A long due postcard from Hong Kong…. or looking for the spirit of « In the mood for love », a constant travel in time that hits the most flamboyant modernity Back home, our Christmas deco is shifting from Chile, to east of France and to the Far East :)…. Merry Christmas and […]
Located above a hip internet cafe invaded by macbook users, our first try at airbnb is a large, tall and handsome flat. Restored keeping all architectural artefacts, which starkly contrast with the black and white deco and contemporary art. Right on buzzy Rosenthaler strasse, it really ticket all the right boxes.. We « lived like a
This still existing bit of wall in Berlin is dubbed the Eastside gallery, it is indeed beautiful, and emotionally very strong, as many of those painting where made @ the fall of the wall in 89 and recently restored for the 20th commemoration. The « Brejnev kiss » is still there but constantly covered with tourists taking
Kind of a surprise to find this Brooklyn-like art space at the very end of the world, down in Puerto Natales: definitely a place to visit if you are down there! Galpon Patagonia was inaugurated early this year, this exhibition included works by: Antonio Rodríguez, Carlos Edwards, José Vicente Gajardo, Soledad Ramsay, Mauricio Guajardo, y Marcela
I am just throwing a little post about Punta Arenas as a tip. Most travellers skip this town to go straight to Puerto Natales, the door to the Torres del Paine National Park. It is a shame because Punta Arenas has this frontier town feeling and looks that is definitely worth a little visit.
The gateway to Torres del Paine has a pretty good selection of hotels. We picked the Altiplanico because we had a great stay at the original one in San Pedro before. We where not disappointed by the Patagonia brother: nice ecofriendly architecture (with an interesting exterior insulation made with raw earth bricks), and home made feeling
..which means « wild horse », is a beautiful estancia in the middle of nowhere: in Patagonia that really means far-far-away!! About 20 min drive from Puerto Natales, the estancia is by lake Sofia. The half-day ride we took brought us along the lake, through streams, up and down steep hills and under eagles and condor’s nests
Another much publicised area, but this time a complete flop as far as I am concerned, as the so called design district is just an outlet of the big brands with very little individuality, and it sounds like an excuse to open up one luxury shop behind the other. Even the Moore building with it’s
We used to fly to Miami back in the early 90’s when living in NY, to escape the polar cold of Manhattan… back them it was still a bit rough, and South beach was just starting to come back to life, only a handful of hotels were refurbished and there was an melancholic feel to
We thought of going back to THE Delano, but decided to try another sacred monster of design’s latest venture: a hotel redesigned by Paola Navone sounded like a passport to a blissful stay, and so it was..
Searching interesting design shops to check out in NY I found this amazing website: http://bddw.com and it turns out that the shop is even more awesome, unfortunately so are the prices, but that’s quite easily understood, everything here is a one off piece, and it’s pretty clear that a lot of work, thought and expertise goes into
The decoration media attention on Brooklyn has been so strong lately, that it has been impossible to escape the curiosity of discovering this new mecca. This how we ended one December sunday morning, crossing under the river to explore Brooklyn flea, just a as we religiously used to do 20 years ago on 6th avenue..
As a Stark-designed hotel, you can expect some drama within the public space, and that’s really the case starting with the yellow-lit access staircase and the loft-industrialish common-room breakfast lounge with quirky a mix of utilitarian objects like the carts, cosy chesterfields and blazing fire. However, I was much less impressed by the fast-food style
Cesar was in great need of some TLC.. it got plenty, and flamboyantly, with a lavish refurbishment by Christian Lacroix.
A patch of peace just at Lisboa’s edge, it’s a little out of the way, but the mini trip is very worth it.. Time has stopped in this XVIIe century Palace, still the home of the marquis De Fronteira. The italian gardens are absolutely wonderful as are the azulejos and seashell pavilions. The back of
Second time in 10 years, and made sure we left lots of things unseen, in order to come back soon, loved the place.. The views… The azulejos covered frontages… the cable car… ..celebrating the 40 years of the soft « Carnation Revolution », were Salazar’s « Estado Novo »‘s dictatorship state was put down peacefully by the army and
Like a good girl, I went through the Elle deco list of to-go places, starting with the uber buzzy LX factory, which ended up being partly closed on sunday, but happily had a flee market running all along the main street, to the happiness of my junk addict daughter, who follows (some) of her mothers’
This serviced apartment/hotel in the centre of Lisbon ticks pretty much all the cases: discreet and friendly service, bright spaces, very nice renovation, cool vintage furniture, lovely interior design (true to all the reports seen in various deco sourcing), delicious home made breakfast delivered to your door, and very reasonable pricing… but be warned if you are
Major concert hall designed by Rem Koolhaas, it also houses a restaurant and a cool terrace
A few blinks… The train station The cathedral’s cloister Shopping for chocolate.. ..and handmade wool & cotton rugs…