When you have only one morning to go shopping in Paris, best not to find yourself at a 2am lock-in at your favourite Parisian friend’s local – in this case, Mon Chein Stupide (1, rue Boyer 75020, 01 46 36 25 49) – the night before. And best not precede that with a visit to his beloved neighbourhood restaurant, the comfortingly unpretentious, seriously produce-driven, and Michelin-starred Bistrot des Soupirs (49, rue de la Chine 75020, 01 44 62 93 31). There will be conversations about birth, death, love, war and Gil Scott Heron; your glass will never be empty, life will be impossibly sweet. Then you’ll wake up.

My Mamashelter bed was large and very forgiving, and with the sound of teeming rain and a great stonking hangover urging me to stay put, I wrote the morning, and my shopping lift, off. After ‘lunch’ at the Rose Bakery (46, rue des Martyrs 75009, 01 42 82 12 80) – nothing like a crumble and a jug of custard to help a sore head – I had my legs sugared at Cinq Monde – much more relaxing than a wax, as a calf massage is part of the process.

Then to the wonderful Institut Du Monde Arabe, in a valiant attempt to plough through at least a few hours of research before I headed across Ille St Louis to the right bank, the metro and pre-dinner nap back in the 20eme. But on the way ‘home’, as fate would have it, I missed the turnoff to the Pont Marie metro station and before I knew it, found myself outside cult sandal shop, K.Jacques (16, rue Pavée, 01 40 27 03 57). Then there was no turning back, the Marais sucked me in: Bensimon (12, rue des Francs Bourgeois, 01 42 77 16 18), Comptoir de Cotonniers (33, rue des Francs Bourgeois,01 42 76 95 33), Vanessa Bruno (100, rue Vielle du Temple, 01 42 77 19 41), Claudie Pierlot (Blancs Manteaux 9, rue des Blancs Manteaux, 01 44 78 03 33) and L’Arstisan Perfumer (‎32, rue du Bourg Tibourg, 01 48 04 55 66‎), all within a Chablis-addled amble. The 10eme’s APC and the Anne Valerie Hash aside, here was my shopping list writ large.

The fates seemed to want me to shop and I was in browsing heaven, but I was in no state for change rooms. Despite a final detour, a long, lustful wander and a cup of tea at the beautiful and oh-so right-on Merci (111 blvd Beaumarchais 75003, 01 42 77 00 33), by the time I found another metro station, I carried but two modestly sized shopping bags. One from Petit Bateau, with the obligatory dozen knickers for my daughters, the other from American Vintage (10 rue des Francs-Bourgeois 01 42 77 98 73 ), a label I first spied in Marseille in 2006, and whose endless riffs on the t-shirt theme have now fortunately found their way into the wider world.

The American Vintage bag contained the twin scarves – long, meltingly soft twists of cotton – pictured above. Why two? In grey and, well, grey? There are, as the cliché goes, many shades of grey; in the parlance of conte crayons, I chose one that was cool, another that was warm. (Or perhaps, recalling the urban bestiary of Paris, there’s a pigeon and  a mouse.) They’ve both since kept my chill-prone neck warm during many a flight and through the ever-shifting equinox weather of Melbourne, New York and Oslo. One or the other will go with everything I own, and I’m never quite as anxious about potential loss as I’ve got back up. And while there’s a host of similar pieces to be had, these carry both the insouciance and a particular attention to detail of their Provençal makers.

Teamed with a cream APC tunic, the warm one  kept my décolleté modest on my early morning flight south to Tunis, while the cool one got its first outing later that very evening. On the way to find a medicinal onion soup, my friend and I made an unscheduled stop on a windswept corner. A (largely female) crowd had gathered to watch a couple of strapping young pompiers liberate a wayward terrace umbrella that had been blown into the top branches of a very tall tree. Neck wrapped tight in my new scarf (and looped into messy pussycat bow, because it was, well, Paris), I was able to stave off the unseasonable cold while this slight but charming episode came to its happy conclusion. And what a cinematic one it was, the day’s inky clouds suddenly receding as the umbrella was retrieved, the firemen’s muscles flexing beneath sodden t-shirts, gold helmets glinting in the last rays of the setting sun.

Wedged between Sydney’s famous Oxford Street and Flinders Street, the eastern end of South Dowling Street could easily be mistaken for a quiet residential strip of inner-city living. But as Kris McIntyre discovers, this unassuming stretch of Darlinghurst is also home to some cute and quirky businesses selling everything from the tasty to the sexy.

SHOP
Madame Rouge’s Boutique for Love (No.327) is a decadent little cavern of sauciness for gals. Selling sexy lingerie, potions and lotions, female erotica and naughty sex toys, Madame Rouge’s boudoir makes shopping for the forbidden an indulgent journey to the secret world of feminine desire. Madame Rouge also runs burlesque dance classes at the Velvet Lounge in the nearby Beauchamp Hotel.

Paper Couture (No.284) is filled with charming handmade stationery and decorative paper-based objects. Special Pieces (No.366) sells antique Japanese and Chinese furniture and kimonos as well as Tibetan, Mongolian and Indian artefacts and well, as the name suggests ‘special pieces’. My Boudoir (No. 323) specialises in vintage clothes, shoes, bags, antiques, costume jewellery and some art. For hip fashion Mixed Designer Collective (No.319) sells Hussy, Cohen et Sabine, Nookie and Oscar the Third; and Capital-L (No.333) stacks its racks with labels including Something Else, Marnie Skillings, Romance Was Born, Notion of Legacy, Missy Jackson shoes, streetwear favourite Mad Cortes, Claud Maus, Gorman, Jessie Hill, Gabrielle Scarvelli and in-house label Please Louise.

PAMPER
Sharon-Lee Studios is the home of Sydney’s eyebrow queen. The ‘Brow Wow!’ eyebrow shaping treatment will set you back $90-$150 but your brows will never look so good (apparently, I just didn’t have that kind of dosh to splurge). Other services include eyelash extensions, tinting, manicures and pedicures. Open Tues-Sat. Phone (02) 9360 5124 for bookings.

CULTURE
Charles Hewitt Gallery (No. 355) specialising in contemporary Australian art with regular exhibitions by significant emerging and mid-career artists. Open Mon-Sat between 10am-6pm.

EAT
On the corner of South Dowling and Hannam Street, there are two great spots for a quick, tasty bite to eat. Look out for the sandwich sign hanging off the door and you are at South Dowling Sandwiches offering great sambos and tasty salads in a box. Across the road, new kids on the block at Youeni serve up snacks and lunches with fresh-roasted organic coffee. Just off South Dowling Street on the corner of Albion Ave and Selwyn Street, The Shop is a kooky hang for local creative types sipping on good coffee and tasty morsels delivered with amusingly ambivalent service.

DRINK
“There is more to life than beer alone, but beer makes those things even better” – the famous quote from intrepid beer love and biographer, Stephen Morris emblazoned on the awning of The Local Taphouse says it all. With more than 150 beers on offer, this popular pub on the corner of South Dowling and Flinders Streets serves up Australia’s largest range of beer with a blend of rustic elegance and trendy modernity. Filled with antique furniture, comfy couches and quirky curios like birdcages hanging from the ceiling, this is also a place where a Sauv. Blanc swilling lass can feel at home. The pub-grub is mod-Oz and a good companion to the specialty of the house. On the corner of Oxford Street, the Beauchamp Hotel is a well-loved part of Sydney’s pub heritage. Downstairs is an old-school-but-cool public bar whilst upstairs there’s a modern, loungey in the bistro and courtyard. The seductive basement bar, Velvet Bar, is open on Friday & Saturday nights unless privately booked by Madame Rouge or private parties.

GETTING THERE
Catch the 380 or 333 bus from Circular Quay or Elizabeth Street in the CBD and jump off near Taylor’s Square / St Vincent’s Hospital. South Dowling Street is a short walk towards Bondi from Taylor’s Square.

When Kris McIntyre was offered the chance to spend less than 24 hours in Warsaw she jumped at the chance to visit Poland’s capital and discovered some tips along the way on how to explore a city on a time budget.

11.30am We touch down in Warsaw and are met by our driver for the short trip into the city centre. My first impressions of Warsaw are that of a sprawling post-Soviet concrete city. It’s the tail end of winter and the bleak grey sky only serves to highlight the obvious scars on the city’s soul. Warsaw has been devastated by war and invasion over and over again – most notably during the Second World War when more than 85 per cent of the city was destroyed. The result is a hotch-potch of architecture and from conversation with locals, a sense that everything is being ‘renewed, restored or rebuilt’.

Our hotel, the Sofitel Victoria 9 (Ul. Krolewska 11. Tel 022 657 8011 www.orbis.pl) has something very ‘trapped in time’ about it and I laugh at how a Sofitel in one city can be like a Best Western in another. What the Sofitel does have going for is it is its vantage point over Saski Park and the site where an 18^th Century Palace once stood before the Soviets flattened it. From the hotel window I feel like I am witnessing a strange kind of somnambulism on the ground below. The light and the noise are muted which makes the pedestrians seem like they are moving slowly and silently through an invisible denseness. It is surreal but beautiful and immediately puts me in the right frame of mind to appreciate the artistic melancholy of this city.

1.00pm With my travelling companion busy in meetings, I decide the best way to for me to get a feel for the place is to do what I would normally do on an ordinary day – go for a walk, find a good coffee, browse through a book shop and do a yoga class. I’ve armed myself with the Wallpaper* City Guide to Warsaw and a copy of the local English-language street press Warsaw Insider magazine. I head off in the direction of the cobbled streets of Stare Miastro/ Nowe Miastro (Old Town/ New Town) and the grounds of Warsaw University into the recently revitalised, now-hip Powisle district. I manage to tick off a couple of the city’s landmarks and architectural highlights along the way – the Metropolitan, the Warsaw University Library and the Swietokrzyski Bridge. I find delight in the ordinary by spotting the likenesses and differences in the everyday things – the children playing in the school yard, what the buses look like, how the same products have different brand names. I realise how travel and being in strange places sharpens the senses, especially if you are on your own. And intense people watching can give an uncanny feel for people and place in a short space of time.

2:00pm At the Kafka café bookshop (Ulica Obozna 3. Tel: 22 826 0822. www.kafka.com.pl) I order a not-terribly-good coffee and a tasty Polish sandwich as I soak up the University-student vibe. The place is filled with sofas, books (new and second hand), laptops, skinny cigarettes (smoking is still kosher here) and muted conversation about student politics, literature and overdue assignments.

3.30pm I hook up with my partner and take him on my own tour of the city sights. We stop in at Czuly Barbarzynca (Ulica Dobra 31. Tel: 22 826 3294. www.czulybarbarzynca.pl). Over coffee and too-sweet cakes we discuss how bleak and even depressing places are almost a necessary counter-balance to the artistic soul if you ordinarily live in a sunny, easy-going lifestyle devoid of the layers of history and suffering felt here.

4.30pm Whilst the other half takes a nap I squeeze in a class at Joga Klub (Ul.Chalubinskiego 8. Tel: 830 09 90. www.jogaklub.pl). The studio offers morning, lunch, afternoon and evening classes daily with Pilates and a variety of different yoga styles. There’s also English-speaking teachers. At the end of the class I feel like I’ve landed and am ready for the night of Polish culture ahead.

6.30pm Our driver is back to take us to Warsaw Central Station for a bizarre ‘spectackle’ (performance piece) in the public space of the train station. It was in Polish so I didn’t understand a word but loved the strangeness of the experience. We leave the station for our next date and as we drive through the streets of Warsaw I find it tricky to describe. There’s no one word (at least not one that I can find in the space of 18 hours) and the feel of the place keeps moving out of my grasp. At one moment you feel its Soviet Socialism, the grandeur of its Eastern European history, then around the next corner is glass-walled modernity. Channel and capitalism are on show, but there’s an intangible complexity about it. The city feels vulnerable and sad but also strong and hopeful as though it has something to look forward to.

8.00pm We’re at TR Warsawa (Ul Marszafkowska 8. Tel: 022 480 80 90. www.trwarszawa.pl) – the artistic home of one of Poland’s most talented young theatre directors, Grzegorz Jarzyna. As testimony to the importance of the arts in the Polish psyche, Warsaw has more than 27 government-funded theatres. As we wait for the curtain to lift we ponder how artistic expression strives to find meaning and beauty in the barren bleakness of the external world.

9.30pm Our local contact and his girlfriend take us to Warsaw’s most applauded restaurant U Kucharzy (Ulica Ossolinskich 7. Tel: 22 213 3393. www.gesler.pl). Literally meaning ‘cooks kitchen’, this amazing tiled dining room is located in what was once the kitchen of the grand Europejski Hotel. We’re greeted to a slick welcome by the crazy Rasputin-like maitre d’ who escorts us to our table and introduces us to our humble manservant waiter. Decked out in black jacket, white shirt and a too-short black tie, he brings a hint of the old hotel’s formality (check out the fabulous black and white photo of a row of waiters looking out the window of the old hotel as you enter the restaurant) which is a humorous contrast to the heavily tattooed, trolley-wielding, sweaty cooks that come to our table to put the finishing touches on our meals. Our host points out the famous amongst the glamorous and gorgeous patrons filling the space. Although the food is far too Polish for my liking, U Kucharzy is an amazing dining experience for its ambience alone.

12.00am Short of falling into our last vodka with exhaustion we bid our lovely hosts good night and brave the cold for a midnight stroll past nightclub queues and across Saski Park. In bed I’m wondering if the aftertaste of the herring sitting in a puddle of linseed oil with raw onion and coleslaw will ever leave me.

4.00am The thump-thump of nightclub baselines are still going as we drag ourselves out of bed and head to the airport. At the airport duty free I find the perfect Polish gift for – a bottle of genuine Zubrowka bison-grass vodka. Complete with a blade of grass in the bottle, the local drop has been touted as an aphrodisiac, stamina enhancer and virility booster. I’ll let my Taurean friend at home be the judge of that! As the plane takes off I reflect on a short, sweet, surreal adventure and hope I’ll return to this strange city one day.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR EXPLORING A CITY ON A TIME-BUDGET

• Pick up a city guide before you arrive. Wallpaper* City Guides and Lonely Planet’s Encounter series are a good bet.
• Have a plan for what you want to see and do BEFORE you arrive.
• Get a good map.
• Pick up a local insider’s guide or street press for hints on what to do, gigs, restaurants, theatre and other activities.
• Do what you enjoy doing in your own city – it’s a great way to get a feel for a new place.
• Hook up with a local. Use your contacts Lonely Planet Six Degrees-style to find a local guide before you arrive.
• Book a hire car to help your get around, or at least have an understanding of the local transport systems, to make the most of your time.

Running through the heart of Potts Point,

Eat at: During the day, head to Yellow Bistro (57-59) or Toby’s Estate (81 entry via Manning Street). For evening dining, Café Sopra at Fratelli Fresh (81), Busshari Japanese (119), and the amazing Fratelli Paradiso (16 Challis Avenue, off Macleay Street).

Drink at: Velluto Champagne & Wine Lounge (rear of 50 Macleay on the corner of Baroda Lane) and the bar at the rear of Lotus Bistro & Bar (22 Challis Avenue).

Shop at: For upmarket fashion Arida (61) and Becker & Minty Woman (Cnr Macleay Street & Greenknowe Ave). For homewares Becker & Minty (81 enter via Manning) or Macleay on Manning (85).

Indulge at: Alkaline Day Spa (91). Tip: book in for a treatment with River.

Read at: Potts Point Book Shop (14) or Macleay Street Bookstore (103)

Bloom at: Sydney’s most celebrated florist, Grandiflora (12).

Go to market at: Fitzroy Gardens Fountain markets are held every Saturday (for organic produce, flowers, pastries and food stalls) and Sunday (for second-hand books and clothing).

Getting there: Catch a bus or train to Kings Cross. Visit 131500.com.au for timetable information.(Note: numbers indicated are the street number on Macleay Street. Holiday Goddess suggests checking websites for opening hours and bookings).

Faith Bleasdale goes in search of the perfect Singapore Sling

cc. Flickr.com / Chang'r

There are two things stand out about Singapore – the shopping and the cocktails. Shopping is a national pasttime and for such a small place, the amount of malls is quite astounding. But I want to focus on the aprés shopping – the cocktail hour (or two).

Singapore is famous for its Singapore Sling, and when visiting there is only one place to go to sample this – The Long bar at Raffles hotel – Walking into the hotel is like stepping back into colonial times, and you might feel slightly underdressed even in an evening gown. The far more casual Long Bar itself is strangely pub-like, and as they give you free monkey nuts, the shells also decorate the floor (warning to anyone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it is rather messy)! The cocktail itself I found overly sweet but I think it would be churlish not to try it…

Highly recommended is the New Asia Bar at Swiss Hotel at The Stamford. Not for those with vertigo, it’s on the seventy-first floor, with amazing views of the city, and a pretty extensive cocktail list. Its decor is modern, and sleek, and they offer Sundowners (half price wine, champagne and cocktails) from 3pm until 9pm daily. Genius. However, it’s normally pretty busy and service can be slow. You have been warned.

My hands-down favourite place is the Martini Bar at Mezza 9, in Singapore’s Grand Hyatt. This glass-encased bar has the best martini list in the whole of Singapore (and to be honest anywhere else I’ve been). Fabulous bar, great central location, friendly service, it really is the perfect place for the perfect cocktail. My recommendation is the watermelon martini, which is mouth-wateringly good. As in many Singapore bars they often crank the air-conditioning up quite high, remember you can ask for a wrap and a pashmina will be provided.

Photo Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chang-er/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Faith Bleasdale finds the beautiful English pub in Devon that inspired ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’

© Faith Bleasdale

When I head the rumour that one of my favourite songs was inspired by a pub near where my home in Devon I just had to investigate.

Simon and Garfunkel’s classic song ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ was apparently inspired by a visit to The Fisherman’s Cot in Bickleigh, Tiverton, Devon.

The Fisherman’s Cot is a beautiful traditional Inn set on the river Exe, and it offers traditional pub food, and also a a cosy place to stay.

© Faith Bleasdale

I went there for Sunday lunch, where the carvery was full to the hilt. The menu is varied, the prices very reasonable, and a lot of local produce is used – fresh fish features. The service is friendly and although some of the decor is a little dated it definitely passes for quaint!

What really sells this place is the setting. On a bright sunny day, you can sit outside, feed the ducks and watch the bridge – which is definitely built over troubled waters.

It’s definitely inspiring. As I watched the ducks chasing bread I definitely felt the desire to write, too.

For more information, visit the website.

A quiet haven away from the hectic hub of Sydney’s Circular Quay, Customs House is possibly one of the city’s best-kept secrets. Find broadband, books, current international newspapers and more. Kris McIntyre reports.

cc Creative Commons Flickr / zayzayem

Inside Customs House (a beautiful Heritage-listed building) you’ll find a unique perspective on the city and plenty of opportunity to be sociable or solitary. You can easily spend a whole day here … and the best part is, that unless you want it to indulge in some pretty fabulous food and wine, it won’t cost you a cent.

READING, RELAXING & LEARNING …
Ground Floor Foyer
With comfy chairs and sofas, newspapers from around the world, internet desks and wireless broadband access, Customs House Foyer is an open, friendly meeting place or the perfect spot to spend time on your own. The highlight is an awesome model of Sydney’s CBD embedded under a glass floor which gives a unique bird’s-eye view of the city (and yes, you can walk on it).

The Library
Spanning over three levels, the Customs House Library houses a collection of more than 50,000 items. On the ground floor you’ll find magazines, paperbacks, Australian and international newspapers (great if you are feeling homesick for your favourite tabloid). On Level 1, there’s children’s literature, A-K fiction, the Japanese, Korean and audio-visual collections. Level 2 houses non-fiction, reference books and L-Z fiction as well as the wonderfully quiet and serene Reading Room. There is wireless broadband access and computer terminals with free internet access but you’ll need to purchase a charge card if you want to access your email account. Library membership ($12 annually) is only available to NSW residents, but you are free to browse. Open 10am-7pm (Mon-Fri), 11am-4pm (Sat & Sun), closed on public holidays. Telephone: (02) 9242 8555. www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/customshouse/thelibrary

Events
The Library hosts a continuous program of (mostly free) events including photographic, art and painting exhibitions. Customs House Square is also the site for special events. See the Customs House website for details.
The Mahasiddha Buddhist Centre also runs drop-in meditation classes in the Level 2 meeting room on Monday evenings. Cost was $14 when we visited. For information visit www.meditateinsydney.org

WINING & DINING …

Young Alfred Café
Located on the ground floor, Young Alfred offers casual Italian-inspired dining with homemade pizzas the hero on the menu. The best seats in the house are outside on the verandah overlooking Customs House Square where the Café has an espresso bar serving good coffee. Open 7am-midnight (Mon-Fri), 10am-midnight (Sat, Sun & public holidays). Telephone: (02) 9251 5192

Quay Bar
Also on the ground floor, Quay Bar is a greet spot to meet for a drink and a casual bite to eat. With the ambience of a French café and a bistro-style menu to match, the vibe is relaxed and funky, the service good and the cocktails get rave reviews. The forecourt bar is also the perfect outdoor venue to enjoy Sydney’s amazing summers. Open: 11.30am-midnight (Mon-Fri), 11.30am-2.00am (Sat, Sun & public holidays). Telephone: (02) 9247 4898.

Café Sydney
On the Level 5 rooftop, Café Sydney is one of the city’s most popular restaurants. Sydney shows herself off from here in a way that is akin to snaring the ‘best seats in the house’.  With mains averaging $35, Café Sydney is not a ‘cheap eat’ but worth every cent for the view alone. The excellent menu and wine list, sophisticated service and stylish décor are all a bonus. There’s also a private dining room, live music on Sundays (usually jazz or classical). Bookings are essential.  Café Sydney is open 12noon-late (Mon-Fri), 5pm-late (Sat) and from 12noon-4pm (Sun).  Café Sydney Lounge bar is open 5pm-midnight (Mon-Sat). Telephone: (02) 9251 8683 or visit www.cafesydney.com

To see a Holiday Goddess video guide to Customs House, please visit our podcasts section.

FAST FACTS:
Address: 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, NSW 2000
Telephone: (02) 9242 8595
Web www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/customshouse
Opening hours: 8am-midnight (Mon-Fri), 10am-midnight (Sat), 11am-5pm (Sun & public holidays)

HOW TO GET THERE:
Customs House is situated at Circular Quay, one of the busiest transport hubs in Sydney. Visit www.131500.info or call 131 500 for public bus, train and ferry timetable information. If you’re flying interstate, and are looking for bargainista airfares, we recommend you log onto I Want That Flight, where you’ll find some amazingly low cost options for flying into Sydney. Visit http://www.iwantthatflight.com.au

Louise Hawson shows how to enjoy Hong Kong on next to nix.

If you’re cashed up, Hong Kong is a great place to visit. But should you find yourself in this shopper’s paradise with barely a brass razoo, here are some suggestions to ensure you still enjoy your stay:

Catch a tram from Central heading east all the way to Shau Kei Wan. Aside from it only costing HK$2, it’s a great way to get to know the locals – the tram ride takes more than an hour, plenty of time to strike up a conversation. And you end up far from the tourist traps in “real” Hong Kong.

Eat like the locals. Which doesn’t mean going the whole hog and eating great wads of the glazed red meat you see hanging around everywhere. Stick to noodles, fish balls and the standard rice dishes and you’ll save yourself a packet.

You don’t have to sleep or eat in the grand old hotels (Mandarin, Peninsula) to enjoy their genteel, luxurious atmosphere. Frock up, pack a good book and park yourself somewhere inconspicuous. If you can cough up the dough for a cup of tea, do so – nothing like a little fine china, elegant silverware and well-stuffed upholstery to make a girl feel special.

© Tamara Pitelen

Tamara Pitelen seeks out Barcelona’s bohemian drinking haunt of old.

 

 In one of the tiny alleyways of Barcelona’s famous gothic quarter is The 4 Cats taverna (Els Quatre Gats). Once the haunt of some of Spain’s most famous thinkers, musicians, artists and architects, patrons included Pablo Picasso and Antonio Gaudi.

In 1899, Picasso began hanging out here, aged17, and it was the site of his first exhibition. He produced the image that still features on the menu cover.

The Gats was opened in 1897 by Pere Romeu, who wanted to create a Bohemian hangout where artistic types would come to drink and put the world to rights. The venue today relies heavily on it famous former patrons to attract tourists seeking a connection with that bohemian spirit of years gone by.

That’s certainly what I was looking for when I turned up at 6pm on a Thursday evening, 110 years later. Unfortunately, the venue was almost empty, although – to be fair – no one ventures out for dinner before 9pm in Spain. Four hours later, I’d sure it would have been teeming; particularly with tourists.

Today, 4 Cats is a charming curiosity where, decoratively at least, time stopped circa 1900. The walls are full of black and white photos of the famous fin-de-siecle customers as well as original and reproduction artworks. While the restaurant and bar likes to claim “the best food and service in Barcelona”, I’ve experienced better. But for the opportunity to sit in this living museum and ponder what the walls would say if they could talk, it’s well worth the price of a “caffe con leche, por favour”.

For more information go to www.4gats.com

Jessica Adams reveals where the best cuppa can be found in Brighton.

Brighton © Brian Scantlebury / 123rf

The Mock Turtle, near the seafront in Brighton, is named after the character in Alice in Wonderland. Expect to time-travel back to the 1950s as you walk in and find fresh flowers, mixed pattern china on the dresser, huge cakes on stands, piles of scones, home-made jam for sale, low ceilings and even a hat-stand.

It’s usually crammed on both floors, so make sure you let the waitress know you’re there  before you sit down.  This is one of the very few places in England you can order anchovy toast; and the meringues are the size of a lady’s hand. Expect proper strong, dark tea too – made with tea leaves (not bags) in lovely old teapots that are refilled on request.

The Mock Turtle is a little hard to find, so print out a Google Map. However, if you’ve just been shopping at the (equally glorious) English shoe shop L.K.Bennett or popped into another British retro institution, Cath Kidston, you’ll find it’s a five-minute walk.

I have taken visitors from all over the world to The Mock Turtle and they always love it. If you’re a New Yorker and you drink at Tea and Sympathy (the faux British tea room) then you’ll dig The Turtle too.

The Mock Turtle. 4 Pool Valley, Brighton, East Sussex, England.
More information

Emma Killick guides a foodie’s tour of Toulouse.

Toulouse at Sunset © Guillaume Dubé

Many heading to the south of France bypass the cities, but if you’re arriving by plane or train or picking up a hire car, I definitely recommend at least a quick stop in Toulouse. This historic city is young and vibrant, in large part due to the University of Toulouse, one of the oldest universities in Europe. The centre is 15 easy minutes from the airport or five minutes by metro from the train station. Whenever we are picking up friends from the airport, we always squeeze in a trip to the market or a meal before heading out into the countryside.

Here’s what you can do if you’ve got a day set aside, or even just a couple of hours:

MORNING: The daily market at Place Victor Hugo is mind blowing – all the meat, fish, cheese and pastries you could ever want. All of it is sumptuously displayed (so much so that I was almost tempted to buy a fillet of horse meat …). All the fruit and vegetables are just outside the covered market and more is to be found on the nearby Boulevard de Strasbourg

Place Victor Hugo, Ground Floor
Tuesday to Sunday, 6am-1pm

LUNCH TIME: Head upstairs from the market (the entrance is on the outside, under the covered walkway) to the mezzanine where there’s a narrow row of half a dozen restaurants. They’re all very friendly and very good, and they expect you to walk down the row and peruse the menus. All of them are supplied by the market below and guarantee fresh, tasty fare. We love the Le Louchebem (French Pig-Latin for “butcher”).

Get there by 12:15 at the latest as there are no bookings taken and the place gets packed.

Place Victor Hugo, First Floor
Daily 11.45am-3pm. Closed on Mondays.

EVENING: Enjoy an aperitif on the Place du Capitole. The square is vast, with the enormous town hall and opera house on one side and beautiful rose-bricked buildings on the other. Great for people watching and admiring the effect the changing light has on all the beautiful buildings. Many cafes spill out from the covered archways opposite the Capitole. The service can be a little Parisian (i.e. aloof), but worth suffering through for the atmosphere.

Next, head to Place Saint-Georges for dinner. A ten-minute stroll from Place du Capitole, Place Saint-Georges is a small, leafy square accessed by several narrow, medieval streets. In summer all the restaurants in the square have tables set up outside. It makes for a great atmosphere, and gives you a good view of all the gorgeous buildings surrounding the square. Unlike small French towns, late dining is readily available. There are a variety of restaurants and cafes here – everything from crepes and pizza to extensive gourmet menus. I recommend the following:

Traditional with great service and an extensive wine list:

Restaurant Emile. 13 Place St. Georges
05 61 21 05 56
www.restaurant-emile.com

They are known for their cassoulet and fish stew. We had a fabulous starter of herring tartar that was tasty and beautifully presented. On the expensive side, but a worthwhile treat. Making a reservation is recommended.
Young vibe and reliable food and service:

Van Gogh Cafe 21 Place St. Georges
05 61 21 03 15

Their summertime terrace comes complete with sand underfoot, which is nice and cool and feels a little as if you are on a volleyball court (high heels not recommended). The atmosphere is warm and friendly, which is partly due to the beautiful building and furnishings and partly due to with the staff. We gobbled all our food and the servings are uncharacteristically large (you could share one cassoulet between two).