essaouira

Mogador, Medina at the ocean.

After the workshop my husband Henk arrived in Marrakech. I asked the taxi driver to bring him to Gueliz, where I surprised him with a welcome dinner at restaurant +61.

The next morning we took the bus to spend some days together in Essaouira.

After a few hours we arrived at our hotel near Essaouira, totally different moroccan vibes overhere...

For Henk it was the first time in Essaouira and I loved to show him all my favorite parts of the medina.

We were lucky, because it was exceptionally quiet in the city so we could enjoy the authentic atmosphere of the medina at the ocean. It was misty, but hardly no wind. We walked for hours through the charming narrow streets.

We visited Galerie Elizir, once was a restaurant, nowadays it's vintage heaven! Four floors stuffed with an incredible amount of unique pieces. Furniture, art, lamps, posters, a museum of a collector with exceptional taste.

We had drinks and dinner on the roof terrace at Megaloft that night. Surrounded by misty clouds, seagulls, stylish waiters, colorful vintage furniture, cool music and the sounds of the city below.

Day One in Mogador was magical and relaxed. We took the typical Essaouira-blue Mercedes taxi, we drove to our hotel a few kilometers outside the city.

ouirgane amongst the olive trees

Right after i landed in Marrakech in the morning, I stored most of my luggage at hotel Chambres d'Amis. Together with my friend Ank, we traveled to the atlas mountains in her old baby blue Renault 4 the same morning.

We went to the mountains to prepare the Marvelous Marrakech workshops in peace and moreover to escape the heat wave in Marrakech and to spend a few laid back days together.

After a short stopover at the river we traveled on to our final destination Ouirgane. It's a peaceful Berber village situated in the High Atlas mountains in the heart of the Toubkal National Park at about 1,000 metres above sea level. The Oued Nfis River flows through the valley of the commune. The village itself lies on the eastern bank of the reservoir and barrage which dams the Oued Nfis river. The village is set amongst olive trees.

I can't think of a better place to start a new moroccan adventure.

apples

Saturday morning mini polder tour on the first day of autumn.

A perfect late summer day.

We had a coffee on the terrace at Fluitekruid, (Dutch for cow parsley) in the countryside and bought apples at Izak's orchard.

Throughout the harvest season, we always buy our apples in the wooden barn close to our home #shoplocal and some of you might recognize the wooden barn from 'woodwoolstool shoots' in the past...



March 2010 - a pile of woodwoolstools between my good old 2CV and the chickens

l'ete indien

Back home in Dordrecht after 18 amazing days in Marrakech.

I will soon report on the two workshops and the wonderful time we've had in and around Marrakech and took lots of pictures that I want to share with you.

Because of the indian summer overhere, it's easy to get acclimated in the 'medina of Dordrecht'.