The 'Bubble' and the Boudoir

Available for over a year

Rajini Vaidyanathan joins 'the bubble' - the entourage surrounding John Kerry on a recent diplomatic mission - and reveals what it is like being on a hectic globetrotting trip with the US Secretary of State. From the unexpectedly informal atmosphere, to the high-speed convoys and the lack of boarding passes, everything is different once you're in the inner circle. In Milan, often described as 'the Italian capital of infidelity', Emma Jane Kirby explains how recession has cooled the ardour of Italy's would-be Romeos (or even aspirant Casanovas). It turns out that the era of the classic 'kept woman' are gone, for who now can afford to give a mistress jewels and furs, never mind paying for an entire hidden life? These days, she finds, the budget for everything from gelato to girlfriends has been heavily pruned.