Travel

A Journey Through Ypres and the Fields of Remembrance

Few European towns blend history and beauty quite like Ypres. Nestled in Belgium’s West Flanders region, this elegant city charms visitors with its cobbled streets, graceful façades, and lively squares filled with cafés serving excellent Belgian beer. It’s a region I’ve visited many times, not only for its accessibility but also for its superb cycling, equally appealing to families and seasoned racers.

KRIS GRIFFITHS spends three days in Michigan’s Motor City, experiencing the best of its arts, attractions and craft beer as can be squeezed into a short break in this multifaceted city getting back to its prime.
 

DAY ONE – checking in after a providential occurrence

Arriving at Naturhotel Forsthofgut feels like stepping into a perfectly balanced world  - one where the warmth of a family-run retreat meets the refined elegance of a five-star hotel. Nestled at the foot of the Asitz Mountain in Leogang, it’s the kind of place where the air carries the scent of pine and wood, mingling with the aroma of freshly baked bread in the morning, and where hospitality is more than just a service; it’s second nature.

Paris at any time of year is simply magical and a post-Valentine shopping and culinary trip is always the highlight of our calendar. On our annual trip we chose to stay in the 25hours Hotel Terminus Nord, Paris, opposite the Gard Du Nord, its location is super handy for navigating one’s way around Paris. For example the fabulous Galeries La Fayette is within thirty minutes walking distance, some might say it’s faster than actually hopping in a taxi!

Kris Griffiths reports on an extraordinary hotel in northern Michigan and its symbiotic relationship with a 1980 cult film, and how he’s waited over 30 years to visit – the same weekend hundreds of other fans of the film annually do too…
 

The Lisbon wine region, with its sunlit hills, cooling Atlantic breezes, and vineyards steeped in history, is a place where tradition and modernity intertwine. I recently caught up with two wineries there, Cas’Amaro and Quinta de Chocapalha, to see what they’ve been up to.

Michelle Pearson Cooper’s  delicate flower studies,  made when Covid meant escape to Africa was forbidden, are another highlight of her exhibition.  

These paintings of  wildflowers, butterflies and bees,  were inspired during the pandemic.  

The exhibition, inserted like a ship in a bottle into the domestic proportions of the Osborne Studio Gallery, comprises a collection from the sixty of more Climping beach scenes,  and one eight footer of the Arctic, following Baker’s Cummingøya expedition.  

North Cyprus, or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as it’s also known as, is one of those parts of our continent that evades most travellers’ radars. Following its creation as a de facto state in 1983, it remains one of the more remote and unexplored regions of Europe. 

So it’s certainly an interesting locational choice for an exclusive €120 million development, on the island’s Karpaz peninsula, incorporating the country’s first international standard marina and a brand new 52-room boutique hotel. 

Making an entrance

A tenth solo show celebrates one of the world’s most admired and collected equestrian artists. Joie de vivre, draughtsmanship, and brilliant colour in the paintings of Hubert de Watrigant shine out of thirty new works at Osborne Studio Gallery, in London’s Belgravia.