Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
Check out this stone house in the mountains of Fafe, Portugal!
[ via A Cup of Jo and Feliciano Guimaraes ]
For vampire lovers and creative types, you’ll find oodles of inspiration in the land of love hotels and maid cafés, among Japan’s many fantasy themed establishments. When I lived in Japan, one of my favorite places to go was the Christon Café, a lounge filled with decorative relics and church paraphernalia purchased from various churches around the globe. Everything in there was a feast for the eyes! Well, looks like there are a plethora of new places that have popped up around Tokyo recently with equally imaginative themes, like the Vampire Café pictured above. For the scoop on more themed restaurants check out the guardian.co.uk
[ photo via the guardian.co.uk ]
Okay, I’m not usually one to talk about time spent in the bathroom. However, I just have to make an exception for the über-luxe guest bathrooms at the St. Regis hotel in Beijing. Alright, I’m not actually just talking about the bathrooms, although the designer bath and body products, fresh flowers, and flat screen television in the mirror are certainly nice. What I’m really dying to tell you about is the toilet!
This is no ordinary toilet. In fact, I was told by the hotel staff that these toilets were specially made for the St. Regis, in order to provide a customized unit that would please both Japanese guests—already accustomed to their own magnificent multi-functioning toilets—and uninitiated Western guests. Enshrined in a room of marble walls, floors, counters, drawers, tub, and shower—this throne is indeed grand.
In a country not often known for pleasing toilets, this Toto gem is that much more luxurious. With a heated seat and a good view of the TV screen, the toilet boasts an entire side panel of controls that adjust the temperature, water pressure, and angle of rear and front facing bidets. When you’re finished there’s also a dryer for your bum. It’s all very eco-friendly if you think about it. And worry not—for any unpleasant smells that may arise, this toilet will save you face with its built-in deodorizer. For the final touch you are free to go and wash up, as the slow-closing lid seals the deal.
Hong Kong artist Danny Lee Chin-fai’s three-piece sculpture titled Dance of Clouds and Rain is an awe-inspiring, elemental sight to behold, housed in the skyward-sweeping lobby of the Grande Hyatt Macau. Composed of giant suspended raindrops and water rivulets spilling from clouds in the ceiling, Danny’s pieces sway slightly in the breeze, the soft curves of these stunning show-stoppers dangling harmoniously amongst a sea of geometric modernism.
Rising from the middle of the lobby’s highly-polished, vertigo-inducing floor is a bulbous half-dome fountain covered in silent, flowing water. The effect of light reflected off this moving globe-shaped surface creates such a reflection in the floor that for just an instant you feel like you could be walking upside-down, or even under water.
A major player on the Hong Kong art scene, Danny’s work is oftentimes said to be evocative of Chinese elements of nature. A former designer and now a full-time sculptor, Danny is also the founder of Creative Sculptors Hong Kong and the chair of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society. His flowing creations have earned him recognition as a driving force behind contemporary art both at home and abroad.
Our editorial staff will be out all month traveling in China. We’ll be gathering bunches of fresh stories and adventures to write home about. Keep an eye out for upcoming features and posts on Chinese artists, food, design, and travel!
—The Culture Vixen Team
[ image via Nostalgic Collage ]
Seven Definitive Tearooms Making Steam in Los Angeles
If you are as particular about your tea as I am, you already know that L.A. is a mecca for tea lovers. From rose petal elixirs served in tearooms on Melrose Avenue, to sleek tea-based cocktails you’ll discover out on the town, L.A. is stronghold for both unique and classic tea spots. The following are a sampling of the city’s steamiest hot spots:
1. Jin Patisserie
Jin Patisserie takes afternoon tea to the beach—Venice Beach, that is. Nestled behind an orange door on eclectic Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Jin Patisserie’s tranquil garden welcomes tea goers with soothing sounds of fountains and urban forests of bamboo. The owner, Kristy Choo, hails from Singapore and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Her teahouse is a fresh blend of Asian aesthetics and fusion pastry concoctions.
Imagine classic ingredients like caramel, truffles, chocolate mousse, mascarpone cream, pistachio, and marzipan, paired with traditional Asian flavors like lychee, ginger, jasmine, green tea, and chrysanthemum. The outcome is an artful synthesis of spices.
Choo’s über-fancy creations shine like gems inside the pastry counter. Try the Lavender Gateau, a lavender-infused cake filled with buttercream and chocolate ganache. Or sample Tropical: coconut and mango mousse with caramelized pineapples and hints of cinnamon, anise, and vanilla. Another surprise is Ye Yek, a traditional shortbread cookie from Choo’s homeland.
photo by Orvaratli.
In the wake of last month’s volcanic explosions in Iceland, photographers have been flocking to the Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano to witness the spectacular fire show in action. They have captured some truly stunning scenes:
photo by Orvaratli.
Iceland, the land of fire and ice, has a new tourist attraction: a massive new lava eruption spewing from the long-dormant Fimmvörðuháls volcano, on the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland.
And entertainingly enough, a group of Icelandic chefs are even offering a once in a lifetime gastronomical treat: a gourmet meal fully cooked on the lava itself! The menu includes lobster soup, followed by flaming lobster and monkfish with lava-cooked shallot onions, and champagne. All this—including the helicopter ride to the site—will set you back 60,000, krónur, or $470 dollars.
Roku Nana (六 七, or six seven in Japanese) is a swanky new rooftop bar wedged between two buildings in Tokyo’s Roppongi district. Designed by Yasumichi Morita of Glamorous, there are no signs to help you find your way here, just the little clue six seven, which hints at the ward number in the bar’s address. The only way to find it is to know the actual address…and voilà! you’re sipping drinks on chandelier tables, perched on one tiny wedge of rooftop amongst the Tokyo skyline. Now that is glamorous.
Verde Roppongi 3F
7-16-11 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel：03-6438-9915
[Via glamorous.co.jp ]
