With plentiful underground ancient vaults tucked away, there’s much to explore in the candlelit corridors with Mercat Tours. You can learn of the illegal whisky distilling trade amongst the old taverns and hear of the city’s notorious body snatchers and medicinal serial killers, Burke and Hare, through its history tours.  You could, however enjoy the storytelling of the city’s ghosts and ghouls, and go on a ghost hunt.

Above ground, hear the children of the 1930s schoolroom recite their multiplication tables and witness the street games once played in the Museum of Childhood, the first museum of its kind in the world. Head along to The People’s Story, a museum dedicated to detailing the history of the people of Edinburgh. The Scottish Storytelling Centre similarly provides many live oral community tales.

There’s also the Scottish Whisky Heritage Centre, which provides tours as well as the excellent Amber restaurant, providing award winning traditional Scottish food. Many shops, cafes and restaurants support Slow Food, with Edinburgh hosting the most active local convivium within the UK movement, with a rundown of options including from Michelin-starred chefs, listed here.

Edinburgh is best known for its location for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe during the month of August, which rounds up the world’s best entertainment through non-stop shows of theatre, dance, music, art, comedy and much more across the city’s charming venues, as well as street entertainment. The city becomes a wondrous, fun-packed throng of activity so book your shows, accommodation and travel now to avoid disappointment.

Image: tie78reu

Mexico City has it’s pearl in the form of Condesa df. Located in the heart of the equally cool La Condesa neighbourhood, this hotel is truly an oasis in a city that is rife with constant movement and Latin intensity. It’s bohemian chic, hip and youthful but it’s also distinguished and playfully aloof. I was in town for some Cycle Chic events and I melted into the Condesa df like I had designed the place myself.

The hotel is the collective brainchild of Parisian designer India Mahdavi, hotelier Jonathan Moor and Mexican architect Javier Sánchez de Sánchez Higuera. The 40 rooms are pockets of sleek and iconic goodness, complete with iPods pre-programmed with funkalicious tracks, DVD players and even an Xbox if you need to hone your Fifa10 skills. Which, of course, you do on occasion.

From top left: A little lounge off the main atrium where the breakfast buffet is laid out and the morning’s crisp newspapers become gradually dog-eared; the signage on the little boy’s room on the rooftop terrace; the jacuzzi on said rooftop terrace; the lobby.

I’m sticking to the oasis metaphor but you’ll have to imagine an oasis with a humming nightlife. The rooftop terrace transforms from being a wellness mecca during the day to becoming a thriving hotspot complete with sushi bar in the evenings [which is why the iPod with headphones in the room may come in handy]. I always find that really cool hotels attract the locals and I’d rather mix with locals than tourists anyday of the travelling week.

From top left: The atrium restaurant from above; a boxing bag in the ‘Myself’ wellness area on the rooftop terrace; a little detail from my bathroom where goods from Malin & Goetz feature prominently; I used the rooftop terrace for a cracking Cycle Chic event during the day; the table in the lobby offers up free refreshments for guests – coffee in the morning, iced tea during the day and tequila in the evenings. Claro. Nice detail.

The Condesa df debunks every myth you may have heard about the Mexican capital. It’s a little piece of paradise tucked away in a delicious corner of the city oozing with slow life. A groovy base camp for exploring Mexico City.

Some other nice bits:
- Bicycles are available for guests. When you’re the founder of the Cycle Chic movement, that melts your heart.
- Channel 84 – the welcome channel – features a custom-made film that runs in loop. Coolest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
- Great service in the reception. No task too great for the lads.
- Delicious food throughout the hotel.
- Fantastic meeting room if you need it.

Some bits that need improvement:
- The free wifi connection was dodgy at best, both in the room and in the rest of the hotel.
- The service in the restaurant, especially in the mornings, could have been sharper.

Hotel Condesa df
Avenida Veracruz 102
Colonia Condesa
Mexico, D.F.
06140

You can book on the DesignHotels.com website.

As Shakespeare said in Twelfth Night, “If music be the food of love, play on” but music also aids the love of food. Struggle to slow down and savour your meal? Let music be your guide.

On Sunday ‘mafternoons’ (the time equivalent of brunch) I listen to the American Routes programme on NPR. The pleasure of sipping coffee and eating eggs is made all the more idyllic with a soundtrack of blues, jazz, country, gospel and folk.

But it’s a contentious issue, especially when played out in public. One person’s favourite genre is another’s ear bleed. Yet pandering to mass tastes equals bland music, which can be almost as offensive.

One place that gets it right is my local family-run Italian. Their piano man is perfect – relaxed, convivial and even a little cheesy – just like the restaurant.

Live opera at another local joint? Too loud and distracting, which was made more than obvious when my friend accidentally shouted, “I SAID I NEED A MAN REALLY BAD” just as the opera singer decided to end the song. She wasn’t the only one on show after that…

So contentious is the issue, that many bars, restaurants and hotels employ prefessionals to remedy the situation by using companies big (Muzak) and small (New York DJ Nemo Librizzi).

Then there is the sound of silence. As reported in the New York Times, Grant Achatz of the famed Alinea in Chicago feels he can’t get the acoustics of food and music to gel, and couldn’t abide by say, a ‘crunch’ sound during a creamy course.

For me, the sound of silence during a meal is the sound of no buzz, of no soul. It’s the sound of polite couples trying not to scrape their cutlery against the china in a cold, countryside hotel. Music and food? As Shakespeare said, play on…

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net