Recently I visited one of the U.K's most celebrated cities and there enjoyed the old and the new in hotels and cuisine. I must admit I do try to find little known places where grace and charm can still be enjoyed, and the passion of chefs is translated into wonderful food. Edinburgh is a truly lovely city. Glorious buildings abound built in grey stone and there are many townhouses which have been converted into elegant hotels.
The Howard is one of the Edinburgh Collection Hotels and offers luxury accommodations unparalleled in Edinburgh. Besides providing traditional Georgian pampering with your own dedicated butler service, each one of the eighteen individually characterized rooms uses the finest of fittings, fabrics, paintings and antique furniture and features exquisite body care items, thick white cuddly towels and towel coats – you know all those things that make you feel pampered and cared for! Of course for the techies, there are e-TV, DVD, video, games and hi-fi systems.
Downstairs you can enjoy high tea and, a little later, cocktails in the warmth and comfort of the Drawing Room with its wood burning fire, deep comfy couches and armchairs in deep golden hues. Breakfast and dinner are served in 'The Atholl', the small, elegant restaurant which is the original dining room of this once private residence built in 1820 – naturally it has been renovated but a mural painted in 'Watteausque' style at that time still survives.
What was supposed to be nothing more than meeting my good friend
Robert – who is like a brother to me – in Dublin, Ireland to celebrate our
birthdays in December, turned out to be something of an excellent
extravaganza. Robert is the CEO of Clive Christian, "the world's most
beautiful kitchens" according to their monthly ad in Architectural
Digest. He had a meeting in Dublin that happened to fall on my birthday
2 days after his. He appears to be a stuffy, British guy with his
finely tailored 3-piece suits with Hermes ties who speaks the proper
"Queen's English", but his biggest claim to fame is that he was a
'roadie' for ABBA back in the 80's. Depeche Mode, another rock band from
that decade was playing in Dublin at the time, so that's what we decided to do
for our birthdays. 
What do I look for in a travel experience? The answer is simple: culture, nature,
world-class shopping + food and the best nightlife, parties + events I can find. Sometimes in one day! Like many world-class cities London offers diversity, and my trip there this past fall provides a great example of how I was able to combine my favorite vacation pastimes.
I was 'off to see the queen,' the stewardess lingo we use when
working a London trip. I packed my tall boots, a few jackets and
scarves. I was invited to join a friend from London for dinner with a
small group at the famous old oyster bar "J Sheekey." I was, for once,
concerned about what I would wear as my friend, Tim is a famous London
tailor with a shop on Savile Row as well as shops all over the world.
He dresses David Beckam and Tom Cruise and I certainly did not want to
embarrass myself with some sort of 'get up' from my usual suitcase
wardrobe.
I
become the biggest sports fan for whatever I am exposed to for the
moment. Sort of a lucky combination of being a stewardess for a major airline
and being able to travel the world for free has put me in a position to
be in the right places at the right time. This week I will be absorbed
in the World Baseball classic series as I am taking the USA team to
Toronto. Two weeks ago it was golf at the AT&T tournament in Pebble
Beach.
