Author Archives: Anthea Gerrie

Anthea new headshot

Anthea Gerrie

The Windmill Hotel. Clapham’s super stylish pub with rooms.

28/03/2016 by .

Six secret Paris treats

04/02/2016 by .
Paris from Cafe de lHomme

Paris, where you only need to stroll and dream and do no sightseeing at all, is nevertheless all the richer when seen through the eyes of insiders. Guides who know where to hunt down fashion in newly-chic arrondissements most travellers haven’t yet discovered, and where to find the best sweet treats, for example.Once, such gems of knowledge were a closely-guarded secret, but now Parisians are turning their insider knowledge into businesses, ferrying visitors around addresses they’d be unlikely to discover for themselves.

Even if guided tours don’t appeal, here are six secret Paris treats for those prepared to hop a Metro to less-travelled parts of the city or bag a perch offering a ringside view of the most famous landmark in the world.

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Northcote

27/01/2016 by .
Exterior

You don’t have to be a foodie to stay at Northcote, but the chances are it will be your tastebuds which draw you to this slightly off the beaten track country hotel. Chef-patron Nigel Haworth did, after all, put Lancashire on the map as a dining destination 20 years ago, and the place, which perches unassumingly on the corner of the main road to Preston, is now drawing celebrated guest chefs and those who like to follow them from all over the world.

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PLAZA ATHENEE

26/01/2016 by .
1024px Paris avenue montaigne plaza athena.1

Eat your heart out, stylish boutique hotels of Paris – the fashionistas are still going for the resolutely period decor of the eternally glamorous Plaza Athenee.   For a start, it’s right in their territory on the avenue Montaigne, close to Dior, Louis Vuitton and Valentino, and for another thing, they are used to divas and fulfilling their every demand.   For me, they found a Nespresso machine so I could brew up in 30 seconds on the day I needed to leave my fabulous room at 5am, and tracked down the Left Bank butcher from whom I needed to buy a Bresse chicken to take home.

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ALAIN DUCASSE AT THE PLAZA ATHENEE

26/01/2016 by .
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée

Is Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athenee one of the best restaurants in Paris? Certainly, the man currently regarded as the god of French cooking has the prettiest room in the most glamorous hotel in town and three Michelin stars.

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Obsession 16

26/01/2016 by .
obsession 16

Obsession 16 is the latest incarnation of the now famous annual gastronomic celebration at Northcote.  Initiated for the new millennium by this Lancashire manor hotel with Michelin-starred restaurant named best place to stay outside London, it will this year field 18 chefs with an equal number of Michelin stars from all over the UK and beyond.

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