Madrid

After an incredible journey through Morocco, we headed to Madrid where we were lucky enough to spend two glorious nights before returning home.

Remember when I talked about Magic hotels? Well, the Ritz in Madrid is one of those. It is not just a hotel.....it is an institution...a way of life.

When we checked in, upon giving them our names, the lovely man behind the desk said "Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Kite. Do you still live at this address?..and he handed us a card with our address printed on it. He then said, "It has been a while since we have seen you (1998 to be exact)...we hope you will enjoy your stay and not be strangers". Now that is a wonderful way to enter a hotel. The entire staff in this hotel is so well trained in service, it is just a pleasure in every aspect.

We had a glorious room overlooking the park and the Prado....and we couldn't wait to reacquaint ourselves with the city. It is just a glorious city....what can you say? The layout is spectacular and the architecture is gorgeous. We walked for about 5 hours...all thru the Prado,the Thyssen and the Reina Sophia art museums. So nice to visit "old friends" and see how they have weathered. They have done better than we have!!!!

We ate dinner the first night at the oldest recorded restaurant in the world (according to the Guinness Book of Records) called Botin...established in 1725. What fun! We met the great grandson of the original owner, and he and his father work there every night. We didn't have the baby pig (which they are famous for) but the chicken and the lamb which were wonderful! It was just kicky to be in this place. After dinner, we got a tour of the kitchen which had the original stone oven...and then went down to the lower level which had the original walls. I would highly recommend this delightful eatery.

The next day, we again took off for a 6 hour walk around the city, just wandering with no specific purpose. It was a beautiful spring day....a "good day to be alive"..and we reveled in the splendor of this majestic city.

That night we ate dinner in a new restaurant called Lua, with a pre-fixed menu that was a lot of fun. It was very gourmet...which we normally don't tend to like, but this was really nice.

And then, boom, our trip was over. We headed to the airport the next morning, and got back to LA without a hitch. Now for the hard part....re-entry. I am not complaining, I want you to know. It just gets harder and harder each time.

When I think about this trip, there are so many people who pop into my mind...Joel and Michael who made this happen for us, Souad and Mohammad who showed us their Morocco and made us understand so many things, Fabien, Mokhtar and Leesa who let us experience their incredible hotels, Soufiane and Mady who let us peek into their hotels and Marcelo and Begona who made sure our return to Madrid was memorable. Without them it wouldn't have been the same. I only hope the same could happen for you...and that you will enjoy the world as we have.

How lucky we are!!!

Marrakech

Some say we saved the best for last...Marrakech, the city of dreams. But, honestly, it will have to really be something to outdo what we have seen and experienced so far.

Marrakech is, like most of the big cities in Morocco, a blend of the old and the new. And it is now recognized as one of the world's GREAT cities. It has everything that a tourist would want... incredible history and historic sights, wonderful museums, great food, top designer clothes and an amazing combination of ethnicities. The Arab/Berber/Jewish/Muslim/French mixture produces beautiful people and interesting vignettes.

We checked into the legendary La Mamounia Hotel which recently reopened after extensive renovations. As I mentioned before, there are magic properties in the world, and then there are hotels. Mamounia is MAGIC. From the moment you enter, until you are seated with a glass of sweet milk and a best date I have ever eaten, you feel as if you were transported back in time...into another dimension. Winston Churchill lived at the Mamounia after retiring and spent many days painting...as was his passion.

Our room overlooked the gardens which have been in existence for hundreds of years. Amazing to think that this city was laid out in sections, and still is. The 12th century tiled minaret of the Koutoubia mosque is the landmark in the city. From there, you can wander around to the Medersa (religious university), the museums and the incredible Djemaa el Fnaa...the square in the middle of the city that is the most famous in Africa. It is quite calm during the day, but by evening, food stalls are erected, storytellers, snake charmers and various other street people come out to entertain the passersby. It has been designated a World Heritage Space and whenever you see a picture of people watching cobras, it is in this square. Needless to say, we cut them a wide berth.

The souk in Marrakech is amazing. Unlike the one in Fes, which is all enclosed, this one is open. And if you are not careful, you can get swallowed up in its myriad of mazes and winding streets. As in Fes, each trade has its own place, and even if there are 20 people selling what appears to be the same thing.....there are differences. We watched a young man making handmade soccer balls. He learned the trade from his father, and charges a couple hundred US dollars for one. It takes him 4 days to complete the ball.

There are other areas in Morocco to shop other than the souks. There is a French area called Gueliz and a newer industrial area where a lot of the manufacturers put their items into art galleries. Marrakech is indeed an amazing blend of old and new...you sense the caravans moving through as well as the jet planes.

One of Marrakech's favorites sons was Yves St. Laurent. He lived in the Majorelle Gardens ( the original home of painter Jacques Majorelle) and his final resting place is there. His gardens are open to the public, but not his house. Many of his famous designs come from old Moroccan sketches, and his caftans went for thousands of dollars.

We spent 4 lovely days and nights in Marrakech and were never lacking in something to do or see. It is a tourist's dream...and I would heartily recommend you not running in and out. That you can save for Casablanca. But, before going there, we left Marrakech and drove to the seaside village of Essaouira. What a lovely place. We watched the fish catches coming in from huge boats and then went to one of the stands by the port and pigged out on fish and seafood for lunch. It was beyond amazing. You just pointed and they cooked it right in front of you. We must have had 15 items all of which were delicious. For you movie lovers, Orson Welles' "Othello" was filmed here in the maze of alleys and fascinating little streets lined with wonderful stores. Out of Central Casting, and Locations-R-Us!!! We would have enjoyed 3 nights here...but our two weeks was rapidly coming to an end.

The next day we drove 4 hours to Casablanca, had a lovely dinner at Rick's Cafe (saw the piano, the crap table and the movie playing...almost like "Night of the Iguana" in Puerto Vallarta...).but no Rick. It was fun just to get the t-shirt. Casablanca itself is not much of a romantic city. Most people just use it as an "in-and-out". It has no charm like Fes or Marrakech...but the seaside helps as does the gorgeous homes in the wealthy areas. If you are limited in time, as most of us are, this city is a "quickie".

Well, there you have it. I am in love with Morocco. The people, the sights, the sensuality of the cities, the music, the food, the history. It is truly a step back into time, with nomads walking through the souks along with tourists from Japan. It is a contradiction between the old and new.....tagine restaurants next to a McDonald's. And let's not forget the ubiquitous Starbucks.
But please... bump this destination up on your bucket list. It is rapidly changing and you should experience this wonderful country before it becomes so Europeanly modern that all vestiges of what it is now disappears. Dick already felt that it wasn't quite the Morocco he had envisioned...that it was too modern. I felt that it still has a way to go before things changed too drastically. Please try to enjoy it soon.

Sahara Desert

On May 15, we left Fes for a 9 hour drive to the Sahara desert...with stops along the way. We drove south thru the Middle Atlas Mountains, following the Ziz river valley until it ends at the Tafilet oasis at the edge of the Sahara. The oasis was the last stop on the trans-Saharian trading route before arriving in Timbuktu (where my mother always threatened to send me when I didn't behave). The city is called Erfoud, and we stayed at a wonderful hotel called the Xaluca Maadid. We had a delightful swim, ate a lovely dinner, and got ready for our morning ride on the dunes!

The dunes of Erg Chebbi are the largest in the Sahara...the ones you always see in pictures. We got to the base at 5:30 AM where our camels were waiting. Actually, they were dromedaries since they only had one hump (as my grandson informed me). We rode to the top of a very large dune, about a 25-minute ride, and waited for the sunrise. It was awesome...and I don't say that lightly. You can only imagine what it must have been like to travel the desert in a caravan. From where we were, it would have taken 54 days to get to Timbuktu on our trusted steed....with no foul-ups.

Just one word about camels (dromedaries). They didn't smell and they didn't spit....but it was a bit scary because it was dark and we couldn't see. The camel gets up by rocking back and forth and you feel you could fall off. You must remember to lean back, because if you lean forward, he will go down again. All of this aside, it was AMAZING!!!...a definite "E" ride. We got back on board and rode to the tented camps so we could see what we missed by staying at a hotel and not in the desert in a tent. Dick was glad about our decision. I would have camped outside, but life is all about compromises....and at least I got him on the camel.

We went back to or hotel, showered, packed and headed to the Skoura Oasis. We were picked up in a 4x4 and taken to a 19th century kasbah that has been renovated in a great blend of Morocco and Italian. Dick and I have stayed in many wonderful places in our lives...but Dar Ahlam (House of Dreams) has to rate in the top 5. It is AMAZING.

Our host, Fabien Guilluy, met us with the greeting "Welcome to my kasbah"!!! He showed us to the garden and explained that there are no set hours or places to have any of our meals. We could eat whenever and wherever we wanted! He showed us the Hammam (the Moroccan steam room) where we made an appointment to get a body scrub and massage.

Then we unpacked and realized we had no key to our room. We were informed that there were no keys but we not to worry about leaving our room unlocked. When in Rome.....we headed to dinner. They had selected a room inside, and when I asked if we could sit outside, within 2 minutes a new table was laid outside overlooking the pool. It was a glorious evening. Later that night, when I dreamt of the dunes, the camels, the sunrise, and days gone by.....I also dreamt of Dar Ahlam. The best part was that we had another wonderful day to spend here.

Our local guide picked us up in the morning and took us to the old Jewish Cemetery. There are no Jews presently living in Skoura, but there were at one time. They even built a new synagogue that will open June 17th to have festivities for Jews from Casablanca, Marrakesh and Essouria. This new place was built with money from Moroccan Jews who left for Israel and wanted a place when they come back.

Our guide took us for a long walk in the Palmarie and showed us how the people lived . There are over 150 kasbahs in the oasis, and many different tribes. We went to the Monday Market and tried to buy some chickens and a goat....but it started to rain, so we had to run for the car. Oh, well, I got close.

Five musicians entertained us during cocktails, and either the music will drive me mad....or I will learn to love it. The jury is still out on that one. Dinner was in a private dining room lit with at least 50 candles. They put us inside because rain was threatening, but opened all of the doors. It was fantastic. Just like Disneyland. I had mentioned to Fabien in the morning that the chocolate Pastilla in the cookbook looked wonderful.....and guess what we had for dessert? Can I say anymore about the luxuriousness of Dar Ahlam? I would not consider any trip to Morocco complete unless I could stay here again.

We left, sadly, the next morning and started our long trek. We stopped at Ouarzazate, a former outpost of the French Foreign Legion. Ouarzazate was the setting for dozens of movies, from Gladiator to Lawrence of Arabia. The kasbah there is the cover shot for a lot of films, and it was fun to see. Atlas Studios is based there. We headed thru the High Atlas Mountains this day and drove hairpin roads thru the passes. It was a spectacular drive, albeit long. Then we arrived at the Kasbah Tamandot, Richard Branson's retreat in the High Atlas.

It is a shame that we back-to-backed these two wonderful properties, because Tamandot had to pale by comparison. Whereas everything at Dar Ahlam is included in the price, it is not at Tamandot. And it is very expensive here.....and I mean VERY. Dinner, and you are a captive audience, ran about $100 a person, and that was fairly bare bones. $14 for a martini, too.

The rooms were lovely, but there were notes on everything telling you that you could purchase the beach bag/the robe/the laundry bags in the gift shop. In other words, DO NOT TAKE THESE!!!. The hammam cost $120 and the other spa treatments were about the same. They had a cocktail party every night in a different spot, but informed you that the drinks would be charged to your room (so you didn't think that the hotel was paying for your drinks).

The GM was lovely and very hospitable. She made it a point of greeting everyone and making sure they were happy. But when I told her that I had bought a tagine (Moroccan cooking pot) and wanted a lesson in how to use it...she said that the chef was gone, and no one else spoke English....so she couldn't do it. I guess she could have had a translator...but she said "Sorry".

They have all Berber help at Tamandot, and they are lovely. There is also a Berber store called "Unite", and all the proceeds go to the villagers.

Did I mention that there are 6 tented suites that sit outside overlooking the oasis and they are fabulous? They are building 6 more, so I guess the people like them. Had we been in Marrakech and just came here for 2 nights, it might have been a better experience. But timing is everything, and we didn't enjoy this as much as Dar Ahlam.

Onto Marrakech.....and we are winding down.

Morocco

When you hear the word “Morocco”,it conjures up so many things….all of them magical, mystical and spiritual. Well, we were lucky enough to experience a great deal of Morocco this spring, and I want to share it with you in separate pieces. Too much to digest in one sitting.

Dick and I left the States and arrived in Spain to be faced with the problem of ash from a volcano in Iceland with a name that no one can pronounce. Landing at the Madrid Airport was like walking into a hailstorm…or worse, the Tower of Babel. Everyone was shouting in a different language, and no one knew what was happening…..except a lot of airports coming and going were closing….or closed.

After 3 hours and various lines, we finally found out that Casablanca was indeed closed, so he headed to an airport 4-star hotel (that , my friends, is an oxymoron), had a couple of drinks and a Spanish hamburger, took a long hot shower and collapsed. Thank goodness I heeded my own advice, and had put a change of underwear and clothes in our carry-ons for both of us. Our luggage was still at the airport, so thank goodness we could start out fresh the next day.

Got up the next morning and went back to the airport. It was business as usual, thank goodness, and we proceeded on to Casablanca. We lost a day of our trip, but we made it up on the end.

Our guide and driver met us, we loaded the van, and headed off to our first stop.....Fes.

Fes is a medieval city that goes back 6 centuries. and has been named as a World Heritage site. There are a lot in Morocco I found out. That is what makes this country so spectacular! It is amazing with its cobbled streets, minarets and mosques. It looks just like you want Morocco to look. The monuments are so impressive, you walk around with your mouths open just gawking. We stayed at the Palais Jamal and had a room with a view of the medina (old city). I never tired of that view....and it was the first of many to come.

Let me digress a bit here, and just say that Morocco sits on the extreme Northwest corner of Africa, bordering on the Mediteranean and the Atlantic Ocean. It was inhabited at the very beginning by nomads and herders called Berbers. When the Arabs came, they intermarried, and the people took the Arabic language (cause it was easier) and everyone got along. Then the Inquisition started in Spain, and the Jews fled to Morocco. They were also absorbed, and everyone got along. The next wave of immigration was the Muslim community...and they, too, blended into the Moroccan community. So it is a wonderful combination of peoples. And then the French arrived in the 30's and once again, people were blended into this amazing society of people....all getting along. This combination leads to a very safe, peaceful environment that we felt all over Morocco. Now, back to our narrative.

We had dinner at the Palais Jamai Moroccan restaurant and it was fabulous. Moroccan food is wonderful. Very sensual in its smells and tastes. And you quickly get used to eating with your hands. Forks are only for the tricky things!!!

The next morning we toured the city and wound up in the souk, a name for their marketplace. The shops are amazing and each category has its own area. Tha tanneries are all in one place, the dyers are all in one area, the jewelers....you get the picture. Old houses have been turned into stores of all kinds. Donkeys laden with goods have the right of way, and they take no prisoners. Believe me, you move out of their way. What to look at first is the problem. Your brain cannot begin to colate the spices, babouches (slippers), hides, jewels, household goods.....it just goes on and on. And don't forget the carpets!!!

All over Fes are the most amazing edifices covered in tile...so we went to the manufacturing center to see how they were made. Still in the same way, which is amazing!!

We toured the old Jewish Quarter but there are only 6 families left in Fes. The cemetery was unreal, and still used today. The Muslim man who takes care of the cemetery said "we are all brothers"...and it was quite apparent that he meant it.

Ate a traditional Moroccan lunch in the souk. Had 15 plates for our salad, then a pastilla , then couscous with chicken, and then fruit for desert. They know how to eat here, and I will be in trouble, cause I like all of it!!

Spent the rest of the day seeing Fes...the new part as well as the old. Had an amazing dinner, even though we thought we would never eat again, and collapsed. Quite a day....and the rest were equally as full and exciting!!

The next day we went to the Roman ruins in Volubulis . So much better than Pompeii, as there are still rooms with tile floors intact! Spent about 2 hours climbing around, and it is kind of creepy stepping on stones you know millions of people before you have done. The Romans were in Morocco for about 500 years, until they were driven out. Ptolomy was the grandson of Caesar and Cleopatra, and he was appointed King when his father died. He himself was killed in battle by his Roman rival, Caligula. At that time, the Berbers drove the Romans out and left these ruins, which was the ancient province of Mauritania. (does anyone remember this from world history?)

We headed to Meknes for lunch. The ruler Moulay Ishmael was a direct descendant of the present king...Mohammad VI, but whereas Mohammad V and Hassan II and the present king were wonderful rulers, Moulay Ishmael was nuts. He loved killing, horses and women. Had over 12,000 Arabian horses each requiring two slaves to take care of them, He had 500 wives and over 800 kids. His favorite wife was black, like his slave mother, and she is buried with him.

We spent the night in a riad, which is a home built around an inside garden. There are usually 8 rooms on each floor, and they face the garden. No other views. All are like suites, and quite lovely. The riads have terraces with a great view, and some have swimming pools. It is a wonderful way to experience a home here. It is like New Orleans or old colonial Mexico. You have no idea what is behind these huge wooden doors. And once you open these doors, you see this gorgeous garden, and you feel the dirt of the day fade away.

Ate a lovely dinner in the riad, and got ready for our next day....heading to the desert!!!