Don't Diss the Quilting Gods

Step away from the machine...put the cutter down.  That's what the quilting gods were saying to me this weekend.  Yesterday was a bad quilting day.  I had the idea that I would make progress on my Mouthy Stitches reversible tote, which is due to be posted to my partner in a week's time. The quilting gods had other ideas.

I should have stopped when I went to pick up my ruler and hera marker to mark the quilting lines and picked up my ruler and rotary cutter.  Sadly I caught myself just in time and it was another painful hour or so before the tote front was mullered. I quilted it to death and then some.  Too much to unpick and so I'm back to Square 1.

To avoid a bad case of cabin fever, Zaki and I went to our old favourite today - The Majorelle Gardens.  I have blogged about this place many times but despite the fact that it gets busier every time we visit, it has the world's most expensive cafe and is in danger of losing some of its charm there is still some to be found.

The book shop has a beautiful painted ceiling but any attempt to capture it is squashed by the attendants at the gardens.  Why?  Here is a glimpse through the window.

Well I hope to have some significant progress to share soon!  Don't mess with the swap mamas either - they are in their own way a little like quilting gods.

Hope you have had a great weekend.

Nosey Parker in the Neighborhood - Marrakech

Today I`m linking up with Kat`s Nosey Parker in the Neighborhood so that I can give you a little taster of where I live - go on, make yourselves at home and have a good snoop around.

Question 1: About my home...

About 9 and a half years ago, we moved to Marrakech from London where I was a partner in a law firm.  A complete turn around culturally and professionally.  We came here to set up our business - a B&B in the old town.  Yes, I`m a B&B landlady! I live here with my husband Youssef and our son Zaki.

Marrakech is in the N.African country of Morocco.  It`s the second largest city in Morocco with a population of just over 1 million.  It has an old walled city (the medina) and a new one, which was established by the French protectorate.  Marrakech has mild winters and very hot summers with no rain for 4 or 5 months and has an average of 10 hours of sunshine every day. Like Kat, we do a happy dance when it rains and take photos.

The view from our old house

Marrakech depends on tourism and every year almost 10 million visitors come here often staying in traditional houses (riads).  The place on everyone`s list to visit is the main square where you can see snake charmers, magicians, soothsayers and monkeys.

Question 2: What are the houses like in my area...

We live in a residential area in the city centre and here`s a photo of our street.  The Moroccans call these houses `villas` although they are not what I would call a villa as they are not free-standing. They are typically 3 or 4 floors high with a basement and maids` quarters (garconnier) at the top of the house. Our house is to the far left of the image - you can just see our front gate.  Opposite our house you can see the local corner shop (where the red `Coka` crates are) `hanout` where you can buy pretty much everything apart from fresh meat and vegetables.

Our house is on a corner. Here`s the neighbouring street at night.

In the old walled town, the streets are a tangle of traditional courtyard houses.  The houses look deceptively ordinary from the outside but once inside the rooms face onto a courtyard garden.

Question 3: Some of my favourite places...

One of my favourite places to visit is the Majorelle Gardens.  Until recently, we lived just around the corner from it and it was a great place to take my son as it`s fairly small and he can run around.  It`s a botanical garden owned until his death by Yves Saint Laurent.  The green plants work beautifully against the cobalt blue pots and tiles.

A wander round the souqs can be fun too although it gets busy at peak times and the vendors can get hassly.  They also speak good English now and were taught naughty expressions by that cheeky Jamie Oliver when he visited a year or so ago and I don`t appreciate the call of `fish and chips` as I pass by!

 

If I want to escape the city for a day then one of my favourite places to visit is the old Portuguese coastal town of Essaouira, put on the map by Jimmi Hendrix and now famous for its Gnaoua festival and surfing.

...or a trip up into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains where there are blue skies, verdant hills and red earth.  One of my favourite places to stop for a drink is Richard Branson`s Kasbah Tamadot where the views from the terrace are truly stunning.

Zaki and me October 2010

Question 4: How do most people travel around the city?

Don`t get me started on transport in this city so I`ll keep it brief. Marrakech has a pollution problem.  The main form of transport is a mix of scooters, cars and petit taxis, which are plentiful and cheap.  I drive here every day and it puts me in a bad bad mood.  No exception.  On a 10 minute car journey, I find I have an average of 4 -5 near misses. Trust me - I`ve counted and I consider myself a pretty good driver who drives defensively.  A more leisurely way to travel around the city is by caleche (horse carriage).

Questions 5: Is there a type of food Marrakech is famous for?

Yes, like the rest of Morocco it`s the tagine but there is a speciality common to the area and that`s the tangia. It`s always cooked by men.  In a pot, a mixture of meat, spices, preserved lemon and garlic is placed before the pot is sealed and left to cook in the ashes of the local bakery fire. Bakeries are usually next to the local hammam as the fire heats the water for that as well!

Hope you enjoyed your nose around.  Head over to Kat`s and have a snoop around other people`s neighbourhoods!

Marrakech Monday - The Majorelle Gardens

After a few days of much needed rain the sun returned briefly yesterday morning.  Z and I took advantage of the good weather and visited one of my favourite places, Le Jardin Majorelle, which fortunately is just a couple of streets from where we live. These stunning botanical gardens where cobalt blue provides a stunning backdrop were designed by French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s. Until his death in 2008, it belonged to Yves St.Laurent who bought the gardens in 1980 and made them a huge tourist attraction.

As you enter the gardens, a shimmering fountain greets you.

It turns out that Z and I had quite different ideas about the purpose of our visit.  I wanted to see this. An exhibition on Yves Saint Laurent at the garden`s museum.  It`s been on since last November and has only a few days left to run.

However, Z quickly announced that he in fact wanted to do this...

turtle spotting. Who got their wish?  Well Z of course. As it turns out, the exhibition was packed and not a place for a toddler.  I`ll try and return on my own later this week.

So we turtle spotted and enjoyed the gardens.

We saw beautiful reflections of the palm trees...

paid homage at the Yves Saint Laurent memorial where his ashes are scattered...

admired fun and lovely artwork..Yves Saint Laurent`s `LOVE` prints..

and some romantic graffiti on the bamboo plants.  Really Fred and Pauline you`re old enough to know better.

 One of us learned through experience that cacti are prickly.

We admired pretty blooms...

and not so pretty plants amidst immaculately raked gravel.

But after a time, it was just a bit too much for some...

so after some refreshments...

.. it was time to go home along Rue Yves St. Laurent.