it's nice to go travelling . . .

yes it is 'nice' 

I love travelling

but it is indeed nice to be home . . .

 wherever that may be  - which is something of a family debate right with no obvious or conclusive answer

I guess time will tell, and for now our home is simply where we find ourselves together

x

le salon bleu

Just to prove that do I actually drink tea, sometimes even in Tangiers . . .   and that the title for this blog is not simply a result of my linguistic obsession for alliteration!

This morning you could have stumbled across me at le salon bleu, a tea lounge overlooking the kasbah where I went to escape the midday sun while sedately sipping some mint tea! 

I had had my fill of the sights and sounds of the grande socco - the main square of Tangiers that leads into the medina and surrounding shops and souks - and having spent the morning negotiating fabrics & colours, sizes & threads . . . I needed that mint tea!

And le salon bleu was the perfect place to retreat to - so put it on your list if you find yourself with time to spare in the kasbah of Tangiers!
Good tea, good decor, good location - what more does a girl need?

It is connected to the hotel Dar Nour, a place which I haven't stayed at yet (they where fully booked ) but it is definitely on my list for next time!

as promised . . .

 . . . in the previous post.

I am busy writing those postcards - there is still time to have one wing its way to you,

just let me know who & where!!

oh, and a {public} note to self  : I WILL be enrolling in those french classes when I get home!

postcards from the edge . . . of africa

lets talk about post of the old fashioned, handwritten, non-virtual variety . . . 

not about 'posting' on a blog or on facebook

 but a good old fashioned pen and stamp item that gets hand delivered days {& sometimes weeks} later, right to your door or postbox!

I am on my way to Tangiers and Assilah later this week for a little research and relaxation time, 

and I thought how lovely it would be, to sit sipping my coffee, or {as the blog title would have it } a glass of mint tea,

 possibly even at Cafe Hafa
looking across the ocean to Europe from the tip of Africa 

while penning a postcard or two

to you . . .

                                                                                                                  image via dar malak

So this is my idea . . .

 you send me your postal address - below on comments, via private message facebook, or to the email listed on my contact page 

 and i will write (just a quick hello, how are you, wish you where here) and post you a postcard from Tangiers, Assilah, or somewhere inbetween

Please do it -  make my day!

and just think, a new stamp to add to your collection!

whitewashed

Every year the small port of Assilah plays host to a cultural festival, the most striking aspect of which {for me} is the painting of the medina walls. Their whitewashed surfaces provide a year long canvas to works  created by visiting artists. The week before the festival, as you walk through the medina in the mornings - en route to your morning cafe au lait perhaps? - you can follow the transformation from blank canvas to colourful completion . . .

 

and then they are whitewashed off again to clear the canvas for the next years artists

and the walls are filled with colour for yet another year

image by Mário Tomé  via AsilahInfo.com