FIRST UP
THE WORD
VENICE
In a country not noted for heavy drinkers, Venetians form a category all of their own. Locals can often be seen indulging in alcoholic stimulation at breakfast time and few skip the chance for a prosecco or two at some point in the day. Early evening is aperitivo time, and the favoured beverage is the spritz (prosecco, soda water and bitter) one of the few things introduced by the Austrians in the 19th century that the Venetians appreciated. Lonely Planet Best of Venice, The Ultimate Pocket Guide & Map (Lonely Planet, £6.99)
Venice has more hotels per square kilometre than any other city in Europe, and for more than 150 years, one particular hotel has maintained its status as the most charismatic of them all – the Danieli. Founded in 1822, the hotel established itself as the Venetian address of choice for visiting luminaries: Balzac, Wagner, Dickens and Proust all stayed here. Nowadays it’s a favourite with the film festival crowd.
25 Ultimate Experiences: Places to Stay (Rough Guides, £2.99) on the Hotel Danieli
Riva degli Schiavoni 4196, +39 041 522 6480, www.luxurycollection.com/danieli
Naranzaria, a newcomer on Venice’s eating and drinking scene, offers fine wines, many of them produced in the neighbouring Friuli region by the restaurant’s co-owner Brandino Brandolini, plus a small but interesting menu that ranges from local specialities to sashimi prepared by the Japanese chef. It’s the handful of tables out in the Naranzaria [the Venetian name for the Rialto area] that make this place truly special. There can be few such wonderful places to dine in the whole city.
Time Out Venice (Time Out Guides, £12.99) on Naranzaria restaurant in the Rialto
San Polo 130, +39 04 1724 1035, www.naranzaria.it
MURCIA
In the centre of the handsome Plaza Julián Romea stands the flamboyant Teatro Romea, with its white decoration applied as thickly as icing on a cake. If you really want to see how far Spain has moved in the 30 years since the end of the dictatorship, have a drink at a little bar called Temperatura Ambiente, on Calle Victorio 13, where glittering diamond earrings, eyeliner and pink Mohican haircuts are de rigueur for boys. Franco is probably turning in his grave, but for Murcia it’s just another generation’s form of decoration. The Independent
AVIGNON
Away from the main tourist drag the old town is worth visiting for its spectacular monuments and museums, countless impressively decorated buildings, ancient churches, chapels and convents.
During the Festival d’Avignon in July, this is the place to be.
The Rough Guide to France (Rough Guides, £14.99). For more on the Festival d’Avignon
Successive layers of history, from the Roman period onwards, are squeezed into a remarkably confined space, but modern Avignon incorporates its past, rather than fossilising it. Thus, the new médiathèque (interactive library) is housed in one of four surviving Cardinal’s Palaces, the university was a hospital in the 17th century, while restaurants and hotels have made design features out of medieval chapels and cloisters. The Independent
Visit L’Epicerie (Place St Pierre, +33 (0)4 9082 7422) tucked in a small, cobbled square, for a fabulous feast of gambas (ten of them, each as big as a boxer’s thumb), ‘real’ frites and salad (€20), plus a half-litre of Côtes du Rhône rosé for €12. Or try La Compagnie des Comptoirs (83 rue Joseph Vernet, +33 (0)4 9085 9904) for classic Provençal and Asian fusion dishes in a huge courtyard of palm trees and water features: fried crab balls, barbecued fillet steak, poached peach and a bottle of rosé for €80. The Telegraph
Murcia’s resplendent casino (Calle de la Traperia 18, +34 96 821 2255,) first opened as a gentleman’s club in 1847. Beyond the decorative façade, completed in 1901, are an Arab-style vestibule and patio. Penetrate as far as the magnificent ballroom and pop €1 in the slot to see the 320 lamps of its candelabra shimmer with light as Strauss’ Radetsky
March wafts from all corners. Lonely Planet Spain (Lonely Planet, £14.99)
Murcia is characterised by its sandy beaches and the spectacular Mar Menor, a huge, shallow lagoon that maintains a hot 5C above the average Mediterranean temperature. The city sits on a plain surrounded by mountains and its historic buildings and cathedral tower make this once sleepy town a beautiful destination, only recently rediscovered. The Times
WINE
A TASTE OF THE SPANISH LEVANT
The Spanish Levant is a rambling, fertile, hot, often high country spreading deep inland through the Valencia and Murcia provinces and a world away from the buzzing resorts of Alicante and Valencia on the Mediterranean.
It takes its name from the Spanish levantarse meaning, roughly, “where the sun gets up”.
A region of bold light and big flavours, here vines flourish alongside groves of oranges, almonds and olives, while robust dishes of rabbit paella and salt cod with peppers hint at an altogether more robust life than the delicate seafood of the coast. And, increasingly, this slumbering region is waking up to its potential to make punchy, quaffable, sun-ripened wines.
Valencia, Alicante and Murcia have long been known for cheap and sometimes not so cheery plonk, but look out for wines bearing the official letters DO (or Denominación de Origen) coupled with Jumilla, Yecla and the tongue-twisting Utiel-Requena. The quality may come as a revelation. Better still, for anyone touring this region, the charming town of Jumilla and its near neighbour Yecla have recently introduced official wine routes (Ruta del Vino), with information on local restaurants, food, hotels, and bodegas where you can go and taste local wines.
Producers such as Vicente Gandiá in Utiel, Casa de la Ermita in Jumilla and Bodegas Castaño in Yecla are making great wines, but it’s also worth sampling at smaller bodegas and even co-ops such as Bodegas Utielanas in Utiel, where you can snap up some bargains. Nearby newcomer Bodegas Vegalfaro, along with the excellent Casa Castello in Jumilla and the new Bodegas Barahonda outside Yecla, are great examples of this region’s new wave of winemakers. Barahonda also has a smart new cellar-door restaurant serving up food worthy of a top Barcelona or Madrid eatery. Best of all, the locals still take their time over food and drink, and even when eating out, meals tend to be welcoming, rambling affairs.
Tapas of seafood, jamón and olives are washed down with white or rosado wines, while filling rice-based main courses such as paella, or pork sausages and roasted lamb, demand bold, chunky reds, which also pair with the local cheeses. This is rounded off with small glasses of sweet Moscatel with sticky desserts, before cleansing the palate with either a Spanish brandy or any number of aguardiente or spirits.
WINE-LIST WISDOM
Do ask for the wine list: “La Carta de vinos, por favor”, but also trust the locals to recommend something: “Me recomienda un buen vino del pais?” and especially a wine to go with a particular dish: “Cual me recomienda para acompanar este plato?” And, if you’ve hit on something good: “Traigame otra botella, por favor” – please bring me another bottle!
DON’T GO HOME WITHOUT…
Zesty whites made from Macebeo, tangy, food-friendly rosados made from Garnacha, reds from Monastrell and Tempranillo. UtielRequena also specialises in a rare variety, the punchy Bobal, and the Valencia region makes sweet Moscatel dessert wines.
Wine tourism information: www.vinosdejumilla.org www.ayuntamientoyecla.com www.murciaturistica.es
PINK DRINK
H CLUB>DIANA
Milan
Some of the best moments in life are the ones where you feel like you’re in a movie, and that’s just how I felt strolling in the garden here, Negroni in hand, wisteria branches obscuring the stars above me, listening to the soft trickle of a fountain complete with a statue of Diana (we goddesses stick together). Many a Calvin Klein model is known to drop in here and, unless their eating disorder is really bad, help themselves to the free fruit salad at the bar. Viale Piave 42 +39 02 20581 www.sheraton.com/ dianamajestic
HOTEL LE BRISTOL
Paris
The Paris fashion crowd is a big fan of Hotel Le Bristol, and the bar aptly hosts teatime catwalk-style designer shows with miniature pastry reproductions of the clothes served to guests. Such fun. If you’re in the fashion capital one evening, pop in and ask manager Pascal Havel to make his provocatively-named signature tipple Tenue de Soirée – a creamy liqueur with nut and coffee flavours. Delicious. It would make a great nightcap.
Not for me tonight though – I’m heading back out on the town. 112 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, +33 (0)1 5343 4300 www.hotel-bristol.com
CARBON
London
Carbon can feel a bit too cavernous with its stripped-down, industrial interior, so my tip is to go straight to the upstairs mezzanine bar, which is cosier by far. Plenty of Taittinger in the house cocktails soon makes for an easy-going atmosphere, and as the night goes on this can become something of a pick-up joint. Retro girl group The Pippettes stopped by on the night I was there but all in all, this is one for the city slickers. Old Quebec Street +44 (0)20 7479 5050 www.carbonbar.co.uk
RESORT SECRETS
Ibiza
A summer hol in Ibiza requires some advance shopping for the right attire. But my favourite holiday buy this year is Resort Secrets Ibiza. It’s a deck of cards, each stamped with the details of a recommended bar, club, restaurant or hotel. There’s also a map to help you find your way. The pack is in bookshops now and costs £4.99 www.shoppingsecrets.com
MECCA
Prague
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, life is like an Eastern European nightclub: you never know what you’re gonna get. Mecca is a Prague party spot I’d recommend to clubbers in the Czech capital, a place to hear visiting house DJs in a club that has some atmosphere and a good-sized crowd. On Wednesdays, entry to Mecca is free and there’s a free vodka shot or cocktail for the first to arrive. U Prùhonu 3, Praha 7 +42 (0)6 0271 1225 www.mecca.cz
Words: Sophy Grimshaw Illustration: Adrian Valencia/www.eastwing.co.uk
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