THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, FEBRUARY 20-21, 2021 8 TRAVEL + INDULGENCE theaustralian.com.au/travel

Meryl Streep VIEW FROM HERE and Lucas Hedges in BOOK CLUB Let Them LET THEM ALL TALK All Talk Foxtel streaming A MAIGRET CHRISTMAS Georges Simenon Take a trio of women of a certain age, college friends whose lives have taken very different Who cares about “season-specific” directions, and dispatch them on a trans-At- reading when it comes to Georges lantic crossing from New York to Southamp- Simenon. It’s Christmas, it’s Paris, it’s ton aboard Queen Mary 2. No ports, plenty Chief Inspector Maigret. What could of time to connect and reflect, to blame and be more delightful. This trilogy was accuse each other for past betrayals, to stir published in 1951 and most recently the sediments of resentment. What could go reproduced in a Penguin Classics wrong for the one-time “gang of three”? hardcover (pictured) in 2017. In the , Candice Bergen and Dianne title tale, there are mysterious goings- Wiest, all brilliant actors with a clear talent on along Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, for comedy, are brilliantly cast as Alice from where the Parisian detective lives with New York (Streep), Roberta from Dallas Director did double Soderbergh allows insights into the con- the devoted Madame Maigret. It’s (Bergen) and Susan from Seattle (Wiest). duty as cinematographer and shot the film on fessional nature of cruising, those fleeting so- Christmas morning, and a “fine, white Alice, a famous writer of highbrow fiction, board QM2. Cunard fans will spot familiar cial associations, flirtations and fib telling powder” is falling but it’s not festive has been invited to give a lecture on board, venues such as the gleaming two-storey and, in the case of ballsy Roberta, hunting of and magical. A gloomy Maigret is soon demanded extra cruise tickets for her com- 9000-book library, Royal Court Theatre, the next (rich) husband. As the HBO movie’s involved in a touch of neighbourhood panions and is clearly in charge. She’s work- plush restaurants and the spa, where money- title heralds, there’s whip-smart talk and intrigue, even if Madame Maigret ing on a long-overdue manuscript in her strapped Roberta, a department store lin- wisecracking (mostly improvised, apparently, would rather he stay in bed and be suite and a favourite nephew, 20-something gerie saleswoman, tries to cash in her free within scriptwriter Deborah Eisenberg’s out- served his breakfast tray. If, like me, Tyler from Cleveland (Lucas Hedges) is on treatment coupon. Alice’s rookie agent line), fabulous outfits, but deep sadness and you’ve enjoyed the recent Maigret TV board as her gofer. “I’m not going to be al- Karen (Jessica Chan), whose presence must nostalgia too. It’s a bit (Diane series with Rowan Atkinson in the ways available,” Alice declares to Roberta be kept secret from Alice, is stalking her diffi- Keaton, where were you?) and enjoyable, title role, you may find it impossible and Susan, “but we’ll have supper together.” cult author in a mildly flirtatious collabor- even if the rushed ending and unsatisfying not to imagine It’s obvious she won’t be turning up for the ation with Tyler. Will that next novel ever be sense of closure may leave viewers lost at sea. the erstwhile masquerade ball or the Scrabble play-offs. delivered? SUSAN KUROSAWA Mr Bean surveying the sky “heavy and low and dirty white, [which] SPEND IT seemed to FORWARD PLANNER weigh down on the roofs”. The word Similarly, when “flamboyant” summoning an barely begins to image of the describe Bill wifely Madame Bensley, the US- Maigret, actor born, Thailand- Lucy Cohu, Atkinson’s screen wife, based landscape pops to mind. The second tale is set at and interior a Parisian police control centre where designer whose “three owls of the night shift” are sat hotel projects in before a city street map on a wall, with Asia are bulbs representing precincts. Lights renowned for flash when an alert is received. It’s a their busy evening on the switchboard; architectural someone is smashing the glass of merit and environmental credentials. Now emergency phone boxes, there’s a boy he’s turned his talents to art in a colour- missing and a murderer at large. In the drenched Fauvist style imbued with third inclusion, a lone drinker shoots whimsy and storytelling. During 2020, himself in the head at a restaurant on Bensley holed up at his Bangkok Christmas Eve, when all of Paris is lit glasshouse studio and worked on about 100 up – cinemas, theatres and bistros full paintings, mixing mediums such as Much-loved northern NSW hideaway Hal- of warmth and noisy with cheer. The watercolours, acrylics, oils and pastels. He’s cyon House has added a one-bedroom suite plot develops beyond the suicide to the just set up an online store to sell originals to its line-up of accommodation options. introduction of two women, Martine and prints and raise funds for his passion The new digs, which enhance the existing 20 and Long Tall Jeanne, the only projects in Cambodia, the Shinta Mani boutique guestrooms and luxurious two- witnesses and unknown to each other, Foundation for community empowerment bedroom Halycon Suite, are spacious and but whose stories begin to intersect. and Wildlife Alliance. The latter NGO airy, featuring a king bedroom with walk-in The story takes on a fable-like quality funds armed rangers to protect the robe plus separate living and dining areas. around Place des Ternes “where the endemic animals and forests surrounding The suite was created from the hotel’s broad, brilliantly illuminated swathe Bensley Collection: Shinta Mani Wild former functions space and has a real holi- Interior designer Anna Spiro’s signature that runs down from the Arc de (T+I, November 19-20, 2019), a 15-tent day-home vibe. Timber floors lead to a fur- style is evident in the brightly patterned Triomphe comes to an end”. Simenon’s safari camp in the southwest where threats nished patio that offers direct access to the wallpaper and mix-and-match textiles and writing is full of tiny details of domestic from loggers and poachers have increased resort pool and Cabarita beach over springy furnishings. life and broader society. Pipe-smoking, during the pandemic. Prints are made with green lawn. Kick off your shoes and leave From $1740 a night, twin-share, including intuitive Maigret, in bowler hat and long-lasting archival ink on 310gsm cotton them by the door. breakfast and four-course dinner at ac- thick overcoat, was the first detective I textured paper; four sizes available, from There are two bathrooms, and the full- claimed inouse restaurant Paper Daisy, loved, long before I was diverted by the $US100 ($130) for A3 format. size ensuite has plenty of room for two, with which is renowned for its wine list. likes of Poirot and Morse. n bensley.com a double shower, dual marble vanity and n halcyonhouse.com.au SUSAN KUROSAWA SUSAN KUROSAWA free-standing tub. PENNY HUNTER

fish-like scales. I know this only because I SNAP DECISIONS once researched nephology (“cloud contem- plation”, to be more poetic) for a novel but was glad no one angled for more information. The soft and bulbous mackerel sky looked Sky high at happy hour like a pink-patterned bedspread, too, although I kept that theory to myself. The whole sunset “event” couldn’t have SUSAN KUROSAWA Campari provide an extra jolt of colour when taken more than 40 minutes but the colours held high to reflect an orange-red sky in a seemed to hang like a painted scrim as dark- glass. Or the lowering sun might be mirrored ness took hold. The sun didn’t so much set as As the old adage goes, when you’re young and in sunglasses or obliterated by a social media just sigh and relinquish its place in the sky, fond of parties, you stay up for sunrises but as influencer posing and pouting and blocking fading away with dignity and grace. The well- you grow older, you set the alarm and get up. the best view. But let’s not go there. named happy hour was over. We all clapped Sunsets are another matter, beautifully timed On the southern end of Lord Howe Island and clinked glasses. We had witnessed the de- for all ages. In our age of effortless happy- recently, the sunset I saw over the peaks of nouement of another day amid fun and fel- snapping with devices that yield instant re- Lidgbird and Gower was a cracker. From the clicked away in unison. We sighed and lowship. In a world of chaos and uncertainty, sults, most of us chase a sunset on holiday. pool terrace of Capella Lodge, superbly an- shrieked and debated the shape of clouds. I it shone as a small miracle worth celebrating. Cocktails are often named in their honour gled for panoramas of mountains, sea and sky, burst forth with my knowledge of a mackerel and boldly hued spirits such as Aperol and I joined a posse of fellow snappers and we sky, rippled with cirrocumulus clouds to form Follow on Instagram: @susankurosawa

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