Travel

When it comes to madeleines, I must admit, I never really got France’s obsession with the humble, plainly inoffensive little cake. A walnut-sized golden sponge synonymous with writer Marcel Proust. Indeed, for Proust, the powers of the madeleine go far beyond satiating the sweet tooth. In his novel he recalls how, as a child, his aunt gave him small madeleines dipped in tea - decades later, this crumbly delight resurrecting long-forgotten memories. One bite, a sensory trigger, containing the most powerful of ingredients – nostalgia.

We drove the McLaren 570S Spider to the Vineyard Hotel, a 5 star Relais & Chateaux hotel in Berkshire, an ideal stopover on any luxury tour, particularly designed to appeal to wine lovers everywhere.

Sitting down to write this, I’m ashamed to admit, I feel slightly torn. Because La Mirande is like nowhere else I’ve ever had the good fortune to stay. And a big part of me wants to keep it as my little secret, my little escape, a place almost too good to share. Like an enormous warm chocolate fondant, lathered in fresh cream, ‘one spoon only, please’. But despite such selfish temptations, I can’t deprive you of what I have absolute conviction will be one of your favourite stays anywhere, ever.

Sometimes you wonder why on earth a hotel chose its name. Or what they were inspired by. Or who thought of it in the first place. And this is exactly what I put to the manager of Parenthèse Concept Room – a gem of a secret hideaway in the divinely terracotta city of Toulouse. “Parenthèses is the French word for brackets,” explains Jean-François. The perfect name for this boutique apartment, so it would seem. “It’s a secret place where time is suspended,” he told me. “When you stay here it’s as though you put your life in brackets, you put everything else on hold.

Set in the province of Salzburgerland are a number of wonderful tranquil lakes so pure that the water is drinkable. I came to Fuschl and her lake called Fuschlsee. From its different angles I sensed the lake’s different character and characters. At night the very few lights emphasised just how underpopulated the shoreline is.

One of the classic races in solo ocean sailing – is set for a record entry this year as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Charting a 3,542-nautical mile course from Saint-Malo in Brittany to Point-à-Pitre on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the Route du Rhum was first held in 1978 and has since established itself as one of the big targets for the world’s top solo ocean racers.

Pulling out on to a main Surrey road in the Ferrari 488 Spider could not be easier as everyone spots the car from a mile away and lets you out immediately. It’s like having a special pass that says you never have to wait at a giveway. The Ferrari is pretty in matt opaque white and people just enjoy seeing it curve around the corner and swiftly accelerate away.

L’Hotel in the Rue des Beaux Arts on the left bank in Paris is utterly exceptional, the perfect bijou, boutique hotel. We pulled up in the opaque white Ferrari 488 convertible right outside the door, popped the front trunk and handed our bags over to the concierge. The entrance is discreet and easily missed, but once inside there is an impressive hall that extends past the front desk, though the bar, into the restaurant and ends in the exterior garden with its wonderful scalloped fountain.

The Victoria Palace Hotel is just off the Boulevard Montparnasse, behind the FNAC in the Rue Blaise-Desgoffe. It is an ideal location and laid back pied a terre close to the Jardins de Luxembourg, the Cartier Modern Art Museum and Odeon with all its fabulous restaurants and bars. It has a terrific parking space, which is a huge plus when you arrive in a Ferrari 488 Spider. The parking is at ground level next to the hotel and there is plenty of room.

Great hotel, but the star of the show is the chef Paul Evans.  You will surely hear much more of him in the future.  Paul was brought in to lift the cuisine to the peak of the Eden Hotel Collection’s trophy hotel; Mallory Court, nearby Leamington Spa.  Our dinner was outstanding, it was both innovative but without gimmicks and very accomplished with balances of flavours working in harmony.  In talking with Paul, he said there is even more to come as he settles into his relatively new role suggesting a return visit next year, if not sooner as his team in the kitchen is still evolving their s