From the category archives:

LLG Plays & Stays

LLG Travels: Miami sunrise

November 8, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

Clare and the Energiser bunny have a lot in common and yesterday at the Soho Beach House she woke me at 0556hrs gleefully proclaiming how lucky we were that we were up before the sunrise, because we could walk down to the beach to watch it rise over the Atlantic Ocean. Yay.

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LLG Travels: A Nikki Beach Sunday in South Beach Miami

November 8, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

Pretty much everything you read about Miami Beach is true: the sand is white, the skies are blue, the air is warm and the people are friendly. I wish I could come up with some down sides, but it’s tricky. It’s so long since I’ve been on holiday, a real, proper, holiday that I am […]

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LLG Eats: Barton G in South Beach, Miami

November 7, 2011 LLG Food

We weren’t quite sure what to expect from restaurant Barton G in South Beach — we had heard tell of Lobster Pop Tarts, delivered to the table in a proper toaster, and of smoking cocktails.

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LLG Travels: The Mondrian South Beach Miami Review (& a room video)

November 6, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

I think I’ve been a bit spoilt for other hotels now…I’m going to want a balcony that feels as though it’s suspended over the water, and which gives me a view of endless blue when I wake up and roll over in the morning.

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LLG Travels: Well, hello there Miami!

November 5, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

This is what I saw when I walked into my room at The Mondrian in South Beach, Miami. Air & sky & sea & light stretching out across the bay. This morning it feels as though we are suspended above the water, as from our beds all we can see is water through the glass […]

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LLG Travels: Heading to Manhattan

October 31, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

I haven’t planned a lot of time for breathing or relaxing in Manhattan — I have meetings back to back on most days, and drinks and dinners every night, mainly with work contacts, although many of them blur the line between work and friends. I’m excited tho — I miss New York’s energy and drive […]

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LLG Food: A Menu for a Girls Supper at my Flat

October 28, 2011 LLG Food

I cooked supper for the first time for a group of girlfriends on Wednesday. I love doing a proper table, as I have endless cupboards of vintage glass and china, mostly inherited from my family, as well as lovely linen given to me by my mother, and the fabulous silver plated cutlery I recently bought […]

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LLG Travels Video: Deep Relaxation at Grayshott Spa Hotel

October 25, 2011 Hotels

Given that for two years I pretty much lived on the road, since I’ve been back in the UK I’ve been putting quality over quantity where spending time with my girlfriends has been concerned. Hotels are the gold standard for girlfriend catching up – we get to hole up with no distractions, and hang out. […]

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Istanbul: The Restaurant at The Four Seasons Sultanahmet Hotel

September 7, 2011 Hotels

I’ve always wanted to stay at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet in Istanbul. Set within an old Ottoman prison in the shadow of Aya Sofia, it’s the most glorious hotel. \ On my short research trip to Istanbul last November, I didn’t have time to stay, but my mother and I went for lunch in the […]

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LLG Travels: Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire

August 27, 2011 LLG Plays & Stays

After we left Durham, scene of our friends’ wonderful wedding, on Sunday morning, we headed to the Yorkshire Dales, and our final destination, The Devonshire Arms Hotel. We decided to take the scenic route, going via the town of Richmond, and thence into the Dales. I was pretty sure there was a Norman castle (11^th […]