Dar Malak {house of the angels}

been there

 I have learnt through hard - and and sometimes interesting - experience, that it is possible to make the most dire accommodation look charming and characterful on the internet.
Those pretty pictures neglect to mention that there is no plug in the bath and that you will have to roll up some underwear {yes, really . . . Palma} in order to wash, or that the hotels neighbours' son has recently acquired a set of drums {that wasn't so bad actually, he got more melodic each day}.

So . . . in an attempt to make your trip more pleasant I thought I would use these pages to pass on contacts and information about places I have visited and enjoyed staying in.

DAR MALAK

picture perfect view from the roof terrace

This is one of those places that the internet does do justice to, and our first trip to Assilah en famille was organised around this house. I saw this  view on the internet and I wanted to stay there,  read a little more about the town and location, and decided it was definitely a good option – and now this is the place we return to as often as we can!

I have stayed in this house alone, with my daughters, as well as with grandmothers and aunts in tow . . . it's lovely!

a royal wave from the roof terrace

If it is all about location –  then this is unquestionably the place for you. Sitting on the terrace you literally feel like you are floating out to sea – just writing about it makes me want to back there.

 It can be a little busy in mid summer as you overlook the krakia – a favourite spot for both locals and tourists to go for a little sunset promenade and people watching – but I also love that bit of bustle on your doorstep!

sunset on the krakia 

 In the evenings my daughters would dash out to the peanut and roasted seed vendor just outside the front door to get snacks for the cocktail hour and we would watch the sun set over the Atlantic while munching on almonds and pistachios. The only possible criticism is that it is a bit of a trek from the kitchen on the ground floor, to the terrace, but you make a plan . . . its worth it!

3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, plenty of living space downstairs plus the roof terrace

to book or read more about the house and Assilah go HERE

images: tea-in-tangiers & dar malak

                                            done that

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new beginnings & nineteen years

Today is the day . . . the day of my first tea-in -tangiers musings, and it is also the day, nineteen years ago, on a beach in Madagascar, that was our wedding day  - an auspicious date I decided, and one clearly suited to longevity and success.

If you want to read a little more about why Tangiers, flick across to here.
But for now, I am going to use this blog to share the sights & sounds, the people & places of the area and countryside around Tangiers, and Assilah in particular - and I might well fling in a few other ruminations and destinations that this life might lead to.

 I am planning to enjoy and discover a little more with each visit, until the visits hopefully get longer and turn into stays.
So join me to find good places to eat, calm places to escape to, busy places worth bargaining over, the hidden places and the open spaces of this little piece of the world right on the edge of Africa.
For this 'grand opening', I have decided to keep things short and sweet and start on a lyrical note. The music of french Moroccan artist Hindi Zahra is always on my playlist - and this song is one of my favourites because of the lyrics - imik simik - (meaning little by little in the Berber language of south western morocco) - which kind of encapsulates my journey to Tangiers.

             so, listen, enjoy 

and join me periodically on these pages

 for a little

 tea-in-tangiers  {please}

          or, as it is more likely,

        but less alliteratively, to be,

             a coffee or three.

Acoustic live by Hindi Zahra singing Imik Si Mik with her guitarist Thomas Naim, from her album called HANDMADE, released in January, 2010.

lyrics and translation from Tachelhit : 

imik si mik - Little by little

Afuss h'u fuss - Hand in hand

Wink d'winu ira n'ftu - Yours in mine, and we will go

Lih t'sfa tassa inu - When my faith is clear

Lih sfann iwalninu - When my eyes are clear

Lih toumzt afussinu - When you take my hand

Aghal awiyi dik - Just take me with you