TELEGRAPH TRAVEL

Monaco isn't just a tax haven – it's a golden refuge from the pandemic, too

Dining upon gold-leaf sushi at one of Monaco’s Michelin-starred restaurants feels like a guilty pleasure during the pandemic. The low hum of business-as-usual is amplified by the lack of accustomed melodies – music is banned in restaurants around the principality to discourage the party crowd. Up to six dine discreetly at each metre-spaced table that has to be booked in advance.

Several streets away in France’s Beausoleil, restaurant doors remain shut under the French lockdown. As I finish my meal before the principality-wide 9.30pm curfew kicks in, I wonder if any French Riviera neighbours have sneaked across the border to join us for some Wagyu beef tataki. Welcome to Monte Carlo’s new normal.

This dining dichotomy epitomises Monegasque idiosyncrasies during the pandemic. Monaco’s diminutive size can be used to advantage both in terms of safety and proactive governance. There is high per-capita levels of testing (more than double those of its international neighbours). While PCR nose-swab tests remain the gold standard, a newly launched rapid antigen test (that provides results within 20 minutes) is set to enable authorities to isolate patients more quickly to initiate treatment and prevent further spread. To read the full article: Telegraph: Visit Monaco-Lockdown-Holiday 

Good Pub Guide

The Good Pub Guide  is out. I enjoyed reviewing pubs around

the English countryside where I grew up for Penguin Random House.

Telegraph Travel

Happy to be the new hotel correspondent for Monaco and Southern France for Telegraph Travel's Hotelegraph. My top-to-bottom reviews of hotels inspect and grade everything from the bedlinen to the breakfast. Read some of my reviews for Telegraph Travel from the celebrity-magnet Hôtel de Paris in Monaco to Orion Tree Houses in St Paul de Vence.

CBS American Broadcasting Corporation

Just been interviewed

about Monaco

by the legendary

Peter Greenberg of the US

broadcasting corporation CBS.

Tune in to listen to

Peter Greenberg live from Fairmont Monte Carlo

New Interview Series

Check out my new Lunch with Monaco Life interview series of well-known Monaco residents from Formula-One drivers to Michelin-starred chefs  on www.monacolife.net.

Last word

Finally, a couple of lesser-known facts about me…

When I’m not travelling and writing to earn my crust, I spend time cooking for my family and friends at my olive farm in Southern France and writing poetry, to which end I am invited annually to Yale University’s literary conference.