…and COMPANIES

A list of suppliers and other companies I love and trust*

IN THE UK:

• Secretlab UK (office furniture and accessories)

• Magnetic North (coffee roasters and retailers)

• Scandi Kitchen (Scandinavian food - online and two cafés in London)

• Baltzersen’s ( Norwegian bakery online, with café in Harrogate)

• Leeds Bradford International Airport (amazing customer service and security - especially for assisted travel, and exceptionally responsive customer service manager, quite a few useful new direct or connecting destinations without having to face Manchester or London airports).

IN ROMANIA:

• TripAvip (best airport transfers, (Mercedes Benz fleet) limo/chauffeur services / private tours / from C Class cars to 49-seater coaches - trustworthy and excellent customer service!)

• JW Marriott Grand Hotel Bucharest - 5-star luxury for a surprisingly / relatively affordable price, especially out of season. Excellent service and amenities available, delicious food for all tastes, and conveniently located across the road from the Parliament Palace. Close enough to the city centre to walk there, but far enough to avoid the noise and crowding. On-site pharmacy and take-away bakery, gym, spa and indoor swimming pool. Complementary use of business/Executive Lounge for Executive rooms.

• Radisson Blu Bucharest - indoor and outdoor pools, spa, and the usual Radisson facilities at scale, in the rebuilt, re-invented site of the old, famous Bucuresti Hotel, in the heart of the city centre.

• Casa Capsa - opened in 1852, Casa Capsa blossomed especially after 1886, when Grigore Capsa opened a hotel and a larger café. From that moment, Capsa became THE meeting place for various personalities from politics, journalism, art and culture. It remains the place to go for the best cakes and chocolates in town, served with a portion of history, but don’t ignore its boutique hotel and restaurant either!

• Caru’ cu Bere Restaurant - my favourite place to eat in Bucharest and has always been, for decades! A truly authentic, traditional Romanian restaurant, Caru’ cu Bere (which means ‘The Beer Wagon’) has a history of over 140 years. TasteAtlas classes it as the ‘7th most legendary restaurant in the world’. You cannot say you’ve tasted genuine Romanian food if you haven’t been to Caru’ cu Bere! The portions are huge, yet the prices very reasonable compared to the UK for equivalent fare, but the taste is everything!

• Imobiliare Acasa (‘At Home Estate Agents’)- Romanian estate agents with main office in Bucharest, but other cities as well, and with absolutely impeccable service. Honest, trustworthy, friendly and efficient. This firm was recommended to me by a notary public and not only that it didn’t disappoint, but it exceeded my expectations, when my dad passed away and they helped me sell his property fast and at the asking price. The owner, Ionut Stancu, is a very knowledgeable, well-trained and respected realtor, and all-around nice man.

IN NORWAY:

• Hurtigruten - if you want to do a Norwegian fjords cruise, do it with Hurtigruten for the most authentic experience. See Norway the best and most flexible way - through Hurtigruten’s coastal route from the very south of Norway to the North Cape (Europe’s northernmost point). It’s not been dubbed ‘The world’s most beautiful voyage’ for nothing! Smaller ships, who can get into many places where larger cruise ships can’t, very environment-conscious, with food made from almost exclusively local ingredients. One for those who prefer to focus on the scenery and relax. If you want the traditional cruise experience, entertainment on board, evening dress etc - this is not for you. This is a relaxed, casual, more expedition-style experience.

• Juhls Silver Gallery - Since 1959, Juhls Silver Gallery has been based in Kautokeino, on the vast Finnmark plateau, as the very first silversmith workshop in the region. On a hill above the river, just outside the village, an architectural gem has grown. The Juhls family expresses themselves through various forms of art and craft, but jewellery making became the heart of it all. Every single piece is still handcrafted in its entirety at the workshop in Kautokeino. This allows them to maintain a sustainable and ethical production – with deep respect for the environment, the culture, and the community they’re part of. For over 40 years, the Juhls jewellery has been available also in their gallery on Bergen’s waterfront.

• Scandic Rock City Hotel, Namsos - quaint little gem of a hotel in the small-ish town of Namsos, 3 hours’ drive north of Trondheim, next door to the Trønder Rock Museum. Try to book the room with the guitar-shaped bed! The hotel staff were literally life-savers in 2024, when I was staying with them, visiting family in town, and they called an ambulance for me and fed me in the room, after I became very ill with Covid, having probably picked it up a few days before flying to Norway.
  
  Best salmon fishing river in Norway runs nearby - the Namsen, for which the town was named. Great service and superb rooms, with a rock-inspired interior (Namsos, is after all, the birthplace of famous Norwegian rocker Åge Aleksandersen, and where another famous Norwegian name - the band D.D.E. - was born in 1992). Fantastic nature all around guarantees a unique hotel experience near a lot of hiking, fishing, and museum-visiting opportunities, not to mention Oasen, Northern Europe's largest swimming facility built inside a mountain, and Norway's northernmost 50 meters pool, built in 1988, and renovated in 2004 - 2005, which is 2.5km (1.5 miles) away.