A medicine chest in the flower beds at Chelsea Physic Gardens

June 1, 2009

LONDON, UK – Tucked away in a little area of Chelsea are the Chelsea Physic Gardens (N.B. – these are NOT the Chelsea Psychic Gardens, as a quick read of those words might lead you to believe, ahem). An historical testament to London’s botanical evolution, these gardens, originally named the… (more)

Italian sandwich heaven, hold the mayo, at Alidoro

May 23, 2009

NEW YORK, USA – Planned on a dim sum brunch, but plans switched to picking up a sandwich from Alidoro, an Italian sandwich shop in Soho. And what a fantastic sandwich it was. I ordered the Pinocchio with artichokes: prosciutto, sopressata, fresh mozzarella, sweet roasted peppers, olive pate, and… (more)

From boots of beer to the beautiful crowd: bar hopping in Manhattan

May 22, 2009

NEW YORK, USA – What started off as a tame night at a laidback beer hall ended up with yours truly hopping into a cab in front of Cabin at 4:00 in the morning. Let’s start with Lederhosen: a great indoor German beer garden in the West Village, complete with… (more)

Jam like an Egyptian at Cleopatra’s Needle

May 21, 2009

NEW YORK, USA – A gem of a jazz venue, Cleopatra’s Needle serves up food, standard drinks, and fantastic jazz performances. I came upon this little Upper West Side boite the other Thursday night, and it was such a treat; my friends and I caught the jam session, which is… (more)

Looking forward to high times at New York’s new High Line park

May 9, 2009

NEW YORK, USA – Day after day, it rained and rained some more…on Wednesday, I woke up thinking it’d be a miserable day to check out the soon-to-be-opened High Line, but lo and behold, the clouds parted and the sun peeped through. Thanks to the Friends of the High Line… (more)

Purple Spotting: A Real Housewife of NYC in Greenwich

May 6, 2009

GREENWICH, USA – Last night was the finale of the Real Housewives of New York City on Bravo. I must admit, the cable show is a guilty pleasure of mine. So, you can imagine my surprise when less than 12 hours after watching this grande finale, Alex, one of the… (more)

Splendia seeks our inside scoop on UAE: a “Twitter”-view

May 2, 2009

TWITTER, CYBERSPACE – On Tuesday, I was interviewed about my experiences in the Middle East by Splendia, a leading Travel Website based in Europe focused on providing information and reservations for boutique and design hotels. The interview was great fun, and occurred on Twitter. The benefit of this media is… (more)

Tea as Trojan horse: a first peek into the formidable Burj al Arab

April 21, 2009

DUBAI, UAE – I first saw the Burj al Arab when I moved to the UAE in February, and decided that the building scared me a bit. The intrusive white structure over the Arabian/Persian Gulf is guarded about as closely as the US Capitol, granting entry only to those with… (more)

Souk it to me: shopping for spices and gold in Dubai

April 19, 2009

DUBAI, UAE – Among the glitz, glamour, and borderline absurdity of Dubai (think 1200+ store malls that feature manmade ski slopes, Olympic-sized ice rinks, and multi-floored aquariums, and hotels like the Atlantis that hold $20M opening night bashes with Fourth of July-worthy firework displays), you can still find a piece… (more)

Luxury is no mirage at Al Maha Desert Resort

April 17, 2009

THE DESERT, UAE – Less than an hour from Dubai, in a protected national nature preserve, is the Al Maha Desert Resort, an isolated luxury hideaway owned by Emirates Airlines. Of course, I’d heard that spending time in the desert is an absolute must-do UAE activity, but I never imagined… (more)