Due chiacchiere with Rosamund
ROSAMUND KING
RKPT FOUNDER ON HER COLLECTION OF EX VOTOS, WHY A WET SWIMSUIT BAG IS ALWAYS IN HER SUITCASE AND WHERE IS NEXT
Where have you just come back from?
Five weeks in Australasia. A grand Christmas tour of New Zealand en grande famille (a mere 14 of us) followed by a fortnight in Melbourne and South Australia for a deep dive into their laid back life of outstanding food and wine. The hospitality in that part of the world is second to none.
In October it was a marvellous month in India. A 5-day wedding in Jaipur, a fortnight revisiting Rajasthan and then 10 days exploring Calcutta and walking in Sikkim. I believe there are 50 or so different holidays to be experienced in India.
A fun anecdote from one of your trips?
I’m saving them for my book. And for when I can afford a really good lawyer.
One special experience you designed for a client?
See above.
What’s always in your suitcase?
A wet swimsuit bag given to me at Zighy Bay 5 years ago - I always squeeze in one more swim just as the taxi is pulling up at the hotel gates - and a nifty little piece of leather with a popper on it to neatly organise the endless cables we are forced to carry around (my thanks to the team at the Lake Palace in Udaipur for that one).
And the best souvenirs you’ve brought home?
Most recently it's suzanis bought from a Jain family in Jodhpur. I also treasure my collection of ex votos from Puebla, knives from Aritsugu in Kyoto's Nishiki market, and an ever-growing collection of beautiful glassware blown by my friend Piero Nason on the island of Murano.
What I always bring back from Italy is pasta and lemons from the Amalfi Coast. And if I see someone selling artichokes or broad beans on the roadside en route to the airport, I’ll fill any remaining space in my luggage with them.
Describe your favourite view.
The Bay of Naples from the Castel dell’Ovo. Mount Vesuvius in the background and an ever-changing Neapolitan storyboard in the foreground: octogenarians abluting at dawn before settling down on their plastic chairs for a game of briscola, nut-brown scugnizzi bombing off the rocks at midday, lycra-clad fitness fanatics rollerskating along the waterfront in the early evening, and teenagers snogging at any given time of the day.
If you could live at any hotel, which would it be?
The Gritti Palace. Punto.
The most memorable meal you’ve had while traveling?
In late September last year I had dinner at Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana. It was spectacular. But the tortellini in brodo that we had at a little trattoria just off the motorway the next day were just as memorable.
And the Italian dish you love?
It changes depending on the season, the location and the time of day. If I’m in Venice, we start with a paper cone of deep-fried schie (teeny tiny shrimp) at Antiche Carampane, then its Bruno’s clams with fresh ginger at Alle Testiere, followed by the squid ink spaghetti at Trattoria alla Madonna. Afterwards we’ll hop over to Harry’s Dolci for a slice of their meringata cake. And now I’ve offended every Venetian restaurateur by eating just the one dish at their establishment, as well as giving my boatman the runaround.
Favourite cocktail?
Negroni.
Your personal seven wonders of the world?
1. The Jain temple at Ranakpur
2. Lake Hankinson, a pristine lake in New Zealand’s Fiordland with paper-thin ferns, wild trout and a silence that is almost impossible to find elsewhere.
3. The Okavango Delta. In practice but also in theory: how it came to be and continues to exist is mind-bending.
4. Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. I am a fan of “second” sights that have not been shared too widely across social media, so Ollantaytambo beats Macchu Pichu.
5. The Alhambra in Granada
6. The ruins at Delphi on the slopes of Mount Parnassus
7. Venice.
The best book you’ve read in the past year?
The Pursuit of Italy by David Gilmour. Fundamental for an understanding of how and why Italy is what it is today.
A Rising Man by Amir Muhtarjee. A whodunnit set in Calcutta in the 1920s.
And that song you’ve been listening to on loop?
Tamiditine by Bombino. I heard it for the first time onboard the wonderful Edipo Re on a sunny September evening on the Venetian lagoon and it was perfection.
Your happy place?
Tea country in Sri Lanka is incredibly special.
Where do you live and what do you love most about it?
I live in London. I love coming back to the city after my travels. 2 weeks is about the right amount of time for a stopover and then it’s off again.
Where is next?
The Dolomites.
Your life motto.
ALWAYS knock on the door. More often than not, it’ll lead to something interesting.