candy cane crochet

Candy cane crochet in the backyard.

I'm working on a diagonal stripes variant of the chevron pillow pattern with pastel pink and neon orange yarn from Marrakech.

And with the unexpectedly nice weather, it was great to crochet and read in the garden.

Inspired by the trip to Tanger I am reading Paul Bowles' novel The Sheltering Sky. Bertolucci's movie with Debra Winger and John Malkovich i've seen years ago.

The book is always better... this theory is probably only true if you read the book first.

picnic

Picnic in the meadow.

rock the kasbah

The Kasbah dominates the entire bay of Tangier and remains a completely magical and authentic place, whose alleys have seduced Matisse, Paul Bowles, the Stones... and us.

The change of scenery is entire and the history of this cosmopolitan city mesmerizes at every corner.

dar nour & le salon bleu

DAR NOUR

House of Light, in arabic Dar Nour, our bright & blissful guesthouse during our stay in Tanger.

Close to the el­e­ments, the house breathes in harmo­ny with the sea and the wind. It is built from nat­ural ma­te­rials with whitewashed walls, wool car­pets and cedar wood windows.
No two rooms in the guesthouse are the same. They all have their own atmosphere, colour and unique (vintage) furniture. Our mini suite had a natural mix of styles, so that we had the feeling that we were staying in someone’s house. Original, historical materials have been used everywhere in the building. The guesthouse is stylishly furnished by owner and architect Philippe and we felt at home immediately.

Dar Nour is perched high up on 11th centu­ry ram­parts, not far from the palace. The roof terrace pro­vides stunning panoramic views over the Bay of Tang­i­er and the old Me­dina. A perfect place to enjoy breakfast in the morning or a pre-dinner drink in the evening. Be­ing both in the heart of the Kasbah and facing the Med­iterranean, Dar Nour is a magical place in Tanger and has retained the spirit of a tra­ditional Moroccan sea­side building, with sub­tle touches in its fur­ni­ture and decor reflecting the cosmopoli­tan history.

LE SALON BLEU

A small sea­side house, transformed into a tea­room and restaurant on the Place de la Kasbah. Just a few steps away from Dar Nour.

Overlooking the kasbah and the views of the beach and Spain are spectacu­lar! When you visit the restaurant you will find out why they named it Le Sa­lon Bleu. Here too, you will find many original and authentic objects in the interior. We visited the place a few times, at all hours of the day. Morning coffee on the roof terrace (via a small spiral staircase), lunch in the blue salon on the first floor, with a 'spools of thread wall' and dinner on the terrace below overlooking the Sultanate Palace.

TANGIER was surprising! Both Dar Nour and Salon Bleu made our trip even more special. Above all it was very nice to discover an entire different part of Morocco.

So very different from Marrakech and at the same time it felt so familiar. I enjoyed the beauty of Morocco, the overwhelming colors, the hospitality and daily life in the kasbah and medina in the same way! The light is different in Morocco. Oh how I love that light!

(and I'm already looking forward to return to Marrakech in October)