Regal romantic retreat: Langry Manor, Bournemouth

18 June 2011 at 12:25 pm (Uncategorized)

Kings-room---no-lamp

Hidden in the back streets of Bournemouth in Dorset is a discreet red-brick and Tudor-style royal love nest. When the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) fell head over heels for model-turned-actress Lillie Langtry in 1877, he built her the 12-bedroom Langtry Manor so they could conduct their passionate affair away from London gossips – and their respective spouses.

To sweep your sweetheart off his or her feet, book the extraordinary Kings Room for its Jacobean wooden bed, covered in swathes of black velvet, and inglenook fireplace with carved oak images and gold-plated tiles, hand-painted with scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. If it’s booked, try the Le Breton for its glamorous black-and-white décor.

Doubles from £95, B&B. Kings Room from £225, B&B.

Langtry Manor +44 (0)1202 553 887, www.langtrymanor.co.uk

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Quirky Berlin facts

11 June 2011 at 7:29 pm (Cities)

  1. Berliners like to throw fireworks at each other on New Year’s Eve and other firework-worthy occasions. To avoid injury, book a top-floor room at The Ritz-Carlton http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Berlin/Default.htm or a neighbouring hotel near Brandenburg Gate or Potsdamer Platz, and watch the events from on high.
  2. ‘Berliner’ is a perfectly acceptable term for people from Berlin. If you think otherwise, see here http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner.htm, and also ask any local you meet, as I did (thanks, Barbara, from www.germanyiswunderbar.com)
  3. The Wall, as we called it in the West, was actually called the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart (Antifaschistischer Schutzwall)in East Berlin. It was put up, at least the temporary barbed-wire version, overnight, with almost nobody being aware it was about to happen. The East German government said it was to protect their citizens from the Facists in the West. Most people probably already knew this. I didn’t. (Thanks, Julian, my wonderful tour guide at Context Travel http://www.contexttravel.com/city/Berlin)
  4. The Hoff (David Hasselhoff) is no longer as revered in Germany as he once was. If you’re still a fan, though, he will be making a comeback tour this year through Germany, Austria and Switzerland (http://www.davidhasselhoff.com/events)
  5. There are 450 modern art galleries in Berlin http://www.visitberlin.de/index.en.php. For a city of just three million people, that’s really rather a lot. If you don’t care for modern art, try to hold back as it’s everywhere.

    Berlin New National Gallery

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