An accidental visit to a modern art museum!

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I mentioned in the last post that I was really looking forward to visiting several museums while in Tangier. So I set off a couple of days ago, Google maps in hand, for a walk around the fortified medina to find the Kasbah museum.

The walls here are incredible. I know I said the ones in Avila were amazing, and they were, but these are stunning as they are so irregular, and have been repaired, extended and built upon in the following centuries since they were first built.

They are partly medieval, from the creation of the original medina, with gates dated from the 1200s to 1300s. They were enhanced by the Portuguese, who added lots of towers and guns, and also extended by Charles 2nd of England, when he briefly owned Tangier as part of Catherine of Braganza’s dowry.

They now have their own interpretation centre and access has been built for modern visitors to the steepest parts, which give great views over the port. There is also a small medieval palace built into one part, at the start of the Kasbah, which is where I was aiming for.

I especially like the way that the more modern houses incorporate the wall structure into them, having stairs, doors and windows through the original bricks.

Having found my location the museum was closed for lunch, which was not on the Google info, but I took the opportunity to go and have a wander around the Kasbah.

This area has been extensively restored and there is lots of work still going on in the middle of it. It must be a real challenge for everyone, trying to demolish and restore in these tight spaces. I have seen lots of carts used for delivery, and the builders are doing a brilliant job, it’s looking gorgeous .

I ended up having lunch at a very nice little café overlooking Kasbah square. I had only gone in for a cup of delicious mint tea, but when I saw the menu, with all the little kemmias, Moroccan versions of tapas, I ordered those as well.

It wasn’t until I was sat down that I noticed the wall behind me was full of spools of silk, which made the most gorgeous display. I had noticed a few weavers’ shops in the area so think this was a reference to their trade.

Back to the museum, and went straight into an exhibition of contemporary art so wasn’t sure that I was in the right place. It also didn’t look very much like a palace, but I thought it might have been stripped to be a gallery.

I have to confess I am not a fan of most modern art. I did have a good wander round, and there were a couple of interesting, and very thought provoking pieces relating to war and conflict in the region. There were no photos allowed so I can’t show you any of it.

However, I was quite relieved when the nice custodian pointed me in the right direction of the other half of the museum. The art side is based in a former prison, which although architecturally interesting, was not what I’d come for 😉 First thing I came across was some lovely old doors!

Peace and harmony restored in my little heart I was very happy to see some more amazing examples of Islamic art from the 12th and 14th centuries when the Sultan’s Palace was originally built. There is a small exhibition of archaeological finds as well.

The central courtyard of the palace was especially stunning, of course very like the Alhambra and the Real Alcazar in Seville,on a smaller scale. They all date from the same periods, and the Spanish palaces would have probably been built by craftsman who came from here.

I had a happy wander back to the hotel, collecting a few more door photos on the way 😉

I leave Tangier tomorrow, which I will be very sad about as it is a wonderful place. It is such an elegant and beautiful city. The location is so gorgeous, as you will see in the next post when I show you more of the stunning views here. However I am off to Fes, cultural capital of Morocco, so I’m sure I will find things to keep me happy there!

I will be back as soon as I can, looking forward to seeing you all then. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

A sense of history

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This is my third day in Tangiers, and it is very different to Casablanca. I am staying in the heart of the medina, which is very Spanish inspired, all around me are yellow and white buildings. However the medina itself looks very similar to others in terms of its gates, walls, and lots of little shops with wooden porches.

I am going on another wander later today so will take more pictures of the walls for you. It was a bit mizzly and grey yesterday so I have not done much scenic photography yet.

I actually partly chose where to stay, the Hotel Fuentes, as they had these photos on their description. The Petit Socco which is the little square where my hotel is hasn’t changed much since the 1920s when these pictures were taken. They have a café downstairs which looks like it could have made a fabulous ballroom.

As you can see the hotel has hardly changed at all, and I enjoyed my breakfast on the terrace yesterday people and cat watching.

There are far more tourist shops now though, but the medina is still lovely. There has been a lot of restoration, and there are gorgeous cafes and restaurants, and lots of jewellery shops, among other souvenirs. I am trying to be really good and remind myself that I have at least six Moroccan candle holders at home, but it is very difficult!

This is the place, Restaurant Al Maimouni, just inside the medina walls, that I ate in on the first evening, which I may just have chosen for its beautiful tiles. Look at that gorgeous cutlery as well! The tapas was a delicious olives and Arab soft cheese dish.

This is a city with a fascinating history and you can really feel it here. Casablanca is so modern, and although there is a modern city here at the other side, the older areas are still very thriving, whereas in Casablanca they didn’t seem to be. I expect that is due to tourism, it is clearly far more of an international tourist destination, and I have seen people of more nationalities here than in any city I have visited so far.

This very much reflects the history of the city, Tangier has been owned, occupied, shared by so many different countries in its lifetime. The photo above shows the tower of the Spanish mission, and a little further down the street is the main mosque.

It was actually given to England as part of Catherine of Braganza’s dowry when she married Charles 2nd, at the time it was occupied by the Portuguese. England built fortifications and used it as a defensive port.

In the late 1800s it was the diplomatic capital of Morocco, and in 1923 it became known as the Tangier International Zone, administered by France, Spain and the UK. From then on until Moroccan independence in 1956 it developed a reputation that Wikipedia describes wonderfully!

‘In the 1940s until 1956 when the city was an International Zone, the city served as a playground for eccentric millionaires, a meeting place for secret agents and a variety of crooks and a mecca for speculators and gamblers, an Eldorado for the fun-loving ‘Haute-Volee’. During the Second World War the Office of Strategic Services operated out of Tangier for various operations in North Africa.’

I have not seen any of the above so far, but it definitely has a vibe to it that is very different to other cities. The setting is also beautiful, it in a city built on hills, and I can see the Spanish coast from here! Pity I am not allowed back in until April 9th 😦

I think the other thing that helps with the sense of history for me, is that there are so many museums. As you know I love visiting museums and am looking forward to seeing three here. They are all housed in historic buildings as well, which is a double dose of history!

My first visit was to the old French Consulate building, now the Musee Dar Niabla, just a short walk from my hotel in the medina. It has been beautifully restored from its very sad former state as pictured here.

The museum has a really interesting timeline of Tangier’s history on the ground floor, and is also an art gallery. Tangier has attracted many artists and writers in its history, and they currently have a selection of portraits and landscapes by international artists. They are not only lovely to look at, but beautifully framed.

They also have some ceramic panels, depicting scenes of Tangier life. You may remember that I posted about zellige (or zellij) which is the mosaic style used in the mosque and my last hotel. This grew in popularity in the 1900s, but is incredibly time consuming to make. The solution was to create zellige style enamelled tiles like these, which are faster and cheaper. I have seen them before in many Spanish buildings, and didn’t realise the connections.

I am off for a wander around the port area soon, and to museum number two. In between I will of course have to stop off for more delicious Moroccan tea, and a spot of people watching while imagining myself here in the glamour and intrigue of the past!

Oh and in answer to my question about petit taxi colours, here they are all turquoise with a yellow stripe. Guesses for Fes and Marrakesh please!

See you all again soon. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Trees, traffic and a time machine

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I have spent the last couple of days just wandering the streets of Casablanca, looking at all the buildings, and visiting a few more landmarks. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the city before I got here. I know it is the largest in Morocco, and that it is the economic capital, and a very busy port and popular cruise ship stop. I also knew of its colonial past, the French influence in terms of the architecture and that, fun fact, none of the famous film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall was actually filmed here.

In lots of respects it does look very much like other French cities that I have visited, but there are some very notable differences in the vast amount of trees here, particularly palm trees. My first impressions of the city arriving by bus were of so many trees, lining the streets and in the squares. It makes me feel very at home, as do the parks and squares with their fountains. I had a picnic in this park yesterday and it was lovely.

The Arab League Park is right next to the deconsecrated Sacred Heart Cathedral, a relic from the French days which is currently closed for renovation and will reopen as a cultural centre.

It emphasises the other very noticeable thing about Casablanca, and that is the number of beautiful white buildings, very in keeping with the name of the city, which means ‘white house’ in Spanish. This is both a blessing, as the buildings look lovely against the blue sky, and a curse.

As I have mentioned before in a post about architecture in Spain, there is a good reason why so many houses in these climates are painted yellow like mine. A sandy, dusty environment does not treat the paintwork kindly. You can see the contrast between those that have been repainted really clearly.

There is so much restoration going on here, like this hotel just up from mine. This clearly a focus for the government, as there are signs in most of the streets detailing the work being done.

The ones that haven’t been repainted are still beautiful but many look very sad.

It is also a very busy city, the traffic here is quite crazy and everyone loves to use their horns. There are so many pedestrians crossings, but no-one stops at them, so I have been crossing in large groups where I can, safety in numbers!

About 50% of the traffic seems to be taxis, there are two types in Morocco, grand and petit, and they are great as the petit taxis have a flat fare of about 80p. Another fun fact for you, I will check this out in the next three cities but so far each one has its own colours for the petit taxis. Agadir was orange, Essouria blue and Casablanca red. You can see three of them in this picture. Every third car seems to be a Renault Kangoo or some kind of MPV so Katy would feel very at home, but not sure I would want to drive in this city!

So it has been a very interesting city to visit. There are some really beautiful buildings here, but sadly lots that are just falling apart. There is a huge amount of work going on to restore things, but I would really love to have been able to visit the city in 1920 in its heyday. You can see that it must have been even more stunning. It is lovely now, but it also has a sense of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work there is to do in keeping Casablanca beautiful.

I love the street signs here, which really sum up the dual heritage of the city. I have not seen as much of the Berber language here, it is mainly just French and Arabic, although a lot of people speak Spanish as well, at least basic phrases, so I am getting lots of practise in both languages.

By the time you read this I will have arrived in my fourth city. I am very interested to see how different that will be. Tangier has much more of a Spanish influence than French, partly due to its geography, so it will be really nice to see how that influences it.

I am so glad I’m getting to see so many aspects of the country, it is difficult when planning a trip to know what to include, but I feel as if I’ve got a good mix of locations. See you next time, from a hopefully sunny Tangier! Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

The wonders of Islamic art

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When I used to teach maths to my teacher trainees I used the marvels of tessellation that are Islamic decorative pieces to introduce the subject the my students. There are so many parallels between art and maths that people rarely see, and of course tessellation is a key part of other things that I love, such as quilt patterns.

I have long been fascinated by how these patterns are made, and the history of their design, so my trip yesterday, to the Hassan 2nd Mosque here in Casablanca was brilliant for having some of those answered. The mosque is the third largest in the world, and the largest in Africa, and it was built in the 1990s. It took 6 years, and over 12000 craftspeople were involved. The scale of the place is incredible, 25,000 people can worship inside at a time, the mosque covers 2 acres out of a total 9 acres site, and underneath the plaza there is parking for 1000 cars!

It is one of the few mosques that can be visited by non-Muslims, I booked my tour with Get Your Guide, and I had a great time. I don’t usually book tours, as I am too busy photographing doors to keep up 😉 but you can only go in as part of a tour group. I am glad I did though as the guide was fantastic, and and I had a nice chat with a Muslim family from London who were telling me about their local mosques, and other places they have visited in Egypt and Iran.

One of the really interesting things for me about the visit was that, unlike the cathedrals that I visited in Spain, we know who built this, who these amazing craftspeople were. The complex has a training facility, and is still teaching people these skills. Obviously the place needs to be maintained, but also it is great to know that there is still the opportunity to train in these wonderful arts.

If you want to know more about the history of the place then read this blog post by The Whole World or Nothing. I have been following James and Sarah on Instagram for a while now, and they have a really useful website with so many great destinations covered. They have given me good tips of where to eat in my next destination, Tangier.

The tour starts with a small exhibition about the crafts, which is great. The tessellation technique used on the panels is known as zellige (or zellij) and there is a really useful Wikipedia page that tells you more about the technique. I have seen so many of these types of mosaic in Spain, and I really wanted to learn more about it here. There are going to be other amazing examples in Fes as well, which I am excited to see.

Inside the prayer hall is just breath taking. The skills of the mosaic makers, wood carvers and gypsum craftspeople combine together into the most stunning works or art. The tour also answered some of my other questions about the plaster work. I have seen many examples and always wondered whether is was carved or not. It is moulded, from wet gypsum, and then painted. The ceilings are made of cedar wood and are carved and painted.

Most of the materials come from Morocco, with the exception of some of the white marble from Italy and the crystal chandeliers, which are from Murano, the glass making island I visited with Mum last year as part of our Venice trip.

There are the most stunning brass decorations and lamps everywhere. I have a few small ones Moroccan lamps at home, and love the patterns they give with candles in.

The second half of the tour takes you downstairs to the washing rooms, past some amazing doors.

As well as the beautiful tiles and pillars, there are all these flower shaped fountains for the ritual washing before prayer. The water comes from the centre of the flowers and falls into the drains below.

The mosque cost $800 million, and a third of this was paid for by the king, the rest by public donation and subscription. It is a truly amazing place, and such a testament to the skills of the people who made it and look after it. The tours finance the running costs of the place, so it is self supporting now.

Whenever I visit a religious monument, be it cathedral, or mosque, and look at the amazing work inside, I can’t help thinking about the costs of all that gold, marble, and labour, and wonder about the needs of the people that live in the communities around these wonderful places.

Although I love visiting them, and truly appreciate them, they represent an investment that is often not reflected in the practical lives of the people who live near them. You could argue that an investment in a spiritual place is just as important to people as investment in housing, education or healthcare. Or that places like this, and all of the cathedrals I recently visited, bring tourists to the place, and that benefits the local economy. It is always a difficult question to answer.

It really is an exceptionally beautiful place though. The mosque is partly built over the sea, and it was a windy day yesterday so there were really high waves. It was lovely to see all the children watching them, from the walkways near the mosque, daring each other to go nearer the wall and get splashed.

I have a couple more days here, and then it is my first trip on a Moroccan train. If the bus experience is anything to go by, it will be a very comfortable and efficient service. It is just a short trip this time of a couple of hours, but I am very excited!

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Architectural gems

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As you may have gathered I love architecture and interior design. I find it endlessly fascinating the way that we build differently in different places, how e make use of local material, and how and why we decorate. I wonder about where our influences come from, and how those travel across time and countries. Part of the reason for coming to Morocco was to see more of the very distinctive architecture here, which is such a feature of so many wonderful places in Spain as well.

I chose my current hotel in Casablanca almost exclusively on it decorative style. I did also look at budget and location, but it was too good to pass up the opportunity of staying somewhere that looks like a combination of all of the lovely places that I have visited.

The Moroccan House Hotel does not look like an architectural gem from the outside. Especially as today Casablanca is 14 degrees, dull and wet, such a contrast to all the blue sky pictures I have been posting.

So, I have taken the opportunity to have a relaxing day in, reading and writing, and hopefully will resume adventures tomorrow. Yesterday was a long day of travelling, through some amazing countryside.

It had me wondering whether the incredible decoration in countries like Morocco, and many others that have quite harsh landscapes, is a direct contrast to what is outside. I know that not all of Morocco is desert, but yesterday there were miles of the same colours, pale browns, oranges and yellows of the earth with the little bits of green of the trees and crops.

You come into the hotel through an impressive door though, straight into the extravagantly tiled lobby.

The middle of the upper floors has a central courtyard, as traditional riads do, with the rooms arranged around this. Suspended in this is a huge hanging lamp, and all around are plasterwork friezes.

I had breakfast here today, this is the mezzanine restaurant, overlooking the hotel lobby. I can’t get over the detail that is in every part of the place, the pillars, the ceilings, such an amazing work of art.

Even my room has the same level of detail, with a stunning plasterwork frieze, so much nicer than boring British coving! I love the room doors as well.

Sadly I only have a very ordinary bathroom, no fully tiled hamman, though there is one in the hotel. That would have been amazing.

Part of the reason for choosing Casablanca as one of my stops was that it has a lot of wonderful Art Deco architecture, so that is on the itinerary for when the sun comes back out.

People often ask me what I do when I travel for so long. It depends on the location, rural ones I spend way too long looking at the clouds 😉 and city ones I spend so much time just wandering, and looking up. It is very important to look up as otherwise you miss so much amazing architecture.

Fingers crossed the forecast will be right, and I will return in a few days with lots of 1920s loveliness for you. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Exploring Essouria

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Essouria is a city people visit for lots of reasons, for me it was reading about it as a laid back seaside resort, and I thought it would be lovely to spend some time at a smaller place before going on to the bigger cities.

I will end my time in Morocco in Marrakesh, so am appreciating the calm of this little city. As I mentioned in my last post, it is very quiet compared to Agadir, and very small. I walked from the medina to the other end of the beach, almost at the edge of the city, in about 45 minutes the other day.

The medina is also a good one for novice explorers to Morocco, as it is small and easy to navigate, being more of a grid layout than others. I remember getting very lost in the one in Marrakesh when I visited 13 years ago, whereas this is easy to find your way around, probably as the medina is right next to the port. You know you can’t go wrong if you follow the seagulls! There are lots of open areas and gardens, showing the French influence on the architecture.

As I mentioned in my last post, the medina is surrounded by high walls, which have been restored, with gates or Babs. Most have their cannons still situated with them, from when Essouria, or Mogador as it was formerly known, had to defend itself.

I went down to the port area one day, the fish market is really fascinating to see, so many varieties caught locally. There is also the fortified tower with Spanish guns, used against the French in the late 1700s, and the wall ramparts which have been used in the Game of Thrones series.

As well as the seagulls hoping for scraps from the fish market, there are lots of cats. I know people often worry about stray animals in Morocco, but the ones that I have seen here in the cities look very well fed and healthy, lots seem to live at shops or in restaurants. This little cat was having a lovely sleep in the sun in the medina yesterday.

There are lots of tourist shops and stalls in the medina, but also just lots of ordinary market areas, particularly at the back where I am staying, which is a less touristy area. There is so much fresh fruit here, and loads of lovely bread and sweet things. I have been very good and resisted the temptation to buy any textiles, although there are some gorgeous bags. There are also beautiful ceramics, and lots of leather items.

I have allowed myself unlimited photos of doors, and windows, though, as they take up no space in the luggage 😉 As in Cyprus last year, blue is the top choice of door colour here.

The area that I am staying in is the textile district, and there are still some traditional weavers here in the street where the dar is. They stretch their threads along the length of the street, which is really interesting to watch.

I was very excited today as, diverting off to take another door photo, I found an embroidery shop! I managed to have a conversation with the owner in French and he explained that these are rayon threads used in machine embroidery. I had to buy three in my favourite colours and have plans for another Moroccan inspired stitchery for Katy. It was hard to chose from all the gorgeousness here.

The part of the medina at the back, nearest the ramparts is undergoing extensive renovation, they are demolishing many of the old buildings so it will be interesting to see what replaces them. I met my host yesterday morning, Paolo, the owner of Dar 91, and we had a really interesting talk about Essouria as a tourist resort.

He told me that government are helping with renovation, hoping to bring more tourists into the town, which links with what I said in the last post. The house next door will be renovated soon, and the local owner has moved out while that is done, but she will move back into her house afterwards.

Fun fact about Morocco, most of the, I assume phone towers, have been decorated to look like palm trees. I noticed this firstly in Agadir, and here are some right outside the medina.

I am spending time every day writing my novel as well, I am determined to finish it this year. It will have taken three years, but I have been really enjoying the research and the writing courses that I have taken in that time as well. I am in no real hurry but I have so many ideas for more books, I need to get this one done before I can move on. I am loving having the intellectual challenge, especially as this half of the book has involved much more research about unknown topics.

I am off to Casablanca tomorrow, which will be very different. Another bus ride ahead, this time for 6 hours, so am really looking forward to that. So I will see you in a few days. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Travelling with teabags

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Although I do love travelling, and trying out new and exotic things, I must confess to having brought some English teabags with me on this trip to Morocco. I really love mint tea, which of course the country is famous for, and drink it a lot in Spain, but knew that I would have self catering facilities in Essouria, so thought I would treat myself.

It’s funny what we find comforting isn’t it. Although so much of Morocco is very different, increasing globalisation means that the food in the supermarkets here is very much the same, especially as in Spain. Even the smaller shops have familiar brands.

I have yet to visit any country where there has been no unfamiliar food or drink. I still remember the amazement at finding Coke, Mars Bars, and Pringles in the little village shop high in the Nepalese mountains when I went on my visit there some years ago.

If you would like to read about that trip I have a page linked from my main page, for some reason it won’t let me link it into this post.

My accommodation in Essouria is very different though, especially from the modern hotel in Agadir. It is in the medina, in the walled city, in fact you couldn’t get much nearer than this. Below is my view from the window of the studio.

This is it from the other side of the walls.

I am staying in Dar 91, which is an old watchtower built into the medina walls. I was attracted by the sheer gorgeousness of this little studio, isn’t it amazing?

I didn’t have too much trouble finding it 😉 I have become quite good at navigating my way around old walled places after medieval Caceres in Spain, and the warren that is Venice earlier this year. Google maps helps a lot as well, I have got a Moroccan sim card for my time here, invaluable as I have now learnt to pin everything I need.

As you can see the building has been restored. Many of the medina buildings have, or are being, usually into tourist accommodation like these below.

I am very aware that this is a dilemma that all places such as this have. As with Venice tourism brings money to be able to restore buildings that are historic and badly need it. However, that brings more tourism, which can cause more problems, such as crowds, pricing locals out of the environment. As I mentioned in my Venice posts, there is always an ethical dilemma about where you chose to spend your tourist money.

Part of the reason that I chose this accommodation, was that the owners, who are not Moroccans, have made a commitment to employ local people, use local craftspeople, and contribute part of their profits back to the local economy.

There are still many unrestored properties, that are crumbling on the upper floors, but many still have their beautiful doors intact.

The journey here from Agadir was really good, my first by bus in Morocco, and it was a very comfortable and interesting journey, along the coastline and through the mountains on very winding roads. I saw a few herds of camel, and many sheep and goats, alongside many, many motorhomes. Morocco is a very popular van life destination, and there are lots of, mainly French it seems, vans here.

Essouria is a very different type of city to Agadir, small and very laid back, famous for its kite surfing and water sports. I am here for another few days, so will post again later in the week. WordPress is acting up, and keeps losing posts, or not letting me save, so I will post this now, and update you again later.

In the meantime, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Travel broadens the mind, and widens the vocabulary

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One of the things that I love about travel is getting to know more about other languages. On my visits to China with work some years ago I attempted to learn some Chinese, both written and spoken. It was one of the most difficult languages I have encountered, as it is so different to English, in structure and in the way sounds are represented. I used to use Chinese as an example with my language and literacy students when I was teaching, as they often worked with Chinese speakers who were trying to learn English.

Since I retired I have been learning Spanish, and am really enjoying my new confidence with the language after two and half years of formal learning, and talking to Spanish friends. I was lucky enough to learn French from the age of 7 to 16, and although I haven’t used it much, I could remember enough to hold short conversations on my recent trip through France.

I am now here in Morocco, at Agadir to be exact, at the start of an exciting month in this beautiful country. I have visited before, 13 years ago, when I spent February half term with my Mum and Jake in Marrakesh and loved it. Although much of Moroccan culture is very familiar to me because of the Moorish influences in Spain, and they even have the same company running the buses, I have been excited to see signs in three languages everywhere here.

I am familiar with Arabic, as Yorkshire is very multicultural, and there were many signs written in Arabic in local towns. Many of my students spoke Arabic as well, or could read it, as it is the language of the Koran/Quran. I thought this third language must be Berber, and it is. This is Tifnagh, the Berber alphabet, and according to this website, there are over 300 Berber dialects.

I find this alphabet absolutely fascinating, it looks so different to other scripts that I have come across. It reminds me a little of the sorts of things that you see as created languages in Sci fi media, yet is thousands of years old. I have spent my couple of days in Agadir trying to relate this new language to what I know, not that I am attempting to speak it!

My French is also coming in very useful, as will my Spanish as I travel further north, as both countries had influence over Morocco at various times. Morocco is one of the most multi-lingual countries in the world, discounting others who are multilingual through migration, and I am really enjoying talking to people here in both of my other languages. I try and avoid English as much as possible when travelling if I can as I think it is nice to be able to talk to people in their languages, and it’s great practise for me!

The city is a popular tourist resort, with miles of beautiful beaches with gorgeous, and expensive looking hotels. I had a lovely wander down to the beach on the first day, it was 26 degrees that day, on the 1st February, so a paddle was very welcome.

I am staying at a hotel about 20 minutes walk from the beach, the Hotel Sindibad, which overlooks one of the city squares. There are lots of hotels and restaurants in this area, and I have a little balcony where I have been sitting watching people below, which is especially nice at night . I have a choice of two lovely comfy beds 😉

The city is mostly modern, as the result of devastating earthquake in 1960, when most of the city was destroyed, and 1/3 of the citizens killed. The area where I am staying, Talborjt, was very badly hit. It is very sobering to read about the destruction of the city, walking around it now, you would not realise that there had been this level of trauma here.

Although the city is new, there is lots of evidence of traditional architectural influences, as well as modern, especially at the mosques. If you are a regular here you will know how much I love Islamic art and decoration, and I’m sure I’m going to see so many lovely things during my time here in Morocco.

I visited this lovely cool garden today, the entrance is clearly inspired by Berber architecture, although it was only opened in 1992. The stonework is just beautiful.

I move on tomorrow, just a couple of hours up the coast, to Essouria for 5 nights, which will be my first experience of Moroccan bus travel. I flew into Agadir, which is in the south of the country, from Manchester, as I wanted to explore as much of the country as possible in my time here. In total I will be visiting 6 cities, so look forward to sharing them all with you. I am really looking forward to the train travel as well, even though I love driving, I still get so excited using trains 😉

I hope you are all enjoying your week, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Repeating myself

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I have found that the last few months of crafting have been very much about making the same sorts of things that I’ve done before, so much so that almost a year to the day that I was putting together some knitted reindeers for a friend, Facebook reminded me that I had made the same things in 2023.

There is a certain comfort in doing the same types of things, and some of it is utility. This year’s Christmas fundraiser was another knitted animal, as I knew that I had some mouse parts in stash that I had knitted a while ago, so thought a knitted ‘Chrismouse’ would be good for the ‘guess the name’ at our craft fair. Turns out that although that I had most of a mouse knitted, there was no head, and I hadn’t got any of the same wool! So all except the ears and tail were knitted again.

She turned out very well though, and with a Christmas dress, and a selection of pretty dresses, spare shoes and a bag, raised 100 euros for our food bank charity in Spain.

She was won by one of our sewing group members who has an eighteen month old grand daughter, so Christina, as I called her, has gone off to live in the USA where she has been made very welcome.

I have also just finished the unicorns, for babies that friends are having, meet Alexander and George.

These are my first unicorns, and they were great to do, the horns were a little tricky as they are a twisted i-cord, and I had to re-do them twice in better yarn, but got them finished over the weekend.

Both of these patterns are by the wonderfully talented Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits. Not only is she a knitting genius but very generous as well. She has just upgraded her removable shoes pattern to include three new styles of boots. That will be brilliant for future knits. The shoes for Christina are the first pairs of removable ones that I have made, even though I bought the pattern some years ago.

I wanted to do some different knitting while here at Ellen’s, so have made myself a hat and wrist warmers. Both are free patterns from Ravelry. The hat yarn is left over from the rabbit I knitted last year for my great niece, Willow, and is from The Range. It is so soft and comfy to wear.

I have really enjoyed this knitting, and they make great travelling and van projects, so have decided to make more for this year’s charity craft fair. Although I have lots of plain toy yarn, I have little of other types, but found a great wool shop in Chesterfield where I bought this beautiful yarn. I love knitting with variegated yarn so am looking forward to casting this on and seeing how it knits up.

I want to develop my skills at using circular needles as well so have got some new ones, as all my old ones went in the great de stash of 2021!

I have also stitched lots of Christmas ornaments, as in previous years, and again these have all been from JBW designs. There were a total of 10 this year, all from the same JBW design booklet that I mentioned in this post. I made these for friends in Yorkshire. They thankfully arrived in time this year, last year they were affected by postal strikes, so I finished them all by September and left them with Ellen to post.

These were the ones for my aunt and cousins.

This cute little mitten was for my Mum, and I’m planning to do more of these, and some snowflakes for the Yorkshire ones this year. I’ve already stitched two.

We had an embroidery workshop part two at sewing group, where I taught people how to use applique before embroidering. These are all patterns by the very creative Jenny of Elefantz.

I love her work, and need to find more things to do with the finished products, sadly Katy now has all the hanging hoops she has space for!

Gale did a workshop the following week and taught us all macramé. I was very pleased with the two little key rings that I made, and have plans to make a hanging tray for Katy that I saw on someone’s Instagram, when I get back in April.

In terms of quilting I extended one of the log cabin blocks that I made in 2020 to make a new cushion for Katy, which I absolutely love.

The applique cushion that I made last year got a bit damaged, so I’ve repurposed it. It will be a craft storage bag once it’s completed, which I’ll keep in the van.

As well as the new small van I showed you a few posts ago, I also got another storage tin for Katy, this was from Aldi and came with free biscuits so that was a win!

I have wanted to try and improve my crochet skills for a while. I have a great book, 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stanfield that I’ve owned for years. I took it away with me this summer in the van, but just spent the time staring miserably at the instructions, and being baffled by the diagrams.

Luckily when Ellen came to stay in Spain we had a masterclass, and I very pleased to be able to to learn to make all these on the left below, as well as a few more of the large lilac design. Ellen made all the ones on the right and now I have enough for some bunting for Katy!

I finally found a frame for the black work I did last year, based on a tile at the Alhambra in Granada. I had been hunting for ages, but needed a 3 inch square one, and remembered I’d given Ellen some from my old stash. She was very kind and gave it back to me, and it is perfect for the design. I think my next design I need to find the frame first!

In terms of other projects for 2024 I will be mainly looking for small portable ones. I am travelling for nearly 8 months this year, so will be away from the sewing machine, and the stash, for most of the time.

I want to do some different things as well, so will be looking for things that extend my skills. It is lovely to stay in your comfort zone, but I am looking forward to more crochet, and possibly some English Paper Piecing. I love that, but haven’t done any for so long, and that is a great small project as well.

I also have some possible cross stitch patterns that I want to do, there are so many cute caravan designs available! This is one of my favourite, by the same designer as the original caravan hoops I did, Flamingo Toes.

If you have any ideas of good small useful things I can crochet, please let me know. I also need somewhere for things to go, so any suggestions of charities that need things please let me know.

I’ll be packing up ready to leave Ellen’s tomorrow, so will see you all again as soon as I can from my next adventure. This trip will definitely be an exercise in self restraint, as I’m going somewhere with amazing textiles. I am planning to take a very small bag with me, to avoid temptation, but will take lots of pictures!

See you all soon. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Katy’s adventures in La Marina

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I had already planned lots of places that I wanted to visit, mostly with Mum, in the two months that I was at home. Like me, Mum loves walking and the beach, and we were able to explore some new places, as well as revisiting old favourites. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we were lucky that we had stunning blue skies and sunshine all through November and December.

La Marina is situated between the mountains and the coast, and is an area with lots of wildlife sanctuaries, and hiking areas. Although there are sandy beaches, my favourite parts of the coast are the rocky ones.

The first walk we did was along the coastal path from La Zenia to Cabo Roig. This very easy walking path goes underneath the cliffs, with gorgeous views. At the end of the 3/4 hour walk there is the harbour at Cabo Roig, with bars and restaurants for a quick coffee before setting back.

After our trip to Cordoba we went back to one of my Mum’s favourite spots, the coastal path below the cliffs and the lighthouse at Santa Pola. This is a beautiful stretch of rocky coast which is very popular with campervans. I went back later on just for the afternoon when Mum was busy, and sat parked up in Katy listening to the sea and reading, bliss!

We also visited one of the area’s reservoirs. Although desalination plants are our main source of water, due to the lack of rain, we do have some very beautiful reservoirs. Unfortunately we couldn’t find our way down to the hiking area, that ended up being the off road experience that I mentioned earlier! At least the drive round was great and there are lots of viewpoints with parking and picnic benches.

I also did a couple of trips out on my own, one to the local bird reserves, El Hondo, that I have cycled to before. This time I went right to the other side, and parked up at the interpretation centre. There are walkways through all the different parts of the reserve from here. We have so many types of birds that nest here, and I was lucky enough to see a baby flamingo.

Many flocks of flamingos live on our salinas, or salt lakes. The lakes have been here since Roman times and are still in production. The salt is exported for use on roads across Northern Europe and Russia. The one nearest Torrevieja has a beautiful pink colour in the sunlight. It is a gorgeous place for a peaceful walk on a sunny day.

The nearby town of Rojales is famous for its cave houses, which have been turned into artist’s workshops and galleries. Once a month they have an arts and craft fair, and in the summer there is live music every Sunday in an outdoor stage area.

There is a little museum area inside one house showing how the original inhabitants lived. We haven’t been for fifteen years and it was great to see so many more of the caves have been restored, with gorgeous floor paintings.

There is also an eighteenth century windmill just outside the town, very similar to those I saw at Conseugra on my journey home. This has been restored and events are held there sometimes.

Also in the mountains above Rojales, there is a country park. El Recorral is actually a water management scheme, designed to capture water from the mountains and stop it flooding the salinas, but rather than just build storage tanks they have created these beautiful wildlife ponds and a sculpture trail. We don’t often get rain, but when we do it can be very heavy and cause flooding so this is a great solution. There are lots of picnic and bbq areas, as well as hiking trails and playgrounds.

I went again with Ellen when she was visiting and we managed to find the caves further up in the park. I don’t think these were every occupied, but they do have stunning views of the mountains across the plain.

One of our Sunday excursions was to visit a monastery set in the mountains behind Murcia. This is the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Fuensanta, and dates from the 1600s.

There must at some point have also been an Islamic building here, judging by this architecture, but sadly it was in disrepair and there was no further information. We had a picnic in the grounds and then a walk in the mountains.

We also went on a couple of trips without Katy, one my favourite things in Spain is the fiestas, and on the feast of St Nicholas, on the 6th Dec, there was a parade of the Moors and Christians. These are some of my favourite events, they take place all over Spain and celebrate the reconquest, when Isabella and Ferdinand took back control of southern Spain from the Muslim settlers.

The parade was a wonderful hour and a half of proud armies in wonderful costume, interspersed with marching bands. The work that goes into these outfits is amazing, usually each village in the area will have its own association. There are many museums where you can see the costumes close up and they are well worth a visit if you come across them.

The lights, and the giant nativity were also very pretty, and we had a great wander around the city. This was one of the many excellent coach trips, the advantage of these for fiestas is that you get a local pick up and don’t have to worry about parking or traffic!

I hope that you have enjoyed this little overview of what there is to do in the area, it is a fantastic region for all sorts of outdoor activities, with mountain climbing, trekking and cycling being very popular, as well as all of the water related sports.

This will be the last of my travel posts for now, I will post about Cordoba as soon as I can but have so many pictures to sort, and not that much time before I leave again, so will wait to tell you all about that fantastic city. I am off now to do more unicorn fettling, the final bits of attaching heads and putting on clothes await, and then I can show them to you in the next post.

Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.