Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Fashion Rocks

The grand tour, which has kept me going for the last few months, started on Saturday morning when I Ieft Nice to spend the day at Sarah's in Sussex. We went to Marco Pierre White's newly refurbished restaurant The Rainbow in Cooksbridge. The decor was mellow gentleman's club, it was like stepping into St James's, and the food, just like Sheekey's and The Ivy, was top notch fish, seafood and hearty meat courses. Angelo and Ed make a great front of house team and the service was fantastic. 

A seven hour BA flight to Toronto went smoothly, I watched George Clooney in The Descendants, a poignant tale of a woman whose fractured family come to terms with themselves and their future as she lies in a coma in hospital. Do not watch if even slightly depressed. 

We arrived at the Windsor Arms, which is Madonna and George's favourite hotel during the Toronto Film Festival, and it's easy to see why. Discreet friendly service in a historic townhouse in the heart of Yorkville, it boasts a rooftop gym and a butler's pantry straight from the room to the kitchen. You call room service, and they leave your order in it and switch on a light to let you know it's there. Dangerous. It's also where Gloria Swanson, Richard Burton and Katherine Hepburn hung out in the golden age of Hollywood. So I fit right in.

I did 50 lengths in the saltwater pool followed by my first cycle in six months in the rooftop gym. What a way to start the day, and my training for the Piste to Plage Challenge. I've got five months and no excuses to put it off any longer so I did 10 miles and although thats a sixth of the p2p daily target, it's a step, or pedal, in the right direction. 

Feeling refreshed I met the others and we headed off to explore Toronto in gale force winds ahead of meeting Elle Macpherson and the finalists in B&INTM.

Chatting to Elle, with her lush blonde locks, golden tan and never ending limbs is a sobering experience as she makes mere mortals like me feel like a fully loaded dumper truck. It was a great interview and while the content has to remain a secret for the time being, all I can tell you is The Body might be approaching 50 but she is still The Body.