Urban re-inventions #1: Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun hits its 1.5-year-old mark

We at Madeleine’s recently had the opportunity to do a “revisit” to a big urban renewal and revitalisation project: Tai Kwun, which celebrates its second Christmas (and hits the first-year-and-a-half anniversary of its opening). This is a complex sitting almost in the middle of Central, just 100 steps up the hill from Queens Road Central Read more

Paris, the waters and the bridges

Have you walked the 37 bridges of Paris? At the moment, Paris is having another one of those big floods (“inondations” in French).  Well, if you have walked the 37 bridges of Paris, your knowledge about the “zouave” or more accurately, the zouave du Pont de l’Alma, may come in handy … Weather reports in Read more

More on gutters and Oscar’s London

So, we at Madeleine’s love this Oscar Wilde quote that “We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars”.  And we’ve included this into “Madeleine goes to London”. But Oscar, Oscar, where can we find you in London?  Flamboyant and witty, the playwright, poet and critic was born in Read more

Celebrate the best Shakespearean concoctions in London this summer and autumn

As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death this year, there are more than the usual amount of Shakespearean activities in London this summer. One of the most interesting is Henry V at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park with Michelle Terry in the title role; as the Financial Times put it, “[I]t’s hard to Read more

Summer 2016 – top 5 summer operas to die for

Going to an opera performance on a lazy summer day is one of life’s true pleasures, and so we’re sharing below our “top 5” for summer 2016 … What we are looking for?  Great quality performances in beautiful outdoor settings over the summer months. With this in mind … be prepared to go to Europe Read more