Miss K - Travel Weasel

I know I will get absolutely no sympathy about this, but Paris is feeling a little stale to me right now.  But before you start lighting the torches and sharpening the pitchforks, let me explain why - it's because I haven't left the city in nearly a year.  I got back to Paris just before New Year's Eve, and other than a day trip to Vaux-le-Vicomte (the post on that is yet to come, with fabulous photos), I haven't been outside the city in all these months - for a travel weasel like me, that's a looooooooooooong time to be in one place.  Last year I managed to get to London, Toronto, Monaco and Marrakech.  The year before that: Prague, Bucharest and Istanbul.  I once went around the world in 31 days.  I once went to Egypt in the spring and Jordan in the autumn of the same year. I once spent Christmas in a Scottish castle and then went to Barcelona for New Year's.  And those are just a few examples...  The point is, I used to travel.  

I think part of the reason I have had such a crappy year is that I've got a bad case of cabin fever, and there wasn't anything I could do about it.  Between the nightmare of trying to find places to live and not having any money, I just couldn't go anywhere.  BUT the travel gods have smiled upon me - I am leaving for London tomorrow for a work trip, and will have to go back again for work, probably next week or possibly the week after.  And in between, my whole office in Paris is going off for a corporate retreat in the south of France.  Okay, so all these trips are work-related and they're not very exciting, but I don't care.  I am going somewhere, and when that brief flurry of travel dies down, then I'll be able to appreciate Paris again.  In the meantime, if you could try not to stab me with those pitchforks, I'd really appreciate it...

Magical Marrakech - Part 7

I'm actually not still in Marrakech, I'm back in Paris, but as I didn't get a chance to post about our last day there (no time on the actual day and technical difficulties between my laptop and my camera since then - and was I going to do a post about our last day in Marrakech with no photos?  I don't think so), I am afraid this one is a little bit behind the times.

Nevertheless, our last day there was excellent - Bronx Girl was fully recovered and so we dashed around doing the few things we hadn't managed to previously fit in.  We paid an early morning visit to the Majorelle Gardens (famously owned and restored by Yves St Laurent - apparently he had his ashes scattered here, and who could argue with such a beautiful final resting place?), which turned out to be my favourite place there - it's a tranquil oasis of blues and greens in a very hot, crazy city.  If you are going to visit Marrakech, I highly recommend a visit here (it's not a big place so come early to avoid the big tour bus crowds), but do it toward the end of your trip as you will really appreciate the peaceful surroundings by then!

At the entrance

The light was just beautiful

The exquisite waterlily pond...

...where there were turtles!

It's amazing that turtles are cute, but they really, really are.

The nice people at Canon make fabulous cameras - I was about 10 ft away for this shot!

No comment

Another water feature

The villa

We also thought we should check out the ruins of the Badii Palace, seeing as how they were right behind our riad:

See the plants? That's our roof terrace.  See the storks?  That's the palace wall.

There isn't actually a great deal to see at the palace as it was pretty much completely plundered, but since the plundering took twelve whole years to accomplish, you can easily imagine how impressive it must have been, back in the day.  The shell of the palace is vast and there's virtually no shade, so if you do go there, don't do it in the full heat of the afternoon (which is what we did, but we had no choice as we were leaving later that day).

And that was it - our trip to Marrakech, I hope you've enjoyed hearing about it.  One final picture, as it was the last one I took on our way out of town:

More storks, just hanging out at the mosque.

Magical Marrakech - Part 6

Oh dear.  Well, I am afraid that today (Tuesday) wasn't very magical for Bronx Girl, who has been sick as a dog most of last night and all of today, poor thing.  She had to stay here at the riad, and as I know (single girl that I am) only too well how miserable it is to be sick and have no one look after you, I stayed here too.  But by about 6pm, she felt well enough for us to venture out for some air, so we went to Kosybar, which has the nicest roof terrace I have yet seen in Marrakech (although the real appeal in this case is that it's located only two minutes walk from our riad).  We had a couple of soft drinks and enjoyed being outside, but alas, she had a relapse and we had to scurry back home.  But on the bright side, at least we saw a new view of the Marrakech storks:

Yes, that's a sculpture of a stork in the foreground. These birds are EVERYWHERE!

And I fell madly in love with the cutest kitty in the world, who lives at Kosybar.  I mean, really.  Miss K's frozen black heart completely melted in the face of this awesomeness and I was seriously thisclose to trying to figure out how to bring a cat back to Paris with me, but alas, my common sense took hold.  Ah well.  Sorry, kitty - but we'll always have Marrakech...

Magical Marrakech - Part 5

Well, I have to admit that yesterday wasn't my best day here in Marrakech - I woke up feeling horribly ill and still had to drag myself out on a pre-booked daytrip to the High Atlas.  Which would have been fine - I dosed myself up with medication and felt better, but I nearly fainted from the heat and number of people at a village market, managed to ram a steel wire under my fingernail while crossing a rope bridge, and had to climb a mountain barefoot over sharp stones because it was almost completely vertical and I didn't have the right shoes (we had been somewhat misinformed about the difficulty of the trail).  Admittedly, the mountains were beautiful and I am glad we went, but sometimes the travel gods do test you...

One tiny corner of the village market, which was immense

The rope bridge of OUCH!

Look closely - see all those tiny specks? Yeah, those are people climbing up the mountain and yes, it's as high and steep as it looks

Having said that, there were highlights to the day.  We stopped in to visit with a Berber family on the way to the mountain and I learned that mint tea with sugar, and bread dipped in honey and olive oil (yes, both at the same time) are a) delicious and b) a fantastic way to settle an upset stomach. Who knew?  And the mountains themselves are magnificent and well worth seeing.  But do you know what else is also magnificent and well worth seeing?  La Mamounia back in Marrakech, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, particularly now, after a brilliant renovation.  I have been booze-free the whole time I have been here in Morocco (my liver needed some loving after the boozapalooza that I have been indulging in for the past few weeks in Paris), but if ever anyone needed a cocktail?  It was me, yesterday.   

Bronx Girl and I got back to the city at about 6pm, took some time to relax and then went out to dinner at Comptoir, one of the hot spots of Marrakech.  Although I have to say, I completely fail to see why.  The food was okay (I never realized that chicken and icing sugar would be a good combination. Again, who knew?) but the entertainment was dismal (other than the middle-aged bellydancer - who may or may not have been a man, I'm still not sure - with the big ol' plate of candles on her/his head, that was a highlight) and the service practically nonexistent.  We had to ask three times for our bill and I am pretty sure we could have just strolled out without paying - we didn't, because we are good girls, but the temptation was extremely strong.  So after such a day, we took ourselves over to La Mamounia, where, as long as you are well-dressed enough to enter (which we were) and you have enough money (which we didn't, but the nice people at Amex always come through), you can sit in the bar and have a wonderful cocktail and relax in the cool, serene room and enjoy proper customer service, where it is all about you and nothing is too much trouble.  Ahhhhh.... bliss.

High Atlas

high camp

Magical Marrakech - Part 4

On Sunday, Bronx Girl and I decided we needed a break from the heat and general madness of Marrakech, so we headed for Essaouira, a laid-back little city on the coast.  In lieu of me yapping about it, how about we just have some photos?

On the way there we encountered a horse festival - very cool

Spectacular seafood in Essaouira - this is Bronx Girl's lunch

Strolling along the ramparts

Handicraft vendors

An awesome railing for a seafood restaurant

Wandering the back streets - just us and lots of cats

The seafood stalls by the harbour, where you can eat the freshest fish imaginable.  Char-grilled sardines -mmmm

Always something amazing to see in the back streets

Place Moulay Hassan

Busy day at the beach

A perfect Moroccan moon

Magical Marrakech - Part 3

Saturday's activities are pretty easy to sum up: we spent the day at the souks.  It was the hottest day here yet (45C) and we absolutely boiled all day, but will a little (okay, a lot) of heat keep two girls from their shopping?  I think not:

We also accidentally stumbled upon the Medersa Ben Youssef, previously a religious school, and one of the most stunning buildings in Marrakech:

And after such a busy day, we deserved a nice dinner at a lovely spot - took a taxi (an adventure all by itself, trust me) to the New City and had the most amazing grilled brochettes at Rotisserie de la Paix, which I also highly recommend - not just for the food, but for the gorgeous garden:

And today was a trip to Essaouira, on the coast, but I am far too exhausted to write about it now - tune in tomorrow, though...

Magical Marrakech - Part 2

Well, Bronx Girl and I have been having quite the busy time here.  Yesterday we started off at the Saadian tombs, which were only revealed to the outside world in the 1920's - it's not a big place, but it's very beautiful and well worth seeing:

Then we moseyed along to the Centre Artisanal, which sells Moroccan handicrafts but is run by the government, so the prices are fixed, therefore no haggling.  Wellll, in theory.  I was looking at a ring which cost 1300 dh, but through passive haggling (ie - I couldn't decide if I wanted it or not so I truly was just dithering about it), he gradually took down the price to 700 dh.  And I still didn't buy it - but that's okay, as Bronx Girl made some purchases there anyway.  I will also never complain again about my job after seeing the amount of work this lady was putting into hand-knotting this carpet:

After that, it was off to an apothecary shop as I wanted to get some argan cream.  Apparently argan oil is the greatest thing on earth - it slices! it dices! it vacuums the floors! (or, you know, it's just really good for your skin).  Anyway, a fascinating shop full of fascinating things:

After that, we attempted to get some lunch but it was so freakin' hot, the only thing we could face was ice cream.  Yes, ice cream for lunch - my inner five-year-old was delighted.  And, like a five-year-old, after that it was naptime.  We skulked back to the riad and the comfort of our air-conditioned room to snooze the afternoon away.

But it was a smart move -  after that we were refreshed enough to enjoy a horse-drawn caleche ride around the city at sunset, followed by dinner at Le Marrakchi, which I would highly recommend.  It's not the cheapest, but the food is delicious and the decor is lovely (and it's air-conditioned, which is no small thing in this climate):

And that was it for yesterday - I suppose I could go on and tell you about today's activities, but yet again, the day's not over, so I'd better wait and do that later (or tomorrow).

Magical Marrakech

So here we are in Marrakech, and thus far it is living up to all my expectations.  Fabulous room at the riad? Check.

An unexpected bonus piece of luck (our riad being located directly behind the ruin of the Badii palace, thereby giving us the best view in town of the storks - a holy bird in Marrakech - nesting there)?  Check.

A nighttime visit to the crazy Jemaa El Fna (the main square)?  Check. 

Seeing things there like the local delicacy (if you're squeamish, skip this photo - those are sheep's heads and the little round things are braaaains - ugh!)? Check.

Skipping that in favour of a delicious lamb, prune and almond tagine?  Check.

Seeing random but amazing things on the wander home?  Check.

And all of that was yesterday on our very first night.  Today has also been interesting, but as it's not over yet, I think I'll wait until later and do another post about today - you never know what we might see and do before the day ends here...

Luck of the Irish - Part 2

Remember my original Luck of the Irish post? (Luck of the Irish)  Well, I can only assume that I stole all the luck from that poor Irishman, because here's my latest lucky break.  My friend Bronx Girl and her boyfriend were due to go to Marrakech for a week so that he could renew his French visa outside of Europe, but he got called away to Los Angeles for work instead.  So Bronx Girl asked if I'd like to come and stay at the hotel in Marrakech with her for free.  Ummmm, let me think about that for a sec.... YES!!!!  So all I had to come up with was the flights and spending money for while I am there - none of which I can actually afford, but Miss K has a pretty firm travel philosophy, which goes something like this: if someone offers you a free place to stay in a place you've always wanted to go to, just freakin' GO and worry about paying the nice people at Amex later.  Seriously.  Will I have a couple of months of living on ramen noodles and air in order to pay for this?  Sure, but it will be worth it.

Off to airport now, will report in tomorrow from Marrakech - the heat is going to be 40+C, so I think I can guarantee I will be blogging in the afternoons from the air-conditioned comfort of our riad after morning sightseeing.