Best Beaches in Morocco: Agadir

I was the first on the bus ready to ride. I had pulled into the Marrakech train station from Casablanca the night before, and at 8 AM Ismail drove me to Supratours (located behind the trains).  I had taken the bus to Essaouira (2 hours and 15 minutes west of Marrakech) and loved that beach town for its mystery and authentic Moroccan feel.  This time I…

To Russia and Rick in Casa

“Play it again, Sam…” Like Tom Cruise I’d been sent on a mission. Anxiety, however, made me fancy myself more like Frodo. I was to go to Casablanca on a workday to the Russian Consulate to pick up a dozen passports/visas. I opted to take a Sam—my friend, Kate–in search of Russia and another Sam at Rick’s cafe on the Moroccan coast. The plan…

Cupid Crawl from Riad Mur Akush to La Maison Arabe

Each day for six months has been nothing but new. My only constant has been change. Even traditions–Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve—were celebrated in first-ever ways. St. Valentine’s Day 2015 I climbed with friends to a riad rooftop supported by 300-year-old walls. New chums encircled by the snowy Atlas Mountains, we sat sleeveless  on a sunny summit above the Marrakech Medina. Good company,…

Beauty Break at La Mamounia

“I’ve always found this a trying time of the year.  The leaves not yet out, mud everywhere you go.  Frosty mornings gone. Sunny mornings not yet come.  Give me blizzards and frozen pipes, but not this nothing time, not this waiting room of the world.” — C.S.Lewis in Shadowlands I’m so ready for spring, and last weekend I needed a Beauty Break. Badly. I’m…

In Africa Harper Lee Made My Day

What a day… 1)  Someone in our apartment complex said  water will be cut off citywide in Marrakesh tonight–no idea why or for how long. 2)  Electricity went off four times today at school. My desktop computer (no wifi) which I use for teaching, grading, attendance and our only electric heater–gone. It was 39 degrees this morning and with no central heat in the…

Finding Friends in Fes

Frazzled, frustrated, fearful in Fes. I left not a fan. To be fair, the seven- hour bus ride on CTM with no bathroom break began the trip badly. At 10 AM as Monica and I tried to board behind other passengers allowed on the coach at the station, we were yelled at angrily and herded back into the lobby. As we showed the glaring…

Les Jardins de Bala for Lunch with a View

Les Jardins de Bala, my favorite lunch spot in town, is perched atop the 5-star hotel, Les Jardins de La Koutoubia, located in the front of Marrakech’s Medina.  Sun lovers can eat the best Indian food I’ve found while overlooking the pool, the Koutoubia Mosque, and the Atlas Mountains.  Around the corner are tables in the shade with comfy leather couches overlooking the ground floor pool….

To Moms from Marrakech to Music City Post-Holiday

Thank you to Kate, an Australian expat mom I met through InterNations who moved to Marrakech last fall, too.  Her son visited and returned home before my children came, and she set up lunch for last Sunday before I left for London knowing I’d need a friend after the holidays who understands the joy of sharing this life with family, then sadly saying goodbye again….

Christmas Day in London

Christmas Day we attended the service at Westminster Abbey, another gift.  Seats had been reserved months in advance but days before our trip someone returned three.  The sermon referenced the truce on December 25, 1914 between English and German soldiers.  More on the story here.  As we sang hymns and heard the children’s choir in a cathedral built in 1066 where William the Conqueror…

Christmas Eve in London

Seems like old times.  My children are asleep in the next room and I’m up early writing.  The Three Musketeers are together again. We spent a Happy Christmas in Merry Ole England, my first love as an English lit teacher when I began traveling abroad.  My son wanted to see London, and my daughter has loved it since she, my niece, and I toured…

From the Desert to the Daily: First Three Months

November 18, was Morocco’s Independence Day, the 58th anniversary of freedom from the French Protectorate lasting from 1912–1956. It was a milestone birthday of my cousin, Annette, a loving lady who hosted our family reunion in Kentucky last summer.  And it was a marker for me. Three months ago I landed in this country and began a new era in my life. I’ve thought…

Chefchaouen, Morocco: My Blue City

You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz….There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again. –L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Of course I have…