Essaouira

this is a coastal town a few hours south of marrakech. we spent a night there, its so pretty.

i want to re create this tent-like seating area at home on our back patio.

this is hamish, we started talking to him because we liked his dread-turban. we ended up eating lunch with him and his friend. our friend that we met at peacock pavilions was there with us too but is not pictured because he took the picture.

peacock pavilions

that wall is all stenciled:

that is all stenciled too:

i love looking up in this room:

tonight is our last night at peacock pavilions before we head to other parts of morocco.

it has been a different experience than any we have ever had to work at the place we are staying. its fun to have errands to run instead of just being a normal tourist, we have been able to see the real, working part of the city. i have been helping Maryam get a couple of rooms decorated. basically, turning her visions in to real life.

Maryam designs all of the interiors around here. almost everything here is an antique, if it is not, then it is custom made specifically for the space.

olives

these are pictures from around the property we are staying and working at, Peacock Pavilions.

i have finally begun to like olives again. after eating too many when i was twelve to prove that i liked them more than my friend, i got sick and swore them off.

the weather is perfect, during work breaks i sit by the pool. its not quite warm enough to swim, but sitting there fully clothed is still nice.

we have home cooked meals 2-3 times a day.

we are eating plenty of clementine oranges, way too much bread baked in the local village, and at night it is still getting cold enough to have hot chocolate.

the buildings here are gorgeous. the owner/husband chris is an architect, so he designed all three buildings on the property himself. we are near a mosque so we hear the call to prayer several times a day. we ended up being here working at the same time as another guy from salt lake that we didn't know before, todd. at one point he lived two blocks away from us, small world!

tandem

we are alive and well in Marrakech, we arrived here on the 22nd just in time to celebrate christmas and new years with the family we are staying with. they own a guest house on an olive orchard just outside of Marrakech. the weather here is nothing short of amazing, much better than the august heat last time we were here.