Mighty Mighty England

Back before the days of hooliganism and general anarchy spread to the streets of the Capital I went back to the glorious green and pleasant land for a bit of time with friends and family and a spot of relief from the sauna that is the Hong Kong summer…..I touched down to Heathrow and was immediately whisked off to that county of Shakespeare, faggots (and not in the gay way – google it if you don’t believe me) and gloriously awful accents.

The Midlands.

First stop Grandborough. The village of Grandborough was my home from the age of 7 until 18 and where most of my childhood memories play out in haze of horse riding, playing in hay bales, epic water fights and long walks through country fields. It’s really as English as they come. Situated in the very heart of the midlands it is a quintessential pretty English village with a small population that are friendly and social.

Embarrassingly occasionally I do suspect that my parent’s social life is more hectic than my own and much of this is due to the community spirit of BBQ’s, safari suppers, summer fete’s, innumerable Christmas parties that seem to begin in November and go on right through January (so as not to get the blues) and the infamous Grandborough Wine Appreciation Society nights that are held. 

Yes that’s right. A ‘wine appreciation society’ in other words a bloody good excuse to get drunk whist pretending that it’s all in the name of improving ones mind. The Grandborough Wine Appreciation Society, affectionately known by its members as GWAS is held in the Grandborough village hall every 6 weeks or so. They tell me that sometimes these affairs are of a serious nature where there is one speaker presenting all SIX wines that are tasted throughout the evening going into much details about grapes, detail, production etc. Although I doubt that many take any notice after the 4^th glass.

However on my most recent trip home I got invited to attend and present a wine at said GWAS evening which was really a great honor as I had during my youth seen my parents wander in from one of these evening a little slurry and blurry, Dad plonking down on the sofa and promptly falling asleep and Mum regaling stories of the hilarity of the evening. This GWAS night was centered on the theme of holidays and various presenters took to the stage with tales of their various holidays and a suitable wine to accompany them.

Each presenter is to spend no more than 8 British pounds on their bottle (hear that Hong Kong!) and at the beginning of their presentation announce what it is and where they bought it from. The stories were then able to begin and we were treated to tales of all sorts from being mugged in South America to the thrill of wine tasting in New Zealand to suspicious goings on in Venice.

There was much laughter throughout the evening with the volume raising as glasses were drunk and to be honest even though I was probably the youngest there by a good 15 years by 11pm I was exhausted. The rest of the GWAS congregation however tootled off to the local Pub, The Shoulder of Mutton http://www.shoulderofmuttongrandborough.co.uk/ to carry on the evening…….what troopers.

London

Next stop to London for a week of work and catching up with friends which began with a bit of nostalgia with a night out in Clapham Junction with friends from University. After a lovely dinner party in Battersea accompanied by copious amounts of vino, we headed into ‘the junction’ to meet friends who we used to do joint-roasts with back at the toon whilst we were supposed to be at uni (actually this resulted in some absolutely epic roast extravaganza’s including one for 16 people made with disabled lambs – waste not want not!) after a few bars we hit the ‘decidedly awful but perfect for our jaunt’ Clapham Vodka Revolution bar complete with cheesy DJ, obnoxious drunks and the Vodka rack of shots complete with chilli flavored vodka - oh yes! . Their night on a Saturday is even called ‘I AM VIP ‘ .Classic.

The Food

A friend of mine that used to live in Hong Kong  is now back in London and so we thought for old times sake we would sample some of London’s Sichuan cuisine to see how it compared and reminisce. After quite a few glasses of Rose after work we jumped in a cab and headed to Bar Shu on Frith Street http://www.bar-shu.co.uk/home.html we were a little tiddly so didn’t think anything of starting randomly expressing Cantonese and Mandrin however the staff took this Chinese tourettes syndrome we seemed to have very well. Thank goodness. The food was pretty awesome and if you are brave enough to give Sichuan a try I reckon you will like it, especially if you ever licked batteries when you were a child.

Another must have pit stop was the ludicrously delicious chain Wagamama’s. ‘But you live in Hong Kong’ I hear you cry ‘What need do you have for the Wagga Mama?!” well to be honest I can’t explain it. Its true I can get amazeballs broth soup noodles in Honkers, perhaps its just the bastardised asian-western fusion that tickles my fancy but By God is it good!!

Lunch in borough market is also one of my favorite things to do in London. A lovely 15 minute walk from my office near St Pauls over the wobbly millennium bridge and down the South Bank to the best Pork Bap with mustard you’ll find anywhere - delicious.

Pierre Victoire is another great find, situated in the heart of Soho on Dean Street it is perfect for a date, pre-theatre meal or a catch up with the girls as the food is amazingly good value for the quality of the foodat a very reasonable price, it’s also candlelit and at the weekends an adorable old man plays a piano in the corner - nice. I had my old favorites, Oysters followed by roast lamb with bok choi and dauphinoise potatoes, salivating at the thought of it. http://www.pierrevictoire.com/london/restaurant/index.asp if you want to give it a try…..

Getting around London

London was particularly drizzly during this week and once or twice this combined with having to use public transport got the better of me. God I am turning into a spoilt Expat. On one particular occasion I had just happened to meet one of my best friends in Selfridges who persuaded me to go and  spend an inordinate amount of money in the denim department on a pair of skinny jeans (good job though millsy as I bloody love them). Anyway as I left Selfridges with said expensivo purchase (I even closed my eyes as I handed over the card) in my bright yellow Selfridges bag, I got to the big Selfridges front door and it was raining cats and dogs.

I bid my friend farewell and legged it over to Bond Street Stationwith my bad full of goodies and was suddenly surrounded by the smell of wet dog as I decended the escalators, (why do wet coats always smell like this?) and pushed my way onto a tube and made my way to South Kensington. On arrival I was in pursuit of a public house called ‘The Pig’s Ear’.


I came out of the station and lo and behold the rain was coming down like a monsoon back in old Hong Kong! I wasn’t going to be defeated since I was already late for the birthday do that I was trying to get to, so I strode out of the station and marched through the rain…..after a while I realized I had probably gone the wrong way when I arrived outside Christies (there was no mention of this in my directions) which a phone call then confirmed. Disaster!


Resigning myself to London trying to make things difficult for me I hollered down a taxi and jumped in only to find that at some point during my trek from the station said uber expensive jeans had fallen out of the bright yellow paper Selfridges bag and were presumably in a puddle on the pavement somewhere (that is if some fashionista hadn’t had the sense to swipe them) FFFAAAAAAARRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKK I yelled to the cabbie and jumped out of the cab hysterically running through the rain retracing my steps! Like a mad woman I ran wide eyed over a pedestrian crossing and Hooorraaahhhhaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

I found them. In a puddle on the floor. Never mind I thought they’ll show their worth and so looking like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards I jumped in the cab and finally arrived at the pub. Never has the humble gin and tonic tasted so sweet.

Bude, Cornwall

For my final week Mum, Dad,  my sister and Charlie our Dog made the five hour journey down to our family cottage in Bude, Cornwall. Bude is your typical Cornwall seaside town and perfect for a family summer holiday. As I have other relatives down there I look upon it as a second home having spent nearly every summer of my youth here, it’s a great place to relax and switch off and amazingly we were blessed with a week of sun too!

Stuff to do

There are some great highlights to Bude, the beach is vast and impressive and the Atlantic offers some fantastic surfing and body boarding and as we had such a cracking week for weather my Sister and I were tumbling through the waves every day on our boogie boards. Be prepared for ice cold water though, the Atlantic is bloody cold. Bude also plays home to a very large sea pool on Summerleaze beach that is part natural, part man made and serves as an excellent place for small children or if you want a proper swim out the waves in the open air.

I also took my sister horse riding for her belated birthday present. We went to the fantastic Gooseham Barton Riding Stables and set off for an hour long hack through country fields with an occasional scenic view of the sea. Our instructor was lovely and my sister and I whooped with delighted as we galloped along dirt tracks in the glorious English sunshine (it was her first time to gallop so this was very exciting). We finished up back at the stables beaming, a little bit sweaty, covered in horsefly bites but I didn’t mind one bit and as I gave my horse a well deserved carrot she didn’t seem to mind either.

There is some great hiking and running routes to be hand in Bude too, one particular morning Dad and I took Charlie the Dog and headed north along the coastal path for about 3 hours. Apart from Charlie deciding to roll around in a cow pat which made for a rather stinky walk the scenery was breathtaking and the air so so crisp and fresh. There are regular ups and downs along the way to keep your heart pumping and at one point you can pass by the very famous Hawkers Hut, the National Trust’s smallest property where an eccentric clergyman spent many hour writing and smoking opium during the 19^th century, probably inspired by the impressive views of the Atlantic from his hut. From there you can take the short walk through to the village of Morwenstow where there is a lovely pub that will serve you a well earned pint and a doggy treat for your smelly friend.

The Food

One night we went for dinner in the Castle http://www.thecastlerestaurantbude.co.uk/ which provided us with stunning view overlooking the beach. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed indeed it pretty much felt like being in a private kitchen and the food was fantastic! They tell me that their menu changes every 2-3 days so you could definitely go there again and again. Another nice touch was that we were given a taster before our starter that was off the menu and a palate cleanser of crushed iced elderflower water was provided in between our main course and dessert. We were seated right next to the kitchen which was also wonderful as we were able to see the two chefs work their magic, after years of being in Bude and only having pub food on offer this great little restaurant is a welcome change.

As cooking in Hong Kong is super expensivo I also relished the opportunity to do a bit of cooking and thought that being near the sea the best place to start would be with the fish. The fishmonger in Bude is really friendly and will give you some great advice on what is local and how best to cook it. We enjoyed bbq’d sardines, scallops and sea bass and it was lovely to cook in a proper kitchen with local fish! None of this one hob no oven malarkey I put up with in Honkers. There is also a fantastic wine shop, The North Coast Wine Company http://ncwine.co.uk/ where the owners are lovely and friendly and host a range of Cornish ciders (a must) Ale’s, Wine and even a Cornish champagne, the ‘Camel Valley Brut’ that was delicious. I know you don’t believe me but honestly if you are there give it a try, it really could give Moet a run for its money……

As ever my trip home was a whirlwind complete with lots of cups of tea, laughing with cabbies, getting pissed of with public transport (Boris thank god you got the bikes), getting a tan in Cornwall (who would have thought it) and rushing round like a lunatic trying to see everyone with those little pangs of not wanting to leave each time I have to say goodbye. So thank you Blighty for a lovely time and all I love there for being so bloody marvelous. I miss you.

V xx

Dragon Dash Hong Kong Island

Neiho peeps!

So not strictly a travel adventure but indulge with me just this once faithful readers, it’s for a good cause and potentially so exciting that you might want to travel or make sure you are in Hong Kong for the next one! A few months ago a very good friend of mine came up with the idea of a new race, a race that when you begin you have no idea of the final destination. Intriguing. He roped a few of us in to help and the mighty Dragon Dash was hatched….so I want to tell you a bit more about what it is, how it went, how much we raised for charideee and more importantly where it ended up…….

What is it?

Dragon Dash is a race that aims to provide its participants with an experience that they won’t expect; tons of fun, a prize for the best fancy dressed team, a party at the end, raising some money for charity along the way and the winning team's prize was a helicopter ride of Hong Kong for their whole team. Plus there are dragons involved, nuff said.

How did it work?

At 12 noon we kicked off. Teams met in central wearing their uber cool dragon dash t-shirts and logged onto our website from a smart phone at www.dragondash.org to be met with a set of 6 challenges. The challenges ranged from finding the tramp hidden in Glenealy and discovering what beer he was drinking (actually one of our Scottish organizer’s dressed up like a mangy Scottish vagabond), to discovering the riddle of Colin Firth’s erection in the Botanical Gardens oooeerrrrr to drinking a shot at Varga Lounge and trying to decipher the special ingredient. Once teams had got their sweat on (and believe me there was a lot of it!) and raced around Hong Kong fulfilling all challenges they then inputted all the answers into the website via their smart phone to reveal the final location which was……. Middle Bay.

Not a lot of people know Middle Bay which was why it was perfect as a final location. Dashers raced down to the South side of the island and descended down the steps onto the beach in pursuit of that elusive dragon…where could he be? Well, the sneaky thing had an added surprise in store for our dashers and had managed to swim out to the pontoon about 50 meters from the beach. The first team arrived and without hesitation took their kit of and swam out to claim the dragon head that was very rightfully theirs. Well Done Abi’s puff we definitely didn’t expect you to finish in just 55 minutes – absolutely outstanding effort, well deserved to you! Here they are claiming that elusive Dragon Head;

From this point onwards teams arrived swiftly all suspecting they might be the first to arrive only to have their desires dashed (see what I did there hehe) once they saw the other red shirts sitting around having a beer. Kudos must go to the other teams that also swam out to the pontoon to claim their rightful place as 2^nd, 3^rd and  4^th place to officially complete the race. Thanks for being good sports.

Once completed dashers were rewarded for their efforts with a nice cold beer or ‘dragon dash’ cocktail and an awesome burger or pizza slices provided for by the excellent Bahuina Bar on Middle Bay Beach. The rest of the afternoon the happily slipped past us all in a haze of dragon dash stories, cooling off in the sparkling South China Sea and dancing to the awesome tunes being pumped out by our dj’s. Before I knew it, it was 7,30pm and I was exhausted, slightly sunburnt and more than a little merry – damn dragon dash lash! But what better to do on your day off I ask you?

Best bits

A personal highlight of mine came from a phone call from our team that bought tickets from us as we tried to sell tickets to drunken revelers in LKF. This team were called the 'dildo jalopies' which deserves a special mention in itself however once they found the final location they found it impossible to find. I had 3 phone calls begging me for the location including the promise of bribes…..but true to form the dildo jalopies didn’t disappoint they found Middle Beach in the end. On arrival I found out one member hadn’t had any sleep due to the partying efforts of LKF but then proceeded to ‘get back on it’ – true dragon dash spirit!

I also took part in one of the challenges, dashers were told to race up to the Hong Kong observatory tower (a tall tower so you marvel at our marvelous city, oh yes I like!) as a whole team and have their photo taken by me with a puppet dragon. Dashers were told that they funniest photo won a prize…..some of the poses dashes got themselves and my little Derrick the dragon into are too rude to mention, you naughty things,  but there was one team that decided to simultaneously moon me which I definitely did not expect and took me quite by surprise. I haven’t seen so many naked bottoms since I went to ladyboy show in Bangkok! So thank you for that, your touches were all lovely. Here is one of my favourite pics from the tower......

Malky, who was our Scottish hobo also had a particularly interesting time during his post under the Glenealy intersection. Whilst waiting for the dashers to arrive probably looking fairly conspicuous two gay guys who had clearly been on a big wanchai night on and not yet seen their beds saw this lone ranger and decided to scope him out....I recieved a flurry of startled text messages from Malky on how to explain to this two amourous dudes why exactly he was dressed as a tramp sitting on his own and how he wouldnt be interested in 'what they had to offer'.....

Soundtrack

Special mention must go to our 3 dj’s Ed Bosher, Redman and Vishal at the final destination that kept us going for the afternoon right through until the evening and to Jen Gordon Smith who organised them all to be there - great work! Also 'Destination Unknown' was a perfect fit for the day; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6B0F6edMy8 which might remind those of you that were there of that beautiful sunny drunken afternoon on Middle Bay.

Tips

So a few tips to bear in mind for the next dash;

·         If you are in it to win it choose your team wisely. The winning team won due to supreme organization and a ruthless tenacity to win. Organization and planning is the key here (note to one team who were still in bed at 12.15!)

·         Make sure your fancy dress is not only awesome (well done dragon bashers your caveman/cavelady outfits were amazing see pic below) but also versatile enough to run around it…..too many accessories could hamper you enroute

·         If you try and run round Hong Kong whilst carrying cans of beer you are likely to lose them – hip flasks were invented for this sort of thing. Oh yes sir.  

When is the next one?

We are looking at April for the next dash….keep your eyes peeled on the website or the dragon dash facebook page for more info or email the dragon master at dragonmaster@dragondash.org

All in all the day went better than we could have hoped, so many things could have gone wrong (thank you ed for being a website genius) however I think we had luck on our side as even the weather changed from being slightly dreary to absolutely glorious. Big thanks to all involved, you all made it awesome. Plus we also managed to raise HK$ 21, 535 for the Hong Kong Children's Cancer Foudation in the process.

And so we begin planning the next one which you can be assured will be bigger and better…..where will the next dragon be hiding I wonder? Come along and find out.

Vxx

Tai Long Wan, Sai Kung

Tai Long Wan

I was told about Tai Long Wan in the same way one is told about a mythical fairytale. Since I arrived in Hong Kong 18 months ago I had overheard and caught snippets of friends, peers and colleagues talk of this magical beach accessible only by hike where friends can camp on the beach next to a fire getting blazed and singing Kum By Ya, I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The perfect excuse arose in the happy coincidence of a romantic anniversary trip with my boyf. I tried to ask various friends about what we should expect from this camping trip however mysteriously everyone seemed ellusive. I was a little worried that Tai Long Wan induced some kind of hex over its visitors as no one could seem to remember what MTR stop to go to,  how to get from the stop to the trail, whether your boyf would get raggey on taxi negotiations (he defo will fyi), what we would need or indeed any info at all! When I tried to research the internet was also incredibly misleading and provided lots of different beach names and no fixed way to get there.


However do not fear,having ventured to this amazing beach I am going to unearth all the rumor and set it down in stone so that if you want to go you will at least know how and what to expect, let’s just hope that by doing this some evil hex will not curse down upon me. Such is the risk I will take for you guys!

How to get there

This is not the way we did it as t’inernet led me the wrong way but it is the way I would recommend as it is simple, quick and easy. If you are coming from Hong Kong island get the MTR to Hang Hau then get in a taxi to the Sai Kung Country ParkPark (西貢東郊野公園), and then from the entrance to the park, ask for the Sai Wan Pavilion (西灣亭) . Don’t (if you a feeling lazy) let the taxi driver stop at the little mound with the map of the park that you first come to instead ask him to drive down the road to the left until you get to a little bandstand/Pavilion. There will probably be other hikers here, if it’s a hot day they will be particularly smelly and probably irritable so don’t be too cheery. The map of the country park (if you can read these things, I cant – what is wrong with directions I say!!) is below;

From here you walk for about an hour or so along a cemented path (its clear which one....its 'to the left to the left') which goes up and down a few steep hills but on the whole isn’t too bad, it is in the sun quite a lot however so if it is a sunny day take a hat and maybe try and set off early. Either way even if you are drenched in sweat by the end you will arrive to a lovely sight and a chance to strip off in the clear waters that lay before you.

The Place

We didn’t have a huge amount of time so we just stayed on Tai Long Sai Wan beach. This beach was beautiful however complete with white sand, clear waters and a peace and stillness rarely found (to my experience) in Hong Kong. The water was just the right temperature and stays at waist height for quite a way so you can happily wade through observing the fish and even starfish beneath you. Most campers are polite and very chilled and you can guarantee there will be dulcet sounds of bongo’s or a guitar being played right into the evening. We parked ourselves up, cracked open a bottle of prosseco, breathed a sigh of relief and took it all in just as the sun went down.

If you can be bothered then do set your alarm to wake up for the sunrise. I swam out and floated in the water while watching the sun emerge from the horizon and it was breathtakingly beautiful. The perfect stillness and serenity of the Sai Wan beach did indeed have that little bit of magic I was promised. Stunning.

Accommodation

We rented a tent from a woman with a very troublesome toddler as we entered the beach for about 400HK although 200 of this is a deposit. In all honesty the tent was a bit crap as it was very small and didn’t let in a lot of ventilation and if you could take your own I would recommend it. Also no instructions are provided with the tent so if you are a camping novice watch a youtube vid or two for educational purposes before you leave. If you are renting a tent there is also nothing provided apart from the actual tent so pillows and a yoga mat/inflatable mattress. My boy has also asked me to highlight the importance of also bringing earmuffs/earplugs as there are some very loud sand crabs scurrying about. If one of these happens to bury under your ear when you are trying to get your ZZ's then it may drive you slighty bonkers!

The Food

As you enter Sai Wan beach there are a couple of beach restaurants to choose from that serve good local Cantonese food if you haven’t brought your own  its basic fried rice or fried noodles but after a long hike some chou fan and tsing tao goes down a treat. We really liked the staff who own the restaurant on the right hand side as you enter the beach as they were really friendly and even gave us some free watermelon at the end of the evening. The restaurant was a great place to chill out which a great view, we took some cards too and I learnt how to play Chor Dai Dee (a Chinese card game that once learnt is highly addictive – beware!)

In the morning we were quite keen to set off early but not without a breakfast to set us on our way. I expected that the restaurant would have only congee or noodles on offer but lo and behold they provided a full English breakfast complete with sausages and back bacon that any gastro pub in Britain would be proud off – who would have thought it! Delicious!

Tips

·    Don’t even bother going on any day in HK that is hot, June – September is a big big no no. Your tent will be hotter than the sun, you will be covered in a thin film of sweat and sand (chaffing central) and you will not be able to get away from the mosquito’s that will crawl all over your tent waiting like blood thirsty zombies to sink their teeth into your flesh at the very first moment that they can. In essence – COMPLETE HELL!!!

·    If you are like me very very tasty to those horrible horrible parasites then take a bucket load of deet, not just normal repellent. TAKE DEET OR YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE – put out what you think then double it. Trust me you will need it.

·    Bit of an obvious one but if you want to have a fire, collect firewood whilst it is still light and take some firelighters with you, we didn’t do this and needless to say our fire was mainly just burning leaves. Not cool.

·    Take a torch, lord knows its annoying having to hold onto a button on your mobile for light while you are trying to pee.

In truth we were incredibly ill prepared for this trip however despite not having any sleep and emerging covered in bites I had a really great time and maybe the hardships we encountered added to the fun and the laughter - I was in stitches when my boy decided that he was too unbearably hot and sick of the noisy crab to stick in the tent so decided to roam around the beach starkers at 3.30 in the morning in a heat induced delirium like a nutty Robinson Crusoe. And why not, on this magical beach you can do anything you want.

Vxx

Sloshed in Sonoma County, California

Cheers to you all!

Following the conference in San Francisco, some colleagues and I rented a car and spent a couple of days in the gloriousness that is Sonoma County famous for its tasting of the vino. On our way to Sonoma we had a couple of quick stop offs and lots of singing to the Eagles, first stop was at the very famous golden gate bridge which provided us with a postcard picture of the fog rolling from the hills, over the bridge and the expansive San Francisco bay.

Our second stop en route was a wander through Muir Woods which showcases magnificent Redwood trees, one of the tallest species in the world averaging a height of 379ft! This picture gives an idea of the scale nicely as these are the very bottom of these beasts!

The Redwoods are not only very tall but very old; the tallest have been around for over 1,000 years. Muir Woods was stunning; a very real Fern Gully, I was expecting Crysta the little pixie to emerge from each turn of this beautiful peaceful forest as we meandered along.

THE PLACE

Sonoma is located on the northern coast of California and plays home to over 250 wineries. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and as we cruised through the area I could have looked out of the car window at the fields and vineyards getting bathed in sunshine all day long. So much green…..of the medicinal kind too!

THE CRIB

We rented a beautiful all American house situated right next to the Russian River that flows through the Sonoma valley and quenches the thirst of all those grapes. The house was beautifully decorated and came complete with a fully equipped kitchen, deck overlooking the river, hot tub, kayaks and a huge bbq http://www.russianriverrentals.com/beachhouse.html Pimpin!

THE FOOD

I have 2 words - Bison burgers.

Probably the most delicious burgers in the world. I bought the Bison minced meat, mixed with some egg yolk, red onion and special ‘sonoma bbq sauce’ from a very nice American chap at the deli then barbequed so that they were still pink in the middle. Yup that’s right – wipe your drool.

THE BOOZE

After a lovely morning Kayak along the river we organized ourselves and set about going to visit the vineyards. We visited 5 wineries in one afternoon so unfortunately my memory is only accurate enough to report on the first couple!

Francis Ford Coppla’s vineyard was close by so we headed off for our first taste of Sonoma wine.  The vineyard was the most commercial equipped with pool and hotel onsite however it was really fun to view lots of the film memorabilia and the wine wasnt half bad if a tad expensive. I came away with a delicious Cabernet Sauvingnon that was my favorite from the tasting menu and also has an awesome picture by the production designer of The Godfather (Dean Tavoularis) on the front.

Next was Foppiano Vineyards, a quaint family run vineyard, it is one of Sonoma’s oldest as it was founded in 1896 and interestingly survived prohibition by selling home wine making kits. This was my favorites tasting menu of the day as each wine was delicious. They were also the only vineyard that included a rose on the tasting menu  – the '2010 Estate Rose'. As Rose is my favourite type of wine and it happened to be so tasty I ended up buying a bottle or maybe two…..if you have time the owners will also teach you a little about the wine by taking you for a tour around their beautiful vineyard, and when it looks like this there really is no excuse not to!

TIPS

1.  Get started with your wine tasting early as many of the vineyards close between 4-5pm

2. If you are like me plagued with hayfever then take some anthi-histamines with you – the pollen is all over the shop – sneezing into your wine glass is bad etiquette you know

3. Take a jumper to Muir Woods, under all those trees it can get a little chilly.

As we had only 2 days in Sonoma I feel as though this tasting trip was literally just that – a taster! Cruising round Sonoma in the sun slightly tipsy was absolute bliss, I think I’ll need another trip to satisfy my thirst.

V xx

p.s. had to share this picture of us tasting at the final vineyard.....merry merry happiness all round!

San Francisco blues and schmooze

Well hello there!

I know it has been a while since my last post however I have been gearing up for the showbiz event of the year. Oh yes,  the hotly anticipated International Trademark Conference no less which this year was held in San Francisco – city of blues, fog, cable cars, Mrs Doubtfire, a big red bridge and A LOT of crazy people still tripping from the copious amount of illegal substances consumed during the 70’s.

THE PLACE

San Francisco hits you straight in the face with a clash of culture from the biggest China town in North America to the smart and sophisticated business district to the slightly sketchy fairly impoverished downtown area. One thing that particularly struck me was the vast array of architecture that seemed to compliment this mixture of influences perfectly.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Westin St Francis is a must to visit; it has been situated right next to Union square since 1904 and is very elegant and beautiful from the inside out.  Make sure you take a ride up exterior glass elevator on the rear tower that delivers a spectacular panoramic view of the city as you rise up the side of the building……not so good if you suffer from vertigo however.

I also went to a party held in the California Academy of Sciences, which was an eventful party not least because I saw two lusty penguins mating furiously……they were at it for over half an hour and had about 100 people watching them – saucy! In all seriousness though the Academy is well worth a visit as it boasts an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a four-storey rainforest all under one roof! The party was a hoot, I sipped my vodka tonic dancing to Lady Gaga and leant about how snakes track their prey while being entertained by half naked fawns on stilts, what more could you want.

Obviously there is also the classic Tram ride, Alcatraz (whilst pretending you’re Sean Connery in the Rock) and the Golden Gate Bridge which are worth seeing. Other things that I wanted to do but didn’t have time were visit the Beat Poet Museum and mosey round China town; apparently they have dumplings that rival Hong Kong!

THE ACCOMODATION

We stayed in this rather nice boutique hotel called Union Square hotel which is pretty perfectly located right in the heart of the city. The rooms were well designed, staff were super friendly and they even served complimentary wine in the lobby from 5-7pm – nice! My only complaint would be the amount of noise during the night however I think this is pretty common across the city, like Michael Jackson’s Thriller it seems the real crazies, hookers and pimps wait till dusk to come alive!

THE FOOD

The best thing about attending Law Firm receptions is the canapés ……..mmmm drool. I don’t know what it is about a canapé that is so utterly resistible however I seem to not be able to turn down one that I haven’t tried before even if I have already consumed my own body weight in these delicious compact servings of heaven. Smoked salmon  blini’s, rock oysters, mini burgers, strips of chicken with figs and mushrooms and mouth watering crab cakes complimented by a glass of champagne certainly amused my bouche no end.

Two restaurants that I would highly recommend while you are in the city are Louis Diner (Powell Street) and Waterbar (on the waterfront). Louis Diner is the epitome of your typical All American diner complete with life size horse and cow hanging from the ceiling and half a Cadillac attached to the wall that could have been part of the set of Back to the future. Portions are big and there is nothing healthy on the menu but it is predictably delicious. To my mind no one does breakfast better than the Yanks and they certainly didn’t disappoint here, feast on amazing pancakes, streaky bacon, homemade hash browns and eggs ‘sunny side’ up!

Waterbar is a slightly classier joint located on the Embacadero and has a great view of both the Bay and SFO Skyline as well as huge floor to ceiling circular aquariums filled with yummy fish. The food was fantastic if a little pricey. Be sure to check out the Oyster Menu which is what I opted for as an Entrée…..we childishly had a chuckle at the oyster named fanny bay but it turned out to be rather delicious. For my main course I had Salmon with black eyed peas, spring onions, broccoli rabe and a cornmeal fried oyster – delicious. I didn’t have room for dessert however one of my colleagues went for the ice cream cookie sandwich, only in America could this be considered appropriate in a fancy restaurant. And why not, I suffered from food envy for the rest of the meal.

THE NIGHTLIFE

As I mentioned SFO comes alive at night and there are plenty of cool bars and clubs to sample. Particular highlights were a sultry bar blues venue called the BOOM BOOM ROOM in the Fillmore district made famous most notably by John Lee Hooker who to this day still posthumously has a table reserved for him next to the stage. This smoky bar is small and intimate and attracts some of SF’s best musical talent playing a mixture of rock, soul, blues and jazz as well as a plethora of different kinds of people. They also have a beer called Dead Man Rogue on tap. Awesome.

I also took a quick trip to a very cool bar called the Bourbon and Branch on Jones Street which channels the current Boardwalk Empire phenomenon as a 1920’s themed bar. The venue is even a former speakeasy and hosts an extremely wide variety of whisky and bourbon, a password is needed for entry which can be found on their website. The book lined library bar certainly adds to the feel of the place however don’t come here if in a large group or looking to get a quick drink. This is a place that demands you take your time.

Embarrassingly I also ended up in a cheesy RnB/Dance club called the infusion lounge on Ellis Street complete with slutty go go dancers and sweaty dance floor. There’s not much room to strut your stuff but the DJ was great playing  a mixture of old and new – he even pumped out the soundtrack to ‘Fresh Prince’ to which everyone joined in…’yo, homes smell you later’ Jazzy fresh!

TIPS

1.       Despite being in the state of California SFO is remarkably chilly. Take a jumper, coat and scarf. Even if it looks sunny, the sun will only be playing tricks on you.

2.       If you are a lady always carry some flats in your bag when trying to get around the city as there are very few cabs to be had, especially in the rain.

3.       Be prepared for lots of tramps and crazy people talking to themselves, they seem to be on every street corner. Most are fairly harmless but we did get the odd aggressive one so watch out.  

4.       A great film set in San Francisco is called ‘What’s Up Doc’ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069495/ probably one of the funniest films ever made with an awesome car chase at the end that showcases the cities hills and character perfectly.

Curiously I liked San Francisco but I didn’t fall in love with it as I had expected. The city seems to contradict itself over and over again that once I thought I had got the feel of it I found something new, or was confronted with something I didn’t expect. Its energy and vivacity is juxtaposed with an eerie sadness that did leave me a little cold, Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter sum it up well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFqB4ly4-64.  It’s a city I think that demands time to be loved and understood properly, something I am certainly ready to give again. And so I bid you farewell as the American’s say ‘Have a nice day’ or in San Francisco, (this is a direct quote from one of the tramps) ‘Watch out for the communist squirrels, they’re gonna take over the world’. Quite.

V xx

Shenzhen Spa's and Shopping

Ni hao all!

I very recently had a friend to stay with me in Hong Kong and in addition to doing all things Hong Kong touristas we also decided to head over the border into China for a bit of pampering and retail therapy (ahem! not sure about the therapy part) in neighboring city Shenzhen. 

THE PLACE

For those of you that know little of Shenzhen let me (and the gremlins of Wikipedia) take this moment to enlighten you! Shenzer as I like to call it is situated immediately north of Hong Kong and has gone from being a small fishing village called Baoan County in the 1970’s to being one of the fastest growing cities in the world. On entering Shenzer you get this sense of how quickly the city has grown and it is immediately clear that you are in a place where things happen fast. Be prepared for lots of people, intense pollution and being hassled frequently ‘missy missy what you buy handbag watches? ‘missy missy you like shopping’ uhhhh duh does Dolly Parton sleep on her back? There is a real sense of chaos on arrival however and although you’ll most likely be fine you would do well to keep your wits about you at all times.

HOW TO GET THERE

If travelling from Hong Kong we found, after a little bit of researching that the best way to get to Shenzer is via the wonderful Hong Kong MTR. You can take the light blue line (no idea what it is called) from Hung Hom through to Lo Wu and takes about 45 mins. If you haven’t already got your visa you will then have to walk up some stairs, fill out a form, pay about 400RMB, collect your visa and be on your merry way. Job’s a good ‘un.

THE SPA

Queens Spa is the wall mart of spa's - a 5 floor pampering extravaganza that offers everything from massages to karaoke rooms to electrolysis on your hairy bits. Ouch! The entrance fee is RMB 108 although if you spend more that RMB 168 then this fee gets waivered – boom ting! Most of the staff doesn’t speak Ingrish however there is always an English speaking duty manager on hand if you just ask who are friendly and helpful. On arrival you are handed a rather fetching pair of pink pajama’s and a wrist tag that lets you add your bill to your ‘number’. In Queens Spa everything is a number – I was a number, my masseuse was a number, the treatment I had, my food, literlly everything and this combined with the pajama suit gave me an impression of what it must be like to go into prison!

However, prison it was not….we started off with a lovely ramen supper followed by a good aromatherapy massage. We then moved to the lazyboy chairs in the ‘rest room’ of which there are probably about 400 or so each equipped with their very own massage function and TV. Whilst watching TV I then got my feet scrapped by a man who used a knife (yes a knife!!) to scrape all the dead skin off my feet (ewwwww) and then finish off with a foot massage. Lovely jubbly. Here is a picture of those lazyboys....

The spa also boasts free unlimited fruits, juices and ice cream and even free sleeping quarter which we took rather than pay for a separate hotel. Dorm rooms are separate for men and women and consist of little pods with a pillow and duvet included. As you are sharing a dorm room with others at the spa it’s not super quiet however by the time we arrived we were all massaged out and slept soundly. It’s not luxury but if you are keen to save a few bob then worth doing.

The following morning we had a few more treatments, a cheeky swim, steam and sauna before reluctantly handing back our stripy pajama’s paying our bill and heading back to reality…….

THE SHOPPING

The main attraction for Shenzer is fakes, particularly handbags. Now if you are mere pauper like me in the splendorous luxuriousness of Hong Kong then getting your mitts on a fulberry (fake mulberry) is a bit of a must! If you are a visitor, definitely worth a trip as no one at home will know the difference and therefore think it is real and earn you real fashionista brownie points and jealous shocked looks of wonderment from your friends. Boom.

Head to the Lowu commercial centre pictured above and have a good search around before you wait for your bartering battle to commence…..we took the following tactical approach. As there were 4 of us we scoped out a few shops before deciding which one looked to have the best quality fake goods…and yes I am aware of the irony of this statement. We then went about requesting which handbags we wanted to look at, which takes a while but is a good thing because the shopkeepers get very excited that they are about to make a killing (we were however very careful NOT to mention which ones we were DEFINITELY going to buy)

To add to this role play of bargaining and selling there is also the added complication of undercover police walking about so often the shop owners will take the bags they are about to sell and go and hide them, useful when one is trying to decide between a brown or grey miu miu grrrr…anyway I had my heart set on trying to find a Celine, I needed to pick up a fulberry and a chanel and my visiting friend got very carried away and was considering 6 handbags! Boys, I know you will never understand this logic.

Then came the bargaining. Our shop keeper was quite whiny and was working the ‘my boss wont let me’ ‘I won’t make profit’ lines but we were no fools and like firm business women with black 80’s shoulder padded suits and bold red lipstick we stood our ground. The deal clincher which happened (admittedly by accident but worked a charm) was that another friend of ours had gone to buy a different bag in another shop she then returned to the shop we were still bargaining in and loudly said how much she had paid for her bag, we all got excited and began to follow her out when lo and behold…..our shopkeeper buckled to the prices we had requested. Hooray! I felt like I was in an episode of the apprentice…..Sir Alan, you would have been proud. And to boot I skipped to Hong Kong immigration with my Celine and my friend with her 6 bags.

TIPS

1.       Get your RMB to pay for your visa at the Central HSBC Building in Hong Kong where they have an ATM that will give you Chinese moulah this makes your visa process (if you don’t already have one) swift and easy

2.       Try and go on a weekday, I went on a Sunday once and it was quite simply a hell on earth….…

3.       If you wish to travel anywhere in a taxi and don’t speak Mandarin then try and get the directions/location written down in Chinese – will reduce the amount of gesticulating the movements of a massage which could look dodgy and get you into a bit of trouble. Never a good move.

Only having 24 hours in Shenzer was a real shame as I know I only scratched the surface of what this city has to offer, there are also other attractions including a theme park and sea world and I'm told there is even grass somewhere. It is however to my mind a place that you do need to mentally and physically prepare yourself for and not the idyllic luxury girlie day out that one would hope for or expect in HK, London or NY. Shenzer really is a place that you don’t want to be very long but the price what you come back with makes it worthwhile, Mulberry’s, soft feet, a new appreciation for personal space etc….therefore my best advice - Get in, get your shit done, get out!

V xx