Tr avel report LONDON
fun and drama to the evening.
Our group congregated at The Gore hotel in Kensington, where we sipped champagne as we awaited our carriage outside.
As if it wasn’t glamorous enough, we spotted celebrities Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan in the hotel bar during a break in filming for their hotly anticipated movie Military Wives at the venue.
After getting suitably well-oiled (us, not the car), we set off in our carriages.
The modern roads turned out to be a bit too much for Gabriella, and she broke down during rush-hour outside Harrods in Knightsbridge. But it only added to the authenticity of the experience.
Some of the members of our group got out and pushed her to a place of safety, before we got out for a mulled wine stop.
Thankfully we had a backup car, a 1970s limousine, and we carried on our tour - taking in the illuminations around Kensington and Knightsbridge.
The chauffeurs were friendly and charming, and taught us a bit about the history of the area as we drove through the streets.
Then, we headed back to the hotel for a delicious three-course meal, with the menu arranged by Michelin-starred chef Daniel Galmiche.
We dined on tender scallops, meaty monkfish and polished it off with a yummy cheese-board.
It was then time to retire to Bar 190 - the jewel in The Gore’s crown.
The bar is best known for being the location for the launch of The Rolling Stone’s 1968 album Beggars Banquet.
A timeline of photos of the famously hedonistic launch party adorn the walls of the lavish bar with the pictures getting more and more debauch as you scan the room from left to right.
They even have a cocktail to commemorate the occasion, Sympathy for The Devil, which contains a heady mix of tequilla, chilli-infused gin, Southern Comfort, Grenadine and lime juice.
Safe to say we collapsed into bed afterwards.
And this wasn’t just any bed. We stayed in the Judy Garland suite named after the late actress who stayed in that exact room when she performed at the Albert Hall nearby.
She had the four-poster bed shipped over from America especially for her stay, and the bed frame remains in the room to this day.
The next morning we scoffed down eggs Benedict for breakfast before heading out to do some sight-seeing.
The hotel is perfectly located in the museum district of London, with the Science Museum, Natural History Museum and V&A on its doorstep.
We visited the latter - which had two brilliant exhibitions on - one about late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and another about the history of video games.
There was a huge queue for the Frida Kahlo exhibition, which is based on the discovery of a locked room full of her clothes and personal possessions in 2004.
Controversially, we actually found the video game exhibition was better, despite there being no queue at all - as we learnt about the cultural impact of of gaming and the way the industry has tackled serious social issues since the early noughties.
The trip was a delightful chance to celebrate Christmas, the old fashioned way.