I HAVE MOVED....

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Link to my new blog.  See you there....

Vienna - The Flavours

The unmistakable Wiener Schnitzel served with a wedge of lemon and a potato salad on the side.  The portion size was overwhelming.  The restaurant was Ofenloch, a historic eaterie with a well-kept Wirthaus interior, staffed with waitresses in traditional dirndl.

Loup de mer, served at the Albertina restaurant.  No schnitzel or tafelspitz on the menu here, and the portion size was more sympathetic to the waistline.

Sweets, sweets and more sweets.  Few cities in the world can rival Vienna's devotion to all things sweet.  The finest gateaux, pastries, cakes, chocolates and sweets can be found in all manners of shops and cafes.  Surprisingly, there were very few overweight locals.

Vienna - Music

This was the music capital of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, where countless great composers once resided: Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Bruckner, Strauss, Schonberg and Mahler.  Almost at every street corner, there are young men and women peddling tickets to all kinds of concerts (but alas not the Vienna Philharmonic who was touring at the time), a reminder of the rich music tradition of this city.

A busking cellist playing Mozart at the entrance to the Hofburg Complex.  Once seen in coat and tails, also playing Mozart, outside an expensive jeweller in Graben, the pedestrianized shopping area where all the expensive labels can be found. 

The Vienna Mozart Orchestra, a 30-men (no women) piece playing at the Golden Saal at the Musikverein.  There was something dubious about musicians in costume, but they turned out delightful music, to rapturous applause by the audience, mostly Japanese tourists who were taken to the venue by the bus load.

The Golden Saal at the Musikverein is famous for its acoustics and is considered to be one of the five finest concert/opera venues in the world.  Considering that none of these concert halls was built in the modern era with the application of acoustics science, it is a marvel to experience the sound of an orchestra here.  Statistically, the Golden Hall is 48m long, 19m wide, and 18m high. Every year, the Vienna New Year's Concert is held here.

Vienna - Modes of Transport

On motorised bicycle

On foot, or perhaps not....

On horse-drawn carraige

Vienna - Art Treasures

Probably one of the grandest cities in Europe, Vienna boasts an abundance of art treasures that have been accumulated over the centuries by the Hapsburg monarchs and wealthy private individuals.  The city has an astonishing array of monuments, palaces, parks and museums, which themselves house an impressive collection of art and artefacts from all over the world and from all periods of history.  For art lovers, this city is truly a dream of magnificent proportions.

A Roman cameo carved from Onyx, just one of an exquisite collection displayed at the Kunsthistoriches Museum

Hand painted ceramics, amongst a dazzling array of court tableware at the State Apartments and Treasuries.  Gold, silver and the finest porcelain that were once used in state banquets, including the Sevres dinner service that was a gift from Louis XV to Maria Theresa, proudly proclaim the unimaginable wealth of the Hapsburg dynasty. 

The Morning of Corpus Christi, a painting by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller. This artist, a prominent member of the Biedermeier movement in the 19th century is a new find for me, not having seen his works outside Vienna.  The details, the use of light, and the unusually realistic rendering of expressions is adorable.

Springtime Paradise at Wisley

If ever there was a Garden of Eden, then the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Garden at Wisley is a wonderful exemplar.  In April, the garden is a feast for the eyes, with a riot of colours, spectacular blooms, and many enchanting orchids in the Glasshouse.  It was a wondrous afternoon, the warmth of spring bursting through the blue sky, and birdsong playing nature's orchestra in the background.  Here, a few images speak for themselves.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

On the day of the Royal Wedding, Central London was blissfully empty of traffic.  Such joy!  No wonder there were tables to be had at Heston Blumenthal's new restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge.  (The restaurant is otherwise fully booked until 1st August 2011). 

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel

on Friday 29th April, 2011, free of congestion!

There is a fixed price menu of 3 courses, modestly priced at £28.00.  Interestingly, almost all the diners chose from the a la carte menu.  It's one-page menu, A4 size, folded into three sections, one section each for starters, main course and desserts.  At the back of this simple menu are the origins of the dishes, some dating back to 16th century.  It's very clever, using the heritage ticket to sell food.

One of the most popular starters was the Meat Fruit, a mandarin orange casing containing chicken liver pate.  The mandarin orange casing looked almost like the real thing, although it was made of mandarin jelly.  The liver pate was rich beyond imagination, the sort of food that would give you gout.... 

The service was impeccable, and by 1.30 p.m., the dining room saw an influx of glamoursly attired guests, the ladies in plumed hats and the men in morning suits.  Outside, the hotel was cordoned off by police motorcade, no doubt because of some high profile clients staying at this prestigious address.

The Household Calvary riding past the main dining room

From Goodwood House to Chichester Cathedral

The roads were surprisingly free of traffic on a bank holiday Monday, and there were a lot less foot traffic passing the doors of some historical places. 

Goodwood House, still in private hands and lived in by the Marches, appeared austere from the front, although the flint stones were beautifully set; once inside, the opulence and the aristocratic luxury was breathtaking: the magnificent collection of mainly 17th century paintings and portraits, the priceless Gobelin tapestries commissioned by Louis XV, the Sevres porcelain depicting exotic birds made exclusively to order, and some exquisite French furniture.  All the wealth came from the first and second Dukes of Richmond, who accumulated a fortune by the tax levied on sea coal that was shipped via Newcastle, without ever spilling a drop of sweat. 

Entrance to Goodwood House

on a glorious day in April

The Yellow Drawing Room,

with the walls lined in yellow silk

From Goodwood, it was a short ride to the City of Chichester.  The Cathedral Spire was seen in a Stubbs' painting at Goodwood House, and it dominated the skyline as you approach the City.  Surprisingly, it was free entry, and it has a few modern pieces of art, including a stained glass window by Marc Chagall.

Chichester Cathedral

A vibrant tapestry by John Piper,

as a backdrop to the altar

Nature's fireworks

Summer is here, and nature is bursting in all its glory.

Knole, Kent

Once the home of Thomas Cranmer, Knole was surrendered to Henry VIII who took a shine to this sprawling mass of sombre greyness.  Even on a bright early summer day, the blue sky and the emerald grass could not hide the severity of the Kentish ragstones.  Much has been written about the Sackville family who has owned this place since the 17th century -the thirteen staterooms opened to the public displayed an endlessly tedious array of medieval (painted) mugshots of the Sackvilles, mixed with portraits of kings, princes, and movers and shakers of the day.  Inside the house, the greyness was further heightened by the almost jet-black oak panels, giving the place an uneasy sense of foreboding.

The quandrangle leading to the front entrance

The Grand Staircase,

looking decidely monochrome

Behold!

Masses of bluebells

Heralding the arrival of summer

Petworth House, West Sussex

A grand house with a superb collection of paintings, including the works of JWM Turner, Petworth House offers a unique combination of fine English architecture and impressive gardens.  As you look into the woodland garden at the back of the house, you see the man made lake shimmering in the summer sunlight, and the country side at its most tempting.  Outside, the bright and brilliant blue sky beckons....

A mural at the top of the Grand Staircase

The Carved Room.  Centrepiece is a portrait of Henry VIII.

A carving by Grindling Gibbons in the Carved Room.

The intricate work tells the work of a master craftsman.

The Tijou Gate at the back of Petworth House

Osterley House, London

Right underneath the flight path approaching Heathrow Airport lies Osterley House and Park, a Tudor mansion restyled as a neo-classical villa by no less than Robert Adams, master of Palladian architecture.  On a hot summer day, the grounds were mostly packed with families from the Indian subcontinent, who came laden with all manners of food, drink and collateral for the extended family.

Grand staircase to Osterley House

The marbled Entrance Hall,

a masterpiece of symmetry and space

The Tapestry Room, resplendent

in crimson and claret, simply breathtaking

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

Here, in this enchanting painting of two little girls peering into their lanterns amidst a field of lilies and roses, the painter John Singer Sargent added a much needed sparkle to a lacklustre Tate Britain.  It's a fairytale setting of innocence, childlike wonder, dusk, and promises....

An exotic orchid, fluttering the the spring breeze, outside the Chelsea College of Art.

The Aviator, Farnborough

Had lunch at the Aviator Hotel, Farnborough, and was captivated by the shell of the building and the statement staircase. 

From Tate Britain to Westminster

The Clore Gallery at Tate Britain, home to the Turner Bequest, always has a special place in my heart.  It was here that I first encountered the brilliance and genius of JWM Turner. I fell in love with his paintings immediately.  Today, the Turners are still as soul stirring, atmospheric and romantic, but Tate Britain seemed to have turned threadbare compared to European heavyweights such as the Prado. 



Turner's Snow Storm



Turner's Heidelberg

 Along the Thames, the grey sky cast a certain despondency on the landscape; even the camera had gone lethargic in the absence of a blue sky....

View of Vauxhall from Millbank

View of Houses of Parliament, away from the tourists

My first Snog

A fun and funky concept to sell frozen yoghurt: the decor was wacky, the lighting vibrant, and the young crew chosen for their looks.  Their tag line is "You'll never forget your first Snog".  How right they are.  The yoghurt comes in three flavours: plain, tea and chocolate, and the toppings include fruit, seeds and nuts, and naughty bits like brownies, chocolate buttons, mochis.  Yummy-licious.  It was a perfect dessert on a Saturday evening, before fighting our way through the crowd to the theatre.

The wave like overhead lighting that changes colours

Role reversal

"I don't have anything to wear!"

A billboard for German Lifestyle Exhibition in London

Long, lazy Sunday lunches

It's been over a year since we last went to Launceston Place for one of those long, lazy Sunday lunches.  This one star Michelin restaurant, tucked away behind the busy streets of High Street Kensington, still does not disappoint: succulent scallops, melt-in-the-mouth apple tart, and crisp service.  In this part of W8, the carefully tended townhouses sport some spectacular cherry blossoms, twigs fully laden with an abudance of pink and white flowers. 

Cherry blossoms etched against a
beautiful blue sky, so blue, so dreamy



Irises, my favourite flower, in the garden
of Christ Church, on Victoria Road W8