London (112)Travel with Varun Sharma to his hometown—London, England. Join him as he explores Chewton Glen, a typical English country house hotel in Hampshire, and visits with owners Brigitte and Martin Skan. At the hotel's spa, Varun meets with a personal trainer and treats himself to an Indian head massage.
He continues on to Poole in Dorset, where he learns how to drive a powerboat with the help of experienced mariner Robert Hawkins.
Then, it's back to London for a stopover at the Athenaeum Hotel in Picadilly for a chat with executive manager Sally Bulloch.
Varun makes the obligatory pilgrimage to Savile Row to find the best in suits, then stops in for Indian food at Tamarind, where he meets with chef Atul Kochhar.
Afterward, he visits one of the city's finest cigar stores, touches on the finer points of polo at Ascot Park, and visits art dealer Matthew Flowers at his gallery.
Finally, join Varun as he drops in with Antoni Burakowski and Alison Roberts, the fashion design duo behind Antoni & Alison.
Europe's Finest Facts
- The "London Eye," the world's highest observation wheel, is 450 feet high and weighs 1,900 tons.
- The British Museum is the area's most popular attraction, with 5.5 million annual visitors.
- Chewton Glen was built in the early 1800s, and was originally home to the Marryat family, who bought it in 1837.
- Room rates at Chewton Glen range from $360 to $1,200 per night, with a minimum two-night stay on weekends.
- Poole Harbour is the largest natural harbor in Europe.
Contacts:
British Airways London Eye
www.londoneye.com
The British Museum
Great Russell Street,
London WC1B 3DG
UK
+44-020-7323-8299
information@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/
Chewton Glen - Hotel, Health & Country Club
New Milton, Hampshire
BH25 6QS
UK
800-344 5087
www.chewtonglen.com
Poole Harbour
www.phc.co.uk
Simply The Best Facts
- Athenaeum was originally built as a luxury apartment block in 1925.
- The "golden mile" of tailoring is a series of streets including Old Burlington, Cork, and Savile Row.
- Charles Dickens and Winston Churchill wore suits from Savile Row.
- For an authentic culinary and cultural experience, visit one of the centers of Indian London: Wembley, Southall or Tooting.
Contacts:
Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments
116 Piccadilly
London W1J 7BJ
UK
44-0-20-7499-3464
info@athenaeumhotel.com
www.athenaeumhotel.com/
Tamarind
20 Queen Street
Mayfair London W1X 7PJ
UK
0171-629-3561
Resources:
Curries & Bugles : A Memoir & Cookbook of the British Raj
by Jennifer Brennan
Savile Row Clothes Makers
www.40savilerow.co.uk
The Trocadero, Picadilly
www.londontrocadero.com
A King's Sport Facts
- Cigars are best stored in a humidor at 70 percent humidity at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The term "stogie" comes from Conestoga, the kind of wagon that frontier families used during their journeys west.
- Polo is derived from the Tibetan word "pulu," meaning ball.
- The mounts are called polo ponies, although they are really horses weighing from 900-1,000 pounds.
Resources:
Cigars: The New Rage
Video
Cigar Aficionado
www.cigaraficionado.com
The United States Polo Association
www.us-polo.org
Fine Art Facts
- Mayfair—one of London's wealthiest districts—is brimming with showrooms for high-end contemporary art.
- The Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD) was established in 1932.
- J. Stuart Blackton (1875-1941) was a British filmmaker who created the first animated short film in America, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, in 1906.
- The Simpsons is the longest-running animated series on television.
- Antoni & Alison's personalized style is "heavily influenced by their everyday experiences of boredom."
- A non-stop flight from Los Angeles to London on a standard commercial airliner takes approximately 11 hours.
Contacts:
The Society of London Art Dealers
91 Jermyn Street
London SQ1Y 6JB
44-0-20-7930-6137
www.slad.org.uk
Antoni + Alison
Factory of Lights and Experiment
43 Rosebery Avenue
London ECIR 4SH
UK
44-0-20-7833-2002
info@antoniandalison.co.uk
www.antoniandalison.co.uk
Resources:
The Society of London Art Dealers
www.slad.org.uk
The Simpsons' Website
www.thesimpsons.com
