Marrakech: and a tale of a cocktail party

It had all the elements, you see.  

It was a cocktail party at the Marrakech home of an antiquities dealer...

and his wife, a very favorite jeweler of mine...

As you would expect, there were strange and special things, scattered here and there.

The guest list for this party was small but impressive.  There were Moroccan art dealers and retired financiers.  

There were also beautiful girls...

There was even nudity! (A little scandal always improves a party, don't you think?)

Thankfully the King of Morocco turned a blind eye.

The youngest guest was my own Skylar (wearing a combination of leopard, stripes and ikat).  And the newest guest was Michelle -- a brand new intern at Peacock Pavilions.

There were delicious things to drink and eat.

And the cake was heavenly....

So much so, that I could have sworn I was touched by an angel.....

PS How was your weekend? I want to hear.

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Where to dine in Marrakech: and a tale of How Jack is Back

In case you were wondering where the hipsters dined in Marrakech....

Well, it's here...

Where the pizza is gourmet (and so is the artichoke carpaccio).  And the wine never stops flowing....

Then of course, there's dessert....

After dinner drinks? They've got you covered at the bar....

It seems the writing's on the wall (and even the ceiling)...

Yes, 

Jack is Back
10 rue Oued el Makhazine
At the outer edges of Hivernage and Guéliz
Marrakech
+212 5 24 43 38 90

PS Would you consider voting for my photo, entitled The A+ Girls (showing young Moroccan girls holding wooden school boards).  It's a finalist in a photo competition. Voting ends on April 5 and I'm in second place! Could you? Would you? Might you? That would be so nice if you did.  You can vote daily right here. Thank you!

Mirleft: and a tale of a wave

I had pushed away the memories of saving him (or almost not saving him), and it had gone back to being my favorite beach.  I collected piles of shells, I followed seagull tracks, I gazed lazily at passing clouds.  It was, in short, perfect.

I was sitting in a beach chair, my head buried in a book and my toes dug in the sand, when I heard my daughter's shrill 11 year old voice.  A wave! she shouted.  I looked up and saw it -- the wave.  It engulfed the beach -- the whole beach -- suddenly.  And then just as quickly, it was gone.  It took with it our two ipods, my sandals, my daughter's skirt, our picnic.  The wave washed the beach smooth, leaving no traces.  No, no! cried my son.  No!  His many megabites of music, gone just like that.  My daughter sobbed, distraught.  I held her then, thinking of those who many miles away and several years before had seen a wave and lost everything -- including their homes and the people they loved.  

My husband's camera, now a cadaver, winked at me far down the beach.  

That night, I proposed dessert and a second bottle of wine.  I then tucked my daughter into bed -- her hair fanned out on the pillow beneath her.

Marrakech: and a tale of where to see photography in Marrakech

If I had any real money, I'd collect photography.  Preferably black and white, preferably film, preferably portraits.  In Marrakech, there's Gallerie 127, which is always showing something on the photographic front.  

Recently I was at a Marco Barbon polaroid exhibit opening (inspired, perhaps, by the lovely authors of this book who have held two polaroid retreats at Peacock Pavilions).

Nathalie Locatelli, the stylish gallery owner was there. (Nathalie's beautiful Moroccan courtyard house is in my book, Marrakesh by Design.)

And of course, photographer Marco Barbon, who had flown in from Italy. 

There was wine....

and there were treats (even pad thai eaten with handmade wooden forks)....

But mostly, there was Marco's photography of Morocco....

which was contemplated....

or even scrutinized....

The verdict?  A thumbs up....

Gallerie 127
127, Avenue Mohammed V
Guéliz - Marrakech
Tel :  +212 (0)524 43 26 67 - +212 (0) 661 33 99 53
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 3pm-7pm
{Marco Barbon exhibit showing until April 6}

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