I booked a Sunday brunch at the London’s Blue Elephant the very day the 2012 Olympic cycle race was testing. Several roads closed to cars and pedestrians alike to free the pavement to the bikers. I stepped outside the tube station, and got stuck on the wrong side of the road by volunteers barring the streets with fences. I and my unfortunate new mates weren’t allowed to cross before 30 minutes. My reservation was in just 10 minutes. My brunch, which I starved myself for since the evening before, was the street-wide away from me. And no bikers approaching! sigh! my brunch! Suddenly (ta ta ta you hear the trumpets?) a hero (6 ft tall – 200 lbs – pink tee – very Le Stade Français the national French rugby team) pushed the fence at the other roadside and walked on through that damned street. See! See! Why he can? And I can’t? The volunteer gave me a desperate, depressed, disappointed look, pulled the fence off and left me leak out. I suppose that all patrons got stuck as I had the restaurant all for myself to take pictures. One of the waiters even asked me whether I was planning to eat ha ha ha. ‘Yes my dear! but let me enjoy it first with my eyes! ‘

The front door of the Blue Elephant of London is just as regular as any restaurant. But when you step inside, it’s a total shock. After the dark lobby, you get in a tropical garden of flowers, a built in fountain and fish ponds underneath wooden bridges. It’s awesome!

All ingredients are of the finest quality and the choice of meals and desserts is just huge. The waiters are the friendliest and most hospitable folks you can meet in London. I went once to the Parisian branch which is as yummy but a bit less spicy.

The sunday brunch is on special offer during summer: £30 only per person. You are informed from now!

Blue Elephant , 3-6 Fulham Broadway, London SW6 1AA

On my way out to Guiana last week, I stopped one day in Paris to have my hair cut and shop beauty products to refill my bathroom cabinet. I am loyal to my Sisley products, which are cheaper in France, and nothing is as good as the beauty products I’ve been purchasing in French pharmacies for years. Among my favorites, Klorane’s shower gels smell really good and are still gentle to my dehydrated skin.They are available in tens of fresh to floral fragrances. I stocked my Bioderma cleanser as well.  It’s a non rinse soothing lotion that’s liquid like a toner but that you can use alone, no prior milk needed. I wet a cotton pad and wipe my face. All dirt and make up are gone. It leaves my skin fresh, and doesn’t dry it. Dexeryl is a hydrating cream intended for really dry skin that I mix with Melvita 100% Organic Argan Oil to moisturize my thirsty body skin. Dexeryl costs close to nothing in France. It’s really thick, but it moisturizes really well.

I had breakfast at Plaza Athénée, Paris a couple of weeks ago. It may seem posh as an habit. Let me say it’s damned worth the $90 I paid for.

It’s been 5 years, I guess, that having brunch is a trendy week end activity. A lot of restaurant have debuted their own. While the quality steadily falls down over time, the prices continuously rise. I won’t give any name that does that. Yet I am giving one, right here, that remains a wonderful experience. For the meals and the decor.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Everyday, I wake up 30 minutes earlier and save time to get a good starting.

Hence doing breakfast in a resort is the ultimate treat. Almost better than shopping on and errand. It’s an over the top bud’s experience in a mythic place at a reasonable price given that it’s an étoilé restaurant in a resort. (Yes I know, the breakfast is not étoilé, but Ducasse is. 3 stars buddy!).

Are you ready? Come on with me.

I start with the staff. Warm, considerate. They’re truely nice. I arrived. I felt home.

Second, the place! It’s beauty.

Saturday breakfast was crumpets’ delight.
It’s been a while that I wanted to get back to my old habits: make delightful breakfast all by myself. I started over this saturday with in-house crumpets.

It’s not different from pancakes, but with bubbles all over.

Today, I gave a try to Mac Café. I am a coffee lover. I was probably 6 when I enjoyed my first coffee at my grand parents’. It was only water of coffee, but it was sufficient to make me feel grown-up. Since, I went thru filtered brewed coffee to espresso and now Nespresso.

Sipping espresso is a sensory experience. Seeing the golden foam, smelling the grilled, well rounded flavor, tasting the acidity , bitterness and sweetness of different blends, touching the delicate foam with my lips, feeling the warm darken body flowing on my tongue and along my throat is my ultimate treat. Drinking coffee is a ritual.