WE HAPPENED UPON The Sparrow Hotel on Victoria's Secret model Elsa Hosk's Instagram feed, the warm pink walls, marble fireplace and crystal chandelier drawing us in to take a closer look. Located in a restored fin de siècle building by Stureplan, Stockholm's landmark square, the 73-room 4-star boutique hotel is right in the city centre. Humlegårdsparken park is nearby, and Djurgården, with its museums and cafés is just a walk away.
I stumbled across some photos of this beautiful castle in Umbria that is now a heritage hotel, and marvelled at how incredible the restoration of this 1000-year-old structure was and how the characteristics of the ancient castle and surrounding buildings were kept in intact while still offering modern comforts.
WE HAVE BEEN BACK to Edinburgh many times since we moved away in 2015, but it was not until this past visit in June did we notice how much things had changed in the city since we left, but more so, how much had changed just in the past year of lockdown. One of P's favourite pubs, Smithie's, where he would often go after playing football (soccer) on Thursday nights, closed forever, set to be turned into a block of flats ...
IN THE SECOND week of May, just after the Bank Holiday, we decided to spend some time back in London. We normally visit several times a year, but since 2020 was the year of the Great Lockdown, the last time we had been was the May previously to meet up with a friend from Spain—it was hot then and perfect for traipsing about. P had heard that there would be a heat wave this time around
THIS INSTALMENT OF 10 IMAGES features the beautiful photos of Rome, Italy by photographer Daniele Bianchi (@dani_bi90). It is a place we still haven't yet managed to visit despite traipsing all over Europe. Bianchi's focuson architecture and ornamentation was what caught our eye, as well as his affinity for soft colour and golden light...
The Château de Versailles, the royal residence where Marie Antoinette lived, was once a modest hunting lodge built by Louis XIII in 1623. His son, Louis XIV, extended and transformed it when he installed the Court and government there in 1682, creating a magnificent palace that is now renowned throughout the world. Over the course of more than 100 years, a succession of kings—including Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI—continued to embellish the palace up until the French Revolution. Now considered one of the finest achievements of French 17th century art, the Palace of Versailles remains a cultural symbol of royal splendour that has been listed as a World Heritage Site for 30 years.
I have been longing for gatherings for as long as I can remember. There’s comfort, love and protection when it comes to the feeling of being around family and friends around a table, and there is one place that has this same philosophy: Villa Magnan. Situated in the what is known as the "European California" on the Côte Basque, where everything revolves around surfing, Villa Magnan is a charming six-bedroom boutique-hôtel oasis for those visiting Biarritz, in the South West of France.
WHILE WE HAVE many qualms about Airbnb as a business and have never used them personally, if we were ever to make an exception, it would be for this beautiful one-bedroom apartment in Trouville-sur-Mer. Often called just Trouville, this commune is located in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of northwestern France, bordering Deauville, about 200km from Paris ...
WE'RE AT THE START of Lockdown 2.0 and it seems our Instagram feed is becoming filled with shots from the outside looking in, photos of exteriors of buildings with people at home, experiencing the same things we are, and it's comforting, these voyeuristic and intimate shots ...
There is a restaurant in Bucharest that my friends told me about on my recent trip to Romania, called Pot Stories. It's a place filled with natural fabrics, thick carpets, an abundance of greenery and ceramics, rough wooden tables, and rope and wicker.
THERE IS ONE place that I discovered on my short stay in Romania that I wanted to recommend it to you. Brasov, my hometown, is surrounded by mountains and there are myriad choices when it comes to choosing your hiking destination.
Reminiscing over the good things that have happened recently, and despite all the terrible news and the stress around the new normal, I wanted to share with you a dear place that stole my heart: Soorts-Hossegor. A commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France ...
One of the perks of staying in Paris while everybody else is on holiday (besides, of course, having the city for yourself and enjoying a more calm rhythm) is that many of the places you have a hard time getting a reservation at may finally have some available tables. That is why I wanted to share with you a beautiful place where you could have the most amazing and timeless culinary experience.
I’ve been following an account lately named @chateauvictorlacoste that takes my mind away instantly and makes me travel like no one other account does. Holidays by the pool in a château in Provence sounds quite perfect with all this uncertainty in the world. Early mornings waking up seeing the sun rising, the smell of pines and fresh coffee and the crickets singing their serenade...
There was something familiar and warm, freshness and cheerfulness, but also a lightness and harmony in the air in Saint-Tropez. Chic people walking around with raffia bags at the Sunday market, bougainvillea surrounding windows all over the city, pines and cypress, and the endless singing of cicadas ...
