STYLE: KNEE-HIGH SOCKS
Often a result of having friends or family stay with you during a visit means you will inevitably receive a message once they have left asking ‘Oh - did I leave my x at yours?’ There is a bit of a back and forth where you promise you will send said item back to them - which 50% of the time is what happens and the other 50% of the time never happens.
In the latter circumstance, this item becomes your unintentional gift for hosting them. Over the years such items have sometimes led to my best discoveries; they aren’t items that I would have necessarily picked up or spent my own money on but now that they have fallen into my lap I am happy they are there.
At Christmas last year, my father left behind a pair of his wool knee-high socks. They were sadly too big for myself but Nils whooped at the discovery and popped them on, leading us both to the discovery of the joys of the over-the-calf sock.
During the cold winter months knee-high socks keep your entire calf warm - those cold breezes up your trouser leg which previously one dreaded are now just a bad memory. They also stay up better, so that you’re not finding yourself pulling the socks up throughout the day. Winning. So that you too can cruise comfortably, we’ve listed below some favourite brands.
Speciale is mainly a fab tailoring shop tucked up on the upper bit of Portobello Road in Notting Hill but they do some smaller accessories including socks!
Gammarelli is worth the trip to Rome alone - this tailor has been serving as the costumer to the ecclesiastical world since 1798. Expect to be rubbing shoulders with a priest or two when you enter and the shop is bedecked with outfits for the clergy waiting to be dispatched to their Roman homes. The socks are the perfect weight to keep your toes cushioned and come in wool, cotton, and silk.
Hard to go wrong with a pair from Drake’s or Bryceland’s. The latter happen to stock some cashmere-rayon mix for extra softness.
Finally, Mes Chausettes Rouges is a French reference. If you find yourself in Paris, you’ll find them in the 7e Arrondissement on the Left Bank - else their online store is always there.
KITCHEN: MASTER WEI
We are certainly not the first ones to clock onto the genius of Master Wei’s biang biang noodles nor will we be the last, but waxing poetic we will do. The space is frills free and the noodles feel like the most delicious hug during these rainy winter months. We got the No. 38 and No. 46.
Tucked away in Bloomsbury, you can visit for a spot of late lunch on a Saturday to beat the crowd (it does fill up) as we did following a visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum nearby.
ART: MARK ROTHKO RETROSPECTIVE AT FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON
If you’re on a trip to Paris to buy high socks, consider making time for a detour by the Bois de Boulogne for the Rothko retrospective on until 2nd April 2024. It’s rare to see this many of his pieces in one place, and to get to see his earlier figurative works. Seeing the chronological evolution of his art is striking. Note that the exhibition easily gets crowded, so go outside of peak times if at all possible.
TRAVEL: CAIRO, EGYPT
Childhood dreams turned into reality when we decided to travel to Egypt last year to take a river cruise down the Nile river. We will follow up with a more detailed guide for those who may or may not be interested; but for starters here is a brief guide to 48 hours in Cairo.
Never been to a more chaotic and bustling city - home to 23 million inhabitants, not to mention the throngs of tourists coming in daily, Cairo is the largest metropolis in Africa and the Middle East. There is SO much to see.
Do:
Pyramids of Giza - the historic weight of these is simply majestic. We recommend pre-booking a guide to skip queues and have the history explained further. We booked ours at Tree of Life tours - Fatima was informative, efficient, and did not fall asleep on us (yes, one of our friends had a guide who found a shady spot near the pyramids and proceeded to take a nap)
Mosque of Ibn Tulun - for the scale, history, and peacefulness of the building.
The Egyptian Museum - for room after room of Egyptian and Pharaoh artefacts. The museum building itself is incredible and makes you feel like you have stepped back in time as the museum was founded in this location in 1902.
Bayt Al-Suhaymi - for a beautiful example of a historical Islamic home in the centre of Cairo.
Khan el Khalili (Old Town Bazaar) - some amazing antique and spice stores - also some truly tacky stores. Worth a visit just for the atmosphere (been around since 1382) and you might even find a carpet that you will have to drag around with you for the rest of the day.
Eat:
Abou El Sid Restaurant in Zamalek - decorated in a reproduction of a 1930s Egyptian house, the atmosphere is special and food tasty. They offer a nice selection of hot and cold mezzes and also serve alcohol (not typical in Cairo outside of large hotels).
Abou Tarek - they famously make koshari, Egypt’s national dish. This is a pretty heavy dish bringing together pasta, rice, lentils, vermicelli and chickpeas - all topped up with tomato sauce. Consider yourself warned.
Café Riche - we found the food here pretty standard, but the amazing atmosphere and colourful history make it a recommendation. Established in 1908, Café Riche has been a meeting place for artists, writers, and political figures throughout the years and served as a gathering spot for intellectuals and creatives (think Café de Flore of Cairo) since its inception.
Stay:
In terms of neighborhoods to stay in, we’d recommend staying in Zamalek. Connected by bridges into downtown Cairo, it is a nice oasis from the buzz of the city. It was the district of embassies (some of which are still operational today) and has some impressive early 20th century buildings and gardens dotted around in the Art Deco style.
It is quite hard to find charming boutique hotels in Cairo - the hotel offering tends to range dramatically from megachains (Marriott, Hilton, Sofitel) to unreliable two-star hotels with bad reviews and not much in between.
We stayed at the Hotel Longchamps, which was entirely charming and run by a German-Egyptian lady. Upon researching this, it appeared that it has sadly now closed after 70 years of business! So we’re not of much help here. However, here’s a freshly-found nice option which seems promising: Houseboat on the Nile in Zamalek.