Marrakesh: and a tale of meetings, departures and Peacock Pavilions

Being the tiniest of tiny hoteliers in Marrakesh is a special business. I always wanted Peacock Pavilions to be the kind of place where people would think back to when they stayed with us and it would evoke a feeling of something that was, well, warm and good, like a friend's exotic home, with stylish rooms and happy food.  That years later they would start off occasional sentences with..........You remember when we were at Peacock Pavilions and.......  That their time here in the olive grove would be imprinted somehow, tangible...like one of those little stars in that silken pouch. Like something you could touch, feel and remember.  

 

Every single day is a work in progress at Peacock Pavilions.  Neither architect husband Chris nor I have any background in this business but we try to make up for it with care, attention and quirky detail. It's hard to explain what it feels like when I learn of people's experiences staying with us. When I see their pictures and I read their words, it wells up in me, like a shy kind of pleasure.  

 

The images of Peacock Pavilions above are by photographer Amanda Gilligan of this lovely blog.  Amanda recently co-led with Susannah Conway and the bejeweled Jen Altman a photography retreat at our place.  They have a forthcoming Polaroid book, called Instant Love.  I so loved reading Jen's post  (with a Moroccan recipe!) about Morocco and Peacock Pavilions on her blog. And I was more than touched to read retreat participant Helen's memories of Peacock Pavilions on her blog.  So so sweet.  And do see this Moroccan recipe that the beauteous Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks fame came up with. Easy and delicious!

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PS I was interviewed in Indigare:-)  If you feel like it, take a hop over and see!

PPS Check out this Huffington Post Marrakesh style round up (Merci Huffington Post!) :-) 

PPPS Along with my very favorite Moroccan chef who has this amazing cookbook out,  I recently wrapped a Moroccan entertainment feature for Food & Wine Magazine.  It'll be on the magazine stands down the road.  Many thanks to their whole crew, including the adorable writer Gisela Williams, incredible photographer Lisa Linder, and talented stylist Susie Theodorou.  

PPPPS  Gorgeous new stock of Moroccan wedding blankets and Moroccan Beni Ouarain carpets in Red Thread Souk.  Take a look here and grab them while they're hot!

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Marrakesh: and a tale of rescue?

I was a different person before I moved to Marrakesh.  Not a worse person or a better person, but a different person.  I was passionate about my job in a way that took over my days and nights.  There were presentations and papers and briefings and receptions and working dinners.  Day after day, seven days a week.  In between and sometimes all the time, there was travel, one country after another -- there the days repeated themselves but in different locations.  

Before Marrakesh, I surrounded myself with people who were just like me.  We would speak intensely about global issues and our international development work.  We leaned forward a lot, and we talked with our hands a lot.  Our conversations moved from  conference rooms to diplomatic homes to airport waiting rooms to small villages.  I liked it that way and that's the way it was.

And then I moved to Marrakesh and I changed.  

I still loved my job. I still worried about injustice and rights and tyranny.  But other things crept in along the edges.  It was like a warm filtered light.  It was like a starry sky despite the rain.  

In Marrakesh I spent time with people who were nothing like me.  Like writers and artists and photographers.  Like people who made films and people who made rugs and people who made dresses.  And I found....I found I liked it.  I also found myself becoming more like them.  I stopped dreaming about my work, night after night.  I started dreaming about everything else, even during the day.

It was Marrakesh, yes it was Marrakesh.  It was something about Marrakesh.

{Perhaps this is a tale of rescue.  Or perhaps this is a tale of loss.  In any case, it's a tale of new beginnings.  Maybe yours is right around the corner.}  

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Morocco: and a tale of Moroccan lanterns

It's been years.  But I still succumb to their beauty.  every. single. time. 

Moroccan lanterns.

 

Made with the tiniest saw blades, with the most careful chisels, with the most precise hammers.  Made by master craftsmen with the most patient hands.  

 

These are no ordinary lights.  Oh no.  This is ambiance hanging from a chain -- the streams of light, tattooing the walls, the ceiling, the floor. 

So you can buy those Ikea lights, those plastic globes, those prefab sconces.  Or you can buy.... Moroccan magic.

 

I side with magic every time.

 

PS There is a Moroccan shopping resource section in my book.  So you can have some Moroccan magic of your very own.

Marrakech: and a tale of Valentine's Day in the Peacock Pavilions dining tent

Ah Lovelies, it's Valentine's Day. Could there be a better reason  for making things pretty? I think not.

I set our table in the Peacock Pavilions dining tent, in honor of the special occasion, with objects culled from around the house.  

A vintage sculpture study in porcelain.

Faceted vases made from Moet & Chandon containers. Branches from our own Moroccan olive grove. Porcelain leaves commissioned from Caroline Douglas.

Vintage German glove molds in porcelain.

Romantic antique Victorian porcelain figurines

Large vintage birds with long swishy tails and old Swedish Dirigold dessert spoons.

Happy Valentine's Day:-)  Here's hoping you're spending it  with someone you love.

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 PS The Instant Love photography retreat is at our place and I set this table just for them!  If you're a fan of Polaroid photography, their book is a must!