Architect husband Chris and I were on Expat Radio (WTBQ 1110 AM in New York) today talking about Peacock Pavilions and the highs and lows of being expats, hotel-builders and olive farmers in Marrakech.
Very fun. Many thanks to sweet and funny Expat Radio host, Tai Aguirre for having us:)
Eeek! She had had a book published!
Oh my, that pseudo-Moroccan girl clearly was prone to exaggeration. She most definitely had not had a book published. But she had updated a guidebook on Marrakech: Thomas Cook City Spots, to be exact. She was told it was on the book stands on this very day. And she assumed that her name was in tiny letters somewhere inside.
In addition to oodles of phone and address confirmations, highlights of the guide book updating process included:
* Testing home made ice creams in ice cream parlors. Demanding second tastes just to make absolutely sure of quality. Putting only her most favorite in the guidebook.
* Loitering in gorgeous riad guesthouses, pretending to be a potential guest, meanwhile stealthily taking undercover notes
* Spending ridiculous sums of money while updating the shopping section. Rationalizing the purchase of approximately 63 pairs of Moroccan sequined leather slippers. Sigh.
* Sneakily slipping in a few of her own photos. (shhh....don't tell the publishers!)
* Observing whether the snake charmers on Jemma el-Fnaa square were truly able to charm the snakes or whether the snakes had a skeptical look in their eyes.
Needless to say, it was arduous, and it was harrowing, and the blogging girl barely made it out alive. But it was all for the good of her beloved new homeland. (Isn't this when the national anthem is supposed to start playing in the background?)
Oh my...the story that I did for Budget Travel is out! The April issue, starting on page 62....... eight pages of where to eat, shop, and play in Marrakech with amazing photos by Jason Lowe. There's even a full page portrait of this little olive farmer/blogger (wearing mascara since, it was a special occasion.....:-) )
I loved following in the footsteps of bloggers like Design Sponge and Chocolate and Zucchini for this Budget Travel series on bloggers giving tips on their cities. Special shouts of appreciation to super cool BT Editor Erik Torkells and extra friendly and *smart* Photo Editor Amy Lundeen. They were just fantastic to work with.
If you haven't checked it out already, Budget Travel also has a most excellent blog. Do read it right here.
I grew up on the National Geographic. I remember thumbing through the pages and saying to myself, Maryam, when you grow up, you will go here, and here, and here, my eleven-year old finger tapping pictures of places more amazing than anything I could ever imagine.
So it's a little thrill for me to see this blog mentioned in National Geographic Traveler this month. Oh, my Dad will be so proud. Take a peek right here. Written by Mary Beth LaRue, this Marrakech Destination Guide includes some good links to good stuff. The blog of my dear Marrakech friend, Elizabeth, is in there, too. How fun!
Thanks also to Erik Gauger for his out-of-nowhere mini-review of my blog right here. I think Notes From the Road must rate as one of the world's most beautiful travel sites. Erik's photos are stunning, like this one here and this one here . But my favorite are his moleskin journals. See what I mean here.
Speaking of cool people doing cool things, I have been working with designer Jennifer Hill on the Peacock Pavilions website (Coming soon!). I loved Jennifer's work and so I shamelessly propositioned her to help bring my vision of the PP site to life. Jennifer is coming to Marrakech in July and has already started working on what is undoubtedly going to be among the prettiest illustrated books on Morocco of all time. Read about it here on her adorable blog.
Image from my foyer: a table made of an old contraption you tie onto a camel on which I have placed small-scale models of mosques, churches, and stupas from places I have been. Roses from the garden in vintage Moroccan water tumblers purchased to hold flowers at Peacock Pavilions.
My Marrakesh is better than yours......Look, they made me say it - Budget Travel Magazine. You see, back in early October, the cool Editor of Budget Travel Magazine, Erik Torkells, asked me if I would participate in a series that they have called, My _____[city] is better than yours, where bloggers talk up the city they live in. The other bloggers who have participated in the series are Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini on Paris, Grace of Design Sponge on Brooklyn, and Daniel of Shanghai List on Shanghai. Ahem, so either Budget Travel is slumming it with me or my mother is paying them. (Thanks, Mom. You are the greatest!)
The feature is my 2,500 word love letter to the city of Marrakech: where to eat, play, and shop. It will be out in the March 2008 issue: eight pages, including four pages of pictures. Last Thursday, Budget Travel's super friendly Photo Editor, Amy Lundeen, flew accomplished photographer Jason Lowe and a photographer's assistant to Marrakech for a week to take photos for this spread, including a portrait of this little blogger/olive farmer. Color junkie that I am, I picked the Majorelle Garden for the portrait. Photos aside, it was a fun opportunity to stroll around among the cactus with blow dried hair :-)
Note: Budget Travel has a blog, too. Check it out here.
Take a peek at this great article in the New York Daily News about Marrakech's markets. It was written by Jim Farber with photos by the talented Judy Tillinger. Yay!
PS Thank you so much for all your kind words on our Peacock Pavilions guest house. I really hope it will be special and that I will be lucky enough to meet some of you *in real life* (What a concept.)
Psst.......Check out what New York Times journalist Seth Sherwood just sent me....... an article he wrote about Marrakech in today's New York Times Travel Section. Seth and I spent a couple hours together, as he was preparing his article. So cool:-) Read it right here. And do take a peek at the *amazing* slide show accompanying the article with beautiful photos taken by Ingrid Pullar right here.
A little taste of Marrakech in text and images.........
P.S. Speaking of travel stories, Michael at Traveling Stories Magazine wrote to tell me about a contest that they are sponsoring. Details are right here. So get to writing.....I can't wait to read your stories!
Photo by Maryam:-)
Hello, Hello, they said. We read your blog, we like your stuff. Can we come and pay you a visit?
Why yes, I said. It was the Associated Press Television News (APTN). It seems they wanted to do a 10-minute feature on this blog, My Marrakesh, and on Peacock Pavilions. Who would have thought?
And so they came, lovely Dana, the producer, and darling Ahmed, the cameraman/filmmaker.
Here we are on day 1. Since Peacock Pavilions is set in an olive grove, I thought I would dress up as a tree for the occasion. Oh dear, a wrinkly tree.
Dana and I sit on one of the rooftop terraces. She speaks about 47 languages fluently. ~Sigh, such an overachiever.
Ahmed is fantastic with children. Tristan has decided that he wants to be a a cameraman and a professional surfer when he grows up. With a serious expression on his elf face, he asked, Mommy, can I take one of those big cameras on a surfboard?
(And I saw one of the clips that Ahmed made on peace and war. It was amazing.)
On day 2, we are back at the rented ranch so that Dana and Ahmed can see where this little blogger blogs. Ummm....well, right here.
Did you say something, Dana? Oh yes, why did I start blogging? Have people learned more about Morocco because of my blog, My Marrakesh? Eeek, maybe. I hope so anyway.
Oh enough of that. Let's just look through books and magazines and have fun.
And so we did.
Can you believe that Dana and Ahmed want to go back to the olive grove at the crack of dawn and film that crazy architect husband of mine working?
After editing next week, Dana and Ahmed will be sending the feature out on the wire. Yikes! No idea which broadcasters will pick it up until after it's aired. If some how, some way, you happen to see the story, would you let me know?
Finalist in the category, Best Middle East or Africa Weblog
My blog is worth $229,203.24.
How much is your blog worth?
