Music, Design, Fashion, Literature, Film, Hotels, Food, Art & the City The City Between Summer and Seriousness There is a particular moment in Copenhagen when summer has not quite disappeared, but the cultural year has unmistakably begun. The evenings can still be spent outside, Tivoli is still illuminated, bicycles continue to crowd the bridges andContinue reading “Copenhagen Now – September 2026”
Category Archives: Travel
The Season Opens
The Passenger is a weekly dispatch on travel — places, hotels, restaurants, the strange logistics of being elsewhere. It is written by Bergotte. Vienna in September, and what happens when a city built for culture remembers what it is for Vienna in July and August belongs, with varying degrees of reluctance, to the tourists. TheyContinue reading “The Season Opens”
The Light Does Something Different Here
The Passenger is a weekly dispatch on travel — places, hotels, restaurants, the strange logistics of being elsewhere. It is written by Bergotte. Puglia in September, and why the heel of Italy is best when everyone else has left The thing about Puglia that no amount of photographs has ever managed to convey is theContinue reading “The Light Does Something Different Here”
The Sweetest Month
The Passenger is a weekly dispatch on travel — places, hotels, restaurants, the strange logistics of being elsewhere. It is written by Bergotte. Why serious travellers go to Sicily in September August in Sicily is a fact of nature rather than a choice. The island sits in the middle of the Mediterranean like a stoneContinue reading “The Sweetest Month”
The City That Comes Back to Itself
The Passenger is a weekly dispatch on travel — places, hotels, restaurants, the strange logistics of being elsewhere. It is written by Bergotte. Paris, and why September is the only month that matters There is a particular quality of light in Paris in late August that travel writing has never quite managed to capture, perhapsContinue reading “The City That Comes Back to Itself”
Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of Hungary’s Wine Villages
Hungary’s wine regions are among Europe’s best-kept secrets. Beyond Budapest, the hills of Tokaj and Eger are dotted with vineyards, baroque towns, and family-run cellars. Instead of polished resorts, travellers here are welcomed into small pensions, rustic guesthouses, and vineyard inns where tasting a glass of local Furmint or Egri Bikavér feels like slipping intoContinue reading “Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of Hungary’s Wine Villages”
Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of the Austrian Alps
The Austrian Alps may be known for glamorous ski resorts like Kitzbühel or Lech, but the heart of Alpine hospitality lies in its Gasthäuser, chalets, and small family inns. Here, rustic timber architecture, balconies overflowing with geraniums, and hearty mountain cooking come together in stays that are warm, authentic — and affordable. Affordable style inContinue reading “Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of the Austrian Alps”
Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of Essaouira & the Atlas Foothills
Morocco’s Atlantic coast and mountain landscapes offer a different kind of escape: atmospheric, artisanal, and surprisingly affordable. While Marrakech draws luxury seekers, the port town of Essaouira and the villages of the Atlas foothills remain places where riads, kasbahs, and guesthouses welcome travellers with warmth and character. Here, affordable style is woven into hand-carved woodenContinue reading “Affordable Style: Inns and Guesthouses of Essaouira & the Atlas Foothills”
Where the River Bends: Memphis and the Music That Changed the World
It is the most productive square mile in American cultural history. A city of grief and genius, of violence and transcendence, built on cotton and the blues and the unsettled accounts of race — Memphis made the modern world’s soundtrack and has never quite recovered from the effort. By Bergotte Begin with the geography, becauseContinue reading “Where the River Bends: Memphis and the Music That Changed the World”
Villa San Michele
Above Florence Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, has just reopened above Fiesole after eighteen months of renovation — and the view from the terrace is, as it has always been, the finest available in Tuscany There is a concept the Romans called otium — a form of leisure quite distinct from idleness, devoted toContinue reading “Villa San Michele”
My World of Interiors 