On the cultural front, I spent time with Mexican rulers at the British Museum and Indian ones at the V&A. Moctezuma (a more authentic pronunciation, evidently, than our standard Montezuma) at the BM dove deep into a ruler most of us know only as the guy who was on the losing end to Cortez. Indeed, by the end of a very enjoyable wander, I had come to believe that the man was a sophisticated leader cursed with a lot of bad luck. Certainly the impressive range of artifacts, including sacrificial altars, inlaid masks and intricate gold work showed that he ruled over a cosmopolitan, if violent, society.
For really impressive gold ... and jewels, and bling in general, however, you had to go across town to the V&A's Maharaja exhibit. There were lessons to be learned here about the political history of India but, frankly, the main draw was gasping at expanses of solid gold, precious gems the size of eggs and furniture made of ivory and precious materials. These guys made the crowned heads of Europe look frugal and drab. An extraordinary show, sparking great fantasies of what might be possible with a few spare billion.
I satisfied the urge for luxury a bit later with a delightful night at the Threadneedles Hotel.
(www.theetoncollection.com) This former bank turned into a luxury pied a terre is in the heart of The City. One assumes it's packed by wealthy bankers during the week, but on weekends this stretch of town is empty. Meaning that they offer their extraordinarily expensive rooms at deep discount packages. Prices still put this in "special treat" category, but had at least they dropped into my value-for-money range. We attended a Christmas Ball nearby, so stayed here on a Saturday night. Our package included a welcoming platter of Christmas treats and mulled wine, and a generous breakfast in their elegant restaurant the next morning. The room was huge and filled with every amenity, from giant TV to iPod dock to California king bed to a table on wheels in the bathroom stacked with design and luxury lifestyle magazines. I spent a very happy Saturday afternoon soaking in the giant marble tub trying out the whole range of bath salts provided. Perfect in every detail ... including the quiet and efficient service ... this is one of the best hotel experiences I've had.After that expenditure, I could breathe a sigh of relief that others were footing the bill for Christmas meals. The PR agency celebrated at Levant, last reviewed 30.05.08. I found their set Christmas meal disappointing; certainly not the expansive feast of my last visit. But still a tasty outing into culinary novelty, in exotic decor, with belly dancers for entertainment. A more sophisticated outing, perhaps, was our case study agency's choice of Fino, a tapas bar and Spanish restaurant at 33 Charlotte Street. I'm a big tapas fan, and all the other places I've been to in London have that down home Spanish holiday feel, with painted tiles and hams hanging from the ceiling. Fino is bright, modern and elegant, with a menu that takes tapas into fine dining. (There are Spanish main courses as well; we had some of the requisite suckling pig.) I was particularly delighted with their octopus. A hard dish to get right, done perfectly here. Our internal team lunch at the end of the month was at an unusually quiet Yo! Sushi just across from St. Pauls. Dependable and fun, with the conveyor belt zipping options by you.
Meanwhile, One Aldwych demonstrated that hotels can manage fine dining while serving large groups. I attended a fascinating lunch hosted by the publishers of Time/Life/Fortune during which we talked about the state of the media market and where electronic "readers" like Amazon's kindle were taking us. They gave us a preview of an electronic version of Sports Illustrated made for this technology, a beautiful and exciting format that will have me signing up for many of my favourite magazines online when it comes into standard usage. Meanwhile the fillet steak was succulent and the discovery of Argentinian Familia Zuccardi's Malbec was the highlight of my day. I could have drunk a great deal of this rich wine with its explosive fruit notes, but I was carrying on conversations with both the editor in chief of Time and the US editor of Fortune and knew I needed to stay a sober, gracious, intelligent representative of my employer. A shame. It was great stuff.
My finest holiday season dining experience, however, was neither in central London nor footed by a business account. A group of friends met up just before the holiday break at the Princess Victoria in Shepherd's Bush. This place gets cited a lot as one of London's best gastropubs, and is frequently mentioned by famous foodies as a hangout. (Actor Dominic West recently named it as his favourite pub, though we didn't see anyone famous on our visit.) The massive old Victorian interior has recently been subjected to a big restoration, making it bright, clean and functional while maintaining period features. The wine list is as big as the architecture, impressing all of the oenophiles at our table. And the menu, specialising in British traditional and locally sourced, has a wide range of options. Luckily the diners were both close friends and fans of sharing, so everyone was getting little tastes of everything. Delicate seafood, weighty fillets served as rare as requested, the sticky toffee pudding of fantasy ... everything was great. My only complaint would be the noise levels. Those big rooms get a lot of people crammed into them, and those high ceilings only served to ricochet the sound. I'd like to make a return visit on a weeknight, when a more peaceful atmosphere prevails.But that won't be for a while because now, holiday in the USA beckons.
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