Just finished watching Midnight in Paris in our cute apartment literally down the street from the Sacre Couer.  We got in from Morocco at about 6pm and hit up a few stores for some groceries since everything will be closed tomorrow.  We munched on butter cookies and raspberries as we drank our champagne. A birthday treat or just because?  Both work for me.

I am a little emotional/angsty/ frustrated today.  PMS or receiver of unhappy news, I don’t know. Probably both.  Sadly there is no way to escape these things in life and one can only face them head on.  Maybe tomorrow.  Tonight I will unpack, do some laundry and drink more champagne.

Sante!

After the hustle and bustle of Marrakech, we arrived in Essaouira in relief to find people here far more at ease and friendly. I woke up early this morning to seagulls.  Not like, “oh seagulls” but “those fucking seagulls!”.  The call to prayer started shortly after that and so I just stayed awake listening to the sounds of the city waking up.   We started out at about 8am, which was so great because the streets were still bare.  We took our time wandering through the Medina and then headed out to the port where the famous blue boats are.  It blows my mind to think that I was standing on the beach on the continent of Africa looking at the Atlantic ocean.  We then met up with our contact Hassan and he showed us a great place to have breakfast.  A large piece of bread and an omelet with tomatoes and olives paired with a coffee and orange juice. A perfect start to the day.  It cost us a total of 70 dirham for both of us to stuff our faces.  (that comes out to about $8.25 us dollars!!)  We met up with Hassan later had lunch with his family.  It was the biggest tangine of couscous I had ever seen.  No plates needed.  Everyone gets a spoon and digs in.   We did the rest of the shopping for the day and took in more of the city.   Both Liz and I both love Essaouira and pushed back our bus to Marrakech until late tomorrow to enjoy it as long as possible.

We met up with Havede in the evening for some Tea Royal and then we went shopping in the market for the ingredients for a tangine.  We literally picked up a fresh fish from the fish market and added it to the “pot”.  We ate dinner with our fingers and pieces of bread and of course had more tea.  Talking with Havede has been so insightful to the traditions and culture of Morocco.  So glad that we had the opportunity to connect in a real way to someone here.

Give and take.  What do you give when you take?

This morning we had our breakfast in the courtyard of the riad.  Scrambled eggs with onions.  Fresh bread and some sort of crepe/pancake/donut thing.  Fresh apricot jam, grapefruit syrup and goat butter. And homemade yogurt.  The coffee even tasted well without sugar.  Bajia had warmed our milk for the coffee as well.  I felt it helped to bring out the taste of cinnamon in the coffee.

It’s sunny today.  Such a relief after yesterday’s weather.  I was so cold on our our walk through the city I fell quickly to sleep when we back to the riad so my body could recouperate.

I bought a beautiful bag..  Although I don’t think I really needed one. Haha..  I managed to haggle and pay less than half of what he initially offered.   I’m better at haggling than I thought I would be.  Somehow I was able to separate myself from the bargaining and not make it personal.

Liz and I feasted again tonight on more deliciousness.
Tangine veal with onions cinnamon and raisens.  Blow my mind delicious!!  The first course was taboulah salad.  Mint tea and last was a honey crepe. So good!!
We saw monkeys and snake charmers in the square.  Along with everyone else that is trying to part your money with you.  You can only stand it for so long before your strength wains..  Then it is sensory overload.  Just to look at different restaurants it’s a ridiculous.

Loving my time with Liz..  She is delightful and a easy travel buddy.
We had a great night eating and chatting tonight at our riad.  Grateful for these moments in life.

Dinner was saffron lemon chicken tangine with all sorts of veggie first courses.  Also amazing.
The food is stuff yourself amazing.  I can’t get enough.

Morocco – intense. Motorcycles, bicycles, donkeys pulling carts. A lot of men. Older woman and children. All the women in between are …? Working? At home? I don’t know.
It is a feast for the eyes. Buildings, alley ways, colors. Tile work. Intricate. Hand carved, hand shaped. Gorgeous. Im in total culture shock. Everything twists and turns. Narrow walkways turn into bustling streets. Vendors call you princess and want to charge you like you are one.
Not to mention how much cat calling I’ve experienced. Gotta put my poker face on. Toughen up and not make eye contact. Ignore ignore. Ugh. Exhausting.
Couscous and mint tea. The best I’ve ever experienced.
People are upset if you try and take a photo. Must smile, give them money first and then ask if you can. Otherwise you get the finger, cursing and negative vibes. You otherwise need to be a ninja and click from the hip. It is hard to do and ends up with many a blurry image. Makes me want to work harder to know the people I am photographing. I’m sure they experience this everyday. Foreigners coming and in and taking their essence away to be share with the world but not them. I would want to be paid too. Not to mention how exhausting it might be. Photography can be a gift. It can heal the soul, inspire the mind and make the poor feel wealthy. Used improperly and it can do just the opposite.

First night here. Wandering through narrow walled streets with a few street lamps sharing their low light. Too many cats as our company as we follow our taxi driver through the labrynth to who knows where. Our riad is amazing and we have the place to ourselves.

Woke up to a delicious breakfast with the funkiest (yet delicious) “pancakes” I’ve eaten yet. Spicy coffee with a hint of cinnamon with warmed milk and some homemade yogurt. Our guide for the day arrived promptly and we discussed some options. He tells me no photos of people. Everything else is ok.

We walked through the village of Zouia. He showed us the local Hammam and Bakery. Walked through the narrow “road way” ie alley ways dodging motercycles, cyclists and yes, donkeys pulling carts. Our guide took us to the museums and the university. I’m so glad we opted to have him. He explained much of the detail to things that we would have otherwise missed out on just wandering about ourselves. From how the tiles are cut and layed all the way to how and why with the colors and patterns of the tiles. We parted ways with the guide after a bit and wandered back to the main square. The process for finding a place to eat for dinner turned out to be the most mentally taxing experience yet. The men here are so aggressive in their sales tactic that they will stand in front of you, grab your wrist and follow you telling you you need to eat at THEIR place. Seeing as there are about 30 different places next to each other in maybe a 100 sq foot radius it is intense to say the least. After sensory overload I differed to Liz to make the decision. Our meal was good. Not overly spectacular but also very cheap.

It was getting late at that point and we managed to find our way back to our riad through the labrynth at night and no street names.

Tomorrow is another day.

At Orly waiting to board the plane to Marrakesh. I get to officially add a stamp to my passport from the continent of Africa. ::glee::

There is a very chic older woman sitting across from me. She is wearing d&G sneakers with leather pants a t shirt with a herringbone wool blazer. She carries casual chic so well. Effortless, and understated. I would say she is in her late 50’s Fantastic.

and somehow another week has flown by.  I am beginning to feel the panic of my time here ending and going back “home”.  I already feel like I have a rhythm here.  Not to mention I have been working all week for this company and it completely consumed me in a way I didn’t really anticipate (both good and bad).  I have made so many connections.  I would have never thought possible.  I guess we’ll see where they go.  Today was lovely.  Shopping in Paris at the Galleries de Lafayette.  So so fantastic.  So many beautiful things. Some expensive some not.  From $$$$$ couture to $ sweaters.  I bought some sexy black boots after much research and deliberation. J’dore! They are perfect. :)

Paris is prepping for Christmas.  Lights are going up all over the city.  Tonight Liz and I did a power walk through the city.  We walked from our place, Arts et Metiers, down through La Marias to Rue Rivoli. We followed Rue Rivoli all the way to Le Louvre and then took it all the way up to Boulavard Montmarte and then back home again.  It took us about two hours.  The weather was warmer than yesterday – it was around 50 degrees out and it was lightly sprinkling the whole time.  It was a great way to see the city. Fast paced, no one out because of the rain, passing crowded cafes and those headed out to the next bar.  I am starting to know the streets well from all the running around I had been doing for this job.  I’m sure by the time I leave I’ll have it all memorized.  :)

HA..  you know you are having fun when you don’t have time to write.  C’est la vie.

Paris photos was great and I ended the day with a wine and cheese party with Brian and Betsy at their adorable Paris flat with a view of Saint Sulpice and a block from the Luxemburg Gardens.  I will be joining them for an Americans in Paris thanksgiving next week as well.  Sunday was a great lazy day.  It was rainy and cold.  I wandered over to Tuck Shop – a cute and brand new coffee shop owned by three young Australian girls.  They had a yummy brunch petite dejuener.  Its a cute modern/meets la boheme paris.  I love it and the fact that they are so new they only have one table.  Yay for young entrepenurs and choosing quality over anything else.  The coffee was delish. I will be back.

The rest of the day I spent wandering around and getting lost in the Marais.  I needed another sweater or two and I managed to resist purchasing the gorgeous $200 euro skirt.  I did pick up some great items. Unique pieces one can only find when in a city like this.

I ended the evening with doing some laundry and prepping my things to be moved to my next apartment.  I think my french men are going to miss me. haha.. I will be back!

Paris photo.  Amazing.  So much photography.  Famous..  Weird..  Abstract.  I love art.  It challenges our notion of what is real.  What is normal.  What is.

The days just blend together.

Friday I worked most of the day.

I piled my hair on top of my head all classy like and donned my tweed skirt.  I joined my italian/dutch photog friend at a gallery show at the dutch embassy.  I had my photo taken by a famous dutch photographer.  I drank champagne with photogs from all over the world.  Afterwards the frenchi, the italian and the amercainne went into a brassarie and ordered tois soupe l’oignon.

I love how the french speak with “oh lalalaal”.  Different tones, inflections and this one word/phrase can used for anything.

I took the 72 bus to Pont des Arts and joined a bunch of Americans at a Scottish pub for some drinking.  I was not feeling the “lets get drunk” atmosphere so after meeting more awesome people I left.

I returned home to find my flat mate Raph was having a party with his sister and they insisted I join in the fun.  We went to a dance club not far from here and proceeded do just that.  I tapped out at 3:30am since I had the big photo expo the next day.  I found out they left the club at 5am. !!!!!  So crazy. hahahh….