Marrakesh - Guided Tour

On our first day in Marrakesh, we started the morning with a guided tour. Our guide grew up in the Souks and after starting with a bit of the 'touristy' areas which made us a little nervous....
he turned out to provide the perfect start to the trip.




He helped us to not only get our bearings, ("To get back to your Riad, make a left at the blue sign, and a right at the vegetable stand...") but brought us to the Derb that he grew up in. A Derb is a little area or street, that has only one way in and out which creates a community and sense of protection.

He told us stories of how the boys in his neighborhood had intense football and fighting leagues. You either played football or fought, (true knuckle-boxing.)



We loved the first few hours wandering around the shops, and getting our bearings.




Mint tea was a quick hit with TJ!







The feeling of being in a culture and place so very different from the one where we spend our days is one of the most favorite things about travelling for me. Imagining our guides childhood in Marrakesh compared to mine in Medford makes me smile.

Marrakesh - Hotel

For the long Easter weekend, TJ planned a trip to Morrocco. It has been on our 'to-see' list since we moved here and we were so excited. We stayed in Marrakesh, in a traditional Riad - the Riad Farnatchi.




The room was lovely, with a big sitting room, interior balcony and roof-top breakfast and lounge area. We were treated to plenty of Morroccan mint tea, tasty cookies, and experienced a traditional Hammam. We heard the daily call to prayer from the various Mosques as they created a musical round of various pitches and volumes.




We peppered our trip with both sight-seeing and adventures and evening glasses of crisp Moroccan wine and game-playing on the roof during sunset.



It was a fantastic 'home-base' to come back to each day, and a true glimpse into this amazing city and culture.

Stones

Last week was a difficult one for my family. Two of my cousin's lost their fathers, my dad had his first operation post-heart attack which I was not able to be there for, and our childhood cat passed away. It seemed that everyone I spoke to was really having a tough time and there was nothing I could do but grieve with them.

I read this article in the Financial Times weekend, (it has become my must-read weekend paper) and it really made an impact.

The concept came from teachers who needed to find a way to help young children deal with grief. The idea is for the child to have a way to easily express how they are feeling that day. The child is given two stones, one smooth and one rough. Each day the child must put one stone on the teacher's desk, the smooth one if they are having an OK day, the rough one if they are not feeling well. If the teacher sees the smooth stone, they are able to go about their day and deal with the child equally, if the teacher receives the rough stone, they know to go a bit easy on the
child, and give them extra hugs and attention. Both options give the child a way to easily check in with themselves and express their emotions.

The author of the article thought this technique would be extremely helpful for adults as well and explained the scenario where she was out to dinner with a friend, and the friend seemed kind of distant. The author spent the entire dinner trying to figure out what she did to make the friend act that way and came to the conclusion, after much energy, that the friend was simply having a bad day. The author asks, "wouldn't it have been easier that at the start of the dinner, my friend just put down a rough stone?" She explains that she could have hugged her friend and just simply comforted her.

It sounds so simple, and so lovely to me. We all go about our days, having to put whatever might be going on in our emotions aside and sometimes not spending any time at all figuring out how we are feeling.

Sometimes it is good to just get away from stress and emotion and 'get on' with the day. Other times, it affects everything and it is not always easy to tell all whom you encounter that you are having a tough time nor do you always want to talk about or know what the issue is.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a way to simply say, go easy on me. And wouldn't it be lovely to simply be able to do that for those you encountered.

Debut!

Late last year, I received an email from my rowing club, looking for people to volunteer to be in a cooking show. The goal was to find non-traditional sports enthusiasts (rowing vs. football,) who liked food, wanted to eat healthily, and had limited time. My friend Sarah and I volunteered, were interviewed and selected. Filming was set for the beginning of January.

A few days before I came back to London from NY my friend Sarah had to cancel and Melissa agreed to fill in.

The whole adventure, to get just 20 minutes of the final product, took about 3 days of filming. The first was in Chinatown, during really cold day. The second was an afternoon in a studio in Shoreditch, which included cameos from our friends and husbands. The third was done in our flats, showing us during our 'real lives.'

It was just a glimpse on what it takes to produce a tv show and how to be an engaging participant, (we learned that you actually need to make up things to say and talk - not just stand and nod.)

Melissa and John threw a celebratory dinner the night it aired here. We had some good laughs listening to ourselves, and at the things they chose to include. All-in-all - it's not too shabby!


Here is how it was described:
Ching comes to the aid of young American entrepreneurs Rachel Church and Melissa Reitano. On the menu are spicy chunky lamb, pork and water chestnut dumplings, and duck spring rolls.


The full video is here, and is only posted until April 22.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2sLrysL-PQ

Charlie's Baptism

We recently went to New York to celebrate Charlie's baptism. TJ was honored to be the godfather and we couldn't wait to celebrate the big day!

My dad had some health issues right before we left, so I was comforted knowing that I could go out and see him on Long Island. It was also comforting to have such a fun celebration to balance emotions.

We had a fantastic dinner to celebrate Kevin's birthday on Friday night at Flex, (mussels.) We got in quick visits with Jen and Ben Fink, and Laura and John Charecky.

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run around the reservoir. The big Nor'Easter was just hitting and I found myself at first dodging the big puddles. It was a battle to get around, with pelting rain and winds....I wound up taking a 'spiritual leap' - and literally started running through the cold puddles on purpose.

The storm created havoc as flights were canceled, (flights that would have carried grandparents to celebrate the big day,) and trains stopped, (I had to 'hitch' a ride back into Manhattan with kind strangers.) But it was not a match for the baptism and celebration - it was joyous day!













Getting to know Charlie is THE BEST! He is incredibly sweet, quick to laugh and has an amazing quiet inquisitive way of looking at things. He is so good natured - and handled the whole weekend of events, outfit changes and relatives picking him up and constantly touching him with nothing but smiles, giggles and cute noises.

Waking up and hearing him 'talking' and laughing in the morning may quite possibly be my favorite way of starting the day. My best-day-ever scenario would include breakfast with Charlie, and a lunch-time adventure outside with August (followed by Auntie rest time in the afternoon!)

Congratulations Charlie! Thanks Kerry and Kevin!

Jane Austen's House and Chawton Library

I jumped at the chance to visit Jane Austen's House with the KCWC. I shared a cab with TJ and a colleague as they headed to an early morning meeting, and I then boarded a bus that would take us down to the house.

We first visited Chawton House, where Jane's brother and family lived. We heard the story about how her brother was adopted by a childless Aunt and Uncle and thus inherited a prosperous new lifestyle that enabled him to buy his sisters (Jane included) their own house - thus allowing Jane to devote herself to writing. A very uncommon luxury in the early 19th century.

Chawton house was in desperate need of repair in the 1990's. With a fascinating tie to Northern California, the co-founder of Cisco (Sandra Lermer) bought the house without seeing it, restored it and has turned it into The Centre for the Study of Early English Women's Writing, 1600-1830.




In Jane's house we learned how her sister took care of the main day duties, so that Jane had the time to write. We saw her desk, positioned next to the window at which they believed she liked to write.

Everyone needs people in their lives who help you focus, help you devote yourself to your passions. I loved learning about Jane's brother and sister, and how the tech boom has helped celebrate women writers.

Milan - Making Friends!

One of the main reasons that we (Ami, Darla and I,) wanted to go to Milan was to see the Dave Matthews Band. I sent Ami and my college friends the European tour details, in the hope that they'd switch our girls-weekend to Europe this year.

Ami jumped at it and we quickly picked the Milan show. The first night we arrived, Ami mentioned that a friend-of-a-friend-said that the band usually stayed at the Four Seasons when traveling. We didn't need any other information to make our plan for aperitivo.

We tried to hide our glee when we walked into the bar at the Four Seasons and saw a table filled with band members. We were served by a friendly waiter and Ami and I were enjoying an amazing Pinot Grigio when they got up to leave. I couldn't let the moment pass, and quickly went up to Tim Reynolds and let him know were were excited about the show the next night.

Ahhh - it was a thrill and we thought that it was completely the end of our band interaction.

The concert was our last night together. They played a great show, and we loved seeing the Italian fans react to the music. Once it was over....we thought, 'it couldn't hurt just to see if we can meet a nice security guard that would let us backstage...I mean if they are having a meet-and-greet...and we've come all this way."

A few minutes later, and we were waiting on the ramp leading to the buses when Carter Beaufort was next to us (holding a glass of wine.)

Then Dave Matthews....


As you can tell from the grins, it was a lovely, lovely evening. Thanks AMI!