“Her rocks, her hills, are kindled now. Her nature and thy light combine, And manifold in her art thou, Her loveliness a part of thine.” From: A Girl in Love The only book of poems by Nan Shepherd : In the Cairngorms A spiritual & geographical solo adventure. Cairngorms – The living Mountain, represents both elemental beauty as well as metaphysical mystery. A majestic ride guided by my Ghillie*, in The Fife Arms Land Rover, (decked out in bespoke tartan), combined with an on the road whiskey tasting, feels very Prince Charles-in the-Highlands indeed. The Fife Arms is an artistic, Scottish Highlands fantasy. It feels like a member of the Royal family is in hiding here. Injected with the electric weirdness of the Victorian era, and topped off with a Hauser Wirth art collection. Its magnificent. Located in Breamar village, and a few miles from the Queen’s Balmoral. From reading art books and drinking Royal Lochnagar by the fire, in Picasso’s Mousquetaire corner, to a picnic packed by my Ghillie to explore the Highlands on foot, everything I love is here. I can still smell the divine Hay Absolute and Bell Heather, from their heavenly scented Albamhor Highland Botanicals – Scotland bottled in a chic mint hued ceramic. Pour terminer, I write my memoirs in the Fife Arms’ hand sewn notebooks at dinner. Listening to the River Clunie, surrounded by wild grasses, the resinous shadows of old Scotch pines and the distant smoke of burning peat … life here is one big Scottish Fairy Tale. ** gil·lie/ˈɡilē/noun noun: ghilli in Scotland, a man or boy who attends someone on a hunting or fishing expedition MOST IMPORTANT TIP: Live out your wildest The Crown fantasy in your own Sottish Highlands story. TIP: Most Poetic rooms to stay are the Croft rooms, Artists Studio or the majestic Royal and Victoriana suites.

Durslade, the Art Collector’s Gothic Farmhouse (circa 1760), has a lot of stories to tell… every nook and cranny needs to be explored – that alone is a wondrous amusement, in the beautiful landscape of Somerset where time has slowed down. Homemade Afternoon tea, milk from Durslade’s own cows, together with Pipilotti Rist’s and Guillermo Kuitea’s permanent installations are a great concoction for the senses. A place to appreciate the basics…good food, gorgeous landscape, architecture and art. Owners are super gallerists Hauser & Wirth. That says it all.

The Rock’n’roll Bathhouse. “Would Madame like to book a table or buy a perfume or book a room?” I booked the room. During Paris fashion week. And was presented with an Elnette hairspray next to my retro turquoise telephone on my bedside – instead of flowers. And that is how my love affair with Les Bains started… I adore this sexy Parisian  existence, from the scent in the air, the chic Bohemia it oozes from every corner, to ‘going Private’  in its’ Le Salon Chinois for every secret tryst imaginable. I do own almost everything from their ‘want-everything concept store’ across the road. You will too. Le Figaro calls it a “consummate experience,  a hybrid space reviving the legendary nightclub from the 80s…” Absolument.

Staying with Paola and Maria Grazia (the Milanese mother and daughter team) at their 16th century cinematique farmhouse, Masseria Potenti, is a chic lesson in the slow living movement in Manduria, Puglia. Theatre, set design and drama are the key ingredients in play.

The Coqui Coqui artisanal , luxurious-yet-primitive way of travel is a dream. Exuding sensuality, exoticism and uber chic, deep in the Mayan jungle. For a person, always being in the beautiful pursuit of handmade, it is a feast for all my senses … from the artisanal handmade decor, perfumerie, indoor vegetable garden to the natural homeopathic Mayan Spa- (which made me feel closer to God BTW).