Virtuoso Life - September/October 2007 - (Page 26)

LUXE REPORT TOQUE TALK MAKE FRIENDS Towering on the Scene French chef and global celebrity Alain Ducasse revives two landmark Parisian restaurants with his considerable culinary talent. After an overhaul, the 1925 seafood restaurant Rech (62 avenue des Ternes, 17th Arr.; 33-1/45-72-29-47) again serves its famous oysters and chocolate éclairs, now with a Ducasse menu that changes daily – picture steamed Breton langoustines sauced in citrus vinaigrette – either at the pewter-topped bar or in the art deco dining room. As an early 2008 encore, Ducasse will redo the food and decor of Jules Verne (Champ de Mars, 7th Arr.; 33-1/45-55-61-44), tucked away on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower amid the icon’s iron beams. DOlPhINs DIVING WITh Miami seaquarium’s new Dolphin harbor habitat expands the park’s popular dolphin experience, hosting ten atlantic bottlenose dolphins that park visitors can swim alongside during two-hour close encounters. $189; www.miamiseaquarium.com MUST READ Wine Travel Guide to the World By Robert Joseph (Footprint Books, $29.95) No matter where you travel, this Footprint guide to wine trails will help you find the best spot to sit down with a local vintage. About half of the book is dedicated to European destinations, with a well-deserved focus on France. Much less space is dedicated to North America, but the guide is nevertheless thorough and includes sections on Africa and Asia – the latter of which has recently undergone an explosion of wine imports and is embarking on wine making. With dining recommendations and pointers on where to find a good glass in areas that don’t grow grapes, it’s an indispensable companion for wine lovers with wanderlust. Craving for Travel By Jim Strong (Luxury Travel Books, $29.95) Consider this a wish-list glimpse of some of the most exclusive resorts in the world, from the British Virgin Islands to the Côte d’Azur. A veteran travel industry insider, Jim Strong takes you to far-flung places such as North Island, a luxurious 11-bungalow getaway in Seychelles, and Mala Mala Game Reserve, a “big five” hangout bordering Kruger National Park on South Africa’s Sand River. Divided by type of experience – private island, adventure, urban escape, and more – each two- to three-page synopsis of properties (and cruises and airlines) offers insight into why they continually top elite travelers’ lists. How to Make Friends and Oppress People By Vic Darkwood (Thomas Dunne Books, $19.95) The title of this offbeat account of actual advice from nineteenth and early twentieth century British travel guidebooks says it all. Few people were quite as sure of their presumed right to the world as the British in the 1800s. A sample passage illustrates the tone, where Vic Darkwood warns that having a porter carry a compact refrigerator on his back while climbing a mountain can be hazardous. In one case, the porter fell 300 feet, and “tragically not one of the bottles of Veuve Clicquot survived intact, and the refrigerator was beyond repair.” So was the porter, in case you’re wondering. Wild at Heart Photographs by Chris Johns, essays by Peter Godwin (National Geographic Books, $65) Photo books are typically beautiful but often short on thoughtful commentary. Not so with this stunning look at southern Africa from Chris Johns and Peter Godwin. After a forward by Nelson Mandela, the two dive into some of the continent’s biggest controversies, such as wellmeaning conservation efforts that sometimes backfire. If you don’t think such matters are important, you’ll change your mind after viewing these spectacular pictures of a land in peril. – Charles ealy 26 V I RT U O S O L I F E (BOOKS) IRIDIO SEATTLE http://www.miamiseaquarium.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Virtuoso Life - September/October 2007

Contents Editor’s Note Contributors Luxe Report Bon Voyage Suite Talk City to Go Vanity Case

Virtuoso Life - September/October 2007

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