I am deeply saddened by the events that transpired yesterday in my hometown of Boston.
Marathon Monday/Patriot's Day is one of the highlights of the entire year in Boston. Runners, who have been training for countless hours, line up for the challenge of a lifetime at the start of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton. The Red Sox play a day game at historic Fenway Park. The weather is just starting to turn springlike and people host parties along the entire marathon route. There are cheers of encouragement, the atmosphere is festive, there is an immense sense of pride and accomplishment for the athletes (most running for various charities) crossing the finish line in Copley Square.
Sadly, this day will never be the same. Ever.
My thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims of this terrible tragedy.
Bostonians will overcome, but our hearts are heavy.
It was a very exciting day in January when an entire team of makeup artists, stylists, photographers and hairdressers from Hello! Magazine descended upon our flat in London's Chelsea neighborhood to do a photo shoot of my flatmate and dear friend, the now famous British shoe designer, Aruna Seth. Needless to say, we were tidying for days!
Here is a look at the spread they published in Hello! Magazine, which finally came out just a few weeks ago:
And here are some 'behind the scenes' shots I took the day of:
Its terribly exciting living with a "celebrity!" ;-)
Do you ever wish you could push a button and teleport yourself anywhere in the world? This morning I would have gladly zapped myself over to Rome to Di Rienzo for a cornetto and cappuccino breakfast overlooking the Pantheon. What a perfect people watching perch ...
My other favorite caffe is Vitti in the beautiful square of Piazza S. Lorenzo in Lucina. Serving homemade pastries, gelato and traditional dishes since the 1800s, you can't argue with 115 years of tradition.
One of the most talked about Italian restaurants in London is Bocca di Lupo in Soho just a short walk from Picadilly. I have been on many occasions for both lunch and dinner and have enjoyed my meals there. With only 14 tables and a chef's counter, reservations are a must. My favorite part about the daily changing menu is that they feature dishes from all of Italy's twenty regions; next to each menu item is listed the region in Italy where the dish is most commonly made.
We started with some Roman appetizers, or fritti romani, including baccala (fried salt cod) and suppli (risotto balls with tomato sauce):
Blood orange, red onion and oregano salad with bottarga:
Torta pasqualina (Easter pie): baby chard, sheep's ricotta cheese and quail egg:
A very simple spaghetti with tomato sauce and freshly grated pecorino cheese:
Rabbit, pearl barley and wild garlic orzotto:
After lunch or dinner, walk across the street to Gelupo (same owners as Bocca di Lupo) for a dessert of homemade gelato, ice cream cakes, panettone slices filled with gelato, chocolate bon bons and so many sinful temptations.
(Guest post by Mey Bulgurlu)
We started our journey into West Scotland from Inverness where we stayed overnight at Bunchrew House, a small hotel on the shore of Beauly Frirth.
After a comfy overnight stay and a great breakfast, we started our drive west through the famous scenic roads of the Scottish Highlands. As we drove on to Shieldaig the scenery got more and more beautiful, well, rather stunning actually!
We arrived at Shieldaig in pouring rain, so much so that we had to wait in the car before we could get out and check in at our hotel, Tigh and Eilean. As we were settling in to our room, the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen appeared, followed by a glorious sun.
Having lived in the UK for some time and knowing that you need to make the most of any pockets of sunshine, we rushed outside for a walk around the surroundings.
After our walk, we drove to Applecross to have dinner at Applecross Inn, which is famous for serving Scotland's best seafood. We drove though the mountains arriving at sunset.
Applecross Inn is a traditional pub serving superb seafood. The seafood chowder was simply divine.
The next morning we woke up to a perfect sunny day and headed out in the car to our next destination: Isle of Skye.
After another gorgeous day we arrived at our destination in Isle of Skye and went to dinner at Three Chimneys. Three Chimneys is famous for its 3 Michelin star restaurant and its rural surroundings. We had a really delicious seafood dinner at the restaurant and a special tour of the kitchen by the celebrity chef Michael Smith.
The following day we started the morning with a run around the hotel and a delicious breakfast overlooking a view of sunbathing seals. It was sad to leave the stunning setting of West Scotland.
We started the journey back home through the sheep congested roads of Skye.
