Serpentine Summer Party 2016 & Gomez – Gracia

Serpentine Summer Pavilion 2016. NHYM

The Serpentine Summer Party is the one summer event not to miss – in my opinion. It’s the one time of year when I can pretend that I am still young/cool/fun and get a chance to dance under and with the stars. This year’s Pavilion was designed by Bjarke Ingels, a Danish architect, who has won numerous awards and designed the Pavilion to be a ‘solid wall that has been unzipped.’

As you know, the Serpentine is closely linked to fashion, with fashion models and designers all in attendance, and this year, designer-to-the-stars, Patricia Gomez – Gracia is ‘dressing me.’ Her dresses have been spotted on the likes of Carrie Underwood, Katie Holmes, Kristin Stewart, the Kardashians, et al… So, when she contacted me for a collaboration, the Serpentine Summer Party was the ideal event.

I went to her studio and showroom in Notting Hill for a fitting and to choose a dress. I immediately fell in love with her ‘Fairytale’ dress. My choice wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll/hip/cool, it was purely instinctual; I chose it because it was the most beautiful dresses I saw.

At her studio, I saw the whole creative process and her work in progress, from sketches to mood boards and textures.

It was great seeing what happens behind closed doors of her design studio, to see the beginning to the end of a finished product. I had a lot of fun choosing and trying various dresses, leading up to the big night.

I was thrilled to wear my ‘Fairytale’ dress on the big night, it was fun, romantic, glamorous, beautiful and sexy all at the same time. As soon as I walked into the Pavilion, I was accosted by people complimenting the dress. ‘Stunning,’ ‘You are the best-dressed, hands down’ ‘Everyone else should just go home’ ‘We’ve been staring at you all evening, we love your dress’ and finally I even got a ‘Will you marry me?’ Literally, everyone was staring at me as I walked by, which was quite fun. Even the celebrities were coming up to me to tell me how much they loved my dress, from Cressida Bonas to Anna Friel and Heather Kerzner. It was a show-stopper and it literally made me shine.

This year’s Pavilion is an amazing geometrical, square themed, structure that you can walk through and had lighting that literally and figuratively ‘lit up’ the space.

Square shaped structures. Fearne Cotton bottom right.

Inside the Pavilion with Heather Kerzner

Sienna Miller and Jade Jagger NHYM 2016.

Of course, there were celebs galore as usual with the usual English celebs & models: Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Naomi Campbell, the Jaggers (Jade and Georgia May), Prince Harry’s exes (Cressida Bonas and Chelsy Davy, who is much taller than I expected), Tommy Hilfiger (hosting the party), etc. etc. etc. but the most exciting star spotting was Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones!

Beautiful Gabriella Wilde checking me out while I was checking her out. Her friend came to tell me how much she loved my Gomez-Gracia dress. NHYM 2016

Sophie Dahl NHYM 2016

As the sun set and the night descended, the colours on the Pavilion became brighter and more colourful, turning into a surreal, fantasy.

Although this year the music was somewhat of a let down (there were no big performances, which is a shame after great ones in the past by Dizzie Rascal, Pharrell Williams and last year’s Mark Ronson), the Pavilion was stunning and one of our favourites so far. We still had a fun night of dancing, mingling, drinking, laughing and making new friends through the dress.

I may not have been the most famous person there last night, but my dress was certainly voted the most popular dress of the night. Photographs do not do it justice, you can ask anyone that was there, everyone loved it. For one night, I really was in a ‘fairytale’ thanks to Patricia Gomez Gracia!

http://www.gomez-gracia.com

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@Nhyummymummy

Social Commentary

Sorry, I can’t meet up, I’m Suffering From Busyness-itis

The other day, I was sitting at Egg Break catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while when I answered the question ‘how are you?’ with the dreaded words, ‘I am soo busy,’ that vague, annoying, I’m-so-important, type of answer. Not really believing me, she asked me to go through my week, event by event. (I am guilty of overusing those words when I can’t formulate an interesting enough answer to that question in a concise manner). So, I went through my week, play by play, when she said, ‘Oh. Ok. Maybe you are busy.’

Most people look at me like I am humble-bragging when I use those words, I mean I’m just a jobless, stay at home mum with kids in school, but the truth is, it’s really how I feel. Like my life is slipping away out of my control and I go through the motions just to keep up. It’s this time of year, when schools, parents and PTAs go on overdrive and schedule 1 million things for your child/you to do and I have lots of loose ends to finish before summer starts. My children go to two different schools (let’s call them school A and School B), and I usually try to attend most of the events.

I am a ‘YES’ person, who feels obliged to say ‘yes’ whenever someone invites me, because I get really annoyed (as you know), when people come up with ‘veiled bullshit excuses.’ So I say yes. Yes to the parents’ dinner of school A, parents’ drinks of school B, mum’s dinner school A, mum’s lunch school B, mums coffee morning school A, class drinks school B, school drinks of schools A+B, sports day schools A+B, Parent-teacher conference school A+B, readings/assembly/open days/summer parties/birthday parties (oh the last minute cramming-of-birthday-parties-before-summer is an epidemic) etc… etc… etc… And now I know I have completely exhausted you by just reading this.

I haven’t even begun talking about time spent writing the blog/organising Summer 16 Winter 17 holidays/organising playdates and doctor’s appointments/window cleaning/fixing leaks/paying overdue electricity bills (Yes, I am different to the superrich). Everyone always asks me how much time I spend on the blog each week. The answer is a few hours twice or three times a week. I need time to think about the content, write the content, meet future collaborators and think of how we can work together. That last part I really love because I get to meet so many interesting entrepreneurs with a vision, which is one of the main reasons I keep on writing. I don’t make money out of this blog, but it takes up a bloody lot of my time.

Well, that is my constant state of being these days: exhausted. These are not ‘crucial’ life or death events that I need to attend, they are events that are made up by parents and people who try to make our lives more interesting/fun/social, and I respect that. Perhaps, I should learn to say ‘NO.’ (I look at those women who tell me they aren’t going to XYZ school event because they ‘can’t be bothered’ in complete awe. Wow, if I could only do that…) But that’s just not me, and I, for the most part, end up dutifully going to all the events but sometimes (many times) I would rather stay in bed because not only can I not bear to look at my same-old-clothes closet one more time to look for an appropriate outfit, it’s really because I can’t get out of bed from pure small-talk-exhaustion.

The point is that when I tell you I can’t schedule you in until next September (which I have been known to do), it’s not because I am so important, or that I am so popular, or that I-have-so-much-to-do-you’ll-get-FOMO, on the contrary, it’s because I am a YES person, and I always think about the effort people have put into organising school parties or events, and that if it were me, I would want a lot of YES people in my crowd. Is it the schools’ and parents’ fault for over-organising or my fault for saying yes to everyone? I’m not sure. But if you hear me say ‘I’m so busy,’ just know that I am not trying to humblebrag. Most likely, I’ll be sitting in Bramley’s for yet another soft play birthday party thinking that I’d rather be having a coffee with you.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Social Commentary

Brexit: 10 Reasons to Stay

Brexit is on everyone’s mind, from all the newspaper outlets, to economists and bloggers. To the point that even the yummy mummies have gone from talking about children/exercise/holidays to Brexit at their coffee mornings. So I thought I would give my two (10) cents about it:

10 Reasons to Stay:

The Economy: We’ve just clawed our way out of a recession, and with the impending Brexit, the pound is down, the FTSE is down and the OECD predicts world economic gloom if Brexit happens. Is this really what we want post-crisis?! Even the Brexiters admit it. It is evident that we will be worse off after Brexit.
Jobs: It’s not just the banks who are preparing to relocate 1000s of their staff to Frankfurt or elsewhere, other jobs will be lost along the way, which of course will affect point #1. There are 3 Million EU nationals working in the UK, many of them the top talents attracted to London for its opportunities. They’re not here for the weather are they?
Housing market: The housing market is already in a precarious situation and is doomed to fall if Brexit happens. Already, we’ve been feeling the strain on the housing market with increased stamp duty and other George Osbourne obstacles. Isn’t that enough?
Immigration: London is the most cosmopolitan, international city in the world. It embraces people from all the world and integrates them better than any other city, which is why there are so many expats here (uhm, France/Germany/Italy/US are not known to be the best integrators there are). And can you imagine what it would do to the visa process? Have you ever waited for your nanny/housekeeper’s visa to come through? The UK just wouldn’t be able to cope.
Food: Twenty five years ago, I came to London, and all I remember was a drab, grey city with terrible food. But since then, French, Italian, Spanish and even German food has invaded ‘our’ city (I now do believe that London is ‘my’ city). This is a great thing. The restaurants in London have become so good, we don’t need to fly over to the continent for proper food. All the Europeans in the food industry will suffer. We don’t want London to go back to pre-historic, dark un-foodie ages.
Travel: The open borders mean that travel between the UK and the continent is easy: we all hop on a plane (Easyjet) to fly to Greece/Sardinia/Ibiza/South of France. Being in the UK means that this is easy, fluid and open. Are we really going to need a visa to go to Space?
Tech: If East London wants to contend with Silicon Valley, the UK needs to let the doors open to all the techie-talent coming from Europe. The Google Campus attracts all of these young, talented techies from all over Europe who come to London for its opportunities. Let’s not close down any of these opportunities.
Education: 4 university leaders agree: they are voting to stay. Nobel Laureates also agree. They cite research, staff and funding all as reasons. Surely the most brilliant minds realise the benefits of staying, why can’t all of us?
Research & Science: Brexiters are overlooking the fact that Britain would lose funding for vital research in the science and medical fields. Paediatric research is hugely funded by the EU. Go ask Great Ormond Street. Or other British universities. This threatens the UK as one of the top research nations in the world.
The Capital of the World: I consider London to be the Capital of the World: it is international, dynamic, you can easily travel to the 4 corners of the world from it, and it is tolerant. Closing down its barriers will make it a worse place. I am biased, but I hope you’ll join me to stay in the EU.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Social Commentary

Playdate Rage

The other day, I was taken over by what you could call ‘Playdate Rage.’

Firstly, I’d like to be clear that I do not enjoy organising playdates, with its 15 email trails/Whatsapp frenzy/ texting/organising/re-organising/re-scheduling because of sickness/family in town/unforeseen circumstances. As a matter of fact, in my ideal world, there would not be any playdates, we would just come home after school or go to the local park/playground and play with whoever is there. Even better, I grew up coming home and playing on the beach (yes, I know, what am I doing here in London!? 😉 ). So the whole ‘playdate’ thing is foreign to me. But, my children love playdates and they hear about their classmates’ playdates so I organise them for their happiness. And I do actually enjoy the actual playdates, it’s the organisational aspect that can get quite tedious.

One of my greatest pet peeves are cancellations at the last minute accompanied by silly excuses. It shows a lack of thought, respect and manners. So, when one of the mums cancelled my child’s playdate 2 hours before the playdate, I was sent into a ‘playdate rage.’ Let me elaborate: 1) my daughter had been begging for this playdate for months 2) this was the second time they cancelled at the last minute 3) the mother couldn’t be bothered calling me, it was the nanny who called with a veiled bullshit excuse. Not the day before, which could be acceptable, but two hours before so I couldn’t quickly organise a replacement playdate. The problem I now faced was a crying/tantruming toddler who didn’t understand why this child never wanted to do a playdate with her.

Playdate etiquette is that there is no etiquette and sometimes it’s a free for all, when some people forget their manners, respect and decency. Luckily, most people aren’t like this, but this model-gorgeous/celebrity/superrich mum has forgotten those somewhere along the way. I would like to tell her that ‘Yes, I know you may be too-busy-being-papped/have-a-complicated-glamorous-life/only-like-other-superrich, but frankly I don’t care, I care about my child and I’d like a bit more respect.’ But of course, this would be completely socially unacceptable and would send me straight into pariah territory. 12 hours later, I was over it, but it reminded me of all the stories I have heard over the years of ‘playdate rage’ (Just to be clear, not all Glamorous Supermums are like this, many are absolutely lovely, courteous, polite and actually speak to me).

Someone was telling me about a mum who invited her daughter’s 6 best friends to Eurodisney for the weekend. The whole weekend would be paid for, which was quite expensive, and it was planned months in advance. But towards the big weekend, the two girls didn’t seem as close as before, so the mum actually dis-invited the child (and probably invited someone else instead), who of course was absolutely devastated. It’s the type of rudeness I cannot tolerate.

Another friend had organised a playdate for her son and another boy in the class at the boy’s house. It turns out the other boy’s mother had invited another mother and son as well but hadn’t invited her, saying ‘just send the nanny.’ The nanny went along while the two other mums caught up, excluding my friend.

And then there are those who just don’t show up. Period. No excuses. No forewarning emails.

I know it’s not always straightforward and we all cancel or exclude by mistake sometimes. But there’s a proper way and an improper way of handling playdates. At the end of the day, all we want is for our children to be happy and it doesn’t matter who is at the other end of the playdate-organisation-phone. I also hope that I am teaching my children to be kind, thoughtful and considerate. So, in the long term, maybe it’s all for the better.

Let me know your worst playdate stories!

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews

Art16 in Photos

Art16 at Olympia. NHYM 2016.

Amazing head sculpture – one of the highlights of the fair. NHYM 2016.

Pearl Lam Gallery. One of the top galleries at Art16. NHYM 2016.

Loved this piece. Somehow reminded me of someone I know…NHYM 2016.

Interactive butterflies. Dominic Harris. NHYM 2016.

Interactive flowers Dominic Harris. NHYM 2016.

Yayoi Kusama. One of the biggest artists of the moment. NHYM 2016.

Am having a thing for Japanese art at the moment. NHYM 2016.

The House of Fairy Tales Charity. NHYM 2016.

Mickey Mouse Child Friendly Art. NHYM 2016.

Purple Dragon even had a stand. Wonderfully family friendly and creative. NHYM 2016.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews

London Art Studies: 10 Landmark Photographs at Phillips

Robert Mapplethorpe self portrait NHYM 2016.

I was invited last Tuesday to attend a lecture at Phillips on ‘Ten Landmark Photographs’ by the London Art Studies, who offer short, accessible art classes. It was timed perfectly to coincide with Photo London, a very new photography fair which opened yesterday at Somerset House and runs until Sunday (last year was its first year), and the Phillips Photographs exhibit and auction. This week, it’s all about photography (Art16 also opened yesterday, but one has to choose with less time available).

Diane Arbus. Three transvestites in evening dress. NHYM London Art Studies 2016.

London Art Studies offer short, concise art classes for those who may not be able to commit to a 9 week Christie’s/Sotheby’s/Royal Academy of Arts course. When they contacted me, I was immediately intrigued and thought it a very good concept: pick and choose the subjects you want to learn about, when you are available. It offers classes in contemporary art, art collecting, and on topical, current exhibitions in London (for example, its class yesterday was on Georgia O’Keefe who will be at the Tate Modern this summer).

London Art Studies evening, Phillips, May 17 2016. NHYM.

I arrived at the Phillips lecture room to find a room full of art lovers, collectors and photographers, including myself. I’ve always been interested in photography but last took it seriously about 15 years ago when I took a class at the International Centre of Photography in New York. Since then, I’ve been an ‘amateur’ photographer, as we all are in the age of selfies and instagram. But photography is an art in its own right and this art fair and lecture is a reminder that it is one of the great creative mediums.

Lecturer Ben Street and photograph by Bill Brandt, NHYM 2016.

The lecturer Ben Street has all the credentials you can ask for. He is a lecturer at the Tate, National Gallery and at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Right away, you could sense his passion and enthusiasm for art, which he conveyed in an eloquent and loquacious way. He went through the history of photography in an hour, which is a feat in itself. Photography is a very young art form, which only really emerged in 1839. He showed us photographs meant to look like paintings (Julia Margaret Cameron), and discussed Henri Cartier Bresson’s huge influence on photography and the ‘decisive moment.’ This above picture by Bill Brandt shows the surrealist movement of photography.

Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers. NHYM 2016.

The lecture also included Robert Mapplethorpe, who photographed ‘beauty,’ from naked people to flowers, and Bernd and Hilda Becher who photographed industrial Germany. These fetch tens of thousands of pounds at auction. Some of the great quotes I took away from that night were ‘photography is like enhanced vision, it makes us the see the world better than in reality,’ ‘an iconic photo is so much more than itself, it represents something bigger.’ Finally, ‘every photograph is nostalgic, it is a moment in time, it is you in the past’, and ‘photography of the dead keeps them alive.’

Peter Beard NHYM 2016.

After the lecture, we were invited to visit the Champagne reception and photography exhibit in advance of the photography auction. The exhibit had a wide range of illustrious photographs, but also had a strong emphasis on fashion photography’s impact on our general culture (coinciding with Vogue’s 100th).

Peter Lindbergh Supermodels NHYM 2016.

The London Art Studies classes are a great way to learn in an informal, social environment in short, concise classes. The lecturer was excellent and the set up was lovely (although it started a little later than was supposed to, which would have been fine apart from babysitting issues). I thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved learning in a different way. At university, part of my curriculum involved Art History, which I loved. It taught me the appreciation of art, and for those who want to learn more, this is a sweet and succinct way to go about it. Recommended.

London Art Studies: http://www.londonartstudies.com

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

Reviews

Restaurant Review: Black Roe

‘Do the Hokey Poke with Me…’

Black Roe

4 Mill Street

London W1s 2AX

http://www.blackroe.com

Most Photos Courtesy on the Internet. Apart from the Shake and Bake. NHYM 2016.

Design: 4.25 stars

Ambience: 4.5 stars

Food: 4.5 stars

Service: 4 stars

Overall: 4.25 stars

When I told Mr.X we were going out for Hawaiian food, he looked at me like I had told him that we were going out to Pizza Hut; clearly not impressed and hinting that it was a bad idea. To him, Hawaiian food evokes images of anything with a pineapple on top: Hawaiian pizzas, fried rice topped with pineapple or chicken kebabs – with pineapple. Little did he know that the newest trend to hit this side of the Atlantic is Poke (the U.S. has had this trend for a while already, but it has now swum to our shores). I told him to trust me, I am now a bona fide restaurant critic after all (the pressure was now on).

Poke is the Hawaiian version of ceviche: raw cubed fish marinated in garlic, sesame, soy or other spices on a bed of rice. Black Roe, the first Poke bar in London, comes from Kurt Zdesar, the man behind Chotto Matte, a popular restaurant serving Nikkei food (Peruvian-Japanese) and also the man who was responsible for bringing Nobu to London. So, we owe a lot to him.

When we got to Black Roe the other night, Mr. X was quite surprised. There were no Hula dancers or Hawaiian shirts in sight. Instead, we entered a cool, dark lit restaurant with black and white max-sized photographs on the walls, neon signs about silence and cozy leather booths. All very Soho. And not at all what he was expecting. The dance music was blaring and we wondered whether this place turned into a night club after midnight, which we would have loved.

But let’s talk about the food. It was excellent and was the main attraction of the night. The yellowtail Poke dressed with spicy garlic salsa was just delicious, with perfectly balanced flavours and was as fresh as you can get in London. The asparagus tempura, which Mr.X wasn’t originally quite keen on getting, had the right crunch and flavours, satisfying the entire table. Each of the mains we ordered was very good and tasty; the grilled spatchcock chicken with corn salsa, cajun style seabass with pineapple salsa (yes, there had to be some pineapple hidden somewhere) and the Bison rib eye steak with yuzu soy hollandaise.

My photo of the Shake and Bake. NHYM 2016.

For dessert, we almost went for the ‘shake and bake’ which deserves its own menu and website given its enormity, but we opted for the conservative tarte tatin, which was good, but not quite as thrilling as the shake and bake. The other dish we didn’t try but deserves its own menu and website was the Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese served in a huge lobster shell. Looked delish.

When we left the restaurant, Mr. X couldn’t stop raving about it and showering it with praise. ‘…one the best restaurants I have been to in ages…’ ‘…great restaurant, the food is outstanding…’ I couldn’t help but feel quite smug about it, given how unenthusiastic he was at the prospect of going. He is now a full-on Poke-convert, preaching about it to anyone who will listen. For once, I can be the one who can say, ‘see, you should always trust me, I’m always right.’ Which doesn’t happen very often.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews, Social Commentary

What’s New In Notting Hill…

One of the great things about London is that it is vibrant and dynamic; there are constantly new restaurants opening and closing, new business ideas cropping up everywhere I look, trends coming and going. And it has a great art scene, which as you know, I am a big fan of. So, when someone I know recently said that Notting Hill wasn’t ‘dynamic’ enough, I of course took offence and had to counter that argument. At the moment, Notting Hill is booming. It is showcasing some of the biggest trends in London at the moment:

Restaurants & Bars

There’s a lot happening in the restaurant and bar scene around here, most recently with the opening of Farmacy on Westbourne Grove this past Monday. Farmacy is a plant based restaurant and bar, so essentially a vegan restaurant, opened by Camilla Al Fayed. I went opening day and it was packed, service was spotty (it was their first service after all), but the food was good. For vegan food. My only problem with it was that as I was eating my aubergine and pumpkin curry, I kept looking for the chicken. It is a beautiful, light, airy space, that it is going to be a sure hit around here: Nice restaurant + rabbit food= Happy Yummy Mummies.

On the heels of the Rum Kitchen’s success, a new Caribbean restaurant and bar is opening up on Notting Hill Gate today, Cotton’s Restaurant & Bar, which will boast 300 different rums on offer. I have been invited to try it out so will give you the scoop in a few weeks.

This leads me to think that Notting Hill Gate is upping its game, with Polpo, Cottons’s, and the total refurb of Itsu. Itsu’s new look is also being unveiled today (April 29th), and I will let you know what I think soon enough!

Speaking of Japanese, mysushishop is coming to Westbourne Grove very soon. For those who don’t know it, it’s a French-fast-food-fancy sushi (try saying that four times in a row). Or at least it claims to be. Its reviews are mixed here in London, although it has been a hit in France. Let’s see what happens.

On the Portobello/Kensington Park Road side of things, Tonkotsu has opened on Blenheim Crescent where the Bubble Tea Bar used to be and I’m keen try it out. Next to it a sweets shop, Ask Mummy and Daddy, has opened in place of the popcorn shop. Across from it, Sweet Things Cafe has been imported from the Primrose Hill and it is absolutely lovely.

Around the corner on Kensington Park Road, Peyotito, a Mexican restaurant and little sister to Peyote has taken over the space of Montgomery Bar, which I was quite sad to see go, as it was one of the only bars in the neighbourhood. Notting Hill is now becoming Mexican heaven with Crazy Homies, Santos, Taqueria, and let’s not forget Loco Mexicano.

Beauty & Wellness

Lots going on in this sector as well, with the brand spanking new Bodyism opening up right smack in the middle of Daylesford and Joseph. So, what you do is 1) eat your grains at Daylesford 2) work out at Bodyism 3) go to Joseph in your newly found Size 0. Of course, I don’t have £18,000 to spare for a membership, but if you do, I hear it’s a wonderful ‘lifestyle.’

Like I already mentioned, Teresa Tarmey has recently opened a spa/salon around the corner from Cult Granger (I still don’t understand the wait-in-the-rain-for-2-hours-granger-cult, it’s good, but it’s not THAT good). Margaret Dabbs has taken over the Spa NK spa area (not sure what happened and why it closed down), but it offers great medical pedicures for anyone whose feet need some professional help; they are podiatrists who can sort out your wonky feet in a jiffy.

Real Estate Etc…

On the Bayswater side of Westbourne Grove, so much is happening on the real estate front; four new ‘luxury’ residential buildings have been built/are being built, which is slowly changing the face of Bayswater. One houses the West London Buddhist Centre and another houses Heal’s on Queensway. I don’t think you can get more of an indication of gentrification than that. Can’t wait to see what they will do on Queensway…

So, if this isn’t ‘dynamic’ enough, I don’t know what is.

Let me know your thoughts or if you want any of the above reviews, I am happy to try them out for you 😉

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews, Travel

Hotel Review: Anassa, Cyprus

BOOK ANASSA HOTEL HERE

For my mother’s birthday this year, I decided to take her on holiday somewhere warm in April. I called up Scott Dunn, my trusted travel advisor, with my list of requests: 1) Somewhere warm 2) within 5 hours of London (I don’t need any long haul and jet-lag battles for a while) 3) kid friendly (I was taking them along after all) and granny-friendly 4) A nice spa 5) A beautiful hotel with sea views.

Views from the main pool. NHYM 2016.

Immediately, they wrote back to me recommending Anassa, a five star, LWH (leading hotels of the world) hotel in Cyprus. I had never thought of Cyprus as a destination, but I had heard about Anassa from a few friends who had been, and had thought quite highly of it.

View from our room. NHYM 2016.

We arrived late night (with Sleazyjet, I know, but it had the best departure times) and woke up to a very beautiful view, as seen above and below. We had interconnecting suites, one Junior suite, and one regular studio suite, which worked very well for a family. The rooms were spacious, with neutral tones and had wonderful sea views:

View from our room. Amazing. NHYM 2016.

The only minor gripe I had with our room was that the pillows were on the hard side. (Who knew I would ever need a pillow menu to rectify this). The service in the room was very good, with two services per day. The rooms are not heated at this time of year, but heaters were brought to our room as soon as we mentioned this. When one of us forgot our toothbrush, a toothbrush was sent right away, indicating true 5 star service (which also came with expensive ironing services, but there you go, you pay for what you get).

Breakfast Terrace. NHYM 2016.

The first day there, it was too cold to eat outside so we had to sit inside, next to screeching children sitting next to us and I did wonder whether this hotel was a little too ‘child friendly,’ but the next day, the terrace was open and the setting was absolutely gorgeous. Any screaming children were soon forgotten when faced with this view. The breakfast buffet was very good and offered a nice variety of fruits, pastries, omelettes etc… The cappuccino was good, which it sometimes isn’t – I was recently at a 5 star hotel that served machine-made cappuccinos – huge let-down.

The main hotel view from the grass below the main pool. NHYM 2016.

Hotel Grounds

The hotel grounds are really beautiful, from the inner courtyard, the chapel and the amazing views from anywhere in the hotel. It is not a small, boutiquey, trendy type hotel (if you’re looking for that, it isn’t it), but it is bold, big and beautiful. Such a large hotel could be tacky and resort-y, but Anassa manages to remain beautiful and has lovely Cypriot touches.

Inner Courtyard. NHYM 2016.

There is even a Chapel where baptisms, marriages and Easter mass take place.

Anassa Chapel 2016.

The location and the views are truly beautiful and are probably the best part of the hotel. Just walking through the hotel is a sublime, uplifting experience, with spring flowers blooming everywhere you look.

Spring Flowers NHYM 2016.

Clementine Tree with succulent, sweet clementines. NHYM 2016.

Pools

There are three pools; two unheated pools and a small heated ‘kids’ pool. Since we were in prime Easter Holiday season, there were a lot of British families and kids at the Kids Pool. It’s a shame the kids pool is not bigger, but you can’t have everything. More on kids later…

View from my sunbed with pool bar nearby. Feet and nails done by Margaret Dabbs, Spa NK Notting Hill. NHYM 2016.

The views from the main pool are really quite stunning, with the sky, sea and pool all blending into one blue infinity. Once I found a sunbed with this view, there wasn’t much that would take me away from it. The only thing I would mention is that the main pool area is not very big, relative to the number of hotel rooms so I did wonder how busy it gets in the summer/high season months.

Restaurants

There are five main restaurants to choose from at Anassa. Amphora is the main, buffet-style restaurant which serves breakfast buffet and dinner. Generally, we are not huge fans of buffets, and we weren’t huge fans of the Asian buffet, but the other buffets, Cypriot, seafood and Mediterranean, were actually all very delicious and pleased all of us.

By the pool, there is a pool bar serving light lunches, as well as a more formal restaurant Pelagos, which served fresh, grilled fish and had -more- beautiful views. The snack bar menu was very light and could be more extensive, but they also served a children’s menu that we often ordered from.

Basiliko restaurant in caves. NHYM 2016.

For fine dining options, Helios served delicious Mediterranean options, which allows children, who were spoiled with chairs pulled out and napkins applied on their laps and who were served freshly made linguini and prawns (there weren’t very many people that night, I assume it gets busier during high season). Basiliko is the Asian fusion, romantic restaurant (no kids allowed), which served really tasty and inventive foods. The menu did not do it justice.

Sunset on the Terrace. NHYM 2016.

The upstairs terrace showed off 180 degree views of the stunning Cypriot coastline and could not be criticised in any way. (The inside lounge was less interesting, so I would opt for the outdoor terrace if at all possible. In April, bring jackets and pashminas for the night as it gets a little chilly).

Indoor pool at the Spa. NHYM 2016.

The spa was also a very grand and relaxing affair. I booked us in for some Chakra healing treatments, which ‘healed’ our chakras and left us completely relaxed and happy. My mother came out with a big smile on her face and I knew that this was a perfect birthday present.

Rooms with private pools. Near kids pool. NHYM 2016.

I would be careful choosing a room with a private pool as they are situated around the kids pool and if you don’t want to hear kids screaming all day, I would stay away. We had lovely rooms in the main hotel, far from the pools, which were very private and peaceful. Just how I wanted it.

Crowd

The crowd was distinctly British, from SouthWest and West London (Battersea/Clapham/Fulham and even some Notting Hillers were spotted) with children called Olly/Alexander/Saskia/Izzy/Bella. As it was school holidays, there were a lot of children (it is very family friendly) so if you are traveling without children, I would come outside of school holiday time. Apart from the Brits, there was a smattering of Russians, Swiss Germans, Israelis, French and Danes. The day we left, at the end of the Easter Holidays, the demographic changed from families to couples and from Brits to the rest of the world.

Playground in front of Kids Club. NHYM 2016.

Kids Club by Scott Dunn

The Kids Club at Anassa is run by Scott Dunn, which does provide a high standard level of care. It is in a kid – friendly area of the hotel, with a playground and ping pong tables nearby. My children were separated in their respective age groups, and although I understand the reason for separating the groups, they were somewhat disappointed not to be in the same group. There weren’t that many children in the over – 5s group, so my eldest didn’t enjoy it as much as she could have. I think the reason was that the grounds were so family friendly that older children can easily entertain themselves in the pool/playground area without supervision. Nevertheless, they enjoyed the playground, swimming time with the kids club, playing by the beach and the arts and crafts i.e. aliens out of aluminium foil and crocodile paintings out of foot prints.

Anassa beach. NHYM 2016.

Speaking of beaches, there was a nice, quiet, pebbly beach at the hotel with a watersports centre nearby (not run by the hotel but they work closely together).

View from the boat. NHYM 2016.

There isn’t a huge amount to do outside the hotel. The hotel is the main draw of the area, but one day we ventured out on a boat trip to see Aphrodite’s rocks (where Aphrodite is meant to be born), the Cypriot coastline and the Blue Lagoon, with shallow beautiful waters. It was a lovely day out on the water.

Translucent blue waters of the Blue Lagoon. NHYM 2016.

Overall

We had a wonderful trip to Anassa this year. We were certainly not disappointed by the hotel, the rooms or the location. The children loved it as did my mother, so I succeeded in keeping everyone happy. To find summer sunshine in Europe in April, Cyprus is a very good option and we were lucky to have 5 out 6 very sunny and warm days, reaching 24 to 25 degrees Celsius. It really felt like summer. At Anassa, don’t expect trendy and hip, but expect very nice spacious inter-connecting rooms for families, wonderful views from everywhere in the hotel, super staff and service, and lots of great amenities, making it a granny, mummy & kiddy pleaser. My children are already asking if we can go back tomorrow. And so is my mother.

Thank you Scott Dunn for organising our trip and Anassa for treating us so well!

NHYM

** I paid for this trip but Scott Dunn organised it and provided perks and discounts. **

Social Commentary, Uncategorized

‘The Country vs. The City’

‘The Cotswolds are like the new Hamptons’ – quote by Lakes by yoo owner John Hitchcox Feb 2016

The countryside is now firmly the cool, hip thing to do as evidenced by the recent opening of The Farmhouse (Soho Farmhouse in case you have been living in the middle ages for the past year), Kate Moss’ wedding (now ex-wedding), and all its other celebrity-followers – from Jade Jagger, Eddie Redmayne to Mark Ronson. Friends who attended the Farmhouse’s New Year’s party said it was ‘ridiculously cool’ and insane. And no, I am nowhere near cool enough to get an invite, otherwise you would have heard about it.

Cold Country Roads. NHYM 2016.

It must be something to do with my age, but lately, I have been surrounded by the ‘City vs. Country’ debate, although never really as a participant but rather an observer. You see, I love the country in a ‘I-love-the-country-it’s-so-beautiful-from-afar’ kind of way. The problem with me and the country is that I am always cold in the country-side. When people dream of having their dream ‘country home/mansion,’ I dream of being anywhere warm. It must be my Mediterranean blood or something, but whenever I end up in the country, a) it’s raining b) the heating in the stone mansion house has broken down c) I end up getting lost on a country walk with mud up to my knees. It must be my bad luck.

Mud up to my knees. NHYM 2016.

Going back to the ‘City vs Country’ debate, more and more people I encounter these days have houses in the ‘country’ from Wiltshire, to Oxfordshire, to Herefordshire, via Gloucestershire. The Sunday Times Style Magazine last Sunday had an article entitled ‘How Cool Is Your County?’ (Clearly, Oxfordshire and the Farmhouse win hands down). Even in my little neighbourhood, my neighbours on the right, behind and across from us all have country houses. I have noticed one wonderful benefit about going to the country on the weekend is the fact that they don’t have to make any weekend plans; no need to book restaurants months in advance to get a reservation, no need to figure out what to do with young children/toddlers on the weekend. Perhaps I will revisit my country opinions. Instead, they are off Friday evening with an instant schedule of country walks, pub lunches, and muddy boots, and only return on Sunday night.

Rolling hills of Oxfordshire. NHYM 2016.

Then there are those that decide to make the final move and decamp their whole families to the country. There are the commuters who stay in the city during the week in a pied-a-terre, and return to country for the weekends. From what I hear, this is not really ideal as husbands quickly take up a mistress and start their double lives. For those who go as a couple/family, they end up very bored and the rumours are true: they end a) on drugs b) alcoholics c) in swingers clubs because there is nothing to do in the country. Some of these latter quickly run back to the city after a year of country-trials.

Daylesford Organic Brunch reminds me of London. NHYM 2016.

So, when I went to the ‘country’ for a party the other weekend, I was pleasantly surprised that a) it didn’t rain b) there was heating in the house c) it wasn’t really very different from London: I ended up spending the day at Daylesford for brunch and a spa treatment. Quite blissful indeed, even if I saw half of London there. That night, I mingled with Londoners who were drinking like it was 1999 and overheard a few wife-and-husband-swapping-propositions. What I learned is that the country isn’t that different than London, just more stones than bricks, grass than cement and more sheep than cats.

Stone country house in the Cotswolds. NHYM 2016.

There are plentiful of options if you decide not to buy/share a country house but want to try it out, from old stone houses found on Rural Retreats http://www.ruralretreats.co.uk to futuristic, eco, glass houses at Lakes by yoo http://www.thelakesbyyoo.com. Have a look, you may just be tempted too.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

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