Brazil. The amazing armoury (Landeszeughaus) contains the largest collection of antique armaments in the world.

Just 10 minutes' stroll over the River Mur, by contrast, is the bright blue contemporary art gallery (Kunsthaus) and no trip to Graz is complete without a walk up the stairs of the Schlossberg to the city's clock tower – where ond finds great views and an excellent restaurant.

ON THE TRAIN

The journey from Graz to Vienna is an impressive ride along the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering railway (between Mürzzuschlag and Wiener Neustadt), one of the world's first mountain railways. Sit on the right hand side for best views; this is a breath-taking journey

VIENNA

Austria’s capital waltzes between  tradition and modern life, from the 150 year old Ringstrasse to its Life Ball, one of the biggest AIDS charity events in the world.

2016 marks the 10^th anniversary of the death of Emperor Franz Joseph and Vienna will be alive with events which celebrate the last century which has seen the city change from an opulent imperial capital to a thriving contemporary city.

 

Don’t miss:

Schönbrunn Palace is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Coffee houses epitomise Viennese culture and there are a number of historic ones around the city. Visit Viennese institution the Hawelka with its famous Buchteln yeast buns filled with jam.

The Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzan horses perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg.

Vienna is synonymous with music, home to the Vienna Philharmonic and the world-famous Vienna Boys’ Choir. The Vienna State Opera houses some of the best operatic performances in the world

 

Ferry trip to Bratislava: Visit the Hungarian and Slovak capitals Budapest and Bratislava by high speed boat from Vienna.

 

 

 

 

Fact box:

Railbookers offer tailor made holidays by rail to Europe and beyond. Their 5 night holiday,

‘Highlights of Austria’, visits Salzburg, Graz and Vienna, with scenic train journeys in between.

020 3780 2253.

www.railbookers.com/highlightsofaustria