Frenchy Food

Generally, the quality of a restaurant's food bears a direct inverse relationship to the setting or the view one experiences when dining. That's a poncy way of saying the better the view, the worse the food.

Restaurants in Paris, however, often prove an exception to this rule.

Tonight I had the good fortune of dining at Le Saut du Loup. This restaurant in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs overlooks the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre, with the Eiffel Tower visible in the distance.

Despite the beautiful setting and the further handicap of possessing a very "hip" and trendy atmosphere (this is the museum of decorative arts after all), they really delivered on both the food and the dining experience.

The lesson: a landmark restaurant can serve an excellent meal. It just needs a Frenchman (or woman) to run it.

Civilised Travel Returns

Travelling by air usually makes me feel like a sheep as I'm herded from queue to queue and finally funnelled onto a plane.

Comparatively, travelling by Eurostar seems (and actually is) incredibly civilised. I should do it more often.

And, after my recent sub-standard hotel experience in Prague, a stay at the Westin in Paris is providing just the right medicine.

Viva la France!

Dropping Like Flies

Hot on the heels of Eos' demise, Silverjet, the last man standing, now stares into the abyss. Trading in the airline's shares were suspended on Friday as expected funding failed to materialise, putting the airline at risk of imminent collapse.

I never had the opportunity to fly Silverjet, but as the only all business class airline remaining, I probably would have tried them soon. The cabin does look pretty comfy, although not as luxurious as Eos.

More than actually flying them, I will miss them for the competition they provided to the major airlines, resulting in lower business class fares all around.

According to the Telegraph:

The world's last major business-class only airline, Silverjet, was teetering on the brink of collapse last night after a multi-million-pound cash injection from investors failed to materialise. . .

. . .Although Silverjet is continuing to operate its three daily flights, it said in a statement: "Working capital reserves are limited and advances under the loan facility are required as a matter of urgency."

Silverjet has been struggling financially for the a while now, and although airline management had lined up committed funding through a credit facility, when the time came for the investors to pay up, they responded with "the cheque's in the mail."

I think we all know this story will end. When this airline launched, oil cost about $50 a barrel; now it's over $130. Given the circumstances, it's hard to make the economics work.

I guess I had better get used to travelling with the great unwashed. After all, how horrible can it be?

A little more togetherness and economy class food really can't be all that bad. . .

Utter Dissapointment

Although I was happy that I could eventually watch the later part of the Champions League final on TV Wednesday night, the outcome devastated me, especially after I thought we had won it in the penalty shootout. Penalties seem like a completely random and inappropriate way to decide the winner in contests like these.

The only solace I take is that Didier Drogba's disgraceful behaviour prompting his sending-off probably ensures his exit from Stamford Bridge before next season. Good riddance to bad rubbish. His diving, laziness and all around consistently poor sportsmanship has no place on a team like Chelsea and the team should have sold him long ago.

Hopefully they will rebuild the team during the off-season around the core players: Essian, Terry, Lampard, both Cole's and the others who always give their all and play with passion and dignity. The other Prima Donna's should go immediately.


Worse than losing, I hate seeing the team that my friend calls "those Manc bastards" win. Anyone but them!

Post-Soviet Bloc Luxury

With all of my mouthing off about trendy hotels, there are times when I appreciate the little luxuries most hotels provide, trendy or not. This week was one of those times.

I was already grouchy on Wednesday because my travel plans had me on a plane to Prague during the start of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. Luckily, the schedule called for the plane to land with just enough time for me to get to the hotel and catch the last part of the match on TV. This, of course assumed everything went to plan.

Surprisingly things progressed nicely. The plane landed spot on time and I breezed through immigration (no checked bags) to a waiting cab (no queue). I experienced a minor hiccup when the driver got lost (turns out he had been driving a cab for only five days) and that ate up ten crucial minutes, but I arrived at the hotel with about twenty minutes remaining in the game.

Great, right? Not. I checked in and finally found my room after navigating a maze of corridors only to find a television with a screen the size of a postage stamp. I didn't even know they made TV's that size any more (or ever).

OK, plan B. I returned to the lobby to find the bar, which would surely show the match. The bar indeed did have the match on TV, but they had the same TV as I had in my room, only here it was twenty-five feet away and even more impossible to see.

OK, then, back to the room, where I sat and watched the last ten minutes on a wooden chair in front of the ten-inch screen (without sound, as the static proved to loud) - then thirty minutes of extra time followed by the agonising penalty shootout. The outcome just added insult to injury.

Prague is a beautiful city, but this particular hotel on it's outskirts left plenty to be desired. In what I am learning is typical Eastern Bloc fashion, they had decorated the public areas in the style of a tarted-up rest stop on the Ohio Turnpike. The rooms, while extraordinarily large, lacked the amenities one expects to find in modern big-city hotels like a shower, furniture, a mini-bar with more than four drinks in it, towels you cannot see through and a bed made of something softer than wooden planks.

I guess I shouldn't complain when the biggest problem in other hotels is a funky lamp or a white room. Serves me right!

Another One Bites the Dust

Back in January, I commented about how much I liked Eos Airlines and how I feared that they might become backrupt, as a similar all business class airline called MaxJet had previously gone broke.

Well, a few weeks ago my fears were realised and Eos went in the tank. It's really a pity, as they truly offered a superior product for a reasonable (relatively) price. Unfortunately, the major airlines recognised this and cut their prices, effectively running Eos out of business.

Now Silverjet remains the only lower-priced business class airline flying from London to the US. I wonder how long before they join their former competitors on the scrap heap? When that happens, the majors will raise their fares again and I'll be relegated to the back of the bus.

Yikes!

LHR T5

Yesterday I experienced the much heralded, then later maligned, new Heathrow Terminal 5. For the most part I enjoyed the experience. British Airways and BAA (the airport operator) seem to have ironed most of the problems that travellers experienced during the opening few weeks. The design has somehow kept the vast space from becoming overwhelming, and even though it was filled with many people, it did not seem too crowded.

I especially liked the new British Airways lounge. Make no mistake, it's still an airport lounge, but they have made an effort to make it comfortable and relaxing - if a bit uniquely furnished in some parts (notice the horse lamp). Importantly, they serve excellent snacks and have even added a champagne bar in the First Class/Gold Lounge.

They have not solved all of the problems, however. Getting through security proved to be a chore, even with only a few travellers in the queue. The security staff seemed stuck in zombie mode, and the process of scanning each individual and their bags took an excruciatingly long time.

A series of steps that normally takes thirty seconds (take out bag of liquids, put liquids and coat in a tray, put tray and luggage on conveyor-belt, watch tray and luggage travel through the x-ray, walk through the scanner, pick up stuff from tray and luggage, move along) took three to four minutes per person (no exaggeration!). Normally the bungling comes from the passengers, but in this case, the blame lies squarely at the feet of the staff's totally inefficient and trance-like behaviour.

Earlier this week, I flew out of Madrid's beautiful modern airport and breezed through security in seconds. Perhaps the T5 bosses should pay a visit to their counterparts in Madrid for some pointers on how to run a proper airport.

To the Tower!

Although it is surrounded by what must be the world's largest collection of vendors selling the trashiest of the trashiest tourist tat, the architecture remains truly amazing.

While the gravity-defying posture of the tower itself never ceases to enthral me, I especially enjoy the neighbouring Duomo, the largest Romanesque church in Tuscany, which I think is spectacular.

By the way, the Duomo leans too!

Laziness and Procrastination

You will have undoubtedly noticed that I have not posted for a while now. There is no particular reason for this. I have been doing some travelling and experienced a minor illness that stubbornly refuses to go away, but mostly the blame lies with laziness and procrastination.

I've got a busy two weeks ahead, with trips to Madrid, Prague, Paris and Lucca, so I should have plenty to write about if I can manage to get a reliable internet connection, which has been tricky on the road lately.

Now, if I actually write anything. . .