Latest Trip to Tunisia

Traditional Berber Music

We had the good fortune to attend a concert of Moroccan Berber Music in Marrakesh.

Moroccan Nights Part 2

Here is the second installment of the wedding of two moroccan sisters. Today is the actual wedding.

Our Fall Tuscany Tour

Moroccan Nights Part 1

We had the privilege of celebrating a Moroccan wedding just outside of Rabat, Morocco. There were two brides in this wedding who are sisters and who decided to have a double wedding. This video is actually the Henna Party which typically happens the night before the wedding. As elaborate as it appears, you must stay tuned as the wedding itself is even more elaborate.

The Wild Camargue

Wine tasting & Picnic in the Vineyards of Minervois, France

Wine Auction at Abbaye de Valmagne

 We had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a wine auction in the Abbaye de Valmagne. It’s about a 30 min. drive from Montpellier (France). For more than twenty years, the abbey stocks part of their yearly production in the monastery’s cellar. Just recently we were invited to an auctioning of selected vintages between 1986 and 2001.

We arrived early to taste the wines presented which were their Cuvee Classic, from 1986 to 2001 and the Curvee de Turenne from 1994 to 2001. It was an enjoyable afternoon with cartoons of six bottles ranging between 40 to 150 euros. Definitely a great value!

The Hammam of North Africa

 

One very traditional ritual that exists in many parts of
North Africa is the hammam. This rite of passage into the Arabic culture consists of bathing, exfoliating and relaxing in a semi- public tiled room with other people of the same sex. I’ll clarify this with one of my first experiences.In many parts of the world, group bathing and the use of steam are an integral part of daily life. When I travel, I always seek out this form of relaxation. So of course when I made my first trip to
Morocco, a visit to a local hammam was high on my list. Upon entering, I went directly into the women’s side and found myself in a changing area where I took off everything and wore just a bathing suit bottom. From there I moved into another tiled room that was semi-warm and I showered briefly with black soap. Black soap is used before you start sweating to help with the exfoliating process which comes later. Once showered, I moved on to a very hot steamy room where there were A LOT of women, natives of course, talking to each other. Well, I should say it was more like screaming at each other, but that is more of a cultural thing. I climbed over and squeezed between sweaty naked women to find an empty spot to sit. And then, I sat and waited for my number to be called for an exfoliation/massage. Part of the goal here is to talk/gossip with your friends as a form of relaxation. After about 20 minutes, a rather large, round woman wearing only a pair of black panties, yelled my number and had me follow her. Needless to say I was a bit scared. She had me lie on a large tiled table while she put on a  rough glove for exfoliation. She immediately began to scrub me in a rather violent manner, so much so that I was just getting ready to ask her to stop, but then I noticed all the dead skin that was flying off of me. So, I figured a few more minutes of pain would be worth it. When finished, I showered again, with the skin I had left and moved on to the decompression room. Here you can dry off, cool off and drink mint tea while reflecting on the day’s events. My skin was never softer.

The Souks

In many parts of North Africa, there are huge markets called Souks where you can buy almost anything from clothes to produce to goats(living). Here in Marrakesh, we have a wander to do some shopping.