Calypso- Missoni Rugs

I was refraining from putting objects of desire on the blog, but these cannot be avoided ...Like brushstokes of colour splashing to your living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms... enjoy!

Desert Storm – Dubai

Well, its stranded in the middle of the desert, literally.


I read comments about Dubai being called a “ mirage” apparently it kinda is one.

My Dubai consisted of  business, a Hummer through the sand and a snapsot of the highlights, oh and a mini desert storm.

Dubai in a whirlwind of 48 hours:

1. Burj el Arab and the Jumeirah region:

This is the area where the Emirates-locals and the Royal family lives. Regarding the Burj, conspiracy theory says that the architecture is shaped like a sail if you approach it from the front, and like a cross if you approach it from the sea.

2. Burj Khalifa:

Ok, this building tops any of the skyscrapers I have ever seen. Its menkind at its limits. 824 metres and an observatory at 124th floor... But just one question, who cleans the windows?

3. Hotels and Dining:

One and only Royal Mirage hotel could be interesting for an evening dinner. Its just off the beach and serene setting. But you’re spoilt for choices for hotels in this city anyhow (Sheraton, Radisson, Westin, The Palm, Atlantis etc etc...). Ours was the Media One Hotel- just in the heart of the Media City quarter.Reasonable for a business trip.

The Meat Co at the Dubai Mall is a great for dining as well. They even to personalized knives for the regulars !

4. Shopping:

a. The Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates: With over 470+shops in Mall of the Emirates and a huge diversity including Dean&Deluca to Chanel, choices for shopping are endless.

b. Then there is the Global Village, the JBR and the Dubai Marina as well.



Here’s a quotation from the Guardian, thanks to a recommendation by my friend Geoff,enjoy!

“When I first read about all this stuff, I felt a bit uneasy. None of it sounded real or even vaguely sustainable. I'd been to Las Vegas a few times and seen crazy developments come and go. The first time I visited, the hot new attractions were the Luxor, an immense onyx pyramid, and Treasure Island, a pirate fantasy world replete with lifesize galleons bobbing outside it. Roughly halfway between the pair of them, a replica New York was under construction. By my next visit, the novelty value of both the Luxor and Treasure Island had long since palled, and they now seemed less exotic than Chessington World of Adventures. Meanwhile, unreal New York had been joined by unreal Paris and unreal Venice.

But even at their most huge and demented, none of these insane monuments looked as huge and demented as the projects being announced in Dubai. Yet the novelties, while larger, were wearing thin even more quickly. Dubai's The World archipelago hadn't even opened when the same developers announced The Universe, thereby making The World sound like a rather diminished prototype before anyone had moved in.

In the cold light of 2009, Dubai resembles a mystical Oz that was somehow accidentally wished into existence during an insane decade-long drugs bender. Those psychedelic structures, pictured in a fever by the mad and privileged, physically constructed by the poor and exploited, now look downright embarrassing, like a Facebook photo of a drunken mistake, as though someone somewhere is going to wake up and groan, "Oh my head . . . what did I do last night? Huh? I bankrolled a $200bn hotel in the shape of a croissant? I shipped the workers in from India and paid them how little? Oh man! The shame. What was I thinking?"

For more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/30/charlie-brooker-dubai-dream-crashes

Why does Davos matter?

So what if a consensus hasn't been reached? One cannot possibly expect to put 2500+ people in a small Swiss town and make them agree on global issues that decipher our next decade.
An average person has a stake on all issues ranging from  poverty, global economic crisis, Haiti,Middle East,China...the only difference with the Davos man is that he/she tends to have decision making authority to shape these issues. Hence, any itiration will shape the fate of that issue.

The fact is that the Davos agenda isn't built for consensus, but rather to spark discussion. And the discussion doesnt end in Davos, it continues throughout the Forums' regional meetings, online discussions of the Global Agenda Councils, Summer Davos at China etc... In Davos also, there are the endless bilateral meetings, private events, countless cups of coffee that do not hit the headlines and contribute to the making of the agenda.

The dynamics of the Forum are built for networking, collaboration, talking & rethinking issues, raising awareness  and trying to find solutions.

On my way back from Dubai, I read a quotation from Newsweek by Rana Foroohar which sums it all up:
"Davos is a place you go to put a finger in the wind. Last year the wind blew chaos."
This year the wind was calmer with an accent on China, a reflection of our everyday agenda.

“Samba de Janeiro” Brazil Part II

Dedicated to dad. Ps: It has been spellchecked.

There’s a lot that can be written about Rio de Janeiro (the so-called River of January) I’m sure. Interestingly for us though, we managed to make it the rain and flood that killed 70 people that week. Despite the weather, we were there for the New Years Eve and I have never seen a firework show of that extravagance. A rare experience. Here are some notes...

The Beaches

The city is set out over 3 marvelous beaches, namely Ipanema, Leblon and Copacobana. Of these we found Leblon to be the most laid-back and relaxed. Very far from the rush one comes across in Copacobana. Since we visited them the first day of the year, they weren’t very crowded and I’m sure a lot of people were still in their homes having the day after the night before.

The Hotels
• Hotel Majestic - This is the hotel we stayed at. Very central and has all the basic requirements for a holiday. ( For more info: http://www.majestichotel.com.br/)
• Copacobana Palace – A classic. (1702 Avenida Atlantica, Copacobana)
• Marina All-Suites – Actually the travel guides had it all wrong and this hotel was not that special. (696 Avda Delfim Moreira, Leblon).
• Fasano Hotels – For the design conscious. Philip Starck has designed this one. The chains’ hotel in Sau Paulo was ravishing. (http://www.fasano.com.br/)

To do’s
• Rio Scenairum at Lappa: We really enjoyed a night out at the Rio Scenarium, 3 floors of restaurant+live music and you can dance on any floor that meets you taste. There was samba on the first floor...

• Sugar Loaf & Corcovado: On our first day in Rio- before the rain started- we got a chance to see these tourist sites. These landmarks are as grandeur as they seem to be in the pictures. The way up to Corcovado is an interesting road where you get a chance to sightsee the Favelas. The area surrounding it is actually a rainforest! Upon our arrival I had announced I could “live” in Rio, upon learning the types of snakes living in this ecosphere I quickly changed my mind.

• Confeteria Colombo/Lapa district (32 Rua Goncalves Dias, Centro)

• Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro/Metropolitian Cathedral: 4 rectilinear stained glass windows was built between 1964 and 1979. Designed by Edgar Oliveira da Fonseca this modern design reminds one of the modern pyramids.

• Petrobras Building is just across the street from the Metropolitian Cathedral and this steel-like building has a quality of its own.

• Niterói Contemporary Art Museum: If its modern architecture you’re after then you are in search of Mr Oscar Niemeyer. This Brazilian architect is one of the most important names in international architecture scene with works including the UN headquarters in NYC, the Serpentine Gallery in London, National Congress of Brazil and the Cathedral of Brasilia in Brasilia. The Contemporary Art Museum (which I read but we didn’t visit by the way) was finished in 1996 when the architect was aged 86. Its shared like a UFO and with its modernity overlooks the city from the coast of Niteroi.
(For more on the architect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Niemeyer)

• Jardim Botanico and the lake region are also nice for a sunny day out. Since we had a limited amount of those – I am not the one to recommend.

Shopppppingggg
Four words for you Schulz, Salina, Maria Bonita.

• Schulz for the shoes. Please refer to the picture below, honestly, need I say more?

• Salina for the bikinis.
• Maria Bonita for the clothes.

The Food
• Local stuff: Tapas/Adego Perola @ Rua Siqueira Campos, 138-1 Copacobana. Please visit this place. Eat cod balls and horefully you’ll remember this posting. Its a taste I will not forget.

• Alessandro e Frederico. A very nice cafe at the Ipanema district, the bread and the subtle design of the cafe is very welcoming. (www.alessandroefrederico.com.br)
• Meat fruit meat fruit. Lots of it.

Artstuff: The graffiti and The pavements
You’ve danced and eaten and walked the streets for sightseeing. For me though, Rio’s vibe came from its art. Art is so young, so edgy and surrounds you all over the city. In Rio art doesn’t hang in gallery it’s scattered everywhere. Wow...

“Lambada-ing” Brazil Part I

Before I write about Copenhagen, my trip to Brazil intervened. It was inevitable.
The boom and the bustling of the BRIC countries have been talked about for sometime now. It was our turn to begin with the big “B”. We set of too Sau Paulo only to miss our transfer flight to Salvador that evening and eventually make it to our destination (Morro de Sau Paulo) in 36 full hours!
It was worth it.

Morro del Sau Paolo is the capital of the island of Tinhare off the cost of Salvador, laid back with great nature and food offering.

Hotel Recommendation:Hotel Villa Guaiamu
A very laid back hotel with hammocks in the garden and the basic necessities of life. (Including AC!) But more importantly it is the garden in which the ‘Blue Crabs’ of the island, that have nearly become extinct is preserved. These land-based crabs have been hunted down in the island for their meat, but in this hotel you have the perfect opportunity to come across their blue-purple-teal green colours on a sunny afternoon.

What to do around the island?

• Caiparinha at the 2nd beach,

• Watching sunset at the light house and lounging out on the club on the way back-sorry, cant remember the name but its impossible to miss!

• Oven-baked pizza at Chez Max

• Swimming, sun-bathing, swimming, sunbathing, swimming....

• Local fruit+drink stands for freshly made cocktails. (We liked mango,cherry, watermelon mixed with Martini Bianco, very subtle and heavenly)

• The Boat trip around Island of Tinhare and Island of Cairu. Tinhare is a paradise on earth kind of place. Surprisingly 40% of the island is owned by Mr Ferrari.

• With the boat trip you get to visit the island of Cairu with 17th century monestry, colourful buildings that remind you of Lego. The backdrop of Tinhare island is made up of a rainforest like nature... and there is also a great stop on the way for oysters. Lots of them...

The Bahia region in the North of Brazil is home to descendant African community in Brazil. Hence the bold colours scattered everywhere.To explain better here’s a quote from TimesOnline:

“Once the slave capital of Brazil, the city earned its reputation and wealth with sugar, shipping in West Africans to work the plantations, building another colonial confection with each small fortune. When they were finally freed, those slaves stamped their culture on the city with rhythmic axé music, the balletic martial art Capoeira, and their own lilting accent on the Portuguese language.”

“The sea, you see, is where the Brazilian soul wants to be. Or perhaps it’s simpler than that, and they just like a nice beach. Either way, once morning hits, Salvador seems to move en masse to Barra – an urban beach 10 minutes from the centre. This sunny stretch has always exerted a siren-like pull – it’s the first place the Europeans settled in Bahia, and Gilberto Gil used to hang out here in the ’60s, when he fancied a break from ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, his annoyingly ubiquitous worldwide hit.” (From: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/latin_america/article1743635.ece)