Oh the dazzling sights and sounds of Maroc!
A little girl peers into a shop window.
Tree branches holding lanterns and candles.
Decorative birdcages are popular...
...whether or not one keeps a bird.
...or three or four.
An assortment of silver, brass and glass candlesticks of various styles and heights.
A globe light fixture by Yahya, who sells his work in a boutique at 61 rue de Yougoslavie, Passage Ghandouri, in the heart of Gueliz, Marrakech.
A traditional costume.
Perhaps a walk and browsing in bookstores?
Wall of mirrors.
Golden bougeoirs.
After carrying all those heavy parcels, shall we visit the hammam?
Would you like some cool and refreshing cucumber water with mint?
Tea, then more sightseeing and shopping?
After all that shopping, sightseeing and exploring, have you worked up an appetite?
Let's have dinner at a restaurant featuring these beautiful place settings created by Myriam Mourabit.
Hmmm, spicy chicken couscous! Bon appetit!
Tea after dinner?
Photo of birds in a cage at Merci, Paris.
Photos of cucumber water and spicy chicken couscous at my home in Paris.
All other photos, vitrines, Galeries Lafayette, Paris.
------------------------
Did you hear about this New Zealand bank's mistake? When living in Jordan, I was expecting a transfer of funds from my employer in the UK. The accountant, who was converting dinars into pounds into dollars, mistakenly sent $210,000, rather than $21,000. As it was deposited into my personal account, technically the money was mine to keep.
I phoned my boss, who was traveling and left a message saying, "I knew you were pleased with my work and planning to give me a bonus, but I never expected anything like this!" About an hour later, he phoned me from Spain, desperately charming, to make sure I returned the money. Of course I did! But in the week of bureaucrarcy required to transfer funds back to the UK, I made about $1000 in interest and got a big bonus. And I received two marriage proposals. Ha ha!
Loving all the reflections!!!
Posted by: GypsyGirl | 02 June 2009 at 14:50
i wish someone would make a bank mistake like that into my account! :-)
i'm catching up after two weeks of interviews and being crazy busy at work...
i love these pictures...i think the reflections give them a depth that mere pictures of the moroccan things wouldn't have...echoes of said's orientalism in my head...how we in the west see the muslim world. extremely evocative. you should do a book with them, or at least an exhibition. they're so worth a longer look.
xox,
/julie
Posted by: julochka | 25 May 2009 at 18:09
That wall of mirrors is amazing! Oh, keeping that money would have been tempting. Oh my.
Posted by: Relyn | 24 May 2009 at 01:50
LOL, I LOVE THIS POST!!!! Oh my friend he better be thankful he has such an honest person working for him. I am wishing I were there in Morocco with Maryam and please, please do tell about those marriage proposals!!!
Posted by: Yoli | 23 May 2009 at 05:32
Love the tour. Thank you! The gold caftan is my favorite, but I like so many!
Just think, if you would have married one of those guys how maybe we might never have met. I'm SO glad you gave back the moola!
xox
Constance
Posted by: Rochambeau | 23 May 2009 at 04:54
Myriam, I like your work so much, I bought some pieces for my home. Thanks for your comment!
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 23 May 2009 at 01:35
thank you a lot for your compliment;
you can find all of my creations on my site: http://www.myriam-mourabit.com
and on my blog : http://myriammourabit.blogspot.com/
M.M
Posted by: myriam mourabit | 23 May 2009 at 01:28
Love these window displays . The caftan looks gorgeous.Everything is to die for
Posted by: Mélanie Aussandon | 22 May 2009 at 21:33
J'adore the cages in the windows!
Posted by: Fifi Flowers | 22 May 2009 at 20:23
Ah, I love window shopping here, especially the wall of mirrors, the birdcages, and your story of the mistaken currency conversion. When I worked at Visa, we periodically would bump into systems problems with those currencies that are larger than the US Dollar (sterling pound and the dinar) One time we had the opposite problem with the Indonesian rupiah because it had fallen so low against other currencies, we had to add double precision accuracy in order to convert the money into something other than zero. I respect your honesty and I'm happy your karma paid you back so quickly with that bonus and interest.
Posted by: dutchbaby | 22 May 2009 at 19:03
I would love to have tea with you and that tea set. Your pictures are lovely. To bad you couldn't keep the money, but the bonus was nice.
Posted by: marilyn | 22 May 2009 at 05:46
What a week! A windfall and two proposals. Sigh. Fairy tale stuff, Tara!
Amazing photos, yum! I'd love to visit both Paris and Morocco one day. Hammam...oh! You had me there...what girl doesn't like to go to get spa treatments? I don't know any! We serve cucumber water here at our spa too, it's very good. Refreshing, without the sweetness. xoxo
(Sliced grapefruit is amazing too.)
Thanks for the day trip!!!
xoxox
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 22 May 2009 at 01:40
Ohhh La La Tara~ Those mirrors and bird cages are eye candy! That is a kick about what happened to you! Congradulations on your bonus and interest! When we do something right we always get something in return.
xoxo Noel
Posted by: Noel Solomon | 22 May 2009 at 00:37
Helen, thank you! I love that story - at least you got to wear the coat for a few moments! No doubt the coat check person was grateful; otherwise he or she would have been out of a job!
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 21 May 2009 at 23:30
Thank you so much! Come visit anytime. That's the thing about being in Europe - so easy to travel from one place to another for reasonable prices. (Of course those two guys only wanted to marry me because I was temporarily wealthy. Ha ha!) I first had cucumber water last summer at the Ballastone Inn in Savannah. It's easy to make. Just fill a pitcher half-way with water, slice a cucumber into the water, add mint leaves and let it sit for about 20 to 30 minutes. It is surprisingly delicious, with the bonus of being healthy. You can do the same thing with orange slices or lemon and lime slices (but skip the mint for the orange).
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 21 May 2009 at 23:28
More absolutely stunning photos! The more I read your blog, the more i want to move to Paris for about ten years. Now, if I can only find a man who would support me while I travel Europe! This is what I was thinking while I was admiring your work and then, there at the end you mention marriage proposal!! SYNCH! The couscous looks amazing and so the the water. I've never had cucumber in water, but I think I'm gonna try it now.
Posted by: MiddleAgedWomanBlogging | 21 May 2009 at 23:16
The money transfer story reminds me of something that happened a few years ago.
I was in a casino and it was time to get my coat from the coat check. I was handed a full length sable coat. I knew it wasn't my coat but I tried it on anyway and looked in a nearby mirror. (It looked great!) It fit perfectly and I am short.
It would have been so easy to walk away wearing it, but I didn't. I saw the initials inside and they were not mine! I consoled myself by thinking that wearing fur was politically incorrect....as I strode away in my black wool coat with faux fur collar. No proposals came my way but the coat check person thanked me over and over.
Your window photos are GORGEOUS! But, that food...délicieux!!
Posted by: Helen | 21 May 2009 at 22:30
"Photo of birds in a cage at Merci, Paris.
Photos of cucumber water and spicy chicken couscous at my home in Paris.
All other photos, vitrines, Galeries Lafayette, Paris."
I got cha! lmao! Hey, now my line cooks are standing behind me saying "ooohhh ahhh"
; )
Posted by: Christina | 21 May 2009 at 19:36
Oh yes, yes the bookstore. I couldn't read anything but I would still love it! Oh the dinner! Yes, me too. I would have given the money back right away. Your honesty came back to you in a nice gift.
I love you!
PS: When were these pics taken? Did you sneak a trip in. : )
Posted by: Christina | 21 May 2009 at 19:09