Ask Lydia

I get this question A LOT.

Here are my top recommendations:

1. Citadines hotels is a good chain of hotels (they do standard rooms, studios and rooms with kitchenettes). I recommend the one at Bastille/Marais (www.citadines.com/en/france/paris/bastille_marais.html) Prices are decent for Paris. There are also other centrally located branches.

2. Otherwise, if you are looking for a boutique-style hotel, Le Pavillon Saint Louis Bastille is a good and well-priced option (www.pavillonsaintlouisbastille.com/)  It's near Bastille and Republique - so conveniently located for the hip and happening bars of Oberkampf and browsing around the market on Sunday morning.

My best recommendation is to combine the dinner and dancing into one venue (otherwise you will inevitably end up losing people along the way, waste time queuing to get into the club, wish you hadn't left in the middle of the party just to get to the next place on time, etc.). Who needs that on their birthday?

My top picks for fun venues to dine and eat in are typically enough all Brazilian (cool, informal, and boy do they know how to party - bring on the 2016 Olympics!:

1. Guanabara (www.guanabara.co.uk). Situated in the heart of Covent Garden this place is the ultimate destination for live Brazilian music: amazing cocktails (try the famous caiparinha), great dancefloor, well-catered for large groups. You must book ahead for any chance to get a table!

2. Favela Chic (www.favelachic.com/london/). The team behind the Paris branch of this very cool joint finally decided to cross the Channel and introduce their unique brand of Brazilian dilapidated chic to Londoners. Situated in the heart of the Shoreditch this bar/restaurant serves up an ecclectic mix of music (think My Sharona meets Brazilian drum and bass meets Balkan Beats) which will have you dancing the night away. Also a must to book ahead to get any chance of grabbing a table.

3. Floridita (www.floridita.co.uk/london/) - ok, ok. So Floridita is neither Brazilian nor  cheap nor particularly informal - but it is a hell of a place to celebrate a birthday. Featuring live music and dancing, the best mojitos and daiquiris in town (though sadly no more cigars), this Cuban bar and restaurant in Soho is a gorgeous sight to behold.

My top 7 picks of the moment in this category include the following: 1. Chowki (www.chowki.com) on Denman St (Piccadilly) - Modern Indian; fresh flavours, good vegetarian options, with a constantly changing menu featuring different regions of India 2. Yalla Yalla (www.yalla-yalla.co.uk) on Green Court (next to Brewer St in Soho)  - small but perfect Lebanese. This place is really nice. 3. Cha Cha Moon (www.chachamoon.com) on Ganton St (off Carnaby St in Soho ) - Chinese street food by Alan Yau (the guy from Wagamama and Hakkasan) 4. Princi (www.princi.co.uk) on Wardour St (in Soho) - fab canteen-style Italian (also Alan Yau). A colllabortion with a famous Milanese place. This guy has the Midas touch. 5. Kulu Kulu on Shorts Gardens (off Neal St) - conveyor belt sushi; still the best value Japanese in town (and so conveniently located!) 6. Wahaca (www.wahaca.co.uk) - Chandos Place (in Covent Garden) - authentic Mexican. 7. Garlic and Shot  (www.garlicandshots.com) on Frith St (in Soho) - the name says it all. Oh, and the answer is no, I did not purposely choose restaurants whose names are so good they had to name them twice. ;-)

This can be a tricky question to answer, as finding the right combination of high-end, yet trendy, and also very good (i.e. it's not just about the reputation) places in London is not as easy as it may seem. Having said that I have a few places to recommend which are perennially trendy, and therefore classics, and which deliver on the food front.

First up is The Wolesley (www.thewolseley.com). Brought to you by the gang who first introduced us to The Ivy (doesn't make this list). This is a beautiful place (used to be a car showroom) on Piccadilly (just up from The Ritz) which delivers classic food to a top-notch standard. It's particularly well known for power breakfasts, afternoon tea Viennese-style, and it's easy all-day menu. Great for celeb-spotting (my friend once was squeezed between Anna Wintour and her daughter and Jefferson Hack and Nanette Lepore). Her husband didn't understand what the fuss was about (!).

Next on my list of must-experience restaurants is Hakkasan (www.hakkasan.com).  Once owned by the legendary Alan Yau (nearly every restaurant this man has started has turned to gold), this place still stands as the most gorgeously outfitted place in town (all dark Chinese wood panelling and embroidered silk, with the longest bar in town). Think In the Mood for Love. I prefer this place at lunchtime for its absolutely divine dim sum menu (don't forget to order the tofu and aubergine claypot), but if you're in the mood to go all-out then dinner is a spectacular affair (watch those lethal cocktails though!).

For more trend than high-end (the fatigue will eventually set in I promise you) then I would head to lovely Marylebone High St (near the must-visit bang-on trendy Selfridges department store). It has a lovely village feel to it, and after a bit of shopping there is nothing better than to pop into Providores (www.theprovidores.com). Run by the Kiwi Peter Gordon this tapas-style place (downstairs is more casual and fun than the restaurant upstairs) features all manner of ingredients spanning the globe. Normally I don't go into this sort of thing but in this case it is worth all the fussiness. Great wine list, and also the best coffee in town (this coming from a coffee snob is indeed a compliment).

Finally, I grudgingly recommend L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (www.joel-robuchon.com). It really doesn't get more trendy/high-end/fab food than this latest outpost of Joel Robuchon. Conveniently located in the heart of theatreland (next the The Ivy - which again I am not recommending) it delivered on the food front (two Michelin stars), and delivers on the buzz (I would stick to the darker, cooler downstairs).

An easy place for the girls to meet up is the Jewel bar (www.jewelpiccadilly.co.uk/). Though part of a small chain, and despite being situated next to a Burger King on Glasshouse St (!) this is still a good choice to start things off. Spread over three themed rooms you are bound to find a spot to share a first round of cocktails.

From there is only a short walk (even in heels) to one of my all-time favourite cocktail bars - Lab Bar on Old Compton St in the heart of Soho. (www.lab-townhouse.com). Don't spend too much time fussing over the extensive drinks menu. Best to have a chat with the friendly bartenders who will come up with a cocktail to taste (I recently got a a bourbon-based cocktail flavoured with passionfruit and with a dash of champagne).

By this time the girls will be ready to take it up a notch on the glamour scale. Floridita on Wardour St (www.floridita.co.uk/london/) is a great place to have a mojito or two, while getting things moving salsa-style on the small dancefloor which features a live band every Saturday night.

A great place to start is with a coffee at a sunny sidewalk cafe (order a cafe creme or for an espresso simply ask for "un cafe". Watch the world go by, maybe reading the paper, and stay as long as you want (in France your can spend all the time in the world at a cafe - it's the French way).

Le Cafe, corner Rue Tiquetonne and Rue Montorgeuil (http://tinyurl.com/obez9b) is great for people-watching and conveniently located for some fab shopping.

Killiwatch (http://espacekiliwatch.fr/) is next door  (the Urban Outfitters of Paris), Barbara Bui across the street; there are a lot of great shops to be found in this right-bank shopping neighbourhood.

The great thing about Paris is that anytime you find your energy flagging there is always a cafe or patisserie on every corner for a quick sugar/caffeine fix. In Paris there is nothing better than the incredible Rue Montorgueil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_Montorgueil). It is absolute foodie heaven.

If you find yourself distracted by all the pastries and decide you want to take the plunge into pastry making then G. Detou on Rue Tiqeutonne - is the place to buy praline, vanilla, dark chocolate slabs, marrons glaces...

Ok, time for lunch and the options are numerous and the decisions difficult:

Le Cochon a L'oreille on Rue Montmartre. The best littlest brasserie in town.

Comptoir de la Gastronomie on Rue Montmartre - all things bad for you (fois gras, cheese, etc.)

Bistrot Vivienne - beautiful spot for a sunny sidewalk lunch in the lovely Gallerie Vivienne (www.galerie-vivienne.com). After lunch it's time to wander down to Rue St Honore (chic shopping near the Louvre and Tuileries Gardens). A must is to visit Colette (www.colette.fr) - the "concept" shop on Rue St Honore where the latest and the trendiest is to be bought and seen...and they have a water bar too.

Then it's onto Frederic Malle (www.editionsdeparfums.com)  - the ultimate Parisian perfumer. The boutique includes a special scent chamber to select your perfume. I promise - you won't smell like anyone else.

Finally, the last stop must be Gianmaria Buccellati (www.buccellati.com) on Place Vendome - a girl can always dream, can’t she?

North of SF is a pretty town called Sausalito. Muir Woods is in that direction too, old redwoods, very cool. Bodega Bay is past the forest on the coast. Or head south and there are more redwoods towards Santa Cruz (and good surf to check out there too). There’s a neat town called Capitola just south, nice spot for a drink on the beach. Napa is cool, there is also a petrified forest that’s interesting to visit. You should also visit along the Silverado trail, the side road that goes through Napa. Auberge du Soleil (www.aubergedusoleil.com) is up that way, very fancy hotel, I suggest you go to the bar for drinks and appetizers, same view as the restaurant but less expensive.

Finally, for a real treat, try Tra Vigne (www.travignerestaurant.com) in St Helena (another cute town). It does an amazing take on Italian food (California style), and has a very pretty terrace.

The Elk in the Wood (www.the-elk-in-the-woods.co.uk/) just behind Upper St is a cool alternative to the gastro-type pub. Staff are quite chilled out (almost like the type of staff you find in a French bar), and the decor is quite eclectic (old-skool wallpaper, raw wood, mismatched lampshades). Food is also fab - nice Mediterannean slant to the nibbles, and a few good stodgy options like burgers and chips. Bound to be something for everyone.

The answer to this question used to be Vivoli (www.vivoli.it/), and the ice cream flavour of choice was always green apple. It still remains the most famous place in Florence, with a great variety of flavours, however Florentines no longer consider its standards up to par (plus it is closed all of August and over Christmas!!).

However, here are some great alternatives:

Perche No (www.percheno.firenze.it/) - makes great pistachio ice cream.

il Galeone del Cioccolato (Via Dei Neri, 23 Firenze) - a chocolate shop specialising in chocolate ice cream.

Million-dollar question that.....(stylish without trying too hard, decent drinks, decent prices, a place where everybody knows your name, and most importantly that is IMPOSSIBLE to find, in already bar-saturated Shoreditch). But since I'm in a generous mood today, here it is: loungebohemia.com.

AskLydia....what should I visit when I am in the Cotswolds?

The Cotswolds are in a beautiful part of the world, and exemplifiwa everything that is lovely about the English countryside (often called the Heart of England). The small villages that are sprinkled amongst the hills of the Cotsworlds are most often made of Cotswold stone.

Stow-on-the-wold (traditional little town, though now quite trendy with every pub boasting a great wine list! ). Great for walks:

www.cotswolds.info/places/stow-on-the-wold.shtml

Bourton on Water (the Venice of the Cotswolds) – very touristy but pretty nonetheless:

http://www.bourtoninfo.com/

Upper and Lower Slaughter (I recommend doing the walk between them, starting at Bourton):

www.places-to-go.org.uk/The_Slaughters.htm

Obvious choice of restaurant perhaps – but stil fabulous is Raymond Blanc's Michelin starred Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/le_manoir_location.jsp

Daylesford organics (the Sloane Rangers idea of a country shop!). They've stolen the  pastel green painted across the shutters in Provence and called it their own! Still, they have a lovely restaurant, spa (!), shop.

http://www.daylesfordorganic.com/scat/daylesfordfarmshop

Great Rollright Stones (near Daylesford). Like Stonehenge, but smaller (though just as old).

AskLydia....what should a "been there done that" tourist in Paris check out?

Dinner at Le Villaret.  A fabulous neighbourhood restaurant in a very quiet side street but that does lovely lovely food and has an amazing wine cellar. It’s the kind of place that only Parisians in the know head to.

Le Villaret - 13 r Ternaux 75011 PARIS (+33 1 43 57 89 76)

Another lovely spot is the Cafe Marly. Though it is in touristy Louvre it has a beautiful terrace and dinner inside the bijou restaurant is recommended. A very French thing to do is to wander on Rue Montorgueil. Lots of lovely food shops to browse around in (pastries, chocolates, artisanal olive oils). Oh, and Pierre Herme. Have the passion fruit and milk chocolate macaroon. If you don’t want to go to the super busy one on Rue Bonaparte then head to the one near the Louvre on rue Mont Thabord (only those in the know can find it).

www.pierreherme.com/

April in Provence. The first rosé of the season to go along with the first apéritif of the season is my old stand-by Mas Sainte Berthe. And as lots of people have been asking me - here's my little recipe for a quick and easy bruschetta to serve:

Tip: I ask my baker to slice a thin baguette cross-wise and then let I leave the small rounds dry out for a couple days. I tend to always have a box handy. In London Paul Bakery will indulge your request!

Take 12 small dried crostini and rub with a cut garlic clove.

Chop a large ripe tomato finely (I like to peel and seed them)

Spread across the crostini

Drizzle with good olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper and finely sliced basil leaves