http://www.bmivoyager.com inflight magazine of bmi Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:43:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [ London ] Off the wall If the Athenaeum hotel were a member of your family, it would be the singleton aunt who appeared on the outside to epitomise traditional courtesies – but actually had a racy past and therefore forgave naughty peccadilloes. Now, however, she’s as likely to be ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/hot-hotels-london-and-jordan/ When the Gastronomic Society of Lebanon met for lunch a few weeks ago in Syria, they had the pick of the crop, as it were. But instead of a glitzy restaurant in Damascus or a star-studded eatery in the likes of the Four Seasons hotel, they took over a private ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/dining-mansouriya-palace-hotel/ “If Riyadh is New York, Jeddah is San Francisco,” said our German concierge at the Jeddah Hilton. We were looking down from the viewing deck on the hotel’s 12th floor at the time. Though the sight was striking, I resisted the temptation to put flowers in my hair. This somewhat over-enthusiastic ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/first-time-in-jeddah/ If there’s one profession you’d expect to feature at the heart of every exhibition at London’s Photographers’ Gallery, it would be, well, that of the photographer. However, the gallery’s latest show draws into focus that less prominent image-maker: the stylist. Their role, to cast and clothe models, pick outfits and work ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/meet-the-man-who-invented-sportswear/ A beer by the sea in the sunshine:there’s nothing quite like it and at legendary Beirut seafront café Rawda, a bottle of Lebanese local beer Almaza combined with a hubble-bubble water pipe and some pistachios has been the way of life for three decades. Popular with Beirut’s writers, musicians, artists and ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/beirut-dries-up/ “It feels like this is the end. We’re selling out,” exclaimed Venetian photographer Manuel Vecchina when he first heard about the sponsorship deal between the city of Venice and drinks giant Coca-Cola. The agreement, which will bring €2.1 million over a five-year period to Venice’s always cash-strapped administration, calls for ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/venice-sponsored-by-coke/ Dressed in jeans, a low-cut top and heels – her nod to her star status being the obligatory pair of oversized designer shades – she apologises in advance. A transatlantic flight has seen to it that she’s suffering from jetlag. “This is the hour that really gets you,” she says, ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/charlize-theron-on-overcoming-her-monsters/ Like the wait for a British tennis champion at Wimbledon, it’s been far too long since the UK last competed for top honours in the sports car sector. While Andy Murray is doing his best to change the first part of that statement, one of Britain’s most famous motoring marques, ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/wheels-lotus-evora/ A bottle of Peroni beer would usually cost you a couple of quid; a frock by the fashion designer Antonio Berardi more like a couple of hundred. But the two have collaborated to launch an altogether different product line: Valigia Peroni by Antonio Berardi. This month they are unveiling the first ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/antonio-berardi-launches-peroni-luggage/ At the foot of the Alps, beside Lake Geneva, lies one of Europe’s most picturesque mountain towns. With its fresh mountain breezes, pretty shoreline and a population of just 20,000, Montreux is a Swiss idyll. Yet once a year this chocolate box resort is thronged with music-worshipping pilgrims who have come ... http://www.bmivoyager.com/2009/07/01/miles-davies-to-lily-allen-the-story-of-the-montreux-jazz-festival/