Moroccan Adventures: Part 1

A few months ago Dan and I found a Groupon for a resort in the Moroccan Atlas mountains.  The place looked absolutely stunning and the price was right, so we bit the bullet and bought the voucher.  I've always wanted to go to Marrakech, so we decided to split our time between the city and the mountains.

We arrived in Marrakech on Wednesday night and made our way to our riad.  I had heard that little kids will follow you around and then--once you've arrived at your destination--demand money for acting as your tour guide.  That definitely happened to us, though in this case we were glad for the help.  It would have been impossible to find our riad without these kids.

Riad Boussa was a real oasis.  It was less than impressive from the outside (as are many Marrakech buildings), but inside it was everything you want a riad to be. It was beautifully decorated and very comfortable.

Riad Boussa's Courtyard

Riad Boussa's Terrace

Since it was already pretty late when we got in, we had a quick mint tea with the riad owner and then headed out to the square.  What a fun atmosphere!  It was so lively with all the food, music and shopping.  We had dinner at one of the stalls, grabbed fresh squeezed orange juice  (for 50 cents!) and took in the night.

Selling Escargot

He let me get behind the counter

The next day we walked all over the city.  We saw snake charmers in the square, spices piled miles high in the souqs, an old synagogue and a palace.  All of my senses were engaged. It was fantastic.

 

El Bahia Palace

El Bahia Palace

Later that day we met up with some friends from Harrogate; we visited another palace (though this one was not nearly as impressive as the El Bahia), saw a ton of storks, and tried a new fruit.

El Badi Palace

El Badi Palace

I have no idea what this fruit is called, but it was delicious and turned my mouth and hands bright red.  Anyone know what this is?  You peel it to eat it, and it was sold next to cacti, so maybe it's a prickly pear?

That night we had a great dinner on the square with our friends.  The restaurant had a fantastic atmosphere and even included a belly-dancing and fire show!  These women were dancing with a tray of lit candles on their heads!  Crazy!

Moroccan Salad

Fezes!

Belly Dancer

On our last day in Marrakech, we wandered the city some more and made our way to the tanneries where they make leather.  It was both repulsive and fascinating.  To give you an indication of how bad this place smelled, we were given a sprig of mint upon entry.

Animal Hides

Walking around town was so fun.  Marrakech is so vibrant!  As much as I loved it though, the next couple of days at the resort were just as lovely.  I'll be back to share part 2 soon!

 

Walking in Marrakech

Belgian Waffles!

Hooray!  The day has finally come!  Dan made Belgian waffles for breakfast!

Let me back up a bit.  Remember when I ate my way through Belgium this winter? One of my favorite things to eat were the waffles. They weren't like anything I've had before--whatever it is that Americans call Belgian waffles are not what I actually found in Belgium. These waffles are really sweet, a little crunchy, and sticky from melted caramel.  They're delightful.

When Dan and I got back to England, we decided we had to make these waffles for ourselves. The only problem was that we couldn't find the critical ingredient: pearl sugar. This is the waffle's secret weapon.

I'll spare you the drama of my fruitless search in town and my desperate online hunt, and I'll skip to the part where my friends John and Jess rescued the day. They were planning a trip to Belgium and were awesome enough to stop in a grocery store to snag us a couple of boxes of sugar. I think they were just sick of me whining about it!

The home-made version didn't quite live up to the waffle vans in Brussels, but it was a delicious start.  We'll continue playing with the recipe until we get it right.  It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it :)

DIY Chalkboard Platters

I have joined the thousands of other people who have jumped head first into Pinterest. You've heard of this site, right?  It's basically a giant online bulletin board where you can pin all of your favorite recipes, ideas and inspirations.  I love using it for DIY crafts and home decor (you can follow me here).

Here's an image I saw a while ago that I thought would be fun and easy to make:  It's a chalkboard cheese platter.

original tutorial here

After deciding I must have this, I hunted around town for a cheap, good-looking white platter.  I found a perfect one at TK Maxx (which is the British TJ Maxx).  It was only £4.99!  I had already bought a different, nicer one, at Crate and Barrel.  I'm giving that one away as a gift.  Shhh...it's a surprise :)

Next, I bought chalkboard paint that is specifically meant for china (I used this one). 

At an S.O.S. meeting I whipped out some borrowed paint brushes (thanks Katie!), grabbed a huge mug of tea and got to work.

Blank canvases

Free-handing my board

I was pretty nervous as I was making my lines around the edges, but it actually went really well.  As my friend Karen says, it's good if it looks wonky because that's how you know it's homemade.

After two thin coats on each platter, I let them dry for 24 hours.  The next step is to bake them for 35 minutes in a 150°c oven.  Karen actually did this step for me since I was on an airplane headed for Morocco!  (Pictures coming soon!)

Now that they've cured, they're ready for action!  I'm hosting a small wine and cheese party this weekend and can't wait to put this baby to use.  

The only thing I'm not loving so far is how the chalk still shows even after I've erased it.  Has anyone made chalkboard platters and had this issue before?  Please let me know!

Downton Abbey

I know that I'm late to this party, but let me throw my two cents/pence in and say how amazing Downton Abbey is!  If you don't know what I'm talking about, allow me to enlighten you.  Downton Abbey is a TV show that is set in the 1900s in North Yorkshire, which is where I live.  How awesome is that?

It premiered in the US last year on PBS.  It's been running in the UK for the last couple of years.  I just finished season one, so please don't spoil anything for me!

I love so many of the characters, and love hating others!  Especially Thomas and Mrs. O'Brien.  They're the worst.  Maggie Smith (from Harry Potter fame) is fantastic as the Dowager Countess of Grantham.  She has the best lines of the show, including one where she earnestly asked what a weekend was.  She had never heard the term before.

The story is complex and dramatic, and I love hearing them reference towns near me.   If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you do.  Then come visit me and I'll show you what the real North Yorkshire looks like!

Guten Tag!

A few weeks ago Dan and I went skiing in Germany with some friends from Harrogate.  I'm happy to report that we had a great time and no one broke any bones!

We stayed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria in southern Germany--about an hour from Munich.  The views were absolutely stunning!  Neither Dan nor I are experienced skiers and we found the mountain a little challenging for beginners.  Nevertheless, we had a great time.

  

A bunch of us went sledding in Austria the first night.  I didn't know what to expect when I signed up for this excursion, but it wasn't this.  We sledded down a regular ski run in pitch black on tiny plastic sleds.  It was cold and scary...but definitely an experience.

Susan is saying what we're all feeling

What made sledding a lot more fun were the pit stops at the top and middle of the mountain.  We stopped in for some schnapps and brats and were treated to live music.

We were told in advance that if it's a clear day we need to drop everything and go to the top of Zugspitze.  I'm so glad we listened!  It was absolutely gorgeous at the top. It's the tallest mountain in Germany and you can see the German, Austrian and Swiss Alps.  We even crossed the border into Austria at the top.  It was very neat.

View from the top of Zugspitze

Three of us went to see the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles. Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle.  The castle originally belonged to Ludwig II but he died before it was finished.  The parts that are finished are gorgeous though!  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the castles.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

It was snowing pretty heavily while we were touring the castles.  I loved it.

We also took a day trip to Innsbruck, Austria.  I skied for half the day and toured for the other half.  This town is really beautiful.  I loved seeing the colorful buildings on the river and eating the delicious strudels.

Innsbruck, Austria

 

We visited a schnapps store that had more than a hundred varieties!  We brought home the apple strudel flavor.  Can't wait to try it out.

Schnapps

I didn't know it when we booked our trip, but we were in Germany over Carnival.  Bavaria is an especially Catholic part of Germany, so this pre-lent festival is celebrated to the fullest. People were dancing and drinking and dressing-up.  We got into the spirit at dinner when a gang of costumed men barged in and started dancing with the diners.

Dancing with the masked man

We were also lucky enough to stumble into a huge Carnival festival in Munich.  Our flight didn't leave until late evening so we planned on spending the day touring the city.  We kind of did that...

Hofbrauhaus 

Delicious donut

Carnival in the Marienplatz

Everyone was in costume--from tiny babies to 80-year-olds. It was really impressive how inclusive this party was.  

Vendors were selling bags of confetti for 1 Euro.  How could I pass that up?

I had the best time throwing my confetti around.  There were lots of confetti fights, including this one:

Yup, I am in a confetti fight with a little girl.  And I'm pretty sure she won.